Outline of U.S. History: A Free Text
Context matters! When an author writes a book, he or she is influenced by the history, culture, art, and literature of the time, as well as history that has gone before. That’s one of the reasons why reading can be like traveling to another land or to a time and place long past.
I have provided a list of history curriculum options for use with EIL, but if you just need a quick American history reference, this online text is a decent source. As you work on assignments for the American Literature level of Excellence in Literature, you may find this Outline of U. S. History helpful. This textbook is offered free by the United States Department of State and can be read online or downloaded via PDF.
Outline of U.S. History Table of Contents
|Ch 1| Ch 2| Ch 3| Ch 4| Ch 5| Ch 6| Ch 7| Ch 8| Ch 9| Ch 10| Ch 11| Ch 12| Ch 13| Ch 14|
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Declaration of Independence: A Key Moment in U.S. History
John Trumbull, 1819
(click on image to view larger)
U.S. History CHAPTER 1: EARLY AMERICA
The First Americans — Mound Builders and Pueblos — Native American Cultures
The First Europeans — Early Settlements — Jamestown — Massachusetts
New Netherland and Maryland — Colonial-Indian Relations —
Second Generation of British Colonies — Settlers, Slaves and Servants
The Enduring Mystery of the Anasazi
U.S. History CHAPTER 2: THE COLONIAL PERIOD
New Peoples — New England — The Middle Colonies
The Southern Colonies — Society, Schools and Culture — Emergence of Colonial Government
The French and Indian War — The Witches of Salem
U.S. History CHAPTER 3: THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE
A New Colonial System — Stamp Act — Taxation Without Representation
Townshend Acts— Samuel Adams — Boston “Tea Party” — The Coercive Acts
The Revolution Begins — Common Sense and Independence — Defeats and Victories
Franco-American Alliance — The British Move South — Victory and Independence
Loyalists During the American Revolution
U.S. History CHAPTER 4: THE FORMATION OF A NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
State Constitutions — Articles of Confederation — The Problem of Expansion
Constitutional Convention — Debate and Compromise — Ratification and the Bill of Rights
President Washington — Hamilton vs. Jefferson — Citizen Genet and Foreign Policy
Adams and Jefferson — Louisiana and Britain — War of 1812
The Second Great Awakening
U.S. History CHAPTER 5: WESTWARD EXPANSION AND REGIONAL DIFFERENCES
Building Unity — Extension of Slavery — Latin America and the Monroe Doctrine
Factionalism and Political Parties — Nullification Crisis — Battle of the Bank
Whigs, Democrats and “Know-Nothings” — Stirrings of Reform — Women’s Rights
Westward — Seneca Falls
U.S. History CHAPTER 6: SECTIONAL CONFLICT
Two Americas — Lands of Promise — Slavery and Sectionalism — The Abolitionists
Texas and War with Mexico — The Compromise of 1850 — A Divided Nation
Lincoln, Douglas and Brown — Secession and Civil War
Western Advance, Eastern Stalemate — Gettysburg to Appomattox
With Malice Toward None — Radical Reconstruction
The End of Reconstruction — Peace Democrats, Copperheads and Draft Riots
U.S. History CHAPTER 7: GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION
Technology and Change — Carnegie and the Era of Steel — Corporations and Cities
Railroads, Regulations and the Tariff — Revolution in Agriculture — The Divided South
The Last Frontier — The Plight of the Indians — Ambivalent Empire
The Canal and the Americas — United States and Asia
U.S. History CHAPTER 8: DISCONTENT AND REFORM
Agrarian Distress and the Rise of Populism — The Struggles of Labor — The Reform Impulse
Roosevelt’s Reforms — Taft and Wilson — A Nation of Nations
U.S. History CHAPTER 9: WAR, PROSPERITY AND DEPRESSION
War and Neutral Rights — United States Enters World War I — The League of Nations
Postwar Unrest — The Booming 1920s — Tensions Over Immigration — Clash of Cultures
The Great Depression
U.S. History CHAPTER 10: THE NEW DEAL AND WORLD WAR
Roosevelt and the New Deal — Unemployment — Agriculture — Industry and Labor
The Second New Deal — A New Coalition — Eve of World War II
Japan, Pearl Harbor and War — The War in North Africa and Europe — The War in the Pacific
The Politics of War — War, Victory and the Bomb — The Rise of Industrial Unions
U.S. History CHAPTER 11: POSTWAR AMERICA
Consensus and Change — Cold War Aims — Harry Truman’s Leadership
Origins of the Cold War — Containment — The Cold War in Asia and the Middle East
Eisenhower and the Cold War — The Cold War at Home — The Postwar Economy: 1945-1960
The Fair Deal — Eisenhower’s Approach — The Culture of the 1950s
Origins of the Civil Rights Movement — Desegregation
U.S. History CHAPTER 12: DECADES OF CHANGE
Kennedy and the New Frontier — Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society
Confrontation Over Cuba — The Space Program — The War in Vietnam — Detente
Nixon’s Accomplishments and Defeats — The Ford Interlude — The Carter Years
Post-Vietnam Foreign Policy — The Civil Rights Movement 1960-1980
The Women’s Movement — The Latino Movement
The Native American Movement — The Counter-Culture and Environmentalism
U.S. History CHAPTER 13: TOWARD THE 21ST CENTURY
A Society in Transition — Conservatism and the Rise of Ronald Reagan
The Economy in the 1980s — Foreign Affairs — U.S.-Soviet Relations — Space Shuttle
Iran-Contra and Black Monday — The Presidency of George Bush — Budgets and Deficits
End to the Cold War — The Gulf War — Panama and Nafta — 1992 Presidential Election
Afterword — A Nation of Immigrants — Third-Party and Independent Candidates
U.S. History CHAPTER 14: BRIEF READING LIST IN AMERICAN HISTORY
We also offer several articles from the Outline of American Literature, another helpful resource, on the site.
(Unless a copyright is indicated, information on State Department websites is in the public domain and may be copied and distributed without permission.”)
