Making America: A History of the United States from 1865

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Summary: Making history, vol. 2...
Review: 'Making America: A History of the United States' is a wonderful introduction to American history, written in broad strokes that goes from the earliest days of European discovery, including an overview of the Native American histories, through to modern times. This second volume traces the time of the aftermath of the American Civil War to the present day, including the present Bush presidency. The final settlement of the West, expansion throughout the hemisphere, and finally expansion into a global power economically and militarily.

The first chapter in this book is a repeat of the last chapter of the first volume, to set the stage for looking at America in a post-Civil War context. Readers who have both volumes will not need to read this twice, but it is a very intelligent choice to repeat the material for those who take courses out of sequence or read volumes separately. From the aftermath of the Civil War and Reconstruction, the authors trace the development of America, largely isolated from the rest of the world diplomatically and militarily, into a largely introspective industrial power, which was nonetheless a magnet for immigration from all over the world, providing the people-power needed to fuel the engines of growth across the continent. Railroads and the big business barons feature in this part of the history.

As the West was settled, the continuing issue of the Native Americans, and how they were mistreated by the federal government, is laid out along with the political and economic upheavals occurring in all parts of the country. From these industrial and consolidation beginnings, America's involvement in foreign conflicts and issues, beginning with World War I and the League of Nations (which America helped found, but never joined) and solidifying with World War II and the United Nations, shows a history that has immediate ramifications with which we still live. Similarly, developments in the economy and civil society from the depression era, the Civil Rights era, and the Cold War all have legacies immediately apparent to people today.

The book is full of colour, with pictures, maps, graphs, and other design elements used to make reading easier and comprehension greater. Bold-faced words in the text are highlighted and explained in definition form in pull-out boxes at the bottom of many pages, which parallel with the useful glossary of terms at the back. There are chapter introductions and summaries, maps and timelines to set each chapter's context, and interesting features called 'Individual Voices' and 'Individual Choices' that draw the chapters together into overall topical agreement. The text is backed by a useful website.

We are using this two-volume set at the college where I tutor in history (among other topics). The students enjoy the text, and it is a good work to use from a teaching standpoint, too.