7th Edition

The American Century A History of the United States Since the 1890s

    552 Pages
    by Routledge

    552 Pages
    by Routledge

    The new edition of this classic text on modern U.S. history brings the story of contemporary America into the second decade of the twenty-first century with new coverage of the Obama presidency and the 2012 elections. Written by three highly respected scholars, the book seamlessly blends political, social, cultural, intellectual, and economic themes into an authoritative and readable account of our increasingly complex national story. The seventh edition retains its affordability and conciseness while continuing to add the most recent scholarship. Each chapter contains a special feature section devoted to cultural topics including the arts and architecture, sports and recreation, technology and education. Adding to the readers' learning experience is the addition of web links to each of these features, providing numerous complementary visual study tools. These links become live, and illustrations appear in full color, in the ebook edition.

    An American Century instructor site provides instructors who adopt the book with high interest features--illustrations, photos, maps, quizzes, an elaboration of key themes in the book, PowerPoint presentations, and lecture launchers on topics including the Versailles Conference, the "Military-Industrial Complex" Speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Tet Offensive, and the prospects for a Second American Century. In addition, students have free access to a multimedia primary source archive of materials carefully selected to support the themes of each chapter.

    Part 1 The American Century; Chapter One 1890s The Beginnings of Modern America; Chapter Two 1900—1917 The Progressive Era; Chapter Three 1900—1917 A Progressive Foreign Policy—from Peace to War; Chapter Four 1917—1920 The Failure of World War I; Chapter Five 1920—1929 The New Era; Chapter Six 1929—1936 The Depression and the New Deal; Chapter Seven 1933—1941 Hard Times—Politics and Society; Chapter Eight 1929—1941 The Big Breakdown—The United States and the World; Chapter Nine 1941—1947 War and Peace; Chapter Ten 1941—1947 One World Into Two; Chapter Eleven 1947—1952 The America of the Cold War; Chapter Twelve 1952—1957 Eisenhower and the American Consensus; Chapter Thirteen 1957—1963 New Frontiers at Home and Abroad; Chapter Fourteen 1963—1968 The Great Society and Vietnam; Chapter Fifteen 1969—1975 The Imperial Presidency and Watergate; Chapter Sixteen 1976—1984 New Directions; Chapter Seventeen 1985—1992 The End of the Cold War; Chapter Eighteen 1993—2000 The Road to the Twenty-First Century; Chapter Nineteen 9/11 Causes and Consequences; Chapter Twenty 2007—2012 Obama—“America is a Place Where All Things Are Possible” (Sometimes);

    Biography

    Walter LaFeber, Richard Polenberg, Nancy, Woloch

     "It is written in a lively and edifying manner that will engross both history and non-history majors. The text primarily follows a chronological format, making it easy to assign specific chapters or sections for use as supplemental readings in classes dealing with more specific subjects. The text can also be used as the primary textbook in both one and two semester courses dealing with 20th Century American history. One of the features that makes this text so engaging for students is that the writers have balanced the historical, political, and economic facts with cultural, intellectual, and social insights that help to not only bring the subject matter to life, but also to make the material more relevant to modern students. The organization of the material makes it easy for instructors to customize its use to meet their classes' unique requirements and the wealth of supplemental material that is available will enhance the students' learning experience." —History in Review