The Everything American History Book: People, Places, and Events That Shaped Our Nation

by John R McGeehan

Overview

Starting with the first Viking explorations and continuing to the present day, The Everything American History Book, 2nd Edition takes you on a thrilling tour through history. It's packed with facts and vivid details of events that shaped the United States, including:

• Wars, battles, and famous generals
• Outstanding American inventions—from the cotton gin to the Internet
• Key political figures—presidents, peacekeepers, visionaries
• And much, much more!

The Everything American History Book, 2nd Edition covers all the major incidents and key players—from the Boston Tea Party to 9/11, and Lewis and Clark to Martin Luther King, Jr. This extraordinary retelling makes learning history fun for the whole family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781598692617
Publisher:	Adams Media
Publication date:	05/11/2007
Series:	Everything� Series
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

An Adams Media author.

Table of Contents

Top Ten Fun Facts about America     x
Introduction     xi
The Pre-Columbian Americas     1
Forensic Evidence     2
Early European Contacts     2
A Thriving Population     3
The Legacy of the Great Civilizations     4
The Original North Americans     6
Unpremeditated Biological Warfare?     6
Uncovering the Existence of the New World     9
A "New" World     10
Columbus Had a Hunch     11
The First Colony     13
Columbus Returns     14
Poor Management     14
The Final Voyages     16
English, French, and Dutch Influences     17
The Roanoke Colony     18
Jamestown Settlement     19
The Top Crop     21
The Dutch Arrive     22
A New England     23
Massachusetts Bay Colony     26
Salem Witch Trials     28
Life in New England     29
Struggles with France     30
Foundations of Freedom     35
The British Position     36
Rebels among Us     38
First Continental Congress     40
The Battle of Bunker Hill     44
The Declaration of Independence     45
Revolution Reigns     47
The Continental Army     48
The War Up North     52
Attack on Philadelphia     53
French Aid     53
The War in the West and South     54
The War at Sea     55
The Battle of Yorktown     56
Peace Negotiations Proceed     57
Farewell to Arms     58
Shaping a New Nation and Government     61
Building a New System of Government     62
The Constitutional Convention     63
Federalists Versus Antifederalists     67
George Washington after the War     68
The Federal Government Expands     70
Washington's Second Term     71
Early Separation of Church and State     72
The Country's Economy     73
President Adams and President Jefferson     73
Early American Struggles     75
Prelude to War     76
The War of 1812     77
The Creation of Washington, D.C.     79
Native American Tensions     80
The Monroe Doctrine     81
Other Early Presidents     81
Mexico and Manifest Destiny     82
Go West, Young Man     85
The Wave of Immigrants     87
A Country Unraveling     91
The Issue of Slavery     92
Farming the Land     93
The Cry for States' Rights     94
The Underground Railroad     95
The Rise of Abraham Lincoln     96
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates     99
The Civil War     103
Creation of the Confederacy     104
Fire on Fort Sumter     106
Four Years at War     107
Famous Battles in the South     108
Northern Fighting     112
A Chance Meeting at Gettysburg     113
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address     114
The Political Climate     115
More Fighting in the South     119
The South Surrenders     120
Amendments and Aftermath     121
Mending America     125
Reconstruction     126
The Wild West     128
Post-Civil War Presidents     129
Transportation Evolves     131
A Heritage of Crafts     133
Famous American Architects      135
The Age of Industry, Invention, and Discovery     139
Teddy Roosevelt, the Trustbuster     140
The Rise of Organized Labor     140
Inventions and Engineering Marvels     142
Early Medical Pioneers     144
Thomas Edison, Inventor Extraordinaire     146
The Election of 1904 and Beyond     146
The Nation's Economy     148
Men of Vision and Wealth     149
The Power of Publishing     150
The World War I Era     153
The First World War Begins     154
Submarines Let Loose     155
U.S. Entry into World War I     156
The End of the War     159
The 1920s: Life in These United States     161
Women's Suffrage and the Advancement of Women's Causes     164
With Pen in Hand     165
The Boom That Went Bust     168
The Great Depression     169
After the Crash     170
The New Deal     172
The Newsworthy and Notable     175
Entertainment as Escapism     177
Emerging Skyscrapers     178
The World War II Era     181
German and Italian Discontent     182
The World Makes Concessions     183
The United States Enters the War     186
Major WWII Battles in the South Pacific     188
Major WWII Battles in Africa and Europe     190
Hitler's Demise     193
Life on the Home Front     194
Building the Bomb     196
The Nuremberg Trials     198
Germany Divided     199
The Marshall Plan     199
The Fifties     201
Prelude to the Cold War     202
McCarthyism     204
The Korean War     205
Everyone Liked Ike     207
Civil Rights Strides     208
Music That Changed America     209
The Turbulent Sixties     211
The 1960 Election     212
The Space Race     213
The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis     214
Shots Heard Worldwide     215
Voices of Civil Rights Activists     217
Seeds of the Vietnam War     219
The 1968 Elections     222
The Counterculture of the 1960s     223
Events of the 1970s     225
Foreign Relations     226
Domestic Turmoil     226
Watergate Rocks the Nation     228
Single-Term Presidents     231
Women's Rights     233
Other Activism and Social Change     234
Outstanding Athletes of the 1970s     235
New Conservatism     237
The Great Communicator     238
The Iran-Contra Affair     242
End of the Reagan Era     243
No Beating Around the Bush     244
Tensions in the Persian Gulf     245
Headline News     248
The Computer Age     250
The End of the Millennium     253
It's the Economy, Stupid     254
Terrorism Strikes     258
The 1996 Election     259
What Was America Coming To?     261
Millennium Madness     262
The 2000 Elections     263
The Twenty-First Century     265
The New Administration and Tax Cuts     266
The Bush-Cheney Energy Plan     266
The Attacks of September 11     267
Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda     268
America's Reaction     271
The 2002 State of the Union and the Axis of Evil     274
A Call for Regime Change in Iraq     275
United Nations and the Iraqi War     276
Headline News 2000-2003     277
Presidential Elections and Other News in 2004     281
Bush Begins a Second Term and Other News in 2005     283
The Middle East in Turmoil     285
2006 Midterm Elections and Other News     288
Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States     292
Major Supreme Court Decisions in United States History     293
First Ladies and Official White House Hostesses     294
Presidential Libraries     311
Index     316