The Early American Republic
A Documentary Reader
Uncovering the Past: Documentary Readers in American History
1. Edition September 2008
240 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Short Description
The first five decades of the United States of America was a particularly rich time in the development of American politics, society, and culture. This reader includes over 50 documentary sources that highlight key topics during this period. The voices of familiar historical figures, such as George Washington and Tecumseh, are heard alongside the testimonies of ordinary people participating in the extraordinary events of their time. Sean Patrick Adams' introduction to each document provides the historical context to these documents and encourages students to engage with the material in critical and creative ways, making this reader a valuable text for students of the Early Republic.
THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC
UNCOVERING THE PAST: DOCUMENTARY READERS IN AMERICAN HISTORY
"Selected with imagination and wisdom, these incisive and wide-ranging texts will provide a 'road map' for students of the first sixty years of American independence."
Daniel Walker Howe, Winner of 2008 Pulitzer Prize for History
"A nice blend of comprehensiveness and coherence, the selections are individually interesting, relate well to each other, and provide a wide-ranging, imaginative, and disciplined conversation about the Early Republic."
Paul E. Johnson, University of South Carolina
"This handy collection of speeches, documents, private letters, and pieces of literature, complete with context-setting prefaces, will be invaluable in any course covering major themes in the history of early national America."
Joanne Freeman, Yale University
"Expertly edited and chock-full of enlightening and telling primary documents, this reader conveys a beautifully textured sense of the past and attends to all of the key issues during the formative years of the United States."
Mark M. Smith, University of South Carolina
"Finally, a primary sources reader that includes the full breadth of voices (both familiar and lesser known) that characterized the Early American Republic. Sean Adams's informative introduction ties these voices together well, making this book a helpful teaching tool for conveying the rich variety of social and political issues that the young nation faced."
Steven Deyle, University of Houston
"Students will marvel at the fifty-year struggle to forge a nation in the decades following the American Revolution."
Seth Rockman, Brown University
Series Editors' Preface.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction: Traveling the Early American Republic.
Part I Building the United States:.
1. Origins.
2. The First American Party System.
3. Recasting the American Nation.
Part II Clashes East and West:.
4. Whose Land?.
5 Conflict on Many Fronts.
Part III The Postwar Nation Looks Forward:.
6. The Year 1819 in Image and Verse.
7. The Future Course of the Republic?.
Part IV The Work of a New Republic:.
8. A Nation on the Move.
9. Work at Home, Factory, and Field.
10. A New Urban America.
Part V Renewal and Reform:.
11. The Soul of the Republic.
12. Improvement of Body and Soul.
13. Anti-Slavery to Abolition.
Part VI Jackson's America:.
14. The Rise of the "Common Man".
15. Native Americans and the Common Man.
16. The Second American Party System.
Part VII The American Continent:.
17. The Mississippi and Beyond.
18. The Era of Manifest Destiny.
19. War with Mexico.
Epilogue: The President and the Ex-Slave.
Bibliography.
Index
wide-ranging texts will indeed ... provide a 'road map' for
students of the first sixty years of American independence."
--Daniel Walker Howe, author of What hath God Wrought:
The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 (winner, 2008 Pulitzer
Prize for History)
"[A] nice blend of comprehensiveness and coherence. The
selections are individually interesting, they relate well to each
other, and ... provide a wide-ranging, imaginative, and disciplined
conversation about the Early Republic." --Paul E. Johnson,
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of South Carolina,
author of A Shopkeeper's Millennium and Sam Patch, the
famous jumper; and coauthor (with Sean Wilentz) of The
Kingdom of Matthias
"This handy collection of speeches, documents, private letters,
and pieces of literature, complete with context-setting prefaces,
will be invaluable in any course covering major themes in the
history of early national America." --Joanne Freeman, Yale
University
"Expertly edited [and] chock-full of enlightening and telling
primary documents, this reader conveys a beautifully textured sense
of the past and attends to all of the key issues during the
formative years of the United States." --Mark M. Smith,
Carolina Distinguished Professor of History, University of South
Carolina
"Finally, a primary sources reader that includes the full
breadth of voices (both familiar and lesser known) that
characterized the early American republic. Sean Adams's
informative introduction ties these voices together well, making
this book a helpful teaching tool for conveying the rich variety of
social and political issues that the young nation faced."
--Steven Deyle, University of Houston
"Provides an exciting variety of primary sources and
perspectives on the nation's first sixty years. Adams has
drawn together voices from across the early American republic to
illuminate the complexities of the era." --Craig Friend,
North Carolina State University
"Students will marvel at the fifty-year struggle to forge a
nation in the decades following the American Revolution."
--Seth Rockman, Brown University