Synopses & Reviews
This primary source reader in the popular Discovering series contains a multi-part pedagogical framework that guides students through the process of historical inquiry and explanation. The text emphasizes historical study as interpretation rather than memorization of data.The Sixth Edition integrates new documents and revised coverage throughout. Appearing in Volumes I and II, the Reconstruction chapter uncovers the work ethic of farmers and workers in the West and North following the Civil War. Each chapter is organized within the same pedagogical framework: The Problem, Background, The Method, The Evidence, Questions to Consider, and Epilogue.
About the Author
William Bruce Wheeler received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 1967. He is co-author of DISCOVERING THE GLOBAL PAST (2012), DISCOVERING THE AMERICAN PAST (2012), and DISCOVERING THE WESTERN PAST (2008). He has also written books on Tennessee history and the Tellico Dam.Susan Becker received her Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in 1975. Her areas of interest include U.S. social, cultural, and women?s history. She has written THE ORIGINS OF THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT (Greenwood Press, 1981), along with a host of articles on women?s history.
Table of Contents
Note: Each chapter includes The Problem, Background, The Method, Questions to Consider, and an Epilogue. 1. The Reconstruction Era: Farmers and Workers in the West and North, 1866-1877 2. The Road to True Freedom: African American Alternatives in the New South The Evidence: Excerpt from Ida B. Wells's United States Atrocities, 1892 Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Exposition Address, 1895 Excerpt from Henry McNeal Turner's "The American Negro and His Fatherland," 1895 Excerpts from W. E. B. Du Bois's "The Talented Tenth" (1903) and Niagara Address (1906) Excerpt from Frances E. W. Harper's "Enlightened Motherhood," 1892 Table showing migration of Negro population by U.S. region, 1870-1920 3. How They Lived: Middle-Class Life, 1870-1917 The Evidence: Advertisements for clothing, beauty and health aids, firearms, books and home study courses, insurance, automobiles, household appliances and furnishings, 1882-1916 Architectural drawings and descriptions of houses, 1878-1909 Excerpts on the new business of advertising, 1898-1927 4. Progressives and the Family: The Redefinition of Childhood, 1880-1920 The Evidence: Photographs of children at play and work Photographs of children and parents Visuals of the pure milk campaign Table of children's meals Excerpts of a child neglect report Letters to the children's bureau Excerpts of advice to middle-class parents Legislation and court rulings on child labor 5. Homogenizing a Pluralistic Nation: Propaganda During World War I The Evidence: War song and poetry, advertisements, posters, editorial cartoons, speeches, movie stills 6. The "New" Woman: Social Science Experts and the Redefinition of Women's Roles in the 1920s The Evidence: Excerpts from the 1920s' social science literature on sex and sexuality Excerpts and charts on women's work and pay Excerpts from the 1920s' social science literature on marriage and the family Biographies and autobiographies of three "new" women: Margaret Sanger, Clara Bow, and Margaret Mead 7. Documenting the Depression: The FSA Photographers and Rural Poverty The Evidence: Documentary photographs as instruments of reform 8. Going to War with Japan: A Problem in Diplomacy and Causation The Evidence: Excerpts from public opinion polls, foreign policy dispatches and memoranda from the United States and Japan, memoirs and diaries, press releases, and speeches 9. Separate but Equal? African American Educational Opportunities and the Brown Decision The Evidence: First section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution Excerpts from Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Photograph of doll experiment and excerpts from social science testimony Excerpts from amicus curiae briefs, Brown v. Board of Education (1952) Excerpts from the oral arguments, 1952 and 1953 Excerpts from the Brown I decision (1954) 10. A Generation in War and Turmoil: The Agony of Vietnam The Evidence: Sample release forms for oral history interviews Interviews with five males and two females (veterans and civilians) of the Vietnam War era 11. A Nation of Immigrants: The California Experience The Evidence: Proverbs, statistics, and excerpts from life stories of Asian immigrants Excerpts from life stories and testimonies of Hispanic immigrants Photographs of fourth-wave immigrants