Other editions of book History of the United States

First. We have written a topical, not a narrative, history. We have tried to set forth the important aspects, problems, and movements of each period, bringing in the narrative rather by way of illustration.Second. We have emphasized those historical topics which help to explain how our nation has come to be what it is to-day.Third. We have dwelt fully upon the social and economic aspects of our history, especially in relation to the politics of each period.Fourth. We have treated the causes and results of wars, the problems of financing and sustaining armed forces, rather than military strategy. These are the subjects which belong to a history for civilians. These are matters which civilians can understand—matters which they must understand, if they are to play well their part in war and peace.Fifth. By omitting the period of exploration, we have been able to enlarge the treatment of our own time. We have given special attention to the history of those current questions which must form the subject matter of sound instruction in citizenship.Sixth. We have borne in mind that America, with all her unique characteristics, is a part of a general civilization. Accordingly we have given diplomacy, foreign affairs, world relations, and the reciprocal influences of nations their appropriate place.Seventh. We have deliberately aimed at standards of maturity. The study of a mere narrative calls mainly for the use of the memory. We have aimed to stimulate habits of analysis, comparison, association, reflection, and generalization—habits calculated to enlarge as well as inform the mind. We have been at great pains to make our text clear, simple, and direct; but we have earnestly sought to stretch the intellects of our readers—to put them upon their mettle. Most of them will receive the last of their formal instruction in the high school. The world will soon expect maturity from them. Their achievements will depend upon the possession of other powers than memory alone. The effectiveness of their citizenship in our republic will be measured by the excellence of their judgment as well as the fullness of their information.

Excerpt from History of the United StatesThis new Question Book on History of United States has been prepared for teachers. It is also adapted for the use of schools where a compact general review of the whole subject is desired. The answers have been written out in full and complete statements, and have been separated from the body of the questions with a view of facilitating and enforcing the most profitable study of the subject. Each group of ten or more questions should be proposed to one's self as an object of study and thought, before reference is made to the answers. Indeed, each question should he weighed and considered and the answer sought in some standard textbook before the answer herein set down is considered. In this way both the students memory and judgment are tested and improved. The comparison of the statements in the text-books and the more compact answers set down in this work will be an excellent training.Acknowledgment is herewith made of obligation to the excellent publications of the American Book Company. These works mark a distinct advance in the science of language, and have been largely consulted in the preparation of this manual.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Charles Austin Beard (November 27, 1874 - September 1, 1948) was an American historian. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science. His works included radical re-evaluation of the Founding Fathers of the United States, whom he believed were more motivated by economics than by philosophical principles. This textbook from 1921 is still today one of the most interesting history books about the United States.

The United States of America is located in the middle of the North American continent, with Canada to the north and the United Mexican States to the south. The United States ranges from the Atlantic Ocean on the nation's east coast to the Pacific Ocean bordering the west, and also includes the state of Hawaii, a series of islands located in the Pacific Ocean, the state of Alaska located in the northwestern part of the continent above the Yukon, and numerous other holdings and territories.The first known inhabitants of the area now known as the United States are believed to have arrived over a period of several thousand years beginning approximately 20,000 years ago by crossing the Bering land bridge into Alaska. The first solid evidence of these cultures settling in what would become the US begins as early as 15,000 years ago with the Clovis culture.Relatively little is known of these early settlers compared to the Europeans who colonized the area after the first voyage of navigator Christopher Columbus in 1492 for Spain. Columbus' men were also the first documented Old Worlders to land in the territory of the United States when they arrived in Puerto Rico during their second voyage in 1493. The first European known to set foot in the continental U.S. was Juan Ponce de Leon, who arrived in Florida in 1513, though there is some evidence suggesting that he may have been preceded by John Cabot in 1497. (Quote from wikipedia.org)About the AuthorCharles Austin Beard (1874 - 1948)Mary Ritter Beard (1876 - 1958)Charles Austin Beard (November 27, 1874 - September 1, 1948) is widely regarded, along with Frederick Jackson Turner, as one of the two most influential American historians of the early 20th century. While Beard published hundreds o

The Colonial Period. Charles Austin Beard was the most influential American historian of the early 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science. He graduated from DePauw University in 1898, where he met and eventually married Mary Ritter Beard, one of the founders of the first Greek-letter society for women, Kappa Alpha Theta. Many of his books were written in collaboration with his wife, whose own interests lay in feminism and the labor union movement (Woman as a Force in History, 1946). In 1921, Charles and Mary Beard published their History of the United States. A contemporaneous review stated: “The authors… assume enough maturity in high school students to justify a topical rather than a chronological treatment. They have dealt with movements, have sketched large backgrounds, have traced causes, and have discussed the interrelation of social and economic forces and politics. All this has been directed to the large purpose of helping the student to understand American today in all its national characteristics and as part of world civilization as well…The literary style is exceptionally clear and crisp, and the whole approach…is thought producing. As a textbook or handbook for the average citizen it ranks with very best.”

As things now stand, the course of instruction in American history in our public schools embraces three distinct treatments of the subject. Three separate books are used. First, there is the primary book, which is usually a very condensed narrative with emphasis on biographies and anecdotes. Second, there is the advanced text for the seventh or eighth grade, generally speaking, an expansion of the elementary book by the addition of forty or fifty thousand words. Finally, there is the high school manual. This, too, ordinarily follows the beaten path, giving fuller accounts of the same events and characters. To put it bluntly, we do not assume that our children obtain permanent possessions from their study of history in the lower grades. If mathematicians followed the same method, high school texts on algebra and geometry would include the multiplication table and fractions.

By Charles Austin Beard and his wife Mary Ritter Beard. Charles Austin Beard was one of the most influential American historians of the early twentieth century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science. He graduated from DePauw University in 1898, where he met and eventually married one of the founders of the first Greek-letter societies for women, Kappa Alpha Theta, Mary Ritter Beard. She was a United States historian and campaigner for woman's suffrage, and an influential historian. She was also renowned for her social activism. Full of illustrations, maps, portraits, paintings and photographs.

Excerpt from History of the United StatesIn the next place we have omitted all descriptions of battles. Our reasons for this are simple. The strategy of a campaign or of a single battle is a highly technical, and usually a highly controversial, matter about which experts differ widely. In the field of military and naval operations most writers and teachers of history are mere novices. To dispose of Gettys burg or the Wilderness in ten lines or ten pages is equally ab surd to the serious student of military affairs. Any one who compares the ordinary textbook account of a single Civil War campaign with the account given by Ropes, for instance, will ask for no further comment. No youth called upon to serve our country in arms would think of turning to a high school manual for information about the art of warfare. The dra matic scene or episode, so useful in arousing the interest of the immature pupil, seems out of place in a book that deliberately appeals to boys and girls on the very threshold of life's serious responsibilities.It is not upon negative features, however, that we rest our case. It is rather upon constructive features.First. We have written a topical, not a narrative, history. We have tried to set forth the important aspects, problems, and movements of each period, bringing in the narrative rather by way of illustration.Second. We have emphasized those historical topics which help to explain how our nation has come to be what it is to-day.Third. We have dwelt fully upon the social and economic aspects of our history, especially in relation to the politics of each period.Fourth. We have treated the causes and results of wars, the problems of financing and sustaining armed forces, rather than military strategy. These are the subjects which belong to a history for civilians. These are matters which civilians can understand matters which they must understand, if they are to play well their part in war and peace.Fifth. By omitting the period of exploration, we have been able to enlarge the treatment of our own time. We have given special attention to the history of those current ques tions which must form the subject matter of sound instruo tion in citizenship.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.