Books in Uncovering the Past: Analyzing Primary Sources series

The Holocaust was the deliberate extermination of Jews and other people deemed undesirable by Germany's Nazi party during World War II. This thoughtful book examines evidence from the early 1900s of racism, intolerance, and nationalism in Germany that led up to this genocide. Readers will learn how history repeats itself when evidence is denied or misinterpreted, and find out how to use critical thinking in their own examinations of evidence.

Politically and socially, the decade from 1947 to 1956 marked an era of repression and fear. McCarthyism was a practice named for the blustery U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. Known for his reckless and unsubstantiated accusations, he led a campaign to root out real and imagined subversives in American society. Packed with enlightening primary and secondary source material, McCarthyism and the Red Scare examines topical issues to help readers think critically about such concepts as freedom, Constitutional rights, blacklisting, and personal and state ideology.

""Victory or Death" -- the famous and stirring words of William Barrett Travis were written in a letter from the Alamo to the people of Texas in February 1836. This and other brash and brave letters, first-hand accounts, and documents are skilfully deconstructed in this detailed examination of The Battle of the Alamo, a last stand that proved to be a turning point in Texas' War of Independence from Mexico. Readers will learn about the events leading up to and after the battle, be able to separate fact from myth, and better understand the perspectives of both the Texans and Mexicans."--Provided by publisher.

An obsession for hundreds of years, the search for the fabled Northwest Passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific is a tale of ambition, fear, folktales, courage, and controversy. This engaging title reveals the motivations of the many countries and explorers who played a part in the almost 500-year search for a commercial sea route to India across the arctic. Primary and secondary source materials, such as oral histories of the Indigenous people and recorded accounts, are examined, as well as fictional accounts from popular culture of the many failed expeditions. Readers will gain an understanding of how important this quest was, as well as how it remains relevant today.

The Civil Rights Movement was an organized protest by Black Americans against their government and the refusal to obey unjust laws during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. This important book details the evidence in the decades before the movement that led up to the protests: black Americans were denied the right to vote, work, and become citizens. Readers will learn how prejudice and circumstances at the time of an event can influence people's interpretation of evidence.

An obsession for hundreds of years, the search for the fabled Northwest Passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific is a tale of ambition, fear, folktales, courage, and controversy. This engaging title reveals the motivations of the many countries and explorers who played a part in the almost 500-year search for a commercial sea route to India across the arctic. Primary and secondary source materials, such as oral histories of the Indigenous people and recorded accounts, are examined, as well as fictional accounts from popular culture of the many failed expeditions. Readers will gain an understanding of how important this quest was, as well as how it remains relevant today.

The Civil Rights Movement was an organized protest by Black Americans against their government and the refusal to obey unjust laws during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. This important book details the evidence in the decades before the movement that led up to the protests: black Americans were denied the right to vote, work, and become citizens. Readers will learn how prejudice and circumstances at the time of an event can influence people's interpretation of evidence.

This comprehensive title is a thought-provoking examination of how early gold rushes shaped settlement and industry in North America. Using material from the 1848 California Gold Rush, the 1896 Klondike Gold Rush, and other rushes in Georgia, Montana, and British Columbia, primary and secondary sources about these rushes are examined with respect to race and ethnicity, the displacement of Indigenous peoples, and different perspectives on law and order in the emerging West. Readers will be encouraged to think critically about labor and environmental practices, and the relationships between settlers and Indigenous people both in the past and today.

"This timely title discusses the creation of the atom bomb and the post-World War II nuclear arms race that shaped the consciousness of generations. Primary and secondary source materials such as contemporary photos, speeches, letters, and newspaper accounts are examined, offering readers insight into a world reeling from years of conflict, and the competing political and social ideologies of the former Soviet Union and the United States and its allies. Topics covered include the Manhattan Project, the dropping of the first atomic bombs, and the escalation of the arms race, as well as nuclear treaties and the relevance to today's nuclear threats."--Provided by publisher.