Synopses & Reviews
Understanding the American Promise, Second Edition, features a brief, question-driven narrative that models for students the inquiry-based methods used by historians and features innovative active learning pedagogy to help students understand whats really important to know about U.S. history. This affordable text comes integrated with LearningCurve, an adaptive learning tool that helps students retain what theyve read and come to class prepared.
About the Author
James L. Roark (Ph.D., Stanford University) is Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of American History at Emory University. In 1993, he received the Emory Williams Distinguished Teaching Award, and in 2001-2002 he was Pitt Professor of American Institutions at Cambridge University. He has written
Masters without Slaves: Southern Planters in the Civil War and Reconstruction and coauthored
Black Masters: A Free Family of Color in the Old South with Michael P. Johnson.
Michael P. Johnson (Ph.D., Stanford University) is professor of history at Johns Hopkins University. His publications include
Toward a Patriarchal Republic: The Secession of Georgia;
Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War: Selected Speeches and Writings; and
Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents, the documents reader for
The American Promise. He has also coedited
No Chariot Let Down: Charlestons Free People of Color on the Eve of the Civil War with James L. Roark.
Patricia Cline Cohen (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley) is professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2005-2006. She has written
A Calculating People: The Spread of Numeracy in Early America and
The Murder of Helen Jewett: The Life and Death of a Prostitute in Nineteenth-Century New York, and she has coauthored
The Flash Press: Sporting Male Weeklies in 1840s New York.
Sarah Stage (Ph.D., Yale University) has taught U.S. history at Williams College and the University of California, Riverside, and she was visiting professor at Beijing University and Szechuan University. Currently she is professor of Womens Studies at Arizona State University. Her books include
Female Complaints: Lydia Pinkham and the Business of Womens Medicine and
Rethinking Home Economics: Women and the History of a Profession.
Susan M. Hartmann (Ph.D., University of Missouri) is Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor of History at Ohio State University. In 1995 she won the university's Exemplary Faculty Award in the College of Humanities. Her publications include Truman and the 80th Congress; The Home Front and Beyond: American Women in the 1940s; From Margin to Mainstream: American Women and Politics since 1960; and The Other Feminists: Activists in the Liberal Establishment.
Table of Contents
Chapter 16Reconstructing a Nation 1863-1877Why did Congress object to Lincolns wartime plan for reconstruction?"To Bind Up the Nations Wounds"Land and LaborThe African American Quest for AutonomyHow did the North respond to the passage of black codes in the southern states?Johnsons Program of ReconciliationWhite Southern Resistance and Black CodesExpansion of Federal Authority and Black RightsHow radical was congressional reconstruction?The Fourteenth Amendment and Escalating ViolenceRadical Reconstruction and Military RuleImpeaching a PresidentThe Fifteenth Amendment and Womens DemandsWhat brought the elements of the Souths Republican coalition together? Freedmen, Yankees, and YeomenRepublican RuleWhite Landlords, Black SharecroppersWhy did reconstruction collapse?Grants Troubled PresidencyNorthern Resolve WithersWhite Supremacy TriumphsAn Election and a CompromiseConclusion: Was reconstruction "a revolution but half accomplished"?[[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 16 Study Guide
Chapter 17Contesting the West, 1865-1900What did U.S. expansion mean for Native Americans? Indian Removal and the Reservation System The Decimation of the Great Bison HerdsIndian Wars and the Collapse of Comanchería The Fight for the Black Hills In what ways did different Indian groups defy and resist colonial rule?Indian Schools and the War on Indian Culture The Dawes Act and Indian Land Allotment Indian Resistance and Survival How did mining shape American expansion? Mining on the Comstock Lode The Diverse Peoples of the West How did the fight for land and resources in the West unfold?Life on the Comstock Lode The Diverse Peoples of the West Moving West: Homesteaders and Speculators Ranchers and Cowboys Tenants, Sharecroppers, and Migrants Commercial Farming and Industrial Cowboys Conclusion: How did the West set the tone for the Gilded Age?[[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 17 Study Guide
Chapter 18Defining the Gilded Age in Business and Politics, 1865-1900How did the railroads stimulate big business? Railroads: Americas First Big Business Andrew Carnegie, Steel, and Vertical Integration John D. Rockefeller, Standard Oil, and the Trust New Inventions: The Telephone and the TelegraphWhy did the ideas of social Darwinism appeal to many Americans in the late nineteenth century?J. P. Morgan and Finance Capitalism Social Darwinism, Laissez-Faire, and the Supreme Court What factors influenced political life in the late nineteenth century? Political Participation and Party Loyalty Sectionalism and the New South Gender, Race, and Politics Womens Activism What issues shaped party politics in the late nineteenth century? Corruption and Party Strife Garfields Assassination and Civil Service Reform Reform and Scandal: The Campaign of 1884 What role did economic issues play in party realignment? The Tariff and the Politics of Protection Railroads, Trusts, and the Federal Government The Fight for Free Silver Panic and Depression Conclusion: Why did business dominate the Gilded Age?[[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 18 Study Guide s
Chapter 19The Growth of Americas Cities, 1870-1900Why did American cities experience explosive growth in the late nineteenth century?The Urban Explosion: A Global Migration Racism and the Cry for Immigration Restriction The Social Geography of the City What kinds of work did people do in industrial America? Americas Diverse Workers The Family Economy: Women and Children White-Collar Workers: Managers, "Typewriters," and Salesclerks Why did the fortunes of the Knights of Labor rise in the late 1870s and decline in the 1890s?The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 The Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor Haymarket and the Specter of Labor Radicalism How did urban industrialism shape the world of home life and leisure?Domesticity and "Domestics" Cheap Amusements How did municipal governments respond to the challenges of urban expansion?Building Cities of Stone and Steel City Government and the "Bosses" White City or City of Sin? Conclusion: Who built the cities? [[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 19 Study Guide
Chapter 20Dissent, Depression, and War, 1890-1900Why did American farmers organize alliances in the late nineteenth century?The Farmers Alliance The Populist Movement What led to the labor wars of the 1890s? The Homestead Lockout The Cripple Creek Miners Strike of 1894 Eugene V. Debs and the Pullman Strike How were women involved in late-nineteenth-century politics? Frances Willard and the Womans Christian Temperance Union Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and the Movement for Woman Suffrage How did economic problems affect American politics in the 1890s? Coxeys Army The Peoples Party and the Election of 1896 Why did the United States largely abandon its isolationist foreign policy in the 1890s?Markets and Missionaries The Monroe Doctrine and the Open Door Policy "A Splendid Little War" The Debate over American Imperialism Conclusion: What was the connection between domestic strife and foreign policy?[[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 20 Study Guide
Chapter 21Progressivism from the Grass Roots Up, 1890-1916How did grassroots progressives attack the problems of industrial America? Civilizing the City Progressives and the Working Class What were the key tenets of progressive theory? Reform Darwinism and Social Engineering Progressive Government: City and State How did Theodore Roosevelt advance the progressive agenda? The Square Deal Roosevelt the Reformer Roosevelt and Conservation The Big Stick The Troubled Presidency of William Howard Taft How did progressivism evolve during Woodrow Wilsons first term?Progressive Insurgency and the Election of 1912Wilsons Reforms: Tariff, Banking, and the Trusts Wilson, Reluctant Progressive What were the limits of progressive reform? Radical Alternatives Progressivism for White Men Only Conclusion: How did the liberal state transform during the Progressive Era? [[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 21 Study Guide
Chapter 22The United States and World War I, 1914-1920What was Woodrow Wilsons foreign policy agenda? Taming the Americas The European Crisis The Ordeal of American Neutrality The United States Enters the War What role did the United States play in World War I? The Call to Arms The War in France What impact did the war have on the home front? The Progressive Stake in the War Women, War, and the Battle for Suffrage Rally around the Flag—or Else What part did Woodrow Wilson play at the Paris peace conference? Wilsons Fourteen Points The Paris Peace Conference The Fight for the Treaty Why was Americas transition from war to peace so turbulent? Economic Hardship and Labor Upheaval The Red Scare The Great Migrations of African Americans and Mexicans Postwar Politics and the Election of 1920 Conclusion: What was the domestic cost of foreign victory? [[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 22 Study Guide
Chapter 23From New Era to Great Depression, 1920-1932How did big business shape the "New Era" of the 1920s? A Business Government Promoting Prosperity and Peace Abroad Automobiles, Mass Production, and Assembly-Line Progress Consumer Culture In what ways did the Roaring Twenties challenge traditional values? Prohibition The New Woman The New Negro Entertainment for the MassesThe Lost Generation Why did the relationship between urban and rural America deteriorate in the 1920s?Rejecting the Undesirables The Rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan The Scopes Trial Al Smith and the Election of 1928 How did President Hoover respond to the economic crash of 1929?Herbert Hoover: The Great Engineer The Distorted Economy The Crash of 1929 Hoover and the Limits of Individualism What was life like in the early years of the depression? The Human Toll Denial and Escape Working-Class Militancy Conclusion: Why did the hope of the 1920s turn to despair? [[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 23 Study Guide
Chapter 24Forging the New Deal, 1932-1939How did Franklin D. Roosevelt win the 1932 election? The Making of a Politician The Election of 1932 What were the goals and achievements of the first New Deal? The New Dealers Banking and Finance Reform Relief and Conservation Programs Agricultural Initiatives Industrial Recovery Who opposed the New Deal and why? Resistance to Business Reform Casualties in the Countryside Politics on the Fringes How did the second phase of the New Deal differ from the first? Relief for the Unemployed Empowering Labor Social Security and Tax Reform Neglected Americans and the New Deal What major political trends changed during the late 1930s?The Election of 1936 Court Packing Reaction and Recession The Last of the New Deal Reforms Conclusion: What were the achievements and limitations of the New Deal? [[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 24 Study Guide
Chapter 25The United States and the Second World War, 1939-1945How did the United States respond to international developments in the 1930s? Roosevelt and Reluctant Isolation The Good Neighbor Policy The Price of Noninvolvement How did the outbreak of war affect Americas relations with other nations?Nazi Aggression and War in Europe From Neutrality to the Arsenal of Democracy Japan Attacks America How did the United States mobilize for war? Home-Front Security Building a Citizen Army Conversion to a War Economy How did the Allies turn the tide in Europe and the Pacific? Turning the Tide in the Pacific The Campaign in Europe How did the war change life on the American home front? Women and Families, Guns and Butter The Double V Campaign Wartime Politics and the 1944 Election Reaction to the Holocaust How did the Allies finally win the war?From Bombing Raids to Berlin The Defeat of Japan Atomic Warfare Conclusion: Why did America emerge as a superpower at the end of the war? [[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 25 Study Guide
Chapter 26 Cold War Politics in the Truman Years, 1945-1953What factors contributed to the Cold War?The Cold War BeginsThe Truman Doctrine and the Marshall PlanBuilding a National Security StateSuperpower Rivalry around the GlobeWhy did Truman have limited success in implementing his domestic agenda?Reconverting to a Peacetime EconomyBlacks and Mexican Americans Push for Their Civil RightsThe Fair Deal FloundersThe Domestic Chill: McCarthyismHow did U.S. Cold War policy lead to the Korean War?Korea and the Military Implementation of ContainmentFrom Containment to Rollback to ContainmentKorea, Communism, and the 1952 ElectionAn Armistice and the Wars CostsConclusion: What were the costs and consequences of the Cold War?[[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 26 Study Guide
Chapter 27 The Politics and Culture of Abundance, 1952-1960What was Eisenhowers "middle way" on domestic issues? Modern RepublicanismTermination and Relocation of Native AmericansThe 1956 Election and the Second TermHow did Eisenhowers foreign policy differ from Trumans?The "New Look" in Foreign PolicyApplying Containment to VietnamInterventions in Latin America and the Middle EastThe Nuclear Arms RaceWhat fueled the prosperity of the 1950s?Technology Transforms Agriculture and IndustryBurgeoning Suburbs and Declining CitiesThe Rise of the Sun BeltThe Democratization of Higher EducationHow did prosperity affect American society and culture?Consumption Rules the DayThe Revival of Domesticity and ReligionTelevision Transforms Culture and PoliticsCountercurrentsHow did African Americans fight for civil rights in the 1950s?African Americans Challenge the Supreme Court and the PresidentMontgomery and Mass ProtestConclusion: What unmet challenges did peace and prosperity mask?[[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 27 Study Guide
Chapter 28 Reform, Rebellion, and Reaction, 1960-1974What liberal reforms were advanced during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations?The Unrealized Promise of Kennedys New FrontierJohnson Fulfills the Kennedy PromisePolicymaking for a Great SocietyAssessing the Great SocietyThe Judicial RevolutionHow did the civil rights movement evolve in the 1960s? The Flowering of the Black Freedom StruggleThe Response in WashingtonBlack Power and Urban RebellionsWhat other rights movements emerged in the 1960s?Native American ProtestLatino Struggles for JusticeStudent Rebellion, the New Left, and the CountercultureGay Men and Lesbians OrganizeWhat were the goals of the new wave of feminism?A Multifaceted Movement EmergesFeminist Gains Spark a CountermovementHow did liberalism fare under President Nixon?Extending the Welfare State and Regulating the EconomyResponding to Environmental Concerns Expanding Social Justice Conclusion: What were the achievements and limitations of liberalism?[[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 28 Study Guide
Chapter 29 Vietnam and the End of the Cold War Consensus, 1961-1975 How did U.S. foreign policy change under Kennedy?Meeting the "Hour of Maximum Danger"New Approaches to the Third WorldThe Arms Race and the Nuclear BrinkA Growing War in VietnamWhy did Johnson escalate American involvement in Vietnam?An All-Out Commitment in VietnamPreventing Another Castro in Latin AmericaThe Americanized War Those Who ServedHow did the war in Vietnam polarize the nation?The Widening War at HomeThe Tet Offensive and Johnsons Move toward PeaceThe Tumultuous Election of 1968How did U.S. foreign policy change under Nixon?Moving toward Détente with the Soviet Union and ChinaShoring Up U.S. Interests around the WorldVietnam Becomes Nixons WarThe Peace Accords The Legacy of DefeatConclusion: Was Vietnam an unwinnable War?[[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 29 Study Guide
Chapter 30 The Conservative Turn, 1969-1989 How did the Nixon presidency reflect the rise of postwar conservatism? Emergence of a Grassroots MovementNixon Courts the RightThe Election of 1972WatergateThe Ford Presidency and the 1976 ElectionWhy did the "outsider" presidency of Jimmy Carter fail to gain broad support? Retreat from LiberalismEnergy and Environmental ReformPromoting Human Rights AbroadThe Cold War IntensifiesWhat conservative goals were realized in the Reagan administration?Appealing to the New Right and BeyondUnleashing Free EnterpriseWinners and Losers in a Flourishing EconomyWhat strategies did liberals use to fight the conservative turn? Battles in the Courts and CongressFeminism on the DefensiveThe Gay and Lesbian Rights MovementHow did Ronald Reagans foreign policy affect the Cold War? Militarization and Interventions AbroadThe Iran-Contra ScandalA Thaw in Soviet-American RelationsConclusion: What was the long-term impact of the conservative turn?[[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 30 Study Guide
Chapter 31 Facing the Promises and Challenges of Globalization, Since 1989How did the United States respond to the end of the Cold War and tensions in the Middle East? Gridlock in GovernmentGoing to War in Central America and the Persian GulfThe Cold War EndsThe 1992 ElectionHow did President Clinton seek a middle ground in American politics?Clintons ReformsAccommodating the RightImpeaching the PresidentThe Booming Economy of the 1990sHow did President Clinton respond to the challenges of globalization?Defining Americas Place in a New World OrderDebates over GlobalizationThe Internationalization of the United States How did President George W. Bush change American politics and foreign policy?The Disputed Election of 2000The Domestic Policies of a "Compassionate Conservative"The Globalization of Terrorism Unilateralism, Preemption, and the Iraq WarWhat obstacles stood in the way of President Obamas reform agenda?Conclusion: How have Americans debated the role of the government?[[√]] LearningCurve bedfordstmartins.com/roarkunderstanding/LC Chapter 31 Study Guide
APPENDICESI. DocumentsThe Declaration of Independence A-1The Articles of Confederation A-0The Constitution of the United States A-0Amendments to the Constitution with Annotations (including the six unratified amendments) A-00The Constitution of the Confederate States of America A-0
II. Facts and Figures: Government, Economy, and DemographicsPresidential Elections A-00Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Secretaries of State A-00Admission of States to the Union A-00Supreme Court Justices A-00