Synopses & Reviews
'LIBERTY, EQUALITY, POWER offers students a clear, concise understanding of how America transformed itself, in a relatively short time, from a land inhabited by hunter-gatherer and agricultural Native American societies into the most powerful industrial nation on earth. The authors promote this understanding by telling the story of America through the lens of three major themes: liberty, equality, and power. This approach helps students understand not only the impact of the notions of liberty and equality, which are often associated with the American story, but also how dominant and subordinate groups have affected and been affected by the ever-shifting balance of power. This Concise Fourth Edition updates the text\'s proven ability to cover social and cultural history with such timely topics as globalization, the impact of science and technology, evolving roles for religion, and expands upon the text\'s multicultural coverage. It continues to offer strong pedagogical tools including \"History Through Film\" to help draw students into the material and show the relevance of history to their own lives. Backed by an ancillary package unmatched in this market, including HistoryNOW (part of the ThomsonNOW suite of teaching and learning products), LIBERTY, EQUALITY, POWER is available in the following volume splits: *LIBERTY, EQUALITY, POWER: A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, CONCISE EDITION (Chapters 1-31),'
Review
"The quality of the scholarship and writing, as well as the balanced context, excellent maps and charts, and "History Through Film" features make this the best text I have found for a U.S. history survey course."
Review
"Overall, I think LEP (Liberty, Equality, Power) concise is one of the best US survey texts on the market today. It combines strong research and coverage with a high degree of readability at a reasonable price. Students will certainly benefit by reading this book, as it makes US history come alive."
Review
"LEP is more successful than most other texts available in creating a coherent narrative that encompasses most segments of American Society. With its focus on issues of "Liberty, Equality and Power" it is better able to emphasize political or social history as appropriate to a given time period or subject, rather than giving a purely 'social' or 'political' history of the nation."
Review
"àthe text's greatest strengths are its breadth of coverage on important aspects of social history, especially in terms of race/ethnicity. I like that the text provides enough political/economic history to satisfy more traditional survey courses without neglecting the current trends in race/class/gender coverage."
Review
(Regarding Chapter 15) "Compared to (other texts), this text (even in the concise version) is far more detailed and nuanced on military history."
Review
(Regarding Chapter 14) "The conflict between North and South that threatened to rip the nation apart is clearly revealed. There is an excellent analysis of the interplay between economic, social, political, cultural, and ideological factors that make the late 1850s such a tumultuous time. The story of "The Impending Crisis" has often been told, but seldom as well as it is here."
Synopsis
How did America transform itself, in a relatively short time, from a land inhabited by hunter-gatherer and agricultural Native American societies into the most powerful industrial nation on earth? You'll find out in LIBERTY, EQUALITY, POWER: A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, CONCISE EDITION. The authors tell this story through the lens of three major themes: liberty, equality, and power. You'll learn not only the impact of the notions of liberty and equality, but also how dominant and subordinate groups have affected and been affected by the ever-shifting balance of power.
Synopsis
'LIBERTY, EQUALITY, POWER offers students a clear, concise understanding of how America transformed itself, in a relatively short time, from a land inhabited by hunter-gatherer and agricultural Native American societies into the most powerful industrial nation on earth. The authors promote this understanding by telling the story of America through the lens of three major themes: liberty, equality, and power. This approach helps students understand not only the impact of the notions of liberty and equality, which are often associated with the American story, but also how dominant and subordinate groups have affected and been affected by the ever-shifting balance of power. This Concise Fourth Edition updates the text\'s proven ability to cover social and cultural history with such timely topics as globalization, the impact of science and technology, evolving roles for religion, and expands upon the text\'s multicultural coverage. It continues to offer strong pedagogical tools including \"History Through Film\" to help draw students into the material and show the relevance of history to their own lives. Backed by an ancillary package unmatched in this market, including HistoryNOW (part of the ThomsonNOW suite of teaching and learning products), LIBERTY, EQUALITY, POWER is available in the following volume splits: *LIBERTY, EQUALITY, POWER: A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, CONCISE EDITION (Chapters 1-31),'
Synopsis
LIBERTY, EQUALITY, POWER: A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, CONCISE EDITION provides students with a clear understanding of how power is gained, lost, and used in both public and private life. The Third Edition of this concise version retains the narrative clarity, unparalleled coverage, and thematic unity of the larger text while fashioning an unmatched integration of social and cultural history into a political story. The concise version's emphasis on clarity and brevity provides a leaner and clearer presentation for introductory American history students. It retains the same strong chronological and thematic framework as the larger text, but offers a more manageable option for instructors concerned about having too much material and too little time. LIBERTY, EQUALITY, POWER: A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, CONCISE EDITION is available in the following volume splits: Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, Concise Edition (Chapters 1-31),
About the Author
John M. Murrin studies American colonial and revolutionary history and the early republic. He has edited one multivolume series and five books, including two essay collections, COLONIAL AMERICA: ESSAYS IN POLITICS AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, Sixth Edition (2010), and SAINTS AND REVOLUTIONARIES: ESSAYS IN EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY (1984). His own essays range from ethnic tensions, the early history of trial by jury, the emergence of the legal profession, and the political culture of the colonies and the new nation, to the rise of professional baseball and college football in the 19th century. He served as president of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic in 1998-99.A specialist in early national social history, Paul E. Johnson is the author of THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC, 1789-1829 (2006); SAM PATCH, THE FAMOUS JUMPER (2003); A SHOPKEEPERS MILLENNIUM: SOCIETY AND REVIVALS IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, 1815-1837, 25th Anniversary Edition (2004); co-author (with Sean Wilentz) of THE KINGDOM OF MATTHIAS: SEX AND SALVATION IN 19TH-CENTURY AMERICA (1994); and editor of AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY: ESSAYS IN HISTORY (1994). He was awarded the Merle Curti Prize of the Organization of American Historians (1980), the Richard P. McCormack Prize of the New Jersey Historical Association (1989), and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities (1985-1986), the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (1995), the Gilder Lehrman Institute (2001) and the National Endowment for the Humanities We the People Fellowship (2006-2007).James M. McPherson is a distinguished Civil War historian. He won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for his book BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM: THE CIVIL WAR ERA. His other publications include MARCHING TOWARD FREEDOM: BLACKS IN THE CIVIL WAR, Second Edition, (1991); ORDEAL BY FIRE: THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION, Third Edition, (2001); ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1991); FOR CAUSE AND COMRADES: WHY MEN FOUGHT IN THE CIVIL WAR (1997), which won the Lincoln Prize in 1998; CROSSROADS OF FREEDOM: ANTIETAM (2002); HALLOWED GROUND: A WALK AT GETTYSBURG (2003); and TRIED BY WAR: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF (2008), which won the Lincoln Prize for 2009. Professor McPherson served as president of the American Historical Association (2003-2004).Gary Gerstle is the James G. Stahlman Professor of American History at Vanderbilt University. A historian of the twentieth-century United States, he is the author, co-author, and co-editor of six books, and the author of more than thirty articles. His books include WORKING-CLASS AMERICANISM: THE POLITICS OF LABOR IN A TEXTILE CITY, 1914?1960 (1989); AMERICAN CRUCIBLE: RACE AND NATION IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (2001), winner of the Saloutos Prize for the best work in immigration and ethnic history; THE RISE AND FALL OF THE NEW DEAL ORDER, 1930?1980 (1989); and RULING AMERICA: WEALTH AND POWER IN A DEMOCRACY (2005). He has served on the board of editors of both the JOURNAL OF AMERICAN HISTORY and the AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW. His honors include a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, and membership in the Society of American Historians.
Table of Contents
1. WHEN OLD WORLDS COLLIDE: CONTACT, CONQUEST, CATASTROPHE. Peoples in Motion. Europe and the World in the 15th Century. Spain, Columbus, and the Americas. The Emergence of Complex Societies in the Americas. Contact and Cultural Misunderstanding. Conquest and Catastrophe. Explanations: Patterns of Conquest, Submission, and Resistance. History Through Film: The Mission. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 2. THE CHALLENGE TO SPAIN AND THE SETTLEMENT OF NORTH AMERICA. The Protestant Reformation and the Challenge to Spain. New France. The Dutch and Swedish Settlements. The Challenge from Elizabethan England. The Swarming of the English. The Chesapeake and West Indian Colonies. The New England Colonies. The English Civil Wars The First Restoration Colonies. Brotherly Love: The Quakers and America. History Through Film: Black Robe. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 3. ENGLAND DISCOVERS ITS COLONIES: EMPIRE, LIBERTY, AND EXPANSION. The Spectrum of Settlement. The Beginnings of Empire. Indians, Settlers, Upheaval. Crisis in England and the Redefinition of Empire. The Glorious Revolution. Contrasting Empires: Spain and France in North America. An Empire of Settlement: The British Colonies. History Through Film: Three Sovereigns for Sarah. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 4. PROVINCIAL AMERICA AND THE STRUGGLE FOR A CONTINENT. Expansion versus Anglicization. Expansion, Immigration, and Regional Differentiation. Anglicizing Provincial America. The Great Awakening. Political Culture in the Colonies. The Renewal of Imperial Conflict. The War for North America. History Through Film: The Last of the Mohicans. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 5. REFORM, RESISTANCE, REVOLUTION. Imperial Reform. The Stamp Act Crisis. The Townshend Crisis. Internal Cleavages: The Contagion of Liberty. The Last Imperial Crisis. The Improvised War. History Through Film: 1776. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 6. THE REVOLUTIONARY REPUBLIC. Hearts and Minds: The Northern War, 1776 & 1777. The Campaigns of 1777 and Foreign Intervention. The Reconstitution of Authority. The Crisis of the Revolution, 1779 & 1783. The British Offensive in the South. A Revolutionary Society. A More Perfect Union. History Through Film: The Patriot. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 7. THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, 1790-1820. The Farmer's Republic. From Backcountry to Frontier. The Plantation South, 1790 & 1820. The Seaport Cities, 1790 & 1815. The Assault on Authority. Republican Religion. History Through Film: A Midwife's Tale. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 8. COMPLETING THE REVOLUTION, 1789-1815. The Republic in a World at War, 1793 & 1800. The Jeffersonians in Power. The Republic and the Napoleonic Wars, 1804-1815. History Through Film: The Buccaneer. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 9. THE MARKET REVOLUTION, 1815-1860. Government and Markets. The Transportation Revolution. From Yeoman to Businessman: The Rural North and West. The Industrial Revolution. The Market Revolution in the South. History Through Film: Gone with the Wind. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 10. TOWARD AN AMERICAN CULTURE. The Northern Middle Class. The Plain People of the North. The Rise of Popular Culture. Family, Church, and Neighborhood: The White South. The Private Lives of Slaves. History Through Film: Beloved. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 11. SOCIETY, CULTURE, AND POLITICS, 1820S-1840S. Constituencies. The Politics of Economic Development. The Politics of Social Reform. The Politics of Alcohol. The Politics of Race. The Politics of Gender and Sex. History Through Film: Not for Ourselves Alone. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 12. JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY. Prologue: 1819. Republican Revival. Adams versus Jackson. Jacksonian Democracy and the South. Jacksonian Democracy and the Market Revolution. The Second American Party System. History Through Film: Amistad. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 13. MANIFEST DESTINY: AN EMPIRE FOR LIBERTY-OR SLAVERY? Growth as the American Way. The Mexican War. The Election of 1848. The Compromise of 1850. Filibustering. History Through Film: The Alamo. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 14. THE GATHERING TEMPEST, 1853-1860. Kansas and the Rise of the Republican Party. Immigration and Nativism. Bleeding Kansas. The Election of 1856. The Economy in the 1850s. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates. History Through Film: Abe Lincoln in Illinois. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 15. SECESSION AND CIVIL WAR, 1860-1862. The Election of 1860. The Lower South Secedes. Choosing Sides. The Balance Sheet of War. Navies, the Blockade, and Foreign Relations. Campaigns and Battles, 1861 & 1862. Confederate Counteroffensives. History Through Film: The Red Badge of Courage. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 16. A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM, 1862-1865. Slavery and the War. A Winter of Discontent. Blueprint for Modern America. The Confederate Tide Crests and Recedes. Black Men in Blue. The Year of Decision. The Reelection of Lincoln and the End of the Confederacy. History Through Film: Glory. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 17. RECONSTRUCTION, 1863-1877. Wartime Reconstruction. Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction. The Advent of Congressional Reconstruction. The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson. The Grant Administration. The Retreat from Reconstruction. History Through Film: The Birth of a Nation. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 18. FRONTIERS OF CHANGE, POLITICS OF STALEMATE, 1865-1890. Agencies of Westward Expansion. The Last Indian Frontier. The New South. The Politics of Stalemate. History Through Film: Fort Apache. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 19. ECONOMIC CHANGE AND THE CRISIS OF THE 1890S. Economic Growth. Labor Strife. Farmers' Movements. The Rise and Fall of the People's Party. History Through Film: The Molly Maguires. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 20. AN INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY, 1890-1920. Sources of Economic Growth. "Robber Barons" No More. Obsession with Physical and Racial Fitness. Immigration. Building Ethnic Communities. African American Labor and Community. Workers and Unions. The Joys of the City. The New Sexuality and the New Woman. History Through Film: The Great White Hope. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 21. PROGRESSIVISM. Progressivism and the Protestant Spirit. Muckrakers, Magazines, and the Turn toward "Realism". Settlement Houses and Women's Activism. Socialism and Progressivism. Municipal Reform. Political Reform in the States. Economic and Social Reform in the States. A Renewed Campaign for Civil Rights. National Reform. The Taft Presidency. Roosevelt's Return. The Rise of Woodrow Wilson. The Election of 1912. The Wilson Presidency. History Through Film: Wilson. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 22. BECOMING A WORLD POWER, 1898-1917. The United States Looks Abroad. The Spanish-American War. The United States Becomes a World Power. Theodore Roosevelt, Geopolitician. William Howard Taft, Dollar Diplomat. Woodrow Wilson, Struggling Idealist. History Through Film: Tarzan, The Ape Man. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 23. WAR AND SOCIETY, 1914-1920. Europe's Descent into War. American Neutrality. American Intervention. Mobilizing for "Total" War. The Failure of the International Peace. The Postwar Period: A Society in Convulsion. History Through Film: Reds. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 24. THE 1920S. Prosperity. The Politics of Business. Farmers, Small-Town Protestants, and Moral Traditionalists. Ethnic and Racial Communities. The "Lost Generation" and Disillusioned Intellectuals. History Through Film: The Jazz Singer. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 25. THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1929-1939. Causes of the Great Depression. Hoover: The Fall of a Self-Made Man. The Democratic Roosevelt. The First New Deal, 1933 & 1935. Political Mobilization, Political Unrest, 1934 & 1935. The Second New Deal, 1935 & 1937. America's Minorities and the New Deal. The New Deal Abroad. Stalemate, 1937 & 1940. History Through Film: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 26. AMERICA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. The Road to War: Aggression and Response. Fighting the War in Europe. The Pacific Theater. The War at Home: The Economy. The War at Home: Social Issues. Shaping the Peace. History Through Film: Saving Private Ryan. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 27. THE AGE OF CONTAINMENT, 1946-1954. Creating a National Security State, 1945 & 1949. The Era of the Korean War, 1949 & 1952. Containment at Home. Truman's Fair Deal. Social Change and Containment. From Truman to Eisenhower. History Through Film: Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 28. AFFLUENCE AND ITS DISCONTENTS, 1954-1963. Policy, 1954 & 1960. America and the Third World. Affluence—A "People of Plenty". Discontents of Affluence. The Fight against Discrimination, 1954 & 1960. Debates over Government's Role in the Economy. The Kennedy Years: Foreign Policy. The Kennedy Years: Domestic Policy. History Through Film: JFK. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 29. AMERICA DURING ITS LONGEST WAR, 1963-1974. The Great Society. Escalation in Vietnam. The War at Home. The Nixon Years, 1969 & 1974. Foreign Policy under Nixon and Kissinger. The Wars of Watergate. History Through Film: Malcolm X. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 30. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN THE LATE 20TH CENTURY. A Changing People. Economic Transformations. The Environment. Media and Culture. Social Activism. Race, Ethnicity, and Social Activism. The New Right. History Through Film: Star Wars. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. 31. POWER AND POLITICS SINCE 1974. Ford's Caretaker Presidency. Carter's One-Term Presidency. Reagan's "New Morning in America". The First Bush Presidency. The Clinton Presidency: "New Democrats" Come to Washington. The Long Election and the Presidency of George W. Bush. History Through Film: The First Movie-Star President. Conclusion. Suggested Readings. American Journey Online and InfoTrac Search Terms. .