The American Experiment: A History of the United States

Approaching the American History survey course in an innovative way, this mid-length text features a more expansive definition of political history. The American Experiment includes all forms of politics--not just electoral politics--while simultaneously incorporating cultural history. With the specific aim of expanding history beyond elite actors, The American Experiment emphasizes everyday work, family life, customs, and objects of cultural history to address its four themes of government, identity, culture, and America and the world. The Second Edition retains the hallmark pedagogical approach of the previous edition. Marginal icons link students to the companion web site for interactive maps. Several chapter-opening features--including Vignettes and Focus Questions--introduce students to the key themes of the text; these themes are revisited in the Conclusion. Each chapter concludes with a list of suggested readings, providing students with further opportunities for research. New! Eight new Competing Interpretations essays explain and exemplify how historians arrive at and debate the answers to key historical questions. Topics include "Why Slavery," "Thomas Jefferson's American," and "War in Modern America." New! Author Cathy Matson expands the transatlantic approach to Volume I through cutting-edge colonial scholarship. Special attention is given to mercantilism, colonization, the origins and development of slavery and southern plantation life, and the relationship of colonists at all levels to Atlantic World events--not just their internal colonial lives. New! Where appropriate, the text more strongly emphasizes how Americans have viewed their role in the world and how those in other countries have viewed the United States and its global actions. A new vignette in Chapter 8 places the early republic and American identity in a global context. Each map has been redesigned for clarity and visual effectiveness; several maps are available on the Web Site in an interactive format. New! The updated edition includes eight new Competing Voices features, which put two primary sources in conversation and include headnotes and questions. For example, the Chapter 31 feature focuses on religion through sources from Falwell and Giamatti. New! Through a partnership with The History Channel, Houghton Mifflin offers the Reel History for the Classroom video series. Each clip correlates to a specific chapter in the text and features an introduction by author Steve Gillon. Instructors can use these videos to introduce lectures, provoke discussion, or capture student interest. Enhanced! Blackboard/WebCT course cartridges offer text-specific content to help instructors save time creating assignments and exams. New to this edition, customizable online homework features essay and multiple-choice questions based on chapter concepts. Other resources include a test bank and content for lectures/discussions; map exercises for practice and reinforcement of geography skills; and additional questions related to in-text features, such as Competing Voices learning activities.Cathy D. Matson is the author of 'The American Experiment: A History of the United States', published 2004 under ISBN 9780618429493 and ISBN 0618429492.