- The American Revolution and the early federal republic
- The transformation of American society, 1865–1900
- Imperialism, the Progressive era, and the rise to world power, 1896–1920
United States: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
- American Farm Bureau Federation
- AppleHistory and domestication
- Origins of agricultureEconomics, politics, and agriculture
- meat processingMeat grading
- Pecan
- plant hardiness zones
- Agricultural sciencesU.S. agricultural education and research
- chondrichthyanOther shark products
- soybeanDomestication and history
- Tenant farming
- Plant diseaseThe use of genetic engineering in developing disease-resistant plants
- whalingThe history of whaling
- wineUnited States
- Art collection
- Art conservation and restorationRole of law
- Art marketThe United States
- museumThe spread of the European model
- garden and landscape design19th century
- Graphic designThe Industrial Revolution and design technology
- Industrial designModern design in the United States
- museumThe United States
- PrintmakingOther countries
- Neoclassical artUnited States of America
- heraldryGeneral considerations
- heraldryThe United States
- caricature and cartoonOther countries
- caricature and cartoonThe United States
- caricature and cartoonThe United States
- caricature and cartoon20th century
- metalworkColonial America
- metalworkMid-19th century onward
- comic stripThe 19th century
- Folk artNorth America
- hallmark
- Pop artPop art in the United States
- potteryColonial America
- potteryPottery factories
- band
- country music
- hip-hopThe new school
- jazzVariations on a theme: Jazz elsewhere in the United States
- klezmer music
- The Star-Spangled Banner
- operaUnited States
- operetta
- keyboard instrumentDevelopments after 1800
- musical performanceNational characteristics
- rock
- vocal musicArt songs in German, French, and English
- actingStanislavsky’s contribution
- directingDirectorial styles
- Western theatreThe beginnings of American theatre
- Western theatreThe American theatre
- Western theatrePopular entertainment
- Western theatreUnited States
- Western theatreUnited States
- musicalOrigin
- stagecraftCostume of the 20th century and beyond
- theatrePolitical festivals
- theatreTheatre and stage design in America
- theatreDevelopments in the United States
- theatreThe role of subsidy
- theatreTheatre building after World War II
- aerospace industryMergers and divestitures
- biofuelTypes of biofuels
- Carbon footprintCarbon footprint calculation
- CementExpanding and nonshrinking cements
- Hotel
- Industrial court
- Northwest PassageContemporary issues
- North AmericaThe United States segment
- iron processingOres
- nuclear powerWorld nuclear power
- public enterprise
- regulatory agency
- supermarket
- truckTypes and definitions
- vending machine
- international payment and exchangeLong-term flows
- international payment and exchangeExchange-rate fluctuations
- foreign aidHistory
- CanadaTrade of Canada
- CanadaThe Great Depression
- international tradeDegrees of national participation
- international tradeThe United States
- international tradeFactor endowments: the Heckscher-Ohlin theory
- international tradeThe most-favoured-nation clause
- Pacific OceanTrade and transportation
- protectionism
- international tradeThe product cycle
- history of publishingAmerica
- history of publishingThe paperback revolution
- censorshipCensorship in the United States
- CanadaCultural life
- news agency
- postal systemUnited States
- telegraphThe first transmitters and receivers
- GenealogyModern genealogy
- cemetery
- DressEurope and America: 19th and 20th centuries
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- huntingNorth America
- Las Posadas
- NameForms of personal names
- NamePlace-names reflecting historical influences
- Bald eagle
- Oktoberfest
- oral traditionDiversity, shared features, and functionality
- Tattoo
- Valentine’s DayHow is Valentine’s Day celebrated?
- ChristmasExchange of gifts
- Christmas treeDecorations
- Columbus Day
- Father’s Day
- HalloweenHalloween as a secular holiday
- Holocaust remembrance daysSecular days of remembrance
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
- Memorial Day
- Mother’s Day
- Presidents’ Day
- St. Patrick’s DayTraditions
- Veterans Day
- Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement
- chamber of commerceNational chambers of commerce.
- distribution of wealth and income
- moneyThe gold standard
- Group of Seven
- G20
- labour economicsRaising the level
- labour economicsMovement of the general level of pay
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- bankTypes of banks
- transportation economicsSupply of transportation
- government economic policyPublic ownership and privatization
- economic systemFrom industrial to state capitalism
- government economic policyArguments for income redistribution
- government budgetTraditional functions
- government budgetComposition of public expenditure
- government budgetThe United States
- government budgetRestrictions on borrowing
- government budgetUnited States
- government budgetState and local budgets in the United States
- educationInfluence of psychology and other fields on education
- educationThe United States
- academic freedom
- EducationThe “Great Equalizer”
- elementary education
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- Monitorial system
- No Child Left Behind
- Normal school
- free school
- teacher educationGeneral education
- retraining program
- classical scholarshipDevelopments in the study of ancient history and philosophy
- STEMDevelopment of STEM in the United States
- STEMDevelopment of STEM in the United States
- STEMSTEM workforce
- bicameral systemHistory and development
- cabinetCabinet of the U.S. president
- AustraliaConstitutional framework
- democracyThe United States
- diplomacyThe development of the foreign ministry and embassies
- foreign service
- roadFrom local to national funding
- gun controlGun control in the United States
- governmentThe American and French revolutions
- local governmentConstitutional status
- oligarchy
- Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America
- policeDecentralized police organizations
- policeHigh policing: the protection of national security
- prisonTypes of prisons
- prisonNational trends
- prisonPrisoners’ rights
- public relations
- marketingThe civilian establishment
- revenue sharing
- history of EuropeEarly 19th-century social and political thought
- The Honourable
- arson
- attachment
- capital punishmentHistorical considerations
- constable
- criminal justice
- environmental economicsExamples of regulation using corrective instruments
- Environmental lawHistorical development
- extraterritoriality
- Felony and misdemeanourmisdemeanour
- hate crime
- Impeachment
- JuryHistory and use
- Legal educationHistory
- Legal educationTeaching
- Legal educationCommon-law countries
- Legal professionWorldwide legal profession
- Legal professionPublic-directed practice
- Legal professionContemporary trends
- Legislation
- Marriage law
- Natural resources lawSovereignty
- obscenityObscenity laws in the 18th and 19th centuries
- Passport
- Patent
- patent troll
- petition
- Plea bargainingHistory of plea bargaining in the United States
- Probate
- Riparian right
- States’ rights
- Trademark
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- Lobbying
- political machine
- electionPlurality and majority systems
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- two-party system
- political partyTwo-party systems
- political partyCadre parties
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- bone cancer
- clinic
- therapeuticsIndications for use
- family practice
- hospitalOwnership and control
- infant mortality rateRace and infant mortality
- animal diseaseDisease prevention, control, and eradication
- medicineUnited States
- osteopathy
- wastewater treatmentDevelopments in sewage treatment
- solid-waste managementGeneration and storage
- populationSterilization
- apprenticeshipModern apprenticeship and vocational training
- child labour
- closed shop
- collective bargaining
- comparable worth
- general strikeGeneral strikes in the United States
- hours of labour
- industrial relationsThe advent of industrial relations in the United States
- mediation
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- peonage
- sweatshop
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- organized labourThe United States and Canada
- organized labourFrom World War I to 1968: The institutionalization of unions and collective bargaining
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- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- rules of engagement
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- atomic bombDevelopment and proliferation of atomic bombs
- attack aircraft
- chemical weaponNerve agents
- logisticsStrategic mobility
- landing ship, tank
- nuclear weaponFounding the Manhattan Project
- nuclear electromagnetic pulse
- nuclear weaponDiscovery of nuclear fission
- nuclear weapon
- radarFirst military radars
- strategic weapons system
- United StatesLand
- permafrostPermafrost zones
- Smith Center
- caveGeographic distribution of karst terrain
- national park
- North America
- oil shaleGeologic origins
- oil shaleChemical composition
- oil shaleWorld oil shale resources
- oil shaleMinimum organic requirement
- oil shaleDiscovery and early application
- oil shaleWestern U.S. oil shale
- soilParent material
- SwampMajor swamps
- Time Zones in the United States
- BuddhismBuddhism in the West
- ChristianityEarly Protestant missions
- ChristianitySeparation of church and state
- city mission
- Eastern OrthodoxyOrthodoxy in the United States
- Islamic worldDimensions of the Islamic revival
- Islamic worldIslam and globalization: the age of mobility
- trusteeism
- Roman CatholicismUnited States
- Church yearSunday
- tithe
- ProtestantismNorth America
- ProtestantismTheological movements within Protestantism
- CongregationalismUnited States
- MennoniteEurope
- MethodismAmerica
- Pentecostalism
- ProtestantismPuritanism in the English colonies
- Reformed and Presbyterian churchesAsia
- Reformed and Presbyterian churchesReformed and Presbyterian churches in the United States
- Sunday school
- Unitarianism and UniversalismAmerican Unitarianism
- Unitarianism and UniversalismEarly Universalism
- AnthropologyAmerican anthropology since the 1950s
- automobileThe United States
- automobileV-8s and chrome in America
- cloningEthical controversy
- coinContemporary mints
- electronic musicEstablishment of electronic studios
- genetically modified organismSociopolitical relevance of GMOs
- research and developmentGovernment laboratories
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- nuclear engineeringNuclear-waste management
- fusion reactorMagnetic confinement
- toxic waste
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- modernizationUrbanism as a way of life
- social serviceAdministration of services in the United States
- temperance movement
- tortureContemporary developments
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- urban sprawl
- Affirmative action
- Alien
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- human agingNervous system
- ghetto
- homelessnessHomelessness in the United States
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- RaceRace and the reality of human physical variation
- RaceThe problem of labor in the New World
- RaceGobineau’s Essay on the Inequality of Human Races
- Racism
- same-sex marriageUnited States
- abolitionismOrigin of the abolition movement
- slaverySlavery in the Americas
- slaverySources of slavery law
- Indigenous peoples of the American SouthwestThe 20th and 21st centuries
- women’s rights movement
- ArcheryHistory
- athleticsOrganization and tournaments
- automobile racingEarly history
- bowlingBowls and pins in North America
- boxingThe bare-knuckle era
- boxingProfessional organizations
- boxingEconomic impetus
- campingHistory
- circusJohn Bill Ricketts and the American circus
- cribbage
- cyclingEarly history of the sport
- dog racing
- dog show
- falconryHistory
- American footballFootball in the United States
- foxhunting
- gamblingPrevalence of principal forms
- golfThe United States and Canada
- golfMatches and tournaments
- golfPar golf
- Professional Women’s Hockey League
- jai alaiThe court and the fronton
- lacrosseHistory
- lotteryEarly history
- poker
- polo19th-century revival
- quarter-horse racing
- racketsHistory.
- rodeo
- rugbyCanada and the United States
- footballNorth and Central America and the Caribbean
- swimmingHistory
- tennisOrigin and early years
- volleyballInvention and early history
- America’s Cup
- yachtRacing clubs
- traffic controlTraffic elements
- airmail
- automobileAutomotive design
- coal miningRailroads
- pipelineOil pipelines
- pipelineSafety
- history of flightFrom airmail to airlines in the United States
- streetcar
- mass transitGrowth in the 19th century
- Route 66
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Additional Reading
Geography
The land
(Landforms and geology): The standard work on the landform regions of the United States is William D. Thornbury, Regional Geomorphology of the United States (1965). Walter Sullivan, Landprints: On the Magnificent American Landscape (1984), is a lively, authoritative, and well-illustrated treatment. An elementary, illustrated textbook is E.C. Pirkle and W.H. Yoho, Natural Landscapes of the United States, 4th ed. (1985). Nevin M. Fenneman, Physiography of Western United States (1931), and Physiography of Eastern United States (1938), are exhaustive and still standard references. William L. Graf (ed.), Geomorphic Systems of North America (1987), is a highly technical discussion. Recommended atlases include Charles O. Paullin, Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States (1932, reprinted 1975); and Geological Survey (U.S.), The National Atlas of the United States of America (1970).
(Climate): Stephen S. Visher, Climatic Atlas of the United States (1954, reprinted 1966), contains more than 1,000 maps. United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Climates of the United States, 2nd ed., 2 vol. (1980), makes available physical and climatic data in narrative, tabular, and map form. Scholarly discussions are found in Reid A. Bryson and F. Kenneth Hare (eds.), Climates of North America (1974).
(Plant and animal life): An authoritative regional treatment of plant and animal ecology is Victor E. Shelford, The Ecology of North America (1963, reprinted 1978). Michael G. Barbour and William Dwight Billings (eds.), North American Terrestrial Vegetation (1988), covers all major types. The relationship between climate and natural vegetation is obvious but far from simple; the most ambitious cartographic attempt to correlate them in a North American setting is explained in Robert G. Bailey (comp.), Description of the Ecoregions of the United States (1978).
(Human geography): A general text covering the human geography of the continent is J. Wreford Watson, North America, Its Countries and Regions, rev. ed. (1967). D.W. Meinig, The Shaping of America, vol. 1, Atlantic America, 1492–1800 (1986), is indispensable for an understanding of the origins of America’s human geography. Joel Garreau, The Nine Nations of North America (1981), is a lively, highly readable description of the emerging socioeconomic regions.
(Landscape and land use): Stephen S. Birdsall and John W. Florin, Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada, 3rd ed. (1985), is a general introduction. John R. Stilgoe, Common Landscape of America, 1580 to 1845 (1982), offers a valuable account of the early evolution of settlement. John Brinckerhoff Jackson, Discovering the Vernacular Landscape (1984), delves into the meaning of everyday man-made environments. The growth and development of America’s cities and towns are detailed in Alexander B. Callow, Jr. (ed.), American Urban History, 3rd ed. (1982); and Richard Lingeman, Small Town America: A Narrative History, 1620–the Present (1980).
The people
The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published annually by the United States Bureau of the Census, is the standard summary of statistics on the country’s social, political, and economic composition. Interpretations of demographic data include Edward G. Stockwell, Population and People (1968); and Richard M. Scammon and Ben J. Wattenberg, The Real Majority (1970). For an analysis of national values, a classic account is Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy, 2 vol. (1944, reprinted 1975). Inquiries into the nature of American society include Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword (1996); and Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (2000). Immigration is discussed in John Isbister, The Immigration Debate: Remaking America (1996); and Joel Millman, The Other Americans: How Immigrants Renew Our Country, Our Economy, and Our Values (1997). Oscar Handlin, The Uprooted, 2nd ed. enlarged (1973), covers the era of mass immigration, 1860–1920. Examinations of contemporary American minority groups include Stephan Thernstorm (ed.), Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups (1980); and Frank D. Bean and W. Parker Frisbie (eds.), The Demography of Racial and Ethnic Groups (1978). Ethnic patterns are treated in James Paul Allen and Eugene James Turner, We the People: An Atlas of America’s Ethnic Diversity (1988).
The economy
Anthony S. Campagna, U.S. National Economic Policy, 1917–1985 (1987), chronicles changes in U.S. economic policies through much of the 20th century. Aspects of the economy are treated in Howard F. Gregor, Industrialization of U.S. Agriculture (1982), an atlas emphasizing aspects of industrialized farming, mainly from U.S. census information; and Robert J. Newman, Growth in the American South (1984), on the shift of U.S. manufacturing to the Southern states in the 1960s and ’70s. Two good sources of data on the U.S. economy are the Economic Report of the President (published every year), and the Statistical Abstract of the United States. W. Michael Cox and Richard Alm, Myths of Rich and Poor (1999), gives a century-long perspective on the U.S. economy.
Administration and social conditions
The United States Government Manual (annual) offers a broad overview of the federal structure; while the Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report and National Journal (weekly) provide closer views of the public record of the federal legislature. Congressional Quarterly’s Guide to Congress, 3rd ed. (1982), details the development and organization of Congress. See also The Book of the States, published biennially by the Council of State Governments. Donald R. Whitnah (ed.), Government Agencies (1983), contains essays on the agencies’ purposes and histories, with bibliographies. Discussions of election politics include Fred I. Greenstein and Frank B. Feigert, The American Party System and the American People, 3rd ed. (1985); the series by Theodore H. White, begun with The Making of the President, 1960 (1961), which continued by covering subsequent presidential elections; and Jack P. Greene (ed.), Encyclopedia of American Political History, 3 vol. (1984). Alexander DeConde (ed.), Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy, 3 vol. (1978), also contains useful bibliographies. Neal R. Peirce and Jerry Hagstrom, The Book of America: Inside 50 States Today, rev. and updated ed. (1984), is an insightful look at persistent social differences among various regions of the country.
Cultural life
Kirk Varnedoes and Adam Gopnik, High & Low: Modern Art, Popular Culture (1990), was an early attempt to address the “high and low” question unemotionally. Robert Hughes, American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America (1997, reissued 1999), tried to use the broader social context now demanded to chronicle the ambitions and limitations of American art. Important “post-structuralist” views of American art have also been offered by Arthur C. Danto, The Madonna of the Future: Essays in a Pluralistic Art World (2001). The broader questions of the future of American culture in a time of multicultural transformation have been engaged in many places, memorably in Richard Rorty, Essays on Heidegger and Others (1991). The debate over “political correctness” has been examined in Roger Kimball, Tenured Radicals: How Politics Has Corrupted Our Higher Education, rev. ed. (1998); Dinesh D’souza, Illiberal Education: The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus (1991); and Robert Hughes, Culture of Complaint: The Fraying of America (1993). Louis Menand, The Metaphysical Club (2001), attempts to track the crucial influence on American culture of America’s most distinct philosophical movement, Pragmatism. The classic statement of the American vision in literary criticism is Lionel Trilling, The Liberal Imagination (1950, reissued 1976). See also Leslie Fiedler, What Was Literature? (1982), a radical egalitarian polemic against the division of American literature into “high” and “low” forms. Emory Elliott (ed.), Columbia Literary History of the United States (1988), covers the many aspects of American literature. Daniel Hoffman (ed.), Harvard Guide to Contemporary American Writing (1979), is a general introduction. Useful works on art include Dore Ashton, American Art Since 1945 (1982); Irving Sandler, The Triumph of American Painting: A History of Abstract Expressionism (1970, reissued 1982); and Milton W. Brown et al., American Art (1979). The renaissance of American dance has produced two great dance critics, Arlene Croce and Edwin Denby. Their works include Arlene Croce, Going to the Dance (1982), and Sight Lines (1987); and Edwin Denby, Dance Writings (1986). For a history of America’s unique contribution to the theater arts, see Gerald Bordman, American Musical Theater, expanded ed. (1986). James Agee, Agee on Film, vol. 1, Reviews and Comments (1958, reprinted 1983), is still the most eloquent writing about American movies. Stephen Mamber, Cinema Verite in America: Studies in Uncontrollable Documentary (1974), is a good introduction to alternative theories about alternative film. H. Wiley Hitchcock and Stanley Sadie (eds.), The New Grove Dictionary of American Music, 4 vol. (1986), is an excellent starting point for research. Gilbert Chase, America’s Music, from the Pilgrims to the Present, rev. 3rd ed. (1987), is invaluable and readable. Geoffrey C. Ward, Jazz: A History of America’s Music (2000)—based on a film by Ken Burns—is a stimulating and serious history of America’s most original art form. Whitney Balliett, Collected Works: A Journal of Jazz (2000), is a personal history of the achievement of Ellington and Armstrong.
History
Among the many overviews of U.S. history, the following are representative: Samuel Eliot Morison, Henry Steele Commager, and William E. Leuchtenburg, The Growth of the American Republic, 7th ed. (1980); and John A. Garraty and Robert A. McCaughey, The American Nation, 6th ed. (1987). Reference sources include Dictionary of American History, rev. ed., 8 vol. (1976–78); and Richard B. Morris (ed.), Encyclopaedia of American History, 6th ed. (1982).
Discovery and exploration
Useful introductions include Samuel Eliot Morison, The European Discovery of America, 2 vol. (1971–74); and David B. Quinn, North America from Earliest Discovery to First Settlements: The Norse Voyages to 1612 (1977).
Colonial development to 1763
Charles M. Andrews, The Colonial Period of American History, 4 vol. (1934–38, reprinted 1964), is the starting point for an understanding of the structure of the British Empire in America. Lawrence Henry Gipson, The British Empire Before the American Revolution, 15 vol. (1936–70), represents the culmination of the “British Imperial” school of interpretation. Gary B. Nash, Red, White, and Black: The Peoples of Early America, 2nd ed. (1982); and Jack P. Greene and J.R. Pole (eds.), Colonial British America (1984), are excellent surveys.
(Settlement): Perry Miller, The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century (1939, reissued 1983), and a sequel, The New England Mind: From Colony to Province (1953, reissued 1967), together constitute perhaps the finest work of intellectual history ever written by an American historian. Francis Jennings, The Invasion of America (1975); and James Axtell, The European and the Indian (1982), are important accounts of white–Indian relations.
(Imperial organization): Useful surveys include Michael Kammen, Empire and Interest: The American Colonies and the Politics of Mercantilism (1970); and Stephen Saunders Webb, 1676, the End of American Independence (1984).
(The growth of provincial power): James A. Henretta, The Evolution of American Society, 1700–1815 (1973), is an excellent survey of the American economic and political order. Jack P. Greene, Pursuits of Happiness (1988), seeks to demonstrate the variety of colonial social developments. Carl Bridenbaugh, Myths and Realities: Societies of the Colonial South (1952, reprinted 1981), argues persuasively that the colonial South consisted of not one but three sections. Rhys Isaac, The Transformation of Virginia, 1740–1790 (1982), imaginatively surveys the social order of 18th-century Virginia. Gary B. Nash, The Urban Crucible: Social Change, Political Consciousness, and the Origins of the American Revolution (1979), surveys the growth of American cities in the 18th century. John J. McCusker and Russell R. Menard, The Economy of British America, 1607–1789 (1985), is a good survey.
(Cultural and religious development): Daniel J. Boorstin, The Americans: The Colonial Experience (1958, reissued 1988), gives a brilliant, if overstated, account of American uniqueness. Henry F. May, The Enlightenment in America (1976), provocatively examines American intellectual development. See also Brooke Hindle, The Pursuit of Science in Revolutionary America, 1735–1789 (1956, reprinted 1974). Alan Heimert, Religion and the American Mind, from the Great Awakening to the Revolution (1966), makes an important though polemical contribution to the understanding of the Great Awakening.
(America, England, and the wider world): Overviews are found in Francis Parkman, A Half-Century of Conflict, 2 vol. (1892, reprinted 1965); Howard H. Peckham, The Colonial Wars, 1689–1762 (1964); and Alan Rogers, Empire and Liberty: American Resistance to British Authority, 1755–1763 (1974).
The American Revolution
Richard L. Blanco (ed.), The American Revolution, 1775–1783: An Encyclopedia, 2 vol. (1993), is a valuable reference source. Edward Countryman, The American Revolution (1985), considers American social history in the explanation of how American resistance developed. P.G.D. Thomas, British Politics and the Stamp Act Crisis (1975), is a scholarly account of British objectives and methods, and The Townshend Duties Crisis (1987) is the most comprehensive account of this episode. Jerrilyn Greene Marston, King and Congress (1987), studies how Congress acquired formal “legitimacy” in the course of rebellion. Morton White, The Philosophy of the American Revolution (1978), analyzes the concepts that took shape in the Declaration of Independence. Jack N. Rakove, The Beginnings of National Politics (1979), interprets the complex politics of the Continental Congress.
The early federal republic
Peter S. Onuf, The Origins of the Federal Republic (1983), stresses the jurisdictional problems of relations among states and between states and the Confederation. Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787 (1969), provides a comprehensive “ideological” interpretation emphasizing the transformation of political thought into action. David F. Epstein, The Political Theory of The Federalist (1984); and the lengthy introduction to Cecelia M. Kenyon, The Antifederalists (1966, reprinted 1985), are excellent studies. Jackson Turner Main, The Antifederalists: Critics of the Constitution, 1781–1788 (1961, reprinted 1974), analyzes the social origins and aspirations of the Anti-Federalists. Joyce Appleby, Capitalism and a New Social Order (1984), argues that capitalism was seen as a liberating force by Jeffersonians as well as by Hamiltonians. Other studies of the period include Gerald Stourzh, Alexander Hamilton and the Idea of Republican Government (1970); James M. Banner, Jr., To the Hartford Convention: The Federalists and the Origins of Party Politics in Massachusetts, 1789–1815 (1970); John Zvesper, Political Philosophy and Rhetoric (1977); Richard Hofstadter, The Idea of a Party System (1969); and Noble E. Cunningham, The Jeffersonian Republicans (1957), The Process of Government Under Jefferson (1978), and The Jeffersonian Republicans in Power (1963).
From 1816 to 1850
(The Era of Mixed Feelings): A comprehensive overview of the politics of this period is George Dangerfield, The Era of Good Feelings (1952, reprinted 1973). Shaw Livermore, Jr., The Twilight of Federalism: The Disintegration of the Federalist Party, 1815–1830 (1962, reissued 1972), is an excellent analysis. Glover Moore, The Missouri Controversy, 1819–1821 (1953, reissued 1967), skillfully untangles that complex problem.
(Economic development): Still valuable and informative are Bray Hammond, Banks and Politics in America, from the Revolution to the Civil War (1957, reissued 1967); Edward Pessen, Most Uncommon Jacksonians: The Radical Leaders of the Early Labor Movement (1967, reprinted 1970); and Walter Buckingham Smith, Economic Aspects of the Second Bank of the United States (1953, reissued 1969).
(Black Americans, slave and free): Particularly noteworthy studies are Eugene D. Genovese, Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made (1974); Herbert G. Gutman, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750–1925 (1976); Leon F. Litwack, North of Slavery: The Negro in the Free States, 1790–1860 (1961, reprinted 1970); and Ira Berlin, Slaves Without Masters: The Free Negro in the Antebellum South (1974, reissued 1981).
(Social and intellectual developments): Lightly documented but brilliantly insightful is Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 2 vol. (1835; originally published in French, 1835), available in many later editions. Edward Pessen, Riches, Class, and Power Before the Civil War (1973), challenges Tocqueville’s version of equality in Jacksonian America. Other useful treatments are William H. Pease and Jane H. Pease, The Web of Progress: Private Values and Public Styles in Boston and Charleston, 1828–1843 (1985); and Barbara Welter, Dimity Convictions: The American Woman in the Nineteenth Century (1976); Rush Welter, The Mind of America, 1820–1860 (1975); Martin Duberman (ed.), The Antislavery Vanguard (1965); and David Brion Davis (comp.), Ante-Bellum Reform (1967).
(Jacksonian politics): Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Age of Jackson (1945, reissued 1953), is an influential study that stimulated a great array of refutations of its pro-Jackson interpretation, including Edward Pessen, Jacksonian America, new ed. (1978, reprinted 1985). A stimulating if not always convincing comparison of Jacksonian and earlier America is Robert H. Wiebe, The Opening of American Society: From the Adoption of the Constitution to the Eve of Disunion (1984). Richard P. McCormick, The Second American Party System (1966, reissued 1973), is an influential study. Michael Paul Rogin, Fathers and Children: Andrew Jackson and the Subjugation of the American Indian (1975), is brilliant, original, and controversial. John M. Belohlavek, Let the Eagle Soar!: The Foreign Policy of Andrew Jackson (1985), fills a void in the Jacksonian literature.
(Expansionism): Bernard De Voto, The Year of Decision, 1846 (1942, reissued 1989); and K. Jack Bauer, The Mexican War, 1846–1848 (1974), are scholarly treatments.
The Civil War
Syntheses of modern scholarship are James M. McPherson, Ordeal by Fire (1982); and J.G. Randall and David Donald, The Civil War and Reconstruction, 2nd ed. rev. (1969). Allan Nevins, Ordeal of the Union, 8 vol. (1947–71), provides a comprehensive history. Clement Eaton, A History of the Old South, 3rd ed. (1975, reissued 1988), is a general history of the region. Full, critical assessments of slavery are provided by Kenneth M. Stampp, The Peculiar Institution (1956, reprinted 1978); and the study on slavery by Genovese, cited in the section covering 1816 to 1850. A perceptive account of the political conflicts of the late 1850s is Roy F. Nichols, The Disruption of American Democracy (1948, reissued 1967); while Don E. Fehrenbacher, The Dred Scott Case (1978), offers an analysis of the constitutional issues. Jean H. Baker, Affairs of Party (1983), discusses the strong partisan attachments of ordinary citizens. James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom (1988), is an engrossing narrative history of the Civil War. Comprehensive coverage of the Confederate military effort in the East is Douglas Southall Freeman, Lee’s Lieutenants, a Study in Command, 3 vol. (1942–44, reissued 1970–72); while Warren W. Hassler, Jr., Commanders of the Army of the Potomac (1962, reprinted 1979), does the same for the Federals. Studies of the war in the Mississippi valley include Thomas L. Connelly, Army of the Heartland: The Army of Tennessee, 1861–1862 (1967), and Autumn of Glory: The Army of Tennessee, 1862–1865 (1971). An examination of the Gettysburg battle is Edwin B. Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command (1968, reissued 1984). Virgil Carrington Jones, The Civil War at Sea, 3 vol. (1960–62), describes the naval war.
Reconstruction
Excellent syntheses of scholarship on the Reconstruction period are Rembert W. Patrick, The Reconstruction of the Nation (1967); John Hope Franklin, Reconstruction (1961); and Kenneth M. Stampp, The Era of Reconstruction, 1865–1877 (1965, reprinted 1975). The fullest account of Black Americans’ experience in the postwar years are Leon F. Litwack, Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery (1979); and Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877 (1988). C. Vann Woodward, Reunion and Reaction (1951, reissued 1966), covers behind-the-scenes political and economic negotiations in the disputed 1876–77 election. A definitive account of the South in the post-Reconstruction era is C. Vann Woodward, Origins of the New South, 1877–1913 (1951, reissued 1971). Important studies of postwar race relations include C. Vann Woodward, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, 3rd rev. ed. (1974, reissued 1982); and Joel Williamson, The Crucible of Race (1984).
The transformation of American society, 1865–1900
(National expansion): A comprehensive study of the American “frontiers” of the period is Harold E. Briggs, Frontiers of the Northwest: A History of the Upper Missouri Valley (1940, reissued 1950). Walter Prescott Webb, The Great Plains (1931, reprinted 1981), is a scholarly classic; see also Ray Allen Billington and Martin Ridge, Westward Expansion, 5th ed. (1982); and Rodman W. Paul, The Far West and the Great Plains in Transition, 1859–1900 (1988). Henry E. Fritz, The Movement for Indian Assimilation, 1860–1890 (1963, reprinted 1981), traces the development of this policy after the Civil War. Studies of the occupation of the Plains by the farmers are Fred A. Shannon, The Farmer’s Last Frontier: Agriculture, 1860–1897 (1945, reprinted 1977); and Gilbert C. Fite, The Farmers’ Frontier, 1865–1900 (1966, reissued 1987).
(Industrial development): Edward C. Kirkland, Industry Comes of Age (1961), recounts development from the Civil War to 1897. Samuel P. Hays, The Response to Industrialism, 1885–1914 (1957), offers a perceptive appraisal of the impact of industry on American life. Discussion of the trade unions during the second half of the 19th century is Norman J. Ware, The Labor Movement in the United States, 1860–1895 (1929, reprinted 1964).
(Politics): Sean Dennis Cashman, America in the Gilded Age: From the Death of Lincoln to the Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, 2nd ed. (1988), provides an overview of the era. Leonard D. White, The Republican Era, 1869–1901 (1958, reissued 1965), presents a careful and useful analysis. H. Wayne Morgan, From Hayes to McKinley: National Party Politics, 1877–1896 (1969); and Harold U. Faulkner, Politics, Reform, and Expansion, 1890–1900 (1959, reissued 1963), are also valuable. Studies of populism include John D. Hicks, The Populist Revolt (1931, reprinted 1981); and Lawrence Goodwyn, Democratic Promise: The Populist Moment in America (1976).
Imperialism, progressivism, and America’s rise to power in the world, 1896–1920
(American imperialism): Varying interpretations of imperialism are presented by Ernest R. May, Imperial Democracy (1961, reissued 1973); Walter LaFeber, The New Empire: An Interpretation of American Expansion, 1860–1898 (1963); and Richard E. Welch, Jr., Response to Imperialism: The United States and the Philippine-American War, 1899–1902 (1979). David F. Trask, The War with Spain (1981), is an account of the Spanish-American War. Julius W. Pratt, America’s Colonial Experiment (1950, reissued 1964), discusses the administration of the American overseas empire. A. Whitney Griswold, The Far Eastern Policy of the United States (1938, reissued 1966), remains the standard work; but, for the Open Door policy and relations with China, see also Tyler Dennett, John Hay: From Poetry to Politics (1933, reissued 1963). The U.S. penetration and domination of the Caribbean is most authoritatively recounted in Dana G. Munro, Intervention and Dollar Diplomacy in the Caribbean, 1900–1921 (1964, reprinted 1980).
(The Progressive era): An introduction to the United States during the Progressive era is John Whiteclay Chambers II, The Tyranny of Change (1980); and Arthur S. Link and Richard L. McCormick, Progressivism (1983).
(The rise to world power): An overview of the period is John M. Dobson, America’s Ascent: The United States Becomes a Great Power, 1880–1914 (1978). Surveys of American national politics from Roosevelt through Wilson are George E. Mowry, The Era of Theodore Roosevelt, 1900–1912 (1958, reprinted 1962); Arthur S. Link, Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive Era, 1910–1917 (1954, reprinted 1963); and Robert H. Ferrell, Woodrow Wilson and World War I, 1917–1921 (1985). On the neutrality issue, see Ernest R. May, The World War and American Isolation, 1914–1917 (1959); and Arthur S. Link, Wilson, 5 vol. (1947–65), especially the last three volumes. American mobilization is well covered by Daniel R. Beaver, Newton D. Baker and the American War Effort, 1917–1919 (1966); and Neil A. Wynn, From Progressivism to Prosperity: World War I and American Society (1986). Arno J. Mayer, Political Origins of the New Diplomacy, 1917–1918 (1959, reissued 1970), and a sequel, Politics and Diplomacy of Peacemaking: Containment and Counterrevolution at Versailles, 1918–1919 (1967), include a brilliant account of the development of Wilson’s peace program in its worldwide context. A study on Wilson and American diplomacy at the Paris peace conference is Arthur Walworth, Wilson and His Peacemakers (1986). For an account of the fight over the treaty in the United States, see William C. Widenor, Henry Cabot Lodge and the Search for an American Foreign Policy (1980). Wesley M. Bagby, The Road to Normalcy: The Presidential Campaign and Election of 1920 (1962), is an excellent study.
From 1920 to 1945
Geoffrey Perrett, America in the Twenties (1982), gives extensive overviews of political, social, and cultural aspects of this period. A scholarly history is William E. Leuchtenburg, The Perils of Prosperity, 1914–32 (1958). Norman H. Clark, Deliver Us from Evil (1976), provides a challenging revisionist history of Prohibition. Frederick Lewis Allen, Only Yesterday (1931, reprinted 1986), is a contemporaneous account, covering all aspects of the years 1919–31; its companion volume is Since Yesterday (1940, reprinted 1986), on the 1930s. The standard account of politics in the 1930s is William E. Leuchtenburg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–1940 (1963). J.C. Furnas, Stormy Weather: Crosslights on the Nineteen Thirties (1977), is a complete survey. Irving Bernstein, Turbulent Years: A History of the American Worker, 1933–1941 (1969), is authoritative. Geoffrey Perrett, Days of Sadness, Years of Triumph (1973, reprinted 1985), comprehensively covers the war years 1939–45. John Morton Blum, V Was for Victory: Politics and American Culture During World War II (1976), offers a critique of the war period. Military history is provided by Kenneth S. Davis, Experience of War: The United States in World War II (1965; also published as The American Experience of War, 1939–1945, 1967). A comprehensive study is I.C.B. Dear and M.R.D. Foot (eds.), The Oxford Companion to World War II (also published as The Oxford Companion to the Second World War, 1995). Civil and military history is discussed in William L. O’Neill, A Democracy at War: America’s Fight at Home and Abroad in World War II (1993, reissued 1995).
From 1945 to the present
A general discussion of U.S. history since 1945 is Michael Schaller, Virginia Scharff, and Robert D. Schulzinger, Present Tense: The United States Since 1945, 2nd ed. (1996). A critical perspective is Melvyn Dubofsky and Athan Theoharis, Imperial Democracy: The United States Since 1945, 2nd ed. (1988). An overview of the early postwar years is John Patrick Diggins, The Proud Decades: America in War and in Peace, 1941–1960 (1988). James Gilbert, Another Chance: Postwar America, 1945–1985, 2nd ed. edited by R. Jackson Wilson (1986), is a useful survey. Coverage of the Cold War is provided by Ralph B. Levering, The Cold War, 1945–1987, 2nd ed. (1988); and John Lewis Gaddis, Strategies of Containment (1982), a brilliant analysis of U.S. Cold War policies. Burton I. Kaufman, The Korean War (1986), is a reliable overview. One of the most useful histories of the Civil Rights Movement is Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954–1963 (1988). George C. Herring, America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950–1975, 2nd ed. (1986), is solid. William L. O’Neill, Coming Apart: An Informal History of America in the 1960’s (1971), is a study of the quality of American life under the impact of changing social values. Frederick F. Siegel, Troubled Journey: From Pearl Harbor to Ronald Reagan (1984), analyzes the relationship between American social and cultural life and government policy. Lyndon Johnson is the subject of Robert Dallek, Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 2 vol. (1991–98). An examination of American Cold War foreign policy is John Lewis Gaddis, The Long Peace: Inquiries into the History of the Cold War (1988, reprinted 1989).
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Bernard A. Weisberger
- Reed C. Rollins
- Edgar Eugene Robinson
- Peirce F. Lewis
- Frank Freidel
- Adam Gopnik
-
Paul H. Oehser
Editor of Scientific Publications, National Geographic Society, 1966–78. Chief, Editorial and Publications Division, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1950–66.
- Oscar Handlin
- David Herbert Donald
- Economist Intelligence Unit
- Thea K. Flaum
- William L. O'Neill
- Willard M. Wallace
- John Naisbitt
- Oscar O. Winther
- Wilfred Owen
-
Karl Patterson Schmidt
Chief Curator of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, 1941–55.
- Edward Pessen
- J.R. Pole
- Richard R. Beeman
- Arthur S. Link
- James T. Harris
- Warren W. Hassler
- Harold Whitman Bradley
- Wilbur Zelinsky
-
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
Other Contributors
- MARK BOCAMAZO
- La Eu
- Great Museums
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
- Adam Augustyn
- Yamini Chauhan
- Robert Curley
- Darshana Das
- World Data Editors
- Letricia Dixon
- Brian Duignan
- Tracy Grant
- Kanchan Gupta
- John Higgins
- Mindy Johnston
- Jeannette L. Nolen
- Michael Levy
- Gita Liesangthem
- Gloria Lotha
- J.E. Luebering
- Deepti Mahajan
- Amy McKenna
- Michele Metych
- Lorraine Murray
- Richard Pallardy
- Dutta Promeet
- Tara Ramanathan
- Michael Ray
- Emily Rodriguez
- Marco Sampaolo
- Veenu Setia
- Kathleen Sheetz
- Gaurav Shukla
- Shiveta Singh
- Surabhi Sinha
- Amy Tikkanen
- Jeff Wallenfeldt
- Teagan Wolter
- Grace Young
- Adam Zeidan
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Updated currency exchange rate. | Nov 08, 2026 | ||
| Media added. | Oct 27, 2026 | ||
| Added “branches of government” interactive. | Sep 03, 2026 | ||
| Deleted Web site: American Battlefield Trust - Slavery in the United States. | Aug 05, 2026 | ||
| Country Profile: Removed literacy rate. | Jul 16, 2026 | ||
| Revised the Top Questions section. | Apr 22, 2026 | ||
| Replaced media. | Jan 28, 2026 | ||
| Replaced media. | Jan 28, 2026 | ||
| Cross references added. | Dec 12, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Al Jazeera - A history of American lynchings. | Sep 27, 2025 | ||
| Cross-reference added. | Aug 13, 2025 | ||
| Added a Top Questions section. | Jun 24, 2025 | ||
| Added cross-references. | Jun 12, 2025 | ||
| Added a cross-reference to Common Sense and modernized language. | Apr 01, 2025 | ||
| Video added. | Mar 14, 2025 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated head of state and government. | Jan 20, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Poland - States? Nicknames. | Oct 30, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: International Journal of Humanities and Social Science - After the First Click: Typewriters and Tying Literacy in the United States, 1870s-1930s. | Oct 18, 2024 | ||
| Cross-references to the Britannica article on the Democratic National Committee added. | Oct 07, 2024 | ||
| Added cross-reference. | Oct 02, 2024 | ||
| Media captions updated; expired media replaced. | Sep 08, 2024 | ||
| Modernized spelling. | Sep 05, 2024 | ||
| Expanded coverage of the Biden administration. | Sep 05, 2024 | ||
| Media added. | Dec 06, 2023 | ||
| Cross-references added. | Oct 25, 2023 | ||
| Removed faulty link. | Oct 17, 2023 | ||
| Added a cross-reference to George Floyd. | Aug 03, 2023 | ||
| Media added. | Jul 13, 2023 | ||
| Media added. | May 15, 2023 | ||
| Links added. | May 10, 2023 | ||
| Links added. | May 10, 2023 | ||
| Link added. | May 05, 2023 | ||
| Added cross-references. | Apr 19, 2023 | ||
| Added a cross-reference to “Roaring Twenties.” | Apr 16, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: EH.net - Urban Mass Transit In The United States. | Apr 10, 2023 | ||
| Cross-references added. | Mar 28, 2023 | ||
| Link fixed. | Mar 27, 2023 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Mar 23, 2023 | ||
| Added cross-reference. | Feb 28, 2023 | ||
| Infogram added. | Feb 16, 2023 | ||
| Added cross-references. | Jan 27, 2023 | ||
| Media added. | Jan 12, 2023 | ||
| In the section on the civil rights movement, fixed the cross-reference to Martin Luther King, Jr. | Jan 11, 2023 | ||
| In the History section, added descriptions of the mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, and noted the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade. | Jun 28, 2022 | ||
| Added a description of events during the first year of Joe Biden's presidential term. | Apr 14, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cool Kids Facts - 27 Interesting United States Facts For Kids | Cool Kid Facts. | Mar 30, 2022 | ||
| Removed media. | Nov 01, 2021 | ||
| Replaced media. | Sep 27, 2021 | ||
| Changed “#MeToov” to “#MeToo.” | Sep 08, 2021 | ||
| In the History section, added an explanation of the Supreme Court's ruling in Worcester v. Georgia. | Mar 30, 2021 | ||
| Noted the acquittal of Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. | Mar 15, 2021 | ||
| Expanded the description of events related to the 2020 election. | Feb 04, 2021 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated head of state and government. | Jan 20, 2021 | ||
| Added descriptions of the impeachment of Donald Trump, killing of George Floyd, coronavirus pandemic, and 2020 election. | Dec 08, 2020 | ||
| In the War production section, added two photographs. | Apr 25, 2019 | ||
| In the History section, added descriptions of the 2018?19 government shutdown and the release of the Mueller Report in March 2019. | Apr 15, 2019 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 15, 2019 | ||
| Media added. | Jan 23, 2019 | ||
| Media added. | Jan 09, 2019 | ||
| Media added. | Dec 20, 2018 | ||
| Media added. | Dec 20, 2018 | ||
| Media added. | Nov 15, 2018 | ||
| In the History section, added a description of events surrounding the 2018 mid-term election. | Nov 08, 2018 | ||
| In the History section, clarified the role played by the Netherlands in the American Revolution. | Oct 26, 2018 | ||
| Country Profile: Expanded country profile. | Sep 29, 2018 | ||
| In the History section, noted that in August 2018 the Puerto Rican government's official death toll from Hurricane Maria was upped to 3,000 deaths. | Sep 13, 2018 | ||
| In the History section, added a description of events in the last half of 2017 and the first half of 2018. | Jul 25, 2018 | ||
| Revised spelling of "Kim Jong-Eun" to "Kim Jong-Un." | Mar 09, 2018 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cornell Law School - Legal Information Institute - Traditional Functions of Government. | Mar 01, 2018 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Jan 05, 2018 | ||
| Added cross-reference. | Dec 01, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Sep 01, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Jul 14, 2017 | ||
| Added a description of the first six months of the Trump presidency. | Jul 11, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Jun 23, 2017 | ||
| Replaced media. | May 26, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | May 12, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 28, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: Public Broadcasting Service - American Experience - Reconstruction. | Jan 27, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: Public Broadcasting Service - American Experience - Reconstruction. | Jan 27, 2017 | ||
| Added descriptions of reactions to the 2016 presidential election, as well as of Donald Trump's inauguration and early executive actions. | Jan 27, 2017 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated Head of state and government. | Jan 23, 2017 | ||
| Added a description of the outcome of the 2016 general election. | Nov 09, 2016 | ||
| Added a description of events in the last half of 2015 and the first half of 2016. | Aug 22, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Energy Kids - Oil. | Aug 03, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: HistoryNet - States� Rights and The Civil War. | Jul 14, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Encyclopedia of Alabama - States' Rights. | Jul 14, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Sana'a, Yemen. | Jun 28, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | May 20, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | May 18, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | May 10, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | May 03, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | May 02, 2016 | ||
| In Land section, added data chart. | May 02, 2016 | ||
| In The American Revolution and the early federal republic section, media added. | May 02, 2016 | ||
| In the Colonial America to 1763 section, media added. | May 02, 2016 | ||
| In the United States from 1816 to 1850 section, media added. | May 02, 2016 | ||
| In the Economy section, added descriptions of the Great Recession and fracking. | Apr 29, 2016 | ||
| In the Government and society section, added descriptions of election reform and characterizations of the electorate, along with a discussion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. | Apr 29, 2016 | ||
| In People section, added data chart. | Apr 29, 2016 | ||
| In the Introduction, changed "being barely more than 200 years old" to "being less than 250 years old." | Apr 29, 2016 | ||
| Revised and updated the Cultural life section to note contributions to literature, motion pictures, television, theatre, popular music, and sports as the 21st century has progressed. | Apr 28, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: American Battlefield Trust - Slavery in the United States. | Mar 18, 2016 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated population; updated total area; revised footnotes. | Mar 09, 2016 | ||
| Added video. | Sep 04, 2015 | ||
| Added a description of events in the first half of 2015. | Jul 15, 2015 | ||
| "Chronological" dropped from description of lists of presidents, vice presidents, and first ladies. | Feb 06, 2015 | ||
| Noted that "America" and "Americans" refer to both the United States and its citizens and to North, South, and Central America and their citizens. |
|
Jan 14, 2015 | |
| Noted results of November 2014 midterm congressional election. | Nov 10, 2014 | ||
| Noted escalation in September 2014 of U.S.-led campaign against ISIL. | Oct 30, 2014 | ||
| Replaced photograph. | Aug 22, 2014 | ||
| Added descriptions of Bergdahl prisoner exchange, executive actions by Obama, border crisis, and U.S. response to events in Crimea and Iraq. | Jul 28, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: U.S. Department of State - Office of the Historian - The United States and the French Revolution. | Jul 16, 2014 | ||
| In the People section added characterization of the Hispanic population based on changes between 2000 and 2010. | Jul 15, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - United States of America. | May 19, 2014 | ||
| Replaced photograph. | May 15, 2014 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 16, 2014 | ||
| Changed "the Crimea" to "Crimea." | Apr 16, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Cotonou, Benin. | Jan 15, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Matinee Classics - Biography of Ronald Colman. | Jan 10, 2014 | ||
| In the Obama administration section noted problems with the rollout of Obamacare in October, the signing of an agreement with Iran on its nuclear activities in November, and the passage of a budget by Congress in December. | Dec 20, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Bangkok, Thailand. | Dec 05, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Sweden. | Nov 20, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - Naturalization Information. | Nov 11, 2013 | ||
| Noted passage by Congress of bill funding the full reopening of the government until January 15, 2014, and extending the national debt ceiling until February 7. | Oct 17, 2013 | ||
| Noted the shutdown of the federal goverment as a result of the failure of Congress to pass a budget-related continuing resolution. | Oct 01, 2013 | ||
| Noted the results of the UN weapons inspectors' report and the announcement of U.S.-Russia-brokered famework for Syrian chemical-weapons disarmament. | Sep 16, 2013 | ||
| Noted Syria-related developments, including British Parliament's vote against military intervention, U.S. government's "high certainty" of chemical attack by Syrian government, and Obama's request for Congressional authorization for military action. | Sep 03, 2013 | ||
| Added description of events related to Edward Snowden, the conviction of Bradley Manning, the removal of Egyptian Pres. Mohammed Morsi, and the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War. | Aug 28, 2013 | ||
| Media added. | May 31, 2013 | ||
| Described failure to pass new gun-control legislation; first effects of sequester cuts; and scandals involving the IRS, the Department of Justice, and attacks on diplomatic post in Libya. | May 22, 2013 | ||
| Replaced photograph. | Apr 10, 2013 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated population figure. | Mar 14, 2013 | ||
| Added mention of the Newtown shootings and of the automatic imposition of sequester cuts on March 1. | Mar 01, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: globalEDGE - United States. | Feb 13, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Maps of World - United States of America. | Feb 05, 2013 | ||
| Added description of passage on January 1, 2013, of the bill that avoided the "fiscal cliff." | Jan 03, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Geographic Kids - Countries - United States. | Dec 28, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Catholic Encyclopedia - The United States of America. | Dec 28, 2012 | ||
| Added results of November 6, 2012, election. | Nov 07, 2012 | ||
| Added description of 2012 presidential campaign, the attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Libya, and the superstorm that hit the U.S. East Coast in October 2012. | Nov 05, 2012 | ||
| Added discussion of recent economic developments, immigration policy, and the Supreme Court decisions on Arizona's 2010 immigration law and the Affordable Care Act. | Jun 29, 2012 | ||
| Added "June 2009" as the end date for the "Great Recession" and revised GDP figures. | Dec 29, 2011 | ||
| Added new sections on the American civil rights movement, Latino and Native American activism, along with descriptions of the results of the super committee?s efforts and of the end of the Iraq War. | Dec 29, 2011 | ||
| In the section on the 1912 election, added mention of Hiram Johnson, Theodore Roosevelt's running mate. | Dec 12, 2011 | ||
| Added image of the Battle of Tippecanoe. | Sep 30, 2011 | ||
| Country Profile: Added 2010 census data. | Sep 09, 2011 | ||
| Country Profile: Added name of head of state and head of government. urban-rural, life expectancy, literacy, and GNI per capita statistics. | Sep 06, 2011 | ||
| Added description of Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. credit rating. | Aug 08, 2011 | ||
| Added description of negotiations over raising the U.S. national debt ceiling. | Aug 02, 2011 | ||
| Changed number of times debt ceiling was lifted since 1980 to "more than three dozen" and changed "$6 trillion" to "$6.2 trillion." | Aug 02, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Djibouti. | Jul 25, 2011 | ||
| Added media related to the Osama bin Laden mission. | May 05, 2011 | ||
| Added image depicting the branches of the U.S. government. | May 03, 2011 | ||
| Added description of budget battle, intervention in Libya, storms in the Southeast, and killing of Osama bin Laden. | May 02, 2011 | ||
| Media added. | Mar 31, 2011 | ||
| The American Stock Exchange was renamed NYSE Amex Equities. | Feb 18, 2011 | ||
| Added descriptions of legislation passed by lame-duck Congress and of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. | Jan 25, 2011 | ||
| National anthem added. | Dec 21, 2010 | ||
| Added description of the WikiLeaks documents release. | Nov 29, 2010 | ||
| In the discussion of canal building, changed "the rage" to "increasingly popular." |
|
Nov 08, 2010 | |
| Added description of the results of the 2010 midterm elections and foiled terrorist bombing attempt. | Nov 03, 2010 | ||
| Added desciptions of Deepwater Horizon spill, end of combat operations in Iraq, ongoing economic problems, and upcoming midterm elections. | Oct 29, 2010 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. | Aug 02, 2010 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Uganda. | Jul 25, 2010 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Kathmandu, Nepal. | Jul 23, 2010 | ||
| Video of rationing during World War II added. | Jun 24, 2010 | ||
| Added video of striking workers at an automobile plant, a shoe factory, a newspaper office, and a cannery. | May 28, 2010 | ||
| Added image of World War I ration card and image of U.S. troops passing through the Victory Arch in New York City. | May 25, 2010 | ||
| Added information on the date of approval of the Great Compromise of the Constitutional Convention. | May 10, 2010 | ||
| Changed "once all of its elements had taken effect over the next four years--extend health care to some 30 million" to "once all of its elements had taken effect over the next 9 years--extend health care some 32 million" | Apr 14, 2010 | ||
| Added diagram of air distances from U.S. cities to foreign places. | Apr 13, 2010 | ||
| Updated to mention passage of "fixes" bill. | Mar 26, 2010 | ||
| Added the name of the health care bill: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. | Mar 24, 2010 | ||
| Updated to include devolpments since the inauguration of Barack Obama as president. | Mar 23, 2010 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated area and population figures. | Mar 12, 2010 | ||
| Video of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg added to History section. | Dec 14, 2009 | ||
| Added images of first peacetime draft lottery and of people protesting the draft. | Aug 28, 2009 | ||
| In the section on "Domestic issues," changed the year of the civil rights act from 1960 to 1957. | Jul 21, 2009 | ||
| Typo corrected. | Jul 09, 2009 | ||
| New population density map added. | Jul 09, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: National Geographic - Travel - United States. | Apr 17, 2009 | ||
| Recast charaterization of John Updike to indicate his place in American literature following his death. | Apr 14, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Export.Gov - United States Trade Agreements. | Apr 06, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Catholic Encyclopedia - Germans in the United States. | Jan 23, 2009 | ||
| Updated progress of TARP efforts at time of Obama's inauguration. Added Obama's ElectoralVote count. | Jan 20, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Consulate General of United States in Shanghai, China. | Jan 04, 2009 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Nov 26, 2008 | ||
| Article updated to address the final stages of the Bush adminstration and for the 2008 election. | Nov 12, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Santiago, Chile. | Sep 08, 2008 | ||
| Media revised. | Sep 04, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Catholic Encyclopedia - America. | Aug 25, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Kids in the House - Office of the Clerk - United States House of Representatives. | Jul 23, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Iowa State University Center for Agricultural History and Rural Studies - American Agricultural History Primer. | Jul 03, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Jun 11, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: USINFO - Privacy. | Jun 04, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Desert USA - The Native American Peoples Of Our Western Deserts. | May 19, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Paramaribo, Suriname. | Mar 10, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. | Feb 13, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of The Embassy of United States in Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire. | Feb 06, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Windhoek, Namibia. | Jan 11, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: U.S. Department of State - Citizenship and Nationality. | Dec 17, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: U.S. Department of State - Dual Nationality. | Dec 17, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Malaysia. | Dec 14, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Ndjamena, Chad. | Dec 13, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Nassau and Paradise Island. | Dec 11, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Guatemala. | Nov 30, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Kyiv, Ukraine. | Nov 26, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the United States Embassy and Consulates in the United Kingdom. | Nov 19, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Anti-defamation League - Legal definition of Misprision. | Nov 06, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: US Department of Labor - Minimum Wage Laws in the States. | Oct 29, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Sana'a, Yemen. | Oct 25, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: DLTK's Sites - United States of America. | Sep 10, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Nicosia, Cyprus. | Aug 29, 2007 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Jul 11, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Embassy of the United States, Rabat, Morocco. | Mar 28, 2007 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Mar 16, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Dakar, Senegal. | Feb 07, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Embassy of the United States of America in Maputo, Mozambique. | Feb 07, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. | Jan 29, 2007 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Dec 14, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Historycentral - American History. | Dec 11, 2006 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Nov 17, 2006 | ||
| Bibliography revised. | Nov 17, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Buzzle.com - Importance of a Library. | Nov 15, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: U.S. Department of State - International Information Program. | Nov 15, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States of America in Lome, Togo. | Nov 15, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Sri Lanka and Maldives. | Nov 15, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the United States Embassy and Consulates in South Korea. | Nov 15, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site for the United States Diplomatic Mission to South Africa. | Nov 15, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the United States Embassy and Consulates in Saudi Arabia. | Nov 15, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site for the United States Diplomatic Mission to South Africa. | Nov 15, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of United States Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. | Nov 15, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site for United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. | Nov 14, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site for American Embassy Phnom Penh, Cambodia. | Nov 14, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Official Site of the Consulate-General, Naha, Japan. | Nov 14, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the United States Embassy in Nicaragua. | Nov 14, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States of America in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. | Nov 14, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States of America in Luanda, Angola. | Nov 13, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Barbados. | Nov 13, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University - Teaching American History. | Nov 08, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University - Teaching American History. | Nov 08, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Library of Congress - America. | Nov 06, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of U.S. Embassy in Mexico. | Oct 27, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Dominican Republic. | Oct 27, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the U.S. Courts. | Oct 26, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Official Site of the Library of Congress. | Oct 12, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Library of Congress - The Beginnings of American Railroads and Mapping. | Oct 11, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids. | Oct 03, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Library of Congress - The American Folklife Center. | Aug 22, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: World History International - United States Government. | Aug 03, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Central Intelligence Agency - The World Factbook - United States. | Jul 25, 2006 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Jul 07, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center. | Jun 06, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Politics1. | Jun 06, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: U.S. National Parks. | Jun 01, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: U.S. National Parks. | Jun 01, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Making of America. | May 31, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Making of America. | May 31, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Embassy of the United States in Cairo, Egypt. | May 17, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | May 12, 2005 | ||
| Article revised. | Nov 12, 2004 | ||
| Article revised. | May 28, 2004 | ||
| Article revised. | Mar 31, 2004 | ||
| Article revised. | Mar 18, 2004 | ||
| Article revised. | Apr 17, 2003 | ||
| Article revised. | Mar 28, 2003 | ||
| Article revised. | Mar 06, 2003 | ||
| Article revised. | May 17, 2002 | ||
| Article revised. | Apr 26, 2002 | ||
| Article revised. | Feb 01, 2002 | ||
| Article revised. | Sep 28, 2001 | ||
| Article revised. | Mar 02, 2001 | ||
| Article revised. | Feb 16, 2001 | ||
| Article revised. | Feb 09, 2001 | ||
| Article revised. | Jan 12, 2001 | ||
| Article revised. | Dec 07, 2000 | ||
| Article revised. | Nov 22, 2000 | ||
| Article revised. | Sep 08, 2000 | ||
| Article revised. | Sep 05, 2000 | ||
| Article revised. | Jul 07, 2000 | ||
| Article revised. | Mar 10, 2000 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Oct 26, 1998 |