Cover: Exploring American Histories, Value Edition, Volume 2, 4th Edition by Nancy Hewitt; Steven Lawson

Exploring American Histories, Value Edition, Volume 2

Fourth Edition  ©2022 Nancy Hewitt; Steven Lawson Formats: Achieve, E-book, Print

Authors

  • Headshot of Nancy A. Hewitt

    Nancy A. Hewitt

    Nancy A. Hewitt (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) is Professor Emerita of History and of Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University. Her publications include Radical Friend: Amy Kirby Post and Her Activist Worlds, for which she won the SHEAR prize in biography; Women’s Activism and Social Change: Rochester, New York, 1822–1872; Southern Discomfort: Women’s Activism in Tampa, Florida, 1880s–1920s, and the second edition of A Companion to American Women’s History, edited with Anne M. Valk.


  • Headshot of Steven F. Lawson

    Steven F. Lawson

    Steven F. Lawson (Ph.D., Columbia University) is Professor Emeritus of History at Rutgers University. His research interests include U.S. politics since 1945 and the history of the civil rights movement, with a particular focus on black politics and the interplay between civil rights and political culture in the mid-twentieth century. He is the author of many works including Running for Freedom: Civil Rights and Black Politics in America since 1941; Debating the Civil Rights Movement; Black Ballots: Voting Rights in the South, 1944–1969; and In Pursuit of Power: Southern Blacks and Electoral Politics, 1965–1982.

Table of Contents

The Combined Volume includes all chapters.
Volume 1 includes Chapters 1-14.
Volume 2 includes Chapters 14-29.

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Preface
Versions and Supplements
Maps, Figures, and Tables
How to Use This Book

 

Chapter 14

Emancipation and Reconstruction, 1863–1877

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

Jefferson Long and Andrew Johnson

Emancipation

African Americans Embrace Freedom

Reuniting Families Torn Apart by Slavery

Freedom to Learn

Freedom to Worship and the Leadership Role of Black Churches

National Reconstruction

Abraham Lincoln Plans for Reunification

Andrew Johnson and Presidential Reconstruction

Johnson and Congressional Resistance

Congressional Reconstruction

The Struggle for Universal Suffrage

Remaking the South

Whites Reconstruct the South

Black Political Participation and Economic Opportunities

White Resistance to Congressional Reconstruction

The Unraveling of Reconstruction

The Republican Retreat

Congressional and Judicial Retreat

The Presidential Compromise of 1876

Conclusion: The Legacies of Reconstruction

Chapter Review

 

Chapter 15

The West, 1865–1896

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

Annie Oakley and Geronimo

Opening the West

The Great Plains

Federal Policy and Foreign Investment

Indians and Resistance to Expansion

Indian Civilizations

Federal Policy toward Indians before 1870

Reconstruction and Indians

Indian Defeat

Reforming Indian Policy

Indian Assimilation and Resistance

The Mining and Lumber Industries

The Business of Mining

Life in the Mining Towns

The Lumber Boom

The Cattle Industry and Commercial Farming

The Life of the Cowboy

The Rise of Commercial Ranching

Commercial Farming

Women Homesteaders

Farming on the Great Plains

Diversity in the Far West

Mormons

Californios and Mexican Americans

The Chinese

Conclusion: The Ambiguous Legacy of the West

Chapter Review

 

Chapter 16

Industrial America, 1877–1900

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

Andrew Carnegie and John Sherman

America Industrializes

The New Industrial Economy

Innovation and Inventions

Building a New South

Industrial Consolidation

The Growth of Corporations

Laissez-Faire, Social Darwinism, and Their Critics

The Doctrines of Success

Challenges to Laissez-Faire

Society and Culture in the Gilded Age

Wealthy and Middle-Class Leisure-Time Pursuits

Changing Gender Roles

Black America and Jim Crow

National Politics in the Era of Industrialization

The Weak Presidency

Congressional Inefficiency

The Business of Politics

An Energized and Entertained Electorate

Conclusion: Industrial America

Chapter Review

 

Chapter 17

Workers and Farmers in the Age of Organization, 1877–1900

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

John McLuckie and Mary Elizabeth Lease

Working People Organize

The Industrialization of Labor

Organizing Unions

Clashes between Workers and Owners

Working-Class Leisure in Industrial America

Farmers Organize

Farmers Unite

Populists Rise Up

The Depression of the 1890s

Depression Politics

Political Realignment in the Election of 1896

The Decline of the Populists

Conclusion: A Passion for Organization

Chapter Review

Chapter 18

Cities, Immigrants, and the Nation, 1880–1914

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

Beryl Lassin and Maria Vik Takacs

A New Wave of Immigrants

Immigrants Arrive from Many Lands

Creating Immigrant Communities

Hostility toward Recent Immigrants

The Assimilation Dilemma

Becoming an Urban Nation

The New Industrial City

Expand Upward and Outward

How the Other Half Lived

Urban Politics at the Turn of the Century

Political Machines and City Bosses

Urban Reformers

Conclusion: A Nation of Cities

Chapter Review

Chapter 19

Progressivism and the Search for Order, 1900–1917

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

Gifford Pinchot and Gene Stratton-Porter

The Roots of Progressivism

Progressive Origins

Muckrakers

Humanitarian and Social Justice Reform

Female Progressives and the Poor

Fighting for Women’s Suffrage

Progressivism and African Americans

Progressivism and Indians

Morality and Social Control

Prohibition

Prostitution, Narcotics, and Juvenile Delinquency

Birth Control

Immigration Restriction

Good Government Progressivism

Municipal and State Reform

Conservation and Preservation of the Environment

Presidential Progressivism

Theodore Roosevelt and the Square Deal

Taft Retreats from Progressivism

The Election of 1912

Woodrow Wilson and the New Freedom Agenda

Conclusion: The Progressive Legacy

Chapter Review

Chapter 20

Empire, Wars, and Pandemic, 1898–1919

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

Alfred Thayer Mahan and José Martí

The Awakening of Imperialism

The Economics of Expansion

Cultural Justifications for Imperialism

Gender and Empire

The War with Spain

Revolution in Cuba

The War of 1898

The Pacification of Cuba

The Philippine War

Extending U.S. Imperialism, 1899–1913

Theodore Roosevelt and "Big Stick" Diplomacy

Opening the Door in China

Wilson and American Foreign Policy, 1912–1917

Diplomacy and War

Making the World Safe for Democracy

Fighting the War at Home

Government by Commission

Winning Hearts and Minds

1918-19 Influenza Pandemic

Waging Peace

The Failure of Ratification

Conclusion: A U.S. Empire

Chapter Review

Chapter 21

The Twenties, 1919–1929

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

D. C. Stephenson and Ossian Sweet

Social Turmoil

The Red Scare, 1919–1920

Racial Violence in the Postwar Era

Prosperity, Consumption, and Growth

Government Promotion of the Economy

Americans Become Consumers

Urbanization

Perilous Prosperity

Challenges to Social Conventions

Breaking with the Old Morality

The Harlem Renaissance

Marcus Garvey and Black Nationalism

Culture Wars

Prohibition

Nativists versus Immigrants

Resurrection of the Ku Klux Klan

Fundamentalism versus Modernism

Politics and the Fading of Prosperity

The Battle for the Soul of the Democratic Party

Lingering Progressivism

Financial Crash

Conclusion: The Transitional Twenties

Chapter Review

Chapter 22

Depression, Dissent, and the New Deal, 1929–1940

AMERICAN HISTORIES

Eleanor Roosevelt and Luisa Moreno

The Great Depression

Hoover Faces the Depression

Hoovervilles and Dust Storms

Challenges for Racial Minorities

Families under Strain

Organized Protest

The New Deal

Roosevelt Restores Confidence

Steps toward Recovery

Direct Assistance and Relief

New Deal Critics

The New Deal Moves to the Left

Expanding Relief Measures

Establishing Social Security

Organized Labor Strikes Back

A Half Deal for Racial Minorities

Decline of the New Deal

Conclusion: New Deal Liberalism

Chapter Review

Chapter 23

World War II, 1933–1945

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

J. Robert Oppenheimer and Fred Korematsu

The Road toward War

The Growing Crisis in Europe

The Challenge to Isolationism

The United States Enters the War

The Home-Front Economy

Managing the Wartime Economy

New Opportunities for Women

Everyday Life on the Home Front

Fighting for Equality at Home

The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement

Struggles for Mexican Americans

American Indians

The Ordeal of Japanese Americans

Global War

War in Europe

War in the Pacific

Ending the War

Evidence of the Holocaust

Conclusion: The Impact of World War II

Chapter Review

Chapter 24

The Opening of the Cold War, 1945–1961

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

George Kennan and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

The Origins of the Cold War, 1945–1947

Mutual Misunderstandings

The Truman Doctrine

The Marshall Plan and Economic Containment

The Cold War Hardens, 1948–1953

Military Containment

The Korean War

The Korean War and the Imperial Presidency

Combating Communism at Home, 1945–1954

Loyalty and the Second Red Scare

McCarthyism

The Cold War Expands, 1953 –1961

Nuclear Weapons and Containment

Decolonization

Interventions in the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa

Early Intervention in Vietnam, 1954–1960

Conclusion: The Cold War and Anticommunism

Chapter Review

Chapter 25

Troubled Innocence, 1945–1961

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

Alan Freed and Grace Metalious

Peacetime Transition and the Boom Years

Peacetime Challenges, 1945–1948

Economic Conversion and Labor Discontent

Truman, the New Deal Coalition, and the Election of 1948

Economic Boom

Baby Boom

Changes in Living Patterns

The Culture of the 1950s

The Rise of Television

Wild Ones on the Big Screen

The Influence of Teenage Culture

The Lives of Women

Religious Revival

Beats and Other Nonconformists

The Growth of the Civil Rights Movement

The Rise of the Southern Civil Rights Movement

School Segregation and the Supreme Court

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

White Resistance to Desegregation

The Sit-Ins

Civil Rights Struggles in the North

Civil Rights Struggles in the West

Domestic Politics in the Eisenhower Era

Modern Republicanism

The Election of 1960

Conclusion: Postwar Politics and Culture

Chapter Review

Chapter 26

Liberalism and Its Challengers, 1960–1973

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

Earl Warren and Bayard Rustin

The Politics of Liberalism

Kennedy’s New Frontier

Kennedy, the Cold War, and Cuba

The Civil Rights Movement Intensifies, 1961–1968

Freedom Rides

Kennedy Supports Civil Rights

Freedom Summer and Voting Rights

Civil Rights and Black Power

Federal Efforts toward Social Reform, 1964–1968

The Great Society

The Warren Court

The Vietnam War, 1961–1969

Kennedy’s Intervention in South Vietnam

Johnson Escalates the War in Vietnam

Challenges to the Liberal Establishment

The New Left

The Counterculture

Liberation Movements

The Revival of Conservatism

Conclusion: Liberalism and Its Discontents

Chapter Review

Chapter 27

The Swing toward Conservatism, 1968–1980

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

Pauli Murray and Louise Day Hicks

Nixon: War and Diplomacy, 1969–1974

The Election of 1968

The Failure of Vietnamization

The Cold War Thaws

Crisis in the Middle East and at Home

Nixon and Politics, 1969–1974

Pragmatic Conservatism

The Nixon Landslide and Watergate Scandal, 1972–1974

The Presidency of Jimmy Carter, 1976–1980

Jimmy Carter and the Limits of Affluence

The Perils of Détente

Challenges in the Middle East

The Persistence of Liberalism in the 1970s

Popular Culture

Women’s Movement

Environmentalism

Racial Struggles Continue

Mexican Americans Challenge Discrimination

The New Right Rises

Tax Revolt

Neo-Conservatism

Christian Conservatism

Conclusion: The Swing toward Conservatism

Chapter Review

Chapter 28

The Triumph of Conservatism, the End of the Cold War, and the Rise of the New World Order, 1980–1992

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

George Shultz and Demetria Martinez

The Reagan Revolution

Reagan and Reaganomics

The Implementation of Social Conservatism

Reagan and the End of the Cold War, 1981–1988

"The Evil Empire"

Human Rights and the Fight against Communism

Fighting International Terrorism

The Nuclear Freeze Movement

The Road to Nuclear De-escalation

The Presidency of George H. W. Bush, 1989–1993

"Kinder and Gentler" Conservatism

The Breakup of the Soviet Union

Globalization and the New World Order

Managing Conflict after the Cold War

The 1992 Election

Conclusion: Conservative Ascendancy and the End of the Cold War

Chapter Review

Chapter 29

The Challenges of a Globalized World, 1993 to the present

COMPARING AMERICAN HISTORIES

Bill Gates and Alicia Garza

Transforming American Society

The Computer Revolution

The Changing American Population

Political Polarization and Globalization in the Clinton Years

Politics during the Clinton Administration

Global Challenges

The Presidency of George W. Bush

Bush and Compassionate Conservatism

The Iraq War

Bush’s Second Term

The Challenges Faced by President Barack Obama

The Great Recession

Obama and the Great Recession

The 2010 Revolt Against Obama

Obama’s Second Term

Latinos and Immigration

Asian Americans

African Americans and Institutional Racism

The Native American Struggle Continued

Obama and the World

The Presidency of Donald Trump

The 2016 Election

The Trump Presidency

Pandemic, Protests, and Politics

Conclusion: Technology and Terror in a Global Society

Chapter Review

Product Updates

New biographies in the chapter-opening Comparing American Histories reflect continued attention to racial and ethnic diversity. Among the new profiles are Powhatan, leader of the largest native confederacy in the mid-Atlantic region (chapter 2); Elizabeth (Mum Bett) Freeman whose freedom suit contributed to Massachusetts ending slavery during the American Revolution (chapter 6); José Antonio Menchaca a Tejano military leader who fought for Texas independence (chapter 11); Pauli Murray, the African American civil rights activist and feminist (chapter 27); and Alicia Garza, the African American community organizer and co-founder of Black Lives Matter (chapter 29).

Expanded coverage of diversity provides even greater representation of diverse peoples. For example, in chapter 3, coverage of Native Americans has been amplified and more names of specific tribes are included to highlight the variety and number of Native American nations. Chapter 6 has been reorganized in order to expand coverage of multi-ethnic, multiracial forces fighting on both sides in the Revolution. Chapter 21 includes new coverage of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. And, chapter 26 includes coverage of Mexican American activist, Rejes Tijerna, and also the 1968 Bilingual Education Act. In addition to attention to regional, racial, and ethnic diversity, coverage of other historical developments has been updated such as systemic racism, pandemics, and the development of capitalist systems in various periods.

Adjustments to chapter organization specifically in Chapters 12 and 13 allow for extended discussions on American Indians, Mexican Americans, African Americans and women during the Civil War and of black refugees who used the chaos of war to claim their independence.

Updates to the narrative include material on the divisive 2020 presidential election, the COVID-19 pandemic; the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the nationwide protests they inspired; the collapse of the U.S. economy caused by the pandemic; and the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol; and the subsequent second impeachment of Trump.

A diversity of people and perspectives integrated in every chapter

Exploring American Histories brings a variety of perspectives to life. This two-color Value Edition includes the unabridged narrative and all maps and select images from the comprehensive text. 

Exploring American Histories is available in Achieve, Macmillan’s breakthrough complete course platform, and in print volumes. Achieve for Exploring American Histories provides access to the narrative as well as a wealth of primary sources along with formative and summative assessments and robust insight reports at the ready, all in one accessible product. Achieve offers the easiest way to engage students, help them build historical thinking skills, and tailor teaching to student needs, whether the course is taught online or in person. Achieve can be adopted on its own or in a package with the print book.

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