Preface

Why This Book This Way

Getting students to engage with their history survey course is one of the toughest challenges instructors face. From the beginning, The American Promise has been shaped by our firsthand knowledge that the survey course is one of the most difficult to teach and, for many, also the most difficult to take. With this edition we have entirely rethought how the textbook can best capture students’ interest and support instructors in their classes, whether face-to-face or online. We have undertaken a major overhaul of this edition to bring a new option never before available—a truly concise narrative in a smaller format that is more accessible and affordable than ever. We also strove to offer more of what instructors asked to use in their classes—additional primary sources to foster historical skills and critical thinking as well as features that consider the relationship of the United States to the rest of the world to give students the global perspective they need more than ever today. In addition, this concise edition comes with LearningCurve, an automatically graded, adaptive learning tool that helps students remember what they have read and tells instructors which topics students are having trouble with. Finally, this edition introduces a robust new interactive e-book built into its own course space that makes customizing and assigning the book and its resources simpler than ever. We are pleased this new edition packs in so much in such a concise and affordable format.

The Story of The American Promise

Our experience as teachers and our frustrations with available textbooks inspired us to create a book that we could use effectively in our own classrooms. Our knowledge of classroom realities has informed every aspect of each edition and version of The American Promise. We began with a clear framework. We have found that students need both the structure a political narrative provides and the insights gained from examining social and cultural experience. To write a comprehensive, balanced account of American history, we focus on the public arena—the place where politics intersects social and cultural developments—to show how Americans confronted the major issues of their day and created far-reaching historical change.

Our title, The American Promise, reflects our emphasis on human agency and our conviction that the essence of America has been its promise. For millions, the nation has held out the promise of a better life, unfettered worship, equality before the law, representative government, democratic politics, and other freedoms seldom found elsewhere. But none of these promises has come with guarantees. As we see it, much of American history is a continuing struggle over the definition and realization of the nation’s promise.

To engage students in this American story and to portray fully the diversity of the American experience, we stitch into our narrative the voices of hundreds of contemporaries, provide a vivid art and map program, and situate American history in the global world in which students live. To help students understand American history, we provide the best in pedagogical aids. While this edition rests solidly on our original goals and premises, it has taken on a new role to address the specific needs of brief book users.

The Birth of the Concise Edition

Not long after we published the first full-length edition of The American Promise, we realized that many colleagues were seeking a text with all the features of a full-length book but in a briefer, more affordable version. We soon produced such a text in the first Compact Edition, which offered the richness of a full text with multiple special features, a rich art and map program, and ample pedagogy. But in time, the needs of instructors for a still more streamlined text became more acute. Students now entering the classroom are juggling more than ever before, and brief books represent more manageable reading, especially when instructors assign readings beyond the core text. We recognized that a truly concise book would be more attractive to many students and thus would be a version more students would likely read. With those thoughts in mind, we carefully crafted the new Concise Edition, which is shorter in narrative length, still affordable, less intimidating, and also smaller in size to allow students to more easily carry it to class and to their favorite places to read.

The Concise Edition is more than just another brief book, however. As authors, we continue to do our own abridgment to make a narrative that is both brief and rich with memorable details. To engage students more fully, we’ve given the book a new look and have reorganized some of its pedagogical tools so students who are pressed for time can see at a glance what they need to learn. The Concise Edition also offers more of what instructors tell us they really want—primary sources. To give students more direct engagement with the past and more opportunities for instructors to prompt historical thinking, we have expanded the number of document primary sources and added visual sources to the special features program as well. With today’s increasingly interconnected world and the increasing diversity of students, we felt it was essential to convey global connections, so we retained the popular international essays in the special features.

Because, like other instructors, we are eager to ensure students do read this rich material, we are proud to announce the Concise Edition comes with LearningCurve—a game-like online learning tool that can be assigned with each chapter and is automatically graded and scored. LearningCurve provides detailed reports on what students do and do not understand, which allows instructors to adapt lectures and class activities as needed. We are confident instructors will enjoy this feature because their students will come to class far better prepared than ever before. And so, like America itself over the centuries, the fifth edition of The American Promise: A Concise History is both recognizable and new.

Features

We know that a history survey textbook is often challenging for many students. The benefit of this concise text is that we have made room for all of the essentials busy students need to succeed. Our book is designed to pique students’ interest while helping them with their reading and comprehension. We believe that three aspects of this new Concise Edition make it stand out from the crowd—the special features, visual program, and pedagogical support.

Special Features. We have designed the special features of this Concise Edition as interesting and informative in-depth examinations of key topics that can be used in class discussion or as homework. Each boxed feature concentrates on a historical thinking skill or models historical inquiry, the curiosity at the heart of our discipline. In addition to the questions that probe the substance of each special feature, we have added a new Connect to the Big Idea question to each feature to help students understand the significance of the featured topic to the chapter as a whole.

Primary sources form the heart of the feature program in this edition. We are pleased to offer more Documenting the American Promise features than ever before—now doubled since the last edition. Each of these features juxtaposes three or four primary documents to show varying perspectives on a topic or an issue and to provide students with opportunities to build and practice their skills of historical interpretation. Feature introductions and document headnotes contextualize the sources, and Questions for Analysis and Debate promote critical thinking about primary sources. In addition to bringing back some favorites enjoyed in the past, new topics have been added that are rich with human drama and include “Hunting Witches in Salem, Massachusetts,” “Families Divide over the Revolution,” “Mill Girls Stand Up to Factory Owners,” and “The Press and the Pullman Strike.”

Because students are so attuned to visuals and instructors have told us they want a variety of primary sources in this brief text, we have added a new Visualizing History feature to many chapters. Early Native American artifacts, nineteenth-century paintings, photographs by progressive reformers, early-twentieth-century advertisements, and twenty-first-century political cartoons are all presented as sources for examination. By stressing the importance of historical context and asking critical questions, each of these new features shows students how to mine visual documents for evidence about the past.

To demonstrate American history’s relevance in today’s increasingly global world, we felt it was essential to convey global connections in the feature program. Beyond America’s Borders considers the reciprocal relationships between the United States and the wider world and challenges students to think about the effects of transnational connections over time. With the goal of widening students’ perspectives and helping students see that this country did not develop in isolation, these features are enhanced by new America in Global Context questions at the end of the essay. New essays in this edition include “Fascism: Adolf Hitler and National Socialism" and “1968: A Year of Protest.”

Visuals. From the beginning, readers have proclaimed this textbook a visual feast, richly illustrated in ways that extend and reinforce the narrative. The fifth Concise Edition offers more than 400 contemporaneous illustrations—one-third of them new—along with innovative techniques for increasing visual literacy. In addition to the new Visualizing History special features that emphasize the use of images for historical analysis, one picture in each chapter includes a special visual activity caption that reinforces this critical skill. More than 200 artifacts—from dolls and political buttons to spy cameras and sewing machines—emphasize the importance of material culture in the study of the past and make the historical account tangible.

Our highly regarded map program, with 165 maps in all, rests on the old truth that “History is not intelligible without geography.” Each chapter typically offers three to four full-size maps showing major developments in the narrative and two or three spot maps embedded in the narrative that emphasize an area of detail from the discussion. To help students think critically about the role of geography in American history, we include two critical-thinking map exercises per chapter. Revised maps in the fifth edition illustrate new scholarship on topics such as the Comanche empire in the American Southwest and events such as the 2012 election.

Pedagogy. The most exciting news about the pedagogy in this Concise Edition is the integration of a new adaptive learning tool—LearningCurve. When instructors assign it, LearningCurve ensures students come to class prepared. LearningCurve offers a game-like interface in which students earn quick points for what they understand but are given repeated practice on material—both factual and conceptual—that they still need to master. LearningCurve questions are linked to the corresponding sections in the book so students can read and review the pertinent information they need to master. Prompts in the book remind students to log in and check their understanding of the chapter they have just read. Instructors benefit too because they can instantly see who has done the assigned reading and which pieces of information students struggle with most. With these detailed reports in hand, instructors can adjust lectures and class activities to address topics students are having trouble with and help them succeed. Every new book comes with a code that unlocks LearningCurve; if students have bought a used book, they can purchase LearningCurve access separately online.

As part of our ongoing efforts to make The American Promise: A Concise History the most teachable and readable survey text available, we paid renewed attention to what would make the most effective pedagogy for a brief text. We started by reimagining our chapter openers with the needs of busy students in mind. Each chapter begins with new Quick Start instructions, a brief chapter outline, a chronology, and a concise but colorful opening vignette that invites students into the narrative with lively accounts of individuals or groups who embody the central themes of the chapter. New vignettes in this edition include the Grimké sisters speaking out against slavery, Frederick Jackson Turner proclaiming his frontier hypothesis, migrant mother Frances Owens struggling to survive in the Great Depression, and the experience of Vietnam War veteran Frederick Downs Jr.

We’ve enhanced the pedagogy within the chapters as well. Every major section now begins with an Essential Question that guides students toward comprehension of main ideas. In addition, key terms, set in boldface type with new marginal glossary definitions, highlight important people, events, and concepts.

The Chapter Review section at the end of each chapter provides a thorough guide to ensure student success. A cross-reference to LearningCurve reminds students to use this adaptive quizzing tool to make what they’ve read stick. A list of Key Terms reminds students to reflect on items in the marginal glossary, while Essential Questions, repeated from within the narrative, focus on specific topics or events. Culminating Making Connections questions ask students to think about broad developments within the chapter. Student Center prompts at the bottom of the review page remind students to visit this site, where they will find free self-assessment quizzes, study aids, and other resources.

Updated Scholarship

In our ongoing effort to offer a comprehensive text that braids all Americans into the national narrative and to frame that national narrative in a more global perspective, we updated the fifth Concise Edition in many ways. We have paid particular attention to the most recent scholarship and, as always, appreciated and applied many suggestions from our users that keep the book fresh, accurate, and organized in a way that works best for students.

Volume One draws on exciting new scholarship on Native Americans, leading to enhanced coverage of Pontiac’s Rebellion in chapter 6 and more attention to Indians and their roles in the conflict between the British and the colonists in chapter 7. Chapter 9 expands the coverage of American interactions with Indians in the Southwest, adding new material on Creek chief Alexander McGillivray. Chapter 10 greatly increases the coverage of Indians in the West, with a new section devoted to the Osage territory and the impressive Comanche empire known as Comanchería. In addition, several new Visualizing History features—on ancient tools used in Chaco Canyon, on Aztec weaponry and its weaknesses in the face of Spanish steel, on Mohawk clothing and accessories, and on gifts exchanged between Anglos and Indians on the Lewis and Clark trail—highlight the significance of Native American material culture over the centuries.

Volume Two also includes expanded attention to Native Americans—particularly in chapter 17, where we improved our coverage of Indian schools, assimilation techniques used by whites, and Indian resistance strategies—but our main effort for the fifth Concise Edition in the second half of the book has been to do more of what we already do best, and that is to give even more attention to women, African Americans, and the global context of U.S. history. In the narrative, we consider the ways in which the GI Bill disproportionately benefited white men after World War II. New features and opening vignettes focus on widely recognized as well as less well-known women who both shaped and were shaped by the American experience: the depression-era struggle of Florence Owens (the face of the famous Dorothea Lange photograph Migrant Mother), the workplace reforms set in motion by progressive activist Alice Hamilton, and the World War I service of overseas volunteer Nora Saltonstall. Chapter 16 includes new coverage of the Colfax massacre, arguably the single worst incidence of brutality against African Americans during the Reconstruction era. Chapter 27 provides new coverage of civil rights activism in northern states.

Because students live in an increasingly global world and need help making connections with the world outside the United States, we have continued our efforts to incorporate the global context of American history throughout the fifth edition. This is particularly evident in Volume Two, where we have expanded coverage of transnational issues in recent decades, such as the U.S. bombing campaign in Vietnam and U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.

In addition to the many changes noted above, in both volumes we have updated, revised, and improved this fifth Concise Edition in response to both new scholarship and requests from instructors. New and expanded coverage areas include, among others, taxation in the pre-Revolutionary period and the early Republic, the Newburgh Conspiracy of the 1780s, the overbuilding of railroads in the West during the Gilded Age, the 1918–1919 global influenza epidemic, finance reform in the 1930s, post–World War II considerations of universal health care, Latino activism, the economic downturn of the late 2000s, the most recent developments in the Middle East, and the Obama presidency.

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge all of the helpful suggestions from those who have read and taught from previous editions of The American Promise, and we hope that our many classroom collaborators will be pleased to see their influence in the fifth edition. In particular, we wish to thank the talented scholars and teachers who gave generously of their time and knowledge to review this book: Kirk R. Abendroth, Vincennes University; Donna J. Benson, Winston-Salem State University; Edward Black, Jefferson State Community College; David Burleson, Do–a Ana Community College; Brian Casserly, Bellevue College; John W. Catron, Santa Fe College; William J. Cuddihy, Long Beach City College; Andy DeRoche, Front Range Community College; Kimberly DesRoches, Western Nevada College; David Driscoll, University of Massachusetts–Lowell; Amy Drumb, Polk State College; Robert Elder, Valparaiso University; Mary Frederickson, Miami University of Ohio; Kirsten Gardner, The University of Texas at San Antonio; George Gerdow, Northeastern Illinois University; Nicki Gonzales, Regis University; Brian L. Hackett, Northern Kentucky University; Lindsey Hinds-Brown, Middle Tennessee State University; Antoinnette Hudson, Jacksonville State University; Clifton Huffmaster, Middle Tennessee State University; Carey Kelley, Missouri State University; William J. Lipkin, Union County College; Matthew Loayza, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Stephanie A. L. Molholt, The Community College of Baltimore County–Catonsville; Johnny S. Moore, Radford University; Steven Noll, University of Florida; Ellen Holmes Pearson, University of North Carolina Asheville; Robert D. Pittman, Lindenwood University/St. Louis Community College; Emily Rader, El Camino College; David B. Raymond, Northern Maine Community College; Daniel Rezny, St. Charles Community College; Tom Robertson, The Community College of Baltimore County; Thomas J. Rowland, University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh; Christopher Staaf, Georgia Gwinnett College; Richard Trimble, Ocean County College; James H. Tuten, Juniata College; Christina A. Wilbur, Lamar University; Louis Williams, St. Louis Community College–Forest Park; and John Ralph Wilson, Lone Star College North Harris.

A project as complex as this requires the talents of many individuals. First, we would like to acknowledge our families for their support, forbearance, and toleration of our textbook responsibilities. Pembroke Herbert and Sandi Rygiel of Picture Research Consultants, Inc., contributed their unparalleled knowledge, soaring imagination, and diligent research to make possible the extraordinary illustration program.

We would also like to thank the many people at Bedford/St. Martin’s who have been crucial to this project. No one has done more than our friend, senior editor Heidi Hood, who managed the entire revision and supplements program. Heidi’s intelligence, knowledge of U.S. history, commitment to excellence, and unfailing good judgment saved us from many a misstep. Thanks also go to editorial assistant Arrin Kaplan for her assistance coordinating the pre-revision review, preparing the manuscript, and for working on the supplements, along with associate editor Jack Cashman. We are also grateful to Jane Knetzger, director of development for history; William J. Lombardo, executive editor for history; and Mary Dougherty, publisher for history, for their support and guidance. For their imaginative and tireless efforts to promote the book, we want to thank Amy Whitaker, John Hunger, Sean Blest, and Alex Kaufman. With great skill and professionalism, production editors Katherine Caruana and Kendra LeFleur pulled together the many pieces related to copyediting, design, and composition, with the able assistance of Elise Keller and the guidance of managing editor Elizabeth Schaaf and assistant managing editor John Amburg. Senior production supervisor Joe Ford oversaw the manufacturing of the book. Designer Jerilyn Bockorick, copyeditor Susan Moore, and proofreaders Linda McLatchie and Angela Morrison attended to the myriad details that help make the book shine. Melanie Belkin provided an outstanding index. The book’s gorgeous covers were designed by Marine Miller. New media editor Marissa Zanetti and media producer Michelle Camisa made sure that The American Promise remains at the forefront of technological support for students and instructors. President of Bedford/St. Martin’s Denise Wydra provided helpful advice throughout the course of the project. Finally, Charles H. Christensen, former president, took a personal interest in The American Promise from the start, and Joan E. Feinberg, co-president of Macmillan Higher Education, encouraged us through each edition.