Defining Moments

Defining Moments PDF

Author: Kathleen Ann Clark

Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press

Published: 2006-05-26

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 9780807876800

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The historical memory of the Civil War and Reconstruction has earned increasing attention from scholars. Only recently, however, have historians begun to explore African American efforts to interpret those events. With Defining Moments, Kathleen Clark shines new light on African American commemorative traditions in the South, where events such as Emancipation Day and Fourth of July ceremonies served as opportunities for African Americans to assert their own understandings of slavery, the Civil War, and Emancipation--efforts that were vital to the struggles to define, assert, and defend African American freedom and citizenship. Focusing on urban celebrations that drew crowds from surrounding rural areas, Clark finds that commemorations served as critical forums for African Americans to define themselves collectively. As they struggled to assert their freedom and citizenship, African Americans wrestled with issues such as the content and meaning of black history, class-inflected ideas of respectability and progress, and gendered notions of citizenship. Clark's examination of the people and events that shaped complex struggles over public self-representation in African American communities brings new understanding of southern black political culture in the decades following Emancipation and provides a more complete picture of historical memory in the South.

Charles Kuralt's American Moments

Charles Kuralt's American Moments PDF

Author: Charles Kuralt

Publisher: Touchstone Books

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9780684863443

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A collection of essays by television reporter Charles Kuralt that profile the people, places, and ideas that define the national spirit.

Crossroads of Freedom

Crossroads of Freedom PDF

Author: James M. McPherson

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2002-09-12

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0199830908

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest single day in American history, with more than 6,000 soldiers killed--four times the number lost on D-Day, and twice the number killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks. In Crossroads of Freedom, America's most eminent Civil War historian, James M. McPherson, paints a masterful account of this pivotal battle, the events that led up to it, and its aftermath. As McPherson shows, by September 1862 the survival of the United States was in doubt. The Union had suffered a string of defeats, and Robert E. Lee's army was in Maryland, poised to threaten Washington. The British government was openly talking of recognizing the Confederacy and brokering a peace between North and South. Northern armies and voters were demoralized. And Lincoln had shelved his proposed edict of emancipation months before, waiting for a victory that had not come--that some thought would never come. Both Confederate and Union troops knew the war was at a crossroads, that they were marching toward a decisive battle. It came along the ridges and in the woods and cornfields between Antietam Creek and the Potomac River. Valor, misjudgment, and astonishing coincidence all played a role in the outcome. McPherson vividly describes a day of savage fighting in locales that became forever famous--The Cornfield, the Dunkard Church, the West Woods, and Bloody Lane. Lee's battered army escaped to fight another day, but Antietam was a critical victory for the Union. It restored morale in the North and kept Lincoln's party in control of Congress. It crushed Confederate hopes of British intervention. And it freed Lincoln to deliver the Emancipation Proclamation, which instantly changed the character of the war. McPherson brilliantly weaves these strands of diplomatic, political, and military history into a compact, swift-moving narrative that shows why America's bloodiest day is, indeed, a turning point in our history.

Rad American History A-Z

Rad American History A-Z PDF

Author: Kate Schatz

Publisher: Ten Speed Press

Published: 2020-03-03

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 1984856839

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

From the New York Times bestselling team behind Rad American Women A-Z comes an illustrated collection of radical and transformative political, social, and cultural movements in American history. “An engaging, fascinating, and necessary book that speaks truth to power.”—Congresswoman Barbara Lee In Rad American History A-Z, each letter of the alphabet tells the story of a significant moment in America's progressive history--one that isn't always covered in history classes: A is for Alcatraz, and the Native occupation of 1969; C is for the Combahee River Raid, a Civil War action planned in part by Union spy Harriet Tubman; Z is for Zuccotti Park, and the Occupy movement that briefly took over the world. Paired with dynamic paper-cut art by Miriam Klein Stahl, the entries by Kate Schatz explore several centuries of politics, culture, art, activism, and liberation, including radical librarians, Supreme Court cases, courageous youth, punk rocker grrrls, Southern quilts, and modern witches. In addition to the twenty-six core stories, short sidebars expand the discussion, and dictionary-style lists refer readers to additional key moments. So while F is for Federal Theater Project, a New Deal-era program that employed thousands of artists, F is also for Freedom Rides and First Amendment. E is for Earth First!, but also for Endangered Species Act and Equal Rights Amendment. There are tales of triumph, resilience, creation, and hope. Each engaging, fact-filled narrative illustrates an eye-opening moment that shows us how we got to now--and what we need to know about our histories to create a just and sustainable future. Advance praise for Rad American History A-Z “I wish I’d had Rad American History A–Z when I was growing up; it’s a book I hope to read to my children one day. In such chaotic political times, this is a critical tool for young people to know how change happens, and to know that they, too, can make change happen. This book belongs on all library shelves as a transformative approach to history as we know it.”–Alicia Garza, cofounder of Black Lives Matter Global Network

Washington's Crossing

Washington's Crossing PDF

Author: David Hackett Fischer

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2006-02-01

Total Pages: 578

ISBN-13: 0199756678

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Six months after the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution was all but lost. A powerful British force had routed the Americans at New York, occupied three colonies, and advanced within sight of Philadelphia. Yet, as David Hackett Fischer recounts in this riveting history, George Washington--and many other Americans--refused to let the Revolution die. On Christmas night, as a howling nor'easter struck the Delaware Valley, he led his men across the river and attacked the exhausted Hessian garrison at Trenton, killing or capturing nearly a thousand men. A second battle of Trenton followed within days. The Americans held off a counterattack by Lord Cornwallis's best troops, then were almost trapped by the British force. Under cover of night, Washington's men stole behind the enemy and struck them again, defeating a brigade at Princeton. The British were badly shaken. In twelve weeks of winter fighting, their army suffered severe damage, their hold on New Jersey was broken, and their strategy was ruined. Fischer's richly textured narrative reveals the crucial role of contingency in these events. We see how the campaign unfolded in a sequence of difficult choices by many actors, from generals to civilians, on both sides. While British and German forces remained rigid and hierarchical, Americans evolved an open and flexible system that was fundamental to their success. The startling success of Washington and his compatriots not only saved the faltering American Revolution, but helped to give it new meaning.

American History in 50 Events

American History in 50 Events PDF

Author: Henry Freeman

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2015-12-31

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 1522985085

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Have you ever wondered why America is the way it is? Do you want to understand the events that have shaped American culture? Are you interested in seeing the long-term historical connections that explain how America moved from a group of colonies to the most powerful nation in history? If so, this book is for you. In simple, straightforward language, this book will take you on a brief journey through the highlights of American history. Filled with interesting facts and historical context, this book is a must-read for those who are passionate about history or are simply interested in better understanding the history of the United States. Inside you will read about... - Columbus’ famous first journey - Founding of Plymouth Colony - Boston Tea Party - Battles of Lexington and Concord - War of 1812 - Spanish American War - The Roaring Twenties - The Moon landing - 9/11 Terrorist Attacks - And much more! Broken down into a series of fifty easy-to-read selections, this book will take you from Pre-Columbian settlement up to current events of today.

Private Lives/public Moments: Before 1492 to 1877

Private Lives/public Moments: Before 1492 to 1877 PDF

Author: Dominick Cavallo

Publisher: Prentice Hall

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780321298560

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A secondary source reader that is a great complement to any survey text. A collection of secondary sources that examine the history of the United States by connecting the private lives of its people to the public issues that have had a major impact on the nation's destiny. The text examines much of what we call "history" as the product of conflict or concord (or some combination of the two) between private aspirations, frustrations, and values on the one side, and public issues, events and policies on the other.

The Espionage and Sedition Acts

The Espionage and Sedition Acts PDF

Author: Mitchell Newton-Matza

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-19

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 1317691296

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917-1918 mark one of the most controversial moments in American history. Even as President Woodrow Wilson justified US entry into World War I on the grounds that it would "make the world safe for democracy," the act curtailed civil liberties at home by making it illegal to speak out against the US participation in the conflict. Supporters of the Acts argued that these measures were necessary to protect national security and keep in check the perceived threat of radical activities, while opponents considered them an unjustifiable breach of the Bill of Rights. The conflict between government powers and civil liberties concretized by the Acts continues to resonate today. The Espionage and Sedition Acts introduces students to this controversial set of laws, the cultural and political context in which they were passed, and their historical ramifications. In a concise narrative supplemented by primary sources including court cases, newspaper articles, and personal papers, Mitchell C. Newton-Matza gives students of history and politics a nuanced understanding of this key event.

American Maelstrom

American Maelstrom PDF

Author: Michael A. Cohen

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 019977756X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In American Maelstrom, Michael A. Cohen captures the full drama of this watershed election, establishing 1968 as the hinge between the decline of political liberalism and the ascendancy of conservative populism and the anti-government attitudes that continue to dominate the nation's political discourse, taking us to the source of the politics of division.