U.S. History For Dummies E-Book

Steve Wiegand

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Seitenzahl: 750

Beschreibung

Ace your next history test with this concise, easy-to-readguide U.S. History For Dummies, 3rd Edition fillsthe need to improve high school proficiency in history by providinga complete history of the United States, presented in anaccessible, reader-friendly format designed to engage studentswhile reinforcing lessons learned in class. The National Assessmentof Educational Progress 2011 report showed that only 12% of highschool seniors in the U.S. perform at a "proficient" level inhistory. This, coupled with the fact that U.S. History courses andAP exams have been redesigned to remedy the situation, means thatmany students and parents are in need of a supplemental studyguide. Award-winning political journalist and history writer SteveWiegand guides you through the events that shaped our nation, frompre-Columbian civilizations to the 21st century. Theexplorers, the wars, the leaders, and the eras are all fullyexplored and explained, demonstrating how the past influences thefuture. From the Boston Tea Party to the current Tea Party, theupdated 3rd edition includes information about eventsthat have occurred since the previous edition's 2009 release. Newcoverage includes: * Recession recovery, including federal efforts, unemployment,and the widening class divide * The rise of the extreme right and the bitter divisions betweenpolitical parties and geographic regions * Seeking the balance between superpower and domesticcaretaker * The impact of social media, government surveillance, and cybercrime Not all history is old news, and what happened yesterday affectsus all today. It is vitally important that all U.S. citizens arewell-versed in the building of our nation, and remain aware ofcurrent events. For students and parents wondering what they'vemissed, U.S. History For Dummies, 3rd Editionunlocks the door to the past--and the future.

Leseprobe

U.S. History For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES OR WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS. THE ADVISE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PROFESSIONAL WHERE APPROPRIATE. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone]. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number is available from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-118-88898-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-88903-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-88907-7 (ebk);

Manufactured in the United States of America

10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

U.S. History For Dummies

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/ushistory to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

What You’re Not to Read

Foolish Assumptions

Beyond the Book

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting Started with U.S. History

Chapter 1: America: A Short Biography

They Came, They Saw, They Stayed

Catching up to the Spanish

It’s revolutionary!

Putting America on the Map

Nationalizing a nation

Dirty politics

Fighting with a neighbor, finding gold, and heading for a breakup

Fighting among ourselves

Making up is hard to do

Struggling with Greatness

Finding a place in the world

Roaring through the ’20s

What’s so great about a depression?

The big one

A Cold War and a Brave New World

From a Kennedy to a Ford

Good intentions, mixed results

Finishing out the century

America in the 21st Century

Bursting economic bubbles

Politics and healthcare are no tea party

Changing technology, changing America

Chapter 2: Native Americans and Explorers: 14,000 BC (?)–1607

Coming to America

Exploring Early Civilizations

The Anasazi

The Mound Builders

Many Tribes, Not Many People

In the Northwest

In the Southwest

On the Great Plains

In the Northeast

In the Southeast

De-stereotyping the Native Americans

Visiting by the Vikings

Spicing Up Life — and Other Reasons for Exploring

Discovering a Dozen Other People Who Dropped By

The Sword, the Cross, and the Measles

Native American slavery

The men in the brown robes

Destruction through disease

Arriving Late for the Party

France

England

Chapter 3: Pilgrims’ Progress: The English Colonies, 1607–1700

Seeing Potential in the New World

Settling in Jamestown

Early troubles

Making Native American friends

Finding a cash crop

Instituting Slavery

Colonizing: Pilgrims and Puritans

The Mayflower Compact: A Dutch pilgrimage

The Massachusetts Bay colony: A pure haven

Bringing Religious Freedom: Dissidents, Catholics, and Quakers

Sneaking off to Rhode Island

Condoning only Christianity in Maryland

Promoting tolerance in Pennsylvania

Dealings of the Dutch

Coping with Native American Troubles

Rebelling — with Bacon

Chapter 4: You Say You Want a Revolution: 1700–1775

Looking at America in 1700

Colonizing New France

Fighting the First True World Wars

King William’s War

Queen Anne’s War

King George’s War

Awakening to Greater Religious Freedom

The French and Indian War

Unifying the colonies

Defeating British General Braddock

Outfighting the French

Growing like a Weed

Accounting for the population explosion

Living the good life

Heading toward Divorce with Britain

The Proclamation of 1763

The Revenue Acts (1764)

The Stamp Act (1765)

The Townshend Act (1767)

The Boston Massacre (1770)

The Boston Tea Party (1773)

The “Intolerable” Acts (1774)

Congressing over Cocktails

Mr. Revere, Your Horse Is Ready

Chapter 5: Yankee Doodlin’: 1775–1783

In This Corner, the Brits. . . .

In This Corner, the Yanks. . . .

Mr. Washington Goes to War

Finding faults in George

Commanding a country

Declaring Independence

Stirring up colonists’ emotions

Writing history

Kissing Up to the French

Undergoing Life Changes: The Loyalists and the Slaves

Remaining loyal to the crown

Confronting slavery issues

Winning a War

Felling a British fort

Battling it out on Bunker — make that Breed’s — Hill

Losing the campaign in Canada

Nixing plans to take New York

Winnin’ at Trenton and Princeton

Making the Brits surrender at Saratoga

Sparring at sea

Losing big in Charleston

Minimizing the damage at Guilford Courthouse

Turning things around at Yorktown

Chapter 6: Blueprints and Birth Pains: 1783–1800

Making the Rules

Going back to Philly

Selling the Constitution to the states

Dishing Up Politics, American Style

Washington the politician

Family feuding: Jefferson vs. Hamilton

Raising the Dough

Earning Respect

Shaking things up: Shays’s Rebellion

Taxing liquid corn: The Whiskey Rebellion

Going “mad” over the Native Americans

Attempting to censor the press

Finding Foreign Friction

Part II: Growing Pains

Chapter 7: “Long Tom” and One Weird War: 1800–1815

Jefferson Gets a Job

Disorder in the Court

Growing by Leaps and Bounds

Capitalizing on Napoleon’s going-out-of-business sale

Lewis, Clark, and the woman on the dollar coin

Fighting Pirates, and a “Dambargo”

“To the shores of Tripoli . . . ”

No one likes a bloodless war

“Little Jemmy” Takes the Helm

New kids on the block

Fighting the Native Americans — again

Why Not Invade Canada This Year?

Three Strikes and the Brits Are Out

Calling It Even

Working on a settlement

Squawking about things in New England

Chapter 8: Pulling Together to Keep from Falling Apart: 1815–1844

Embracing Nationalism . . . Sort Of

Taking it to the bank

A tariff-ic idea

This land is my land, but for how much?

Orders from the court

Increasing industry

The Slavery Cancer Grows

Cotton and sugar mean more slaves

Opposing slavery

Compromising over Missouri

Mind your own hemisphere: The Monroe Doctrine

Mud-Wrestling to the White House

Adams wins, but Jackson isn’t done

Old Hickory: The Jackson presidency

Nullify This

The nullification debate hits the Senate

A tarrible idea

Bringing down the Bank

Inventing a Better Life

Riding the train

Reaping what you sow

Communicating across America

Staking Out New Land

Pushing out the Native Americans

Claiming independence for Texas

Changing it up at president

Chapter 9: War, Gold, and a Gathering Storm: 1845–1860

Wrenching Land from Mexico

Provoking a war

Capturing California and the Southwest

Rushing for Gold

Risking life and limb to strike gold

Compromising on the slavery issue

Coming Over and Spreading Out

The Germans, the Irish, and the Know-Nothings who opposed them

Making waves: The Mormons

Wagons ho!

Becoming aware of women’s rights (or the lack thereof)

The Beginning of the End

Factoring a slave’s life

Battling in Kansas

Making a “dredful” decision

Squaring Off for a Showdown: The Lincoln–Douglas Debate

Spark number 1: John Brown

Spark number 2: Lincoln’s election

Chapter 10: A Most Uncivil War: 1861–1865

Introducing Abraham Lincoln

Presenting the 16th president

Understanding Lincoln’s views on slavery and the Union

Bending the Constitution to preserve the Union — and win reelection

North versus South: Comparing Advantages and Action Plans

Freeing the Slaves

Proclaiming emancipation

Surveying the consequences of emancipation

Reviewing the Troops, the Generals, and the Major Battles

The men at the top

The war at sea

The war on land

Two More Reasons Why the North Won

Losing a Leader

Chapter 11: Putting the Country Back Together: 1865–1876

A Southern-Fried Mess: Life in the South after the Civil War

Starting a new life

Becoming sharecroppers

Piecing the Union Back Together

Demanding loyalty, legislating equality

Using violence to keep blacks down

The Tailor-Made President: Andrew Johnson

Growing Corruption in Politics

Riding the railroads to economic ruin

Fixing a presidency (and not in a good way)

Part III: Coming of Age

Chapter 12: Growing Up: 1876–1898

Heading West in a Quest for Wealth

Making money from minerals

Making money from animals

Making money from vegetables

Ousting “Undesirables”

Putting up a fight

Legalizing discrimination

Cramming into Cities

Inventing Big Business

Building the railroads

Manufacturing steel more efficiently

Refining (and controlling) oil

Getting wired for sound and light

Forming trusts and striking against them

Electing a String of Forgettable Presidents

The Rise of Populism

“A Splendid Little War”