History in the Making: A History of the People of the United States of America to 1877

Study overview of the reviewed opening

The first chapter’s introduction places the beginning of this history before the founding of the nation. It presents Indigenous societies as part of a long and varied history rather than as a single backdrop to European arrival. The discussion distinguishes broad eras and emphasises differences between regional communities.

Its learning outcomes ask students to compare interpretations of origins and to examine political, cultural and social differences across periods and regions. These aims encourage comparison and attention to diversity. The passage’s archaeological framing belongs to the 2013 edition; the page does not claim to update every historical or scientific interpretation within the text.

The verified contents then move through the global context of contact, colonisation, revolution and the formation of government. Later chapters consider the early republic, Jacksonian America, reform, expansion, sectional conflict, the Civil War and Reconstruction. This is a reading map of the full textbook, not a detailed summary of all seventeen chapters. The study overview covers only the reviewed opening section.

Book contents

1. Chapter One: United States History Before Columbus
2. Chapter Two: The Global Context: Asia, Europe, and Africa in the Early Modern Era
3. Chapter Three: Initial Contact and Conquest
4. Chapter Four: The Establishment Of English Colonies Before 1642 And Their Development Through The Late Seventeenth Century
5. Chapter Five: English Colonization After 1660
6. Chapter Six: Growing Pains in the Colonies
7. Chapter Seven: The Road To Revolution, 1754-1775
8. Chapter Eight: The American Revolution
9. Chapter Nine: Articles of Confederation and the Constitution
10. Chapter Ten: The Federalist Era
11. Chapter Eleven: The Early Republic
12. Chapter Twelve: Jacksonian America (1815-1840)
13. Chapter Thirteen: Antebellum Revival And Reform
14. Chapter Fourteen: Westward Expansion
15. Chapter Fifteen: The Impending Crisis
16. Chapter Sixteen: The Civil War
17. Chapter Seventeen: Reconstruction

Questions for study

The following prompts are Academic Master’s editorial material.

• Why begin a national history before the nation was founded?
• How can comparison preserve differences between communities?
• What kinds of claims in a historical textbook may require later scholarly context?

Sources and coverage

Section 1.1 Introduction and its learning outcomes read in full (PDF page 13); edition, licence and complete chapter contents checked.

Source edition · Source licence