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 1: Getting Stared With U S History: -- America: 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? -- Big one -- 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 -- Native Americans And Explorers: 14,--- BC (?)-1607: -- Coming to America -- Exploring early civilizations -- Anasazi -- 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 -- Sword the cross, and the measles: -- Native American slavery -- Native American slavery -- Men in the brown robes -- Destruction through disease -- Arriving late for the party: -- France -- England -- 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: -- Mayflower compact: Dutch pilgrimage -- Massachusetts Bay colony: pure haven -- Bringing religious freedom: dissidents, Catholics, and Quakers: -- Sneaking off the Rhode Island -- Condoning only Christianity in Maryland -- Promoting tolerance in Pennsylvania -- Dealings of the Dutch -- Coping with Native American troubles -- Rebelling-with Bacon -- 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 -- French and Indian War: -- Unifying the colonies -- Defeating British General Braddock -- Out fighting the French -- Growing like a weed: -- Accounting for the population explosion -- Living the good life -- Heading toward divorce with Britain: -- Proclamation of 1763 -- Revenue Acts (1764) -- Stamp Act (1765) -- Townshend Act (1767) -- Boston Massacre (1770) -- Boston Tea Party (1773) -- Intolerable Acts (1774) -- Congressing over cocktails -- Mr Revere, your horse is ready -- 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 -- 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 2: Growing Pains: -- 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: -- Pulling Together To Keep From Falling Apart: 1815-1844: -- Embracing nationalism-sort of: -- Taking it to the bank -- Tariff-ic idea -- This land I my land, but for how much? -- Orders from the court -- Increasing industry -- 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: -- Nullification debate hits the Senate -- 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 --
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: -- 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) -- 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 -- 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: -- Men at the top -- War at sea -- War on land -- Two more reasons why the North won -- Losing a leader -- Putting The Country Back Together: 1865-1876: -- 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 -- 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 3: Coming Of Age: -- 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 -- Rise of populism -- Splendid little war -- Growing Into The 20th Century: 1899-1918: -- Here today, Guam tomorrow: colonizing Spain's lands: -- Arguing about American imperialism -- Keeping a high profile in international affairs -- Making a lot of noise and carrying a big stick: -- Roosevelt takes office -- Progressing toward political and social reform: -- Muckrakers expose evil and initiate change -- Improving working conditions-and other people's drinking habits -- Contracting labor pains: -- Struggling in a changing workforce -- Initiating improvements to working conditions -- Transporting America -- Suffering for suffrage -- Leaving the South: African Americans migrate to northern cities -- War to end all chapters -- Gin, Jazz, And Lucky Lindy: 1919-1929: -- Wilson goes out of his league for peace -- Restricting immigration and challenging the natives: -- Closing the gate -- Return of the Klan -- Darwin versus God -- Warren, Cal, and Herbert: Republicans in the White House -- Good times (or were they?): -- Helping the rich -- Increasing American spending habits -- Making it difficult on the poor -- Ain't we go fun?: -- Going to the movies -- Listening to the radio -- Listening to music and writing literature -- Playing games -- Drying out America: prohibition begins -- Changing morals -- Age of heroes -- Uncle Sam's Depressed: 1930-1940: -- Great depression: causes and consequences -- Shoving aside racial minorities -- Keeping women at home-or work -- Developing organized labor -- FDR: making alphabet soup: -- Electing a reformer -- Creating hope through a new deal -- Packing the Supreme Court -- Assessing the New Deal -- Critics, crooks, and crime fighters: -- Huey Long -- Francis E Townsend -- Charles E Coughlin -- Bad guys and G-men -- World At War: 1941-1945: -- Trying to avoid war-again -- Playing the role of a good neighbor -- Sensing impending doom -- Gearing up for war: -- Getting industry and the economy in shape for World War II -- Working with labor unions during war times -- Employing women for the war effort -- Making strides-African Americans achieve greater equality -- Returning for work after being kicked out-Latinos -- Treating the Japanese Americans poorly -- Dealing with the war in Europe: -- Meeting at Yalta -- Winning one step at a time -- Making the final push -- Discovering the war's greatest crime -- Ending the war in Europe, and the end of FDR -- Dealing with the war in the Pacific: -- Fighting back -- Turning the tide -- Dropping the bomb -- Part 4: America In Adulthood: -- TV, Elvis, And Reds Under The Bed: 1946-1960: -- Cold War and a hot "police action": -- Gauging the United Nations -- World as a chessboard -- Berlin airlift -- Miracle of 48 -- Korean War -- Uncle Sam's big stick -- Finding commies under the bed: -- Casting suspicion on hiss -- Leaking scientific secrets: the Rosenbergs -- Checking the loyalty of federal workers -- Telling all tales: "tail-gunner Joe" -- Having it all: -- Booming economy -- Moving to the burbs -- Tuning into the tube -- Rockin' n' rollin -- American king -- Moving, slowly, to the front of the bus: -- Brown against the board -- Boycotting the bus --
Camelot To Watergate: 1961-1974:
Facing the possibility of nuclear war
Sending troops to Vietnam:
Sinking deeper into a confusing war
Taking a look at the Tet offensive
Increasing pressure in "Nam and escalating fears at home
Continuing the fight for Civil Rights:
Enforcing their rights: African Americans
Challenging the system: Latin Americans
Maintaining their culture: Native Americans
Entering a generation in revolt:
Draft dodging, drugs, and demonstrations
Weirdness in the White House:
Making strides: Nixon administration
Watching it all fall apart: Watergate
Hold The Malaise, Or Ayatollah So: 1975-1992:
Good intentions, bad results:
There's a first time for everything:
Buying into the "Reagan Revolution"
Dealing with foreign affairs
Warming up after the Cold War:
No Sex, Please, I'm The President: 1993-1999:
Pushing harder on the home front
Pushing the "contract with America"
Don't open that mail: the Unabomber
Trading under a global economy
Part 5: Facing The New Millennium:
Terror Comes Home; America Goes To War(s):
Whew! A squeaker: Bush and Gore., 2000:
Hanging chads and butterfly ballots
Post-election scrutinizing
al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden
Fighting terrorism on the home front
Toughening the stance against Iraq
Meanwhile, in the rest of the world
Recessions Can Be Really Depressing:
Ouch! The economy stubs its toe:
Dot-com drams and investor nightmares
Houses that went upside down
We're from the Government: we're here to help:
Brand new president, same old problems
Buying time by buying bonds
Did government intervention work?
Brother, can you spare a job?:
Looking for work and looking
Reforming Healthcare Is No Tea Party:
Great Presidential Race of 2008:
Calling the president a liar
Cutting taxes by compromising
Lurching toward healthcare:
Courting the Supreme Court
Meanwhile, back at the budget:
Driving off the fiscal cliff
Shutting down the government
Getting news from new news sources
Entertaining ourselves, by ourselves
Going gray-but with more variety:
Surfing the "silver tsunami"
Redefining the American family:
Ten Events That Defined American Culture:
Publication of "Poor Richard's Almanack" (1732)
Performance of "The Black Crook" (1866)
Opening of the Home Insurance Building (1884)
Advent of the Copyright Act (1909)
Birth of talking pictures (1927)
Abstract Expressionism Movement (1950s)
Establishment of the NEA (1965)
Acceptance of "Deep Throat" (1972)
Opening of Facebook (2004)
Ten Unfortunate Statements By US Presidents:
Uh, are you sure, Mr President?
Yup, it'll sure come in handy some day
Geography was not my best class
Well, keep it in your pants
Go ahead and read, but don't listen
They were under Saddam's bed
Geography was not my best class, either
Appendix A: Bill of Rights: Amendments 1-10 of the Constitution
Appendix B: Declaration of Independence