A Little History of the United States
By: James West Davidson
Published: 2015
Language: eng
Number of pages: 325
ISBN-13: 9780300181418
Copyright date: 2015
Subjects: History
Description: Describes how the United States developed from the first contact between extremely different cultures to its role as a superpower and explores how a country based on diversity seeks the sometimes contradictory goals of freedom and equality.

How did a land and people of such immense diversity come together under a banner of freedom and equality to form one of the most remarkable nations in the world? Everyone from young adults to grandparents will be fascinated by the answers uncovered in James West Davidson’s vividly told A Little History of the United States. In 300 fast-moving pages, Davidson guides his readers through 500 years, from the first contact between the two halves of the world to the rise of America as a superpower in an era of atomic perils and diminishing resources. In short, vivid chapters the book brings to life hundreds of individuals whose stories are part of the larger American story. Pilgrim William Bradford stumbles into an Indian deer trap on his first day in America; Harriet Tubman lets loose a pair of chickens to divert attention from escaping slaves; the toddler Andrew Carnegie, later an ambitious industrial magnate, gobbles his oatmeal with a spoon in each hand. Such stories are riveting in themselves, but they also spark larger questions to ponder about freedom, equality, and unity in the context of a nation that is, and always has been, remarkably divided and diverse.--Publisher website.
Notes: Includes index.

Illustrations by Gordon Allen, maps by Bill Nelson.

Text in English.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : Making history; title: Where the birds led; title: A continent in space and time; title: Out of one, many; title: A golden age and the age of gold; title: When worlds collide; title: How can I be saved?; title: Saints and strangers; title: Boom country; title: Equal and unequal; title: Enlightened and awakened; title: Be careful what you wish for; title: More than a quarrel; title: Equal and independent; title: More perfect union; title: Washington's fear; title: Empire of liberty; title: Man of the people; title: Cotton kingdoms; title: Burned over; title: Frontiers; title: Crossing the line; title: What was coming; title: How do you reconstruct?; title: The next big thing; title: The color of your collar; title: A tale of two cities; title: The new west; title: Luck or pluck?; title: The progressives; title: Smashup; title: The masses; title: A new deal; title: Global war; title: Superpower; title: The end of the world; title: You or you or you; title: The avalanche; title: A conservative turn; title: Connected; title: The past asks more.