Top Databases for History & Humanities
- America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window Covers the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present; content includes book and media reviews and international perspective on topics and events.
- American History This link opens in a new window More than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history, including expanded coverage of American women's history and U.S. government. Primary sources available; maps, charts, images, and videos are included in this database.
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new window United States government publications (including Congressional Documents, Presidential Papers, Foreign Relations of the United States, and Federal Agency Documents) is comprehensive back to inception.Special collections include Democracy in America, Kennedy Assassination Collection, Pentagon Papers, Slavery in American and the World, Civil Rights and Social Justice.
- European Views of the Americas: 1493-1750 This link opens in a new window A comprehensive archive about the Americas written in Europe before 1750; covers topics such as Native Americans, Jesuits in America, pirates, slave trade, discoveries, commerce.
- Humanities International Complete This link opens in a new window
- Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window
- US Major Dailies This link opens in a new window
How to Find Articles
You can find articles on history and humanities in several ways:
- Search one of the opens new window30+ history and related databases at ORU. (Best way!)
- Search opens new windowHistory journals at ORU.
- opens new windowEagleSearch
- opens new windowGoogle Scholar
ORU Library 2024 6:05 minutes Transcript
American History Websites
- American History TV
Covering American History C-SPAN style: with event coverage, eyewitness accounts, and discussions with authors, historians and teachers. - National Archives - Research Our Records
Ancestry Records, Military Records, Photographs, and Online Exhibits - WallBuilders Library Resources
Black History, Chaplains, Historical Documents, Historical Sermons, and Historical Writings - World History Institute
Dr. Marshall Foster shares videos, pod casts, and journals about the founding of America and reveals how history can help us interpret the present.
Reference Books
Encyclopedia of American History by
This 11-volume set contains, in one chronological compilation, the history of the United States of America from its prehistoric ancestors to its 21st-century citizens. It seeks to offer a balanced presentation of the political, social, economic and cultural events that have shaped the nation. Topics covered include: the first settling of the land; the historical convergence of European, African and Native American peoples beginning in the late-15th century; the period during which America built itself physically through industrialization and territorial expansion and ideologically through economic, political and social growth and reform; how America made the ideals of liberty, equality, justice and human dignity a reality after Reconstruction; the rapid expansion of the US economy into an industrial power; the influential people, places and events that created American history after World War II and into the early 1970s; and the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.
Call Number: E174 .E53 2003 ReferenceISBN: 081604371XPublication Date: 2003
Dictionary of American History by
Covers the period immediately preceding the American Revolution to the present, including political, diplomatic, military, economic, social, and cultural developments and events.
Call Number: E174 .T47 2000 ReferenceISBN: 0816044635Publication Date: 2000
Atlas of the North American Indian by
Atlas of the North American Indian, Third Edition chronicles the travel and experiences of Native Americans from the first voyage to North America to the present day. This new edition now features a bold full-color format and is bolstered by more than 120 full-color, detailed maps that cover important locations for American Indians, as well as highlighting their interactions with European colonists and other non-Native people. In addition, the updated text details the history, traditions, conflicts, land cessions, and contemporary ways of life for American Indians.This informative book is enhanced by more than 130 full-color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations of the people, places, and artifacts important in the history of Native America. Invaluable appendixes include a chronology of North American Native prehistory and history, a list of contemporary Indian nations in the United States, a list of contemporary Canadian First Nations, and a list of major Native place-names in the United States and Canada. A glossary, a bibliography, and an index are also included.
Call Number: G1106.E1 W3 2009 ReferenceISBN: 9780816068586Publication Date: 2009
Chronology of Native North American History by Call Number: E77 .C555 1994 ReferenceISBN: 0810391953Publication Date: 1994
Encyclopedia of Women in the American West by
The Encyclopedia of Women of the American West captures the lives of more than 150 women who made their mark from the mid-1800s to the present, contextualizing their experiences and contributions to American society. Including many women profiled for the first time, the encyclopedia offers immense value and interest to practicing historians as well as students and the public.
Call Number: HQ1438.W45 E53 2003 ReferenceISBN: 076192356XPublication Date: 2003
Encyclopedia of Revolutionary America by
The American Revolution is one of the most studied time periods in U.S. history and a substantial part of the history curriculum in schools. The three-volume Encyclopedia of Revolutionary America is the definitive reference to everything students need to know about this pivotal moment in American history. Written by a preeminent scholar in the field, with a foreword by the esteemed Gary B. Nash, this comprehensive A-to-Z encyclopedia not only includes discussion of the continental U.S., but contains coverage of the Atlantic world and the North American continent as well. Black-and-white illustrations, an index, and appendixes round out the insightful resource. Coverage includes: John Adams Articles of Confederation Benjamin Banneker Bill of Rights California Indians Continental army Cornplanter Declaration of Independence Environment Florida Benjamin Franklin French and Indian War George III Alexander Hamilton Immigration Thomas Jefferson Latin America Louisiana Purchase James Madison Medicine Postal service Race and racial conflict Revolutionary War Slavery Stamp Act War of 1812 George Washington Women's status and rights Yellow fever.
Call Number: E208 .G55 2010 V.1 ReferenceISBN: 9780816065059Publication Date: 2010
Encyclopedia of Battles in North America by
Maps supplement descriptive narratives of more than 350 battles, from battles over Spanish conquest in 1517 to Mexican border raids in 1916, providing information on each battle's context, important leaders, and outcome.
Call Number: E46.5 .P87 2000 ReferenceISBN: 0816033501Publication Date: 2000
United States History by Call Number: E174 .D522 1998 ReferenceISBN: 0028650166Publication Date: 1998
Immigrants in American History by
This encyclopedia is a unique collection of entries covering the arrival, adaptation, and integration of immigrants into American culture from the 1500s to 2010. Few topics inspire such debate among American citizens as the issue of immigration in the United States. Yet, it is the steady influx of foreigners into America over 400 years that has shaped the social character of the United States, and has favorably positioned this country for globalization. Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration is a chronological study of the migration of various ethnic groups to the United States from 1500 to the present day. This multivolume collection explores dozens of immigrant populations in America and delves into major topical issues affecting different groups across time periods. For example, the first author of the collection profiles African Americans as an example of the effects of involuntary migrations. A cross-disciplinary approach--derived from the contributions of leading scholars in the fields of history, sociology, cultural development, economics, political science, law, and cultural adaptation--introduces a comparative analysis of customs, beliefs, and character among groups, and provides insight into the impact of newcomers on American society and culture. Recent immigration and naturalization data from the 2010 U.S. Census Excerpts from American laws and customs A chronology of migration to the United States between 1500 to 2010
Call Number: JV6450 .I5536 2013 V.1 ReferenceISBN: 9781598842197Publication Date: 2013
Encyclopedia of the American Presidency by
The most up-to-date reference of its kind, ""Encyclopedia of the American Presidency, Revised Edition"" is the definitive guide to the role of the president from the American Revolution through the present day. Offering a complete account of every presidential election in U.S. history, this fully revised A-to-Z encyclopedia will make a great first stop for students and general readers looking for information on the executive branch of the American government. Its comprehensive scope spans the relationship between the executive and the other branches of government, court cases, elections, political opponents, scandals, and more. A valuable resource that provides concise information, ""Encyclopedia of the American Presidency, Revised Edition"" contains approximately 700 entries and many wonderful black-and-white illustrations. It includes: George W. Bush; Commander in chief; Economic policy; Executive privilege; Impeachment; Iraq War; Thomas Jefferson; Military tribunals; Barack Obama; Oval office; The Secret Service; Veto power; and, White House.
Call Number: JK511 .G45 2010 ReferenceISBN: 9780816073665Publication Date: 2009
The Great American History Fact-Finder by
Completely revised and expanded with 200 new entries, The Great American History Fact-Finder covers a wide spectrum of American history and culture, including political events, military history, sports, arts, entertainment, landmark legislation, and business. Here is essential information on everything from the Mayflower to space exploration, from the dot-com boom and bust to the Stanley Cup. The book's 2,200 concise entries, arranged from A to Z, bring our nation's past into sharp focus while also offering just plain useful facts about the well known and not so well known: - Who ran on the campaign slogan "Don't swap horses in midstream"? - In what year was the Super Bowl first played? - Where did the westbound and eastbound tracks of the transcontinental railroad meet? - When did events at Yalta, the Bay of Pigs, and Kent State take place? - What did the swimmer Gertrude Ederle achieve in 1926?
Call Number: E174 .C67 2004 ReferenceISBN: 0618439412Publication Date: 2004
American Religious Leaders by
This work traces the history of American religion through the lives of its leaders. More than 250 entries explore America's religious and spiritual leaders from colonial times to today. Notable figures and leaders from many of the major churches and religious groups in America are covered.
Call Number: BL72 .H33 2003 ReferenceISBN: 0816045348Publication Date: 2002
Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics by
An A-to-Z reference on all facets of American religion and politics, from the early days of the republic to the rise of the political power of the Christian Right. Over 600 entries cover key religious and political leaders, historical events, court cases, concepts and religious denominations.
Call Number: BL2525 .D58 2003 ReferenceISBN: 0816045828Publication Date: 2003
The Gilded Age
Roaring Camp by
Historical insight is the alchemy that transforms the familiar story of the Gold Rush into something sparkling and new. The world of the Gold Rush that comes down to us through fiction and film--of unshaven men named Stumpy and Kentuck raising hell and panning for gold--is one of half-truths. In this brilliant work of social history, Susan Johnson enters the well-worked diggings of Gold Rush history and strikes a rich lode. She finds a dynamic social world in which the conventions of identity--ethnic, national, and sexual--were reshaped in surprising ways. She gives us the all-male households of the diggings, the mines where the men worked, and the fandango houses where they played. With a keen eye for character and story, Johnson restores the particular social world that issued in the Gold Rush myths we still cherish.
Call Number: F865 .J675 2000ISBN: 0393048128Publication Date: 2000
Over the Edge by
From the Gold Rush to rush hour, the history of the American West is fraught with diverse, subversive, and at times downright eccentric elements. This provocative volume challenges traditional readings of western history and literature, and redraws the boundaries of the American West with absorbing essays ranging widely on topics from tourism to immigration, from environmental battles to interethnic relations, and from law to film. Taken together, the essays reassess the contributions of a diverse and multicultural America to the West, as they link western issues to global frontiers. Featuring the latest work by some of the best new writers both inside and outside academia, the original essays in Over the Edge confront the traditional field of western American studies with a series of radical, speculative, and sometimes outrageous challenges. The collection reads the West through Ben-Hur and the films of Mae West; revises the western American literary canon to include the works of African American and Mexican American writers; examines the implications of miscegenation law and American Indian blood quantum requirements; and brings attention to the historical participation of Mexican and Japanese American women, Native American slaves, and Alaskan cannery workers in community life.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 0520211499Publication Date: 1999
Great Depression, World War I, and World War II
The New Deal and the Great Depression by
In this second volume of the Interpreting American History series, experts on the 1930s address the changing historical interpretations of a critical period in American history. Following a decade of prosperity, the Great Depression brought unemployment, economic ruin, poverty, and a sense of hopelessness to millions of Americans. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs aimed to bring relief, recovery, and reform to the masses. More than seventy-five years after Roosevelt took the oath as president, Americans are still debating what did and did not happen in the 1930s to help the nation recover from its worst economic depression. Proponents and detractors have cast the successes and failures of the New Deal in many lights. Historians have argued that the New Deal went too far, that it did not go far enough, that it created more problems than it solved, and even that its shaky foundations are the reason for the economic and social instability of the Great Recession of the early twenty-first century. The contributors to this volume explore how historians have judged the nature, effects, and outcomes of the New Deal. Arranged in three sections, the essays discuss Roosevelt's New Deal revolution, explore the groups on the fringes of the New Deal, and consider the legacies of 1930s reform. Chapters focus on specific areas of study, including politics, agriculture, the environment, labor, African Americans, the economy, social programs, the arts, mobilization for World War II, and memory. These fields represent today's emerging interpretations of one of the most significant decades of the twentieth century. Interpreting American History: The New Deal and the Great Depression introduces readers to this important period by examining the major historical debates that surround the 1930s, giving students a succinct and indispensable istoriographic overview.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 9781606352205Publication Date: 2014
The Great Plains During World War II by
After World War II, the pivotal event in twentieth-century American history, life both at home and abroad seemed more complex and more dangerous than ever before. The political, economic, and social changes wrought by the war, such as the centralization and regulation of economic affairs by the federal government, new roles for women and minorities in American life, and the world leadership of the United States, remained in place after the soldiers and sailors returned home. Although the impact of World War II was not as transformative for the Great Plains as it was for other areas of the United States, it was still significant and tumultuous. Emphasizing the region's social and economic history, The Great Plains during World War II is the first book to examine the effects of the war on the region and the responses of its residents. Beginning with the isolationist debate that preceded the war, R. Douglas Hurt traces the residents' changing view of the European conflict and its direct impact on the plains. Hurt argues that the people of the Great Plains based their patriotic response to the war effort on the concept of comparative sacrifice. Drawing on a wealth of primary sources, this compelling and frank history brings to life the voices and experiences of the residents of the Great Plains in recounting the story of the daily concerns of ordinary people that have become part of the nation's history of this seminal event.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 9780803224094Publication Date: 2008
U. S. Diplomacy from World War I Through World War II by
The period from the outset of World War I to the end of World War II was among the most significant in the history of the United States. Twice it was drawn into "foreign entanglements"--wars it initially thought were no concern of its own and of which it tried to steer clear--only to realize that it could not stand aside. With each one, it geared up in record time, entered the fray massively, and was crucial to the outcome. Each war tested the American people and their leaders, and in each case the country came out of the conflagration stronger than before--and even more important--yet stronger relative to other countries than it had ever been. This was the period when the United States became a world leader. The Historical Dictionary of U.S. Diplomacy from World War I through World War II relates the events of this crucial period in U.S. history through a chronology, an introductory essay, and over 600 cross-referenced dictionary entries on key persons, places, events, institutions, and organizations.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 9780810856066Publication Date: 2010
World War II and the American Indian by
World War II marked a crossroads for Native Americans. Twenty-five thousand served in America's armed forces and forty thousand--including many Native American women employed in defense industries--secured jobs on the home front. The war years divided their past from their future, providing some with the skills and opportunities to enter mainstream society. For other Native Americans, wartime experiences affirmed the value of a renewed, reinvigorated Indian identity apart from the dominant society. This book is the first full account of Native American experiences from the 1930s to 1945 and the first to offer the Indians' perspective. It begins with their responses to the drift toward war in the 1930s, including their reactions to propaganda campaigns directed at them by Nazi sympathizers. It is also the only ethnohistory of their experiences during World War II. Included are the voices and recollections of Indian men who resisted the draft, of those who fought in Europe and the Pacific, and of Indian women on the homefront. The book is also a careful reinterpretation of John Collier's career as commissioner of Indian affairs during the Roosevelt years. Townsend argues that Collier's efforts to preserve traditional Native American lifeways inadvertently provided Indians the resources, training, and services necessary for assimilation in the post-war years.
Call Number: D810.I5 T69 2000ISBN: 0826320392Publication Date: 2002
The Good Fight Continues by
Written with passion and intelligence, the letters of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in World War II express the raw idealism of anti-fascist soldiers who experienced the war in boot camps, cockpits, and foxholes, but never lost sight of the great global issues at stake. When the United States entered World War II on December 7, 1941, only one group of American soldiers had already confronted the fascist enemy on the battlefield: the U.S. veterans of the Lincoln Brigade, a volunteer army of about 2,800 men and women who had enlisted to defend the Spanish Republic from military rebels during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). They fought on the losing side. After Pearl Harbor, Lincoln Brigade veterans enthusiastically joined the U.S. Army, welcoming this second chance to fight against fascism. However, the Lincoln recruits soon encountered suspicious military leaders who questioned their patriotism and denied them promotions and overseas assignments, foreshadowing the political persecution of the postwar Red Scare. African American veterans who fought in fully integrated units in Spain, faced second-class treatment in America's Jim Crow army. Nevertheless, the Lincolns served with distinction in every theater of the war and won a disproportionate number of medals for courage, dedication, and sacrifice. The 154 letters in this volume, selected from thousands held in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives at NYU's Tamiment Library, provide a new and unique perspective on aspects of World War II.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 0814716598Publication Date: 2006
Understanding American History
The Reader's Companion to American History by
Designed to be read for pleasure as well as for information, this links facts, dates and events to reveal broad themes in, and ideas about, American history. This thematic and interpretive approach aims to bring out the relationships among topics separated not only geographically and in time but, in many encyclopaedias, by either alphabetical or chronological organization.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 9780395513729Publication Date: 1991
Women in American History
Phillis Wheatley by
With Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), Phillis Wheatley (1753?-1784) became the first English-speaking person of African descent to publish a book and only the second woman--of any race or background-- to do so in America. Written in Boston while she was just a teenager, and when she was still a slave, Wheatley's work was an international sensation. In Phillis Wheatley, Vincent Carretta offers the first full-length biography of a figure whose origins and later life have remained shadowy despite her iconic status. A scholar with extensive knowledge of transatlantic literature and history, Carretta uncovers new details about Wheatley's origins, her upbringing, and how she gained freedom. Carretta solves the mystery of John Peters, correcting the record of when he and Wheatley married and revealing what became of him after her death. Assessing Wheatley's entire body of work, Carretta discusses the likely role she played in the production, marketing, and distribution of her writing. Wheatley developed a remarkable transatlantic network that transcended racial, class, political, religious, and geographical boundaries. Carretta reconstructs that network and sheds new light on her religious and political identities. In the course of his research he discovered the earliest poem attributable to Wheatley and has included it and other unpublished poems in the biography. Carretta relocates Wheatley from the margins to the center of her eighteenth-century transatlantic world, revealing the fascinating life of a woman who rose from the indignity of enslavement to earn wide recognition, only to die in obscurity a few years later.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 9780820333380Publication Date: 2011
Dr. Mary Walker by
A suffragist who wore pants. This is just the simplest of ways Dr. Mary Walker is recognized in the fields of literature, feminist and gender studies, history, psychology, and sociology. Perhaps more telling about her life are the words of an 1866 London Anglo-American Times reporter, "Her strange adventures, thrilling experiences, important services and marvelous achievements exceed anything that modern romance or fiction has produced. . . . She has been one of the greatest benefactors of her sex and of the human race." In this biography Sharon M. Harris steers away from a simplistic view and showcases Walker as a Medal of Honor recipient, examining her work as an activist, author, and Civil War surgeon, along with the many nineteenth-century issues she championed:political, social, medical, and legal reforms, abolition, temperance, gender equality, U.S. imperialism, and the New Woman. Rich in research and keyed to a new generation, Dr. Mary Walker captures its subject's articulate political voice, public self, and the realities of an individual whose ardent beliefs in justice helped shape the radical politics of her time.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 9780813546117Publication Date: 2009
Calamity Jane by
Forget Doris Day singing on the stagecoach. Forget Robin Weigert's gritty portrayal on HBO's Deadwood. The real Calamity Jane was someone the likes of whom you've never encountered. That is, until now. This book is a definitive biography of Martha Canary, the woman popularly known as Calamity Jane. Written by one of today's foremost authorities on this notorious character, it is a meticulously researched account of how an alcoholic prostitute was transformed into a Wild West heroine. Always on the move across the northern plains, Martha was more camp follower than the scout of legend. A mother of two, she often found employment as waitress, laundress, or dance hall girl and was more likely to be wearing a dress than buckskin. But she was hard to ignore when she'd had a few drinks, and she exploited the aura of fame that dime novels created around her, even selling her autobiography and photos to tourists. Gun toting, swearing, hard drinking--Calamity Jane was all of these, to be sure. But whatever her flaws or foibles, James D. McLaird paints a compelling portrait of an unconventional woman who more than once turned the tables on those who sought to condemn or patronize her. He also includes dozens of photos--many never before seen--depicting Jane in her many guises. His book is a long-awaited biography of Martha Canary and the last word on Calamity Jane.
Call Number: F594.C2 M34 2005ISBN: 0806135913Publication Date: 2005
Equal to the Occasion by
The lives, publications, and historical contexts of thirty-five female editors of newspapers and periodicals in the 19th-century West, from 1854, when the West's first woman editor began her work, through the turn of the century. With its in-depth portraits of pioneering women editors and its appendix listing more than two hundred women and the major repositories where their extant publications are kept, the book draws a large group of 19th-century western women out of historical obscurity. Neveda Studies in History and Political Science.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 0874173841Publication Date: 1990
Women Pilots of World War II by
Jean Hascall Cole's interviews with her fellow classmates documents their valuable contribution to the history of women, aviation, and the military. Women Pilots of World War II presents a rare look at the personal experiences of the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) by recording the adventures of one of eighteen classes of women to graduate from the Army Air Forces flight training school during World War II. This unique oral history verifies and shines a long-overdue spotlight on the flying accomplishments of these remarkable women.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 0874804930Publication Date: 1992
Amelia Earhart's Shoes by
Can modern science tell us what happened to Amelia Earhart? The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has spent fifteen years searching for the famous lost pilot using everything from archival research and archaeological survey to side-scan sonar and the analysis of radio wave propagation. In this spellbinding book, four of TIGHAR's scholars offer tantalizing evidence that the First Lady of the Air and her navigator Fred Noonan landed on an uninhabited tropical island but perished before they could be rescued. Do they have Amelia's shoe? Parts of her airplane? Are her bones tucked away in a hospital in Fiji? Come join their fascinating expedition and examine the evidence for yourself! The new paperback edition brings the search up to the present, including tantalizing evidence of campfires and charred bones found on remote Nikumaroro.
Call Number: TL540.E3 A74 2004ISBN: 0759101310Publication Date: 2004
Rise of the Rocket Girls by Call Number: TL862.J48 H65 2016ISBN: 9780316338929Publication Date: 2016
Harriet Tubman by
Every schoolchild knows of Harriet Tubman's heroic escape and resistance to slavery. But few readers are aware that Tubman went on to be a scout, a spy, and a nurse for the Union Army, because there has never before been a serious biography for an adult audience of this important woman.This is that long overdue historical work, written by an acclaimed historian of the antebellum era and the Civil War.
Call Number: E444.T82 C57 2004ISBN: 0316144924Publication Date: 2004
Men in American History
John Witherspoon's American Revolution by Call Number: EbookISBN: 9781469628189Publication Date: 2017
In the Footsteps of Daniel Boone by
Market hunter, frontier guide, wilderness scout, master woodsman, expert marksman, Indian fighter, militia leader, surveyor, land speculator, judge, sheriff, coroner, elected legislator, merchant, tavern keeper, prisoner of war, Spanish syndic, husband, father-Daniel Boone led one of the fullest and most eventful lives in American history. Encompassing 85 sites stretched across 11 states, In the Footsteps of Daniel Boone takes readers to the places where Boone lived, hunted, fought, and dreamed of the next frontier. You'll find the sites where two of Boone's sons were killed by Indians, where he rescued his kidnapped daughter from Shawnee captors, where his brother was slain by Indians who mistook him for Boone, where he tricked a British governor, and where he was court-martialed on charges of treason. In David, Kentucky, you'll visit the hollow where Daniel Boone saw his first buffalo. At Fort Boonesborough State Park, you'll learn how his courage and cunning defeated a Shawnee siege. At Cumberland Gap, you'll walk Boone's Wilderness Trail, by which a quarter-million settlers entered Kentucky. And in Pennsylvania and Missouri, you'll see the homes where he was born into and departed this world-a thousand miles, 86 years, and a legendary life apart. Book jacket.
Call Number: F454.B66 J66 2005ISBN: 0895873087Publication Date: 2005
Interpreters with Lewis and Clark by
When interpreter Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian fur trader living among the Hidatsas, and his Shoshone Indian wife, Sacagawea, joined the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, they headed into country largely unknown to them, as it was to Thomas Jefferson's hand-picked explorers. There is little doubt as to the importance of Sacagawea's presence on the journey. She has become a near-legendary figure for her role as interpreter, guide, and "token of peace." Toussaint, however, has been maligned in both fiction and nonfiction alike--Lewis himself called him "a man of no peculiar merit." W. Dale Nelson offers a frank and honest portrayal of Toussaint, suggesting his character has perhaps been judged too harshly. He was indeed valuable as an interpreter and no doubt helpful with his knowledge of the Indian tribes the group encountered. For example, Toussaint proved his worth in negotiations with the Shoshones for much-needed horses, and with his experience as a fur trader, he always seemed to strike a better bargain than his companions. During the expedition Sacagawea gave birth to a son, Jean Baptiste. With her death in 1812, Clark assumed custody of her son and Toussaint returned to his life on the upper Missouri. Surviving his wife by almost three decades, Toussaint worked under Clark (then Superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis) as an interpreter for government officials, explorers, artists, and visiting dignitaries. Jean Baptiste traveled the Rocky Mountains as a mountain man, was a scout during the Mexican American War, and served as mayor and judge for the San Luis Rey Mission.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 1574411659Publication Date: 2003
Schliemann and the California Gold Rush by
In this second part of The Schliemann Diaries we follow Heinrich Schliemann (the famous 19th century archaeologist, trader and traveller) through his diary on his second journey: his travels to America from December 1850 to March 1853. The original diary was written in English and for a small part in Spanish. This publication is a transcription and translation of Schliemann's travel diary.In 1850 the millionaire Schliemann decided to end his job as trader in Russia and to try his luck in the United States. He travelled via Europe to New York and Washington and then via Panama on to the goldfields in California. He made a second fortune in Sacramento with buying gold dust and with banking. After two years he returned to Europe and got married in St Petersburg.In this diary Schliemann describes his travels from the perspective of a wealthy business man in the mid-19th century and writes about the landscape, his visits to the theatre, the hotels he used, his much discussed meeting with the American president, his lucrative banking business in California, etc. His travels and accommodation weren't always without danger. Schliemann describes in detail the extreme heat and humidity, fatal illnesses, rainstorms, floods, mosquitoes, robbers, murderers and swindlers.Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) was a shrewd trader and later in life he became one of the best known archaeologists of the 19th century for discovering the legendary city of Troy and the golden masks of Mycenae. Schliemann also made many travels around the world and recorded his experiences in several diaries. In this series, all Schliemann's travel diaries will be made available to a wider public by means of a transcription, an English translation and an introduction. These publications will present a new image of the trader and archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and the world in which he lived.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 9789088902550Publication Date: 2014
Sgt. York: His Life, Legend and Legacy by
In a world desperate for authentic heroes, the story of Alvin C. York reminds us of the true meaning of heroism. York's bravery on the battlefield made him famous, but it was his decision to turn down the easy riches of celebrity that secured his position as one of history's greatest Christian patriots. Based on new interviews with all of York's living children, and York's own diaries, this exhaustive biography follows the young soldier from the hills of Tennessee to the battlefields of France, down Broadway in a triumphant ticker-tape parade, and back home to his family farm where he spent the rest of his life in service to his community and his God.
Call Number: D548 .P478 1997ISBN: 0805460748Publication Date: 1997
The General vs. the President by
At the height of the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman committed a gaffe that sent shock waves around the world. When asked by a reporter about the possible use of atomic weapons in response to China's entry into the war, Truman replied testily, "The military commander in the field will have charge of the use of the weapons, as he always has." This suggested that General Douglas MacArthur, the willful, fearless, and highly decorated commander of the American and U.N. forces, had his finger on the nuclear trigger. A correction quickly followed, but the damage was done; two visions for America's path forward were clearly in opposition, and one man would have to make way. Truman was one of the most unpopular presidents in American history. Heir to a struggling economy, a ruined Europe, and increasing tension with the Soviet Union, on no issue was the path ahead clear and easy. General MacArthur, by contrast, was incredibly popular, as untouchable as any officer has ever been in America. The lessons he drew from World War II were absolute- appeasement leads to disaster and a showdown with the communists was inevitable--the sooner the better. In the nuclear era, when the Soviets, too, had the bomb, the specter of a catastrophic third World War lurked menacingly close on the horizon. The contest of wills between these two titanic characters unfolds against the turbulent backdrop of a faraway war and terrors conjured at home by Joseph McCarthy. From the drama of Stalin's blockade of West Berlin to the daring landing of MacArthur's forces at Inchon to the shocking entrance of China into the war, The General and the Presidentvividly evokes the making of a new American era.
Call Number: E814 .B73 2016ISBN: 9780385540575Publication Date: 2016
Roar of the Tiger by
The author describes his career with the Flying Tigers in Asia, his role as a squadron commander in Europe, and the events that led to his being awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor.
Call Number: D790 .H715 1991ISBN: 9780517573235Publication Date: 1991
Patton by
Profiles the iconic American general as a controversial tactician whose methods and legacy still evoke heated debates, in an account that evaluates his military innovations and contributions to preparing America's first generation of desert soldiers.
Call Number: E745.P3 A97 2014ISBN: 1403971390Publication Date: 2006
Profiles in Courage by
The Pulitzer Prize winning classic by President John F. Kennedy, with an introduction by Caroline Kennedy and a foreword by Robert F. Kennedy. Written in 1955 by the then junior senator from the state of Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage serves as a clarion call to every American. In this book Kennedy chose eight of his historical colleagues to profile for their acts of astounding integrity in the face of overwhelming opposition. These heroes, coming from different junctures in our nation's history, include John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Thomas Hart Benton, and Robert A. Taft. Now, a half-century later, the book remains a moving, powerful, and relevant testament to the indomitable national spirit and an unparalleled celebration of that most noble of human virtues. It resounds with timeless lessons on the most cherished of virtues and is a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit. Profiles in Courage is as Robert Kennedy states in the foreword: "not just stories of the past but a book of hope and confidence for the future. What happens to the country, to the world, depends on what we do with what others have left us." Along with vintage photographs and an extensive author biography, this book features Kennedy's correspondence about the writing project, contemporary reviews, a letter from Ernest Hemingway, and two rousing speeches from recipients of the Profile in Courage Award. Introduction by John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline Kennedy, forward by John F. Kennedy's brother Robert F. Kennedy.
Call Number: E176 .K4 1964aISBN: 0060854936Publication Date: 2006
Presidential Biographies
The Education of George Washington by
George Washington, known as America's first President, a great general, and a humble gentleman, but how did he become this man of stature? This book framed his outlook on life and moral values. Written by his great-nephew, Austin Washington, includes a complete facsimile of the forgotten book.
Call Number: E312.2 .W37 2014ISBN: 9781621572053Publication Date: 2014
Friends Divided by
Arguably no relationship in this country's history carries as much freight as that of John Adams of Massachusetts and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. Gordon Wood has more than done justice to these entwined lives and their meaning; he has written a magnificent new addition to America's collective story.
Call Number: E332.2 .W65 2017ISBN: 9780735224711Publication Date: 2017
James Madison by
James Madison is remembered primarily as a systematic political theorist, but this bookish and unassuming man was also a practical politician who strove for balance in an age of revolution. In this biography, Jeff Broadwater focuses on Madison's role in the battle for religious freedom in Virginia, his contributions to the adoption of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, his place in the evolution of the party system, his relationship with Dolley Madison, his performance as a wartime commander in chief, and his views on slavery. From Broadwater's perspective, no single figure can tell us more about the origins of the American republic than our fourth president. In these pages, Madison emerges as a remarkably resilient politician, an unlikely wartime leader who survived repeated setbacks in the War of 1812 with his popularity intact. Yet Broadwater shows that despite his keen intelligence, the more Madison thought about one issue, race, the more muddled his thinking became, and his conviction that white prejudices were intractable prevented him from fully grappling with the dilemma of American slavery.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 9780807835302Publication Date: 2012
Andrew Jackson by
The towering figure who remade American politics--the champion of the ordinary citizen and the scourge of entrenched privilege "It is rare that historians manage both Wilentz's deep interpretation and lively narrative." -Publishers Weekly The Founding Fathers espoused a republican government, but they were distrustful of the common people, having designed a constitutional system that would temper popular passions. But as the revolutionary generation passed from the scene in the 1820s, a new movement, based on the principle of broader democracy, gathered force and united behind Andrew Jackson, the charismatic general who had defeated the British at New Orleans and who embodied the hopes of ordinary Americans. Raising his voice against the artificial inequalities fostered by birth, station, monied power, and political privilege, Jackson brought American politics into a new age. Sean Wilentz, one of America's leading historians of the nineteenth century, recounts the fiery career of this larger-than-life figure, a man whose high ideals were matched in equal measure by his failures and moral blind spots, a man who is remembered for the accomplishments of his eight years in office and for the bitter enemies he made. It was in Jackson's time that the great conflicts of American politics--urban versus rural, federal versus state, free versus slave--crystallized,and Jackson was not shy about taking a vigorous stand. It was under Jackson that modern American politics began, and his legacy continues to inform our debates to the present day.
Call Number: E382 .W74 2005ISBN: 0805069259Publication Date: 2005
Lincoln, the Law, and Presidential Leadership by
From his early years as a small-town lawyer through his rise to the presidency, Abraham Lincoln respected the rule of law. Secession and the Civil War, however, led him to expand presidential power in ways that, over time, transformed American society. In this incisive essay collection, recognized scholars from a variety of academic disciplines--including history, political science, legal studies, and journalism--explore Lincoln's actions as president and identify within his decision-making process his commitment to law and the principles of the Constitution. In so doing, they demonstrate how wartime pressures and problems required that Lincoln confront the constitutional limitations imposed on the chief executive, and they expose the difficulty and ambiguity associated with the protection of civil rights during the Civil War. The volume's contributors not only address specific situations and issues that assisted in Lincoln's development of a new understanding of law and its application but also show Lincoln's remarkable presidential leadership. Among the topics covered are civil liberties during wartime; presidential pardons; the law and Lincoln's decision-making process; Lincoln's political ideology and its influence on his approach to citizenship; Lincoln's defense of the Constitution, the Union, and popular government; constitutional restraints on Lincoln as he dealt with slavery and emancipation; the Lieber codes, which set forth how the military should deal with civilians and with prisoners of war; the loyalty (or treason) of government employees, including Lincoln's domestic staff; and how Lincoln's image has been used in presidential rhetoric. Although varied in their strategies and methodologies, these essays expand the understanding of Lincoln's vision for a united nation grounded in the Constitution. Lincoln, the Law, and Presidential Leadership shows how the sixteenth president's handling of complicated legal issues during the Civil War, which often put him at odds with the Supreme Court and Congress, brought the nation through the war intact and led to a transformation of the executive branch and American society.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 9780809334544Publication Date: 2015
Theodore Roosevelt by
The firsthand account of the life of adventurer, scholar, war hero, and twenty-sixth president of the United States Theodore Roosevelt. There must be the keenest sense of duty, and with it must go the joy of living. Here, in his own words, Theodore Roosevelt recounts his remarkable journey from a childhood plagued with illnesses to the US presidency and beyond. With candor and vivid detail, this personal account describes a life guided by a restless intelligence, a love for adventure, and an unflagging duty to his country. Roosevelt sheds light on his wide array of roles, from New York police commissioner, where he waged a battle against corruption, to cattle rancher in the Dakotas to assistant secretary of the US Navy under William McKinley to leader of the legendary Rough Riders at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, when he led the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry to victory in the Battle of San Juan Hill. These extraordinary accomplishments earned Roosevelt national fame and set the stage for his ascent to the White House. As twenty-sixth president of the United States, he ushered in the Progressive Era with his domestic policies, such as the Square Deal, and trust-busting of monopolies, such as Standard Oil. He was a war hero, scholar, statesman, adventurer, and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography provides unique insight into the truly remarkable life of one of America's most beloved presidents. ; This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 9781504042390Publication Date: 2016
Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands by
Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands chronicles the turbulent years Roosevelt spent as a rancher in the Badlands of Dakota Territory, during which the character and commitment of the future president and conservationist took shape. On February 12, 1884-when Roosevelt was building a career as New York State's most promising young politician-his wife gave birth to their first child, Alice. Two days later, both his wife and his mother died in the same house on Valentine's Day. Grief-stricken-and driven by doubts about his careerafter failed attempts as a reformer fighting political corruption-Roosevelt left Alice in his sister's care and went to live on a Badlands ranch he had bought a year earlier. He spent much of the next three years working alongside his ranch managers and hired hands. He grew to love and respect frontier life and to find in the West both physical health and emotional stamina. His transformation from a young, Harvard-educated New York politician to a working rancher in the mid-to-late 1880s coincided with the end of the Old West, a turning point in the cattle industry, and major changes in America's attitudes toward wildlife and wild places. Drawing on Roosevelt's own accounts and on diverse archives, Roger Di Silvestro tells the exciting story of how Roosevelt's spirit and political dynamism were forged during roundups, bronco busting, fistfights, grizzly bear hunts, and encounters with horse thieves, hostile Indians, and vigilante justice. In the dramatic life of Theodore Roosevelt, few adventures exceed those that he found in the Badlands.
Call Number: E757 .D585 2011ISBN: 9780802717214Publication Date: 2011
John F. Kennedy on Leadership by
Whether in business, politics, or the community, today's leaders have more in common with their legendary predecessors than they may realize. Intensely scrutinized by their constituents, colleagues, the media, and the public, leaders make decisions that affect lives far beyond their immediate surroundings. Perhaps no figure in recent memory more fully personifies leadership than President John F.Kennedy. Leading the nation in a time of unprecedented turbulence, challenge, and opportunity, Kennedy led his administration (and the country) with a courage and determination that even his harshest critics respected. John F. Kennedy on Leadership identifies eleven core principles that made Kennedy, both before and during his presidency, a unique and dominant force who would serve as the standard by which future leaders would measure themselves - and by which they would be judged. Current and aspiring leaders would do well to adopt these principles, which include: * Questioning the status quo: Progress is change, and no leader ever became great without breaking rules. * Turning liabilities into pluses, making the best of miscalculations and misjudgments, and staying educable: There is value in mistakes, and there is always more to learn. * Making decisions: Although you solicit and incorporatemany viewpoints, know that the buck stops with you. * Presenting an idealized view of what the future can be: Some may feel that "vision' is a tired concept, but properly crafted and communicated, it is a powerful motivator. * Finding your own "Bobby': In building your team, surround yourself with people who not only are trustworthy and competent but who also make your job easier. * Being the coolest person in the room: In times of crisis, take the reins. Your people will be looking to you; give them confidence. John F. Kennedy on Leadership doesn't shy away from the well-documented darker side of Kennedy's life: the seemingly nonstop parade of lovers and the chronic and multiple illnesses. Every leader faces personal challenges that affect the ability to lead. This book shows how legendary leadership can exist even in the face of substantial limitations. Kennedy led his nation through some of its most extraordinary challenges, from the volatile civil rights movement to the nearly catastrophic Cuban missile crisis. The extraordinary skills he exhibited in bringing America and the world into a new era are yours to embrace, emulate, and employ as you take your people and your vision forward." "
Call Number: EbookISBN: 0814408346Publication Date: 2005
The Reagan Diaries by
During his two terms as the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan kept a daily diary in which he recorded, by hand, his innermost thoughts and observations on the extraordinary, the historic, and the routine day-to-day occurrences of his presidency. Now, nearly two decades after he left office, this remarkable record--the only daily Presidential diary in American history--is available for the first time. Edited by historian Douglas Brinkley, The Reagan Diaries provides a striking insight into one of this nation's most important presidencies and sheds new light on the character of a true American leader. Whether he was in his White House residence study or aboard Air Force One, each night Reagan wrote about the events of his day, which often included his relationships with other world leaders and the unforgettable moments that defined the era. Seldom before has the American public been given access to the unfiltered experiences and opinions of a President in his own words. To read these diaries--filled with Reagan's trademark wit, sharp intelligence, and humor--is to gain a unique understanding of one of the most beloved occupants of the Oval Office in our nation's history.
Call Number: E877 .A3 2007ISBN: 9780060876005Publication Date: 2007
Ronald Reagan in Private by
During his White House years, President Reagan earned the love and admiration of millions, and altered the course of history. Jim Kuhn, his executive assistant, was one of the very few people privileged to see the Great Communicator not just during his historic public events, but also behind the scenes, during quiet moments.Kuhn was responsible for helping the most powerful man in the world manage his time and information. His memoir of an unguarded and unedited Ronald Reagan captures the laughter, resolve, sensitivity, and discomforts of the man who won the Cold War and restored America’s confidence. President Reagan frequently shared with Kuhn his personal views on matters great and small, including his thoughts about world leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher, and controversial issues such as nuclear weapons, taxes, and women’s rights. Kuhn recalls many poignant moments that will surprise readers, no matter how much they already know about President Reagan. For example: How the President reacted when staff disappointed him and things didn’t go as planned The time he felt distraught over arms negotiations with the Soviets President Reagan’s true personal thoughts about abortion What aspersion bothered him more than any other How President Reagan felt about the Iran-Contra scandal and the figures involved During his 13 years of service to Ronald Reagan, Kuhn discovered a man who acted the same off camera as he did in front of the world; who showed the same respect to an anonymous caller to the White House as he did to Pope John Paul II; who was more nuanced and perceptive than the press would ever admit; who never let the power and prestige of the Presidency go to his head. Now that Ronald Reagan has passed away, there is a hunger for a deeper understanding of what made him a great President. Jim Kuhn offers a unique perspective on the private Ronald Reagan that will fascinate his millions of admirers.
Call Number: E877.2 .K84 2004ISBN: 1595230084Publication Date: 2004
Presidential & Voting History
The Presidency a to Z by
The Presidency A to Z is an invaluable tool for understanding the presidency, both historically and today and for appraising how it and the executive branch have responded to the challenges facing the nation. It provides readers with quick information and in-depth background on the presidency through a comprehensive encyclopedia of over 300 easy-to-read entries.′′′′Important new topics include:′′′′ John Kerry ′′ Article II ′′ Clinton v. Jones ′′ Signing Statements ′′ Hurricane Katrina ′′ Mount Rushmore ′′′′Readers will find:′′′′ Biographies of every president and many others important to the office ′′ Explanations of broader concepts and powers relating to the presidency ′′ Discussions of relations with Congress, the Supreme Court, the bureaucracy, political parties, the media, interest groups, and the public ′′′′The Presidency A to Z includes all the features that made earlier editions so popular: charts, tables, lists, photographs, cartoons, indexes, a bibliography, and cross-references. Now with an attention-grabbing new design, this handy reference also comes at a new lower price.′′
Call Number: JK511 .P775 2008 ReferenceISBN: 9780872893672Publication Date: 2007
Hats in the Ring by
"America suffers from a sort of intermittent fever. . . . Every fourth year there come terrible shakings, passing into the hot fit of the presidential election; then follows what physicians call 'the interval'; then the fit again." --James Bryce, The American Commonwealth, 1888 Once every four years, Americans enter into a months-long national spectacle, one with bitter battles, high drama, often hilarious blunders, and, ultimately, a victor to whom we entrust the leadership of our country. It is a process integral to the American ideals of freedom and democracy, and each election reveals a tremendous amount about where and who we are as a nation. In Hats in the Ring, Evan Cornog and Richard Whelan have created a hugely entertaining, splendidly illustrated history of every election from Washington's to Clinton's. For the first time, all the vibrancy, fanfare, and zaniness of American presidential campaigns come to life in one dazzling volume. Award-winning author Evan Cornog provides a lively narrative of the people, parties, and politics of more than two hundred years of history. Every engaging, pithy chapter is packed with fascinating information about the candidates and their campaigns. From the Wide Awakes to the Know-Nothings, fervent supporters and their candidates, including some of the greatest figures in American history--Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR--progress vividly through these pages. The visual richness of the campaigns is brought to life with more than two hundred color and black-and-white illustrations, including portraits, leaflets, cartoons, photographs, posters, campaign buttons, and other memorabilia, all selected by the eminent cultural historian Richard Whelan. He has delved deep into public and private collections to find the defining images, both classic and unfamiliar, of each election. There are portraits of heroic men beside those of also-rans, moments of triumph and shame captured by the camera, hilarious cartoons and works of art created by many of the greatest American artists, from Gilbert Stuart to Ben Shahn, Thomas Nast to Herblock. The chapter for each election provides a wonderful snapshot of United States history and culture. Short sidebars on important aspects of the development of American politics (including constitutional changes, third parties, and suffrage for blacks and women) complement the narrative throughout. There are also clear, concise charts that offer at-a-glance information on every election, including major-party candidates and electoral tallies. Presidential campaigns have provided some of the most stirring moments, poignant images, and idiosyncratic characters in our nation's annals. No matter what your political leanings are, Hats in the Ring delivers a sparkling and invaluable tour though some of the greatest episodes in American history.
Call Number: E176.1 .C793 2000ISBN: 0679457305Publication Date: 2000
Will Rogers: A Political Life by
He was the top male box office attraction at the movies, one of the most widely read newspaper columnists in America, a radio commentator with an audience of more than 60 million, and a globetrotting speaker who filled lecture halls across the land. But how did humorist Will Rogers also become one of the most powerful political figures of his day?From just before World War I, through the Roaring Twenties, Prohibition, and the Great Depression, Rogers provided a refreshing yet sobering appraisal of current events and public policy. Through him, millions formed their opinion of President Wilson?s quest for a League of Nations, debated freedom of speech and religion during the Scopes Monkey Trial, questioned the success of several disarmament conferences, took pity upon the sufferers of the Great Flood of 1927, and tried to grasp the awful reality of the Great Depression.Rogers visited Washington often to attend congressional sessions and official receptions, testify at hearings, meet with cabinet officers, and speak at the exclusive Gridiron and Alfalfa Clubs. His open access to the Oval Office, the Senate cloakroom, and other inner sancta of national power was unmatched for someone not holding public office.In this groundbreaking biography Richard D. White argues that the nation?s most popular entertainer was not only an incisive political commentator but also a significant influence upon national leaders and their decisions. When Will Rogers perished in a plane crash in Alaska in 1935, Americans lost their most popular and beloved humorist, a man who put smiles on their faces, took their minds off war and depression and, for a moment, allowed them to laugh at his cracker-barrel humor and ultimately themselves. But Americans also lost their most trusted source of reason, a man who, more than any other, broke down the complex issues of the day and gave them a critically honest appraisal of American politics and world affairs.
Call Number: PN2287.R74 W45 2011ISBN: 0896726762Publication Date: 2011
The Handy American Government Answer Book by Call Number: EbookISBN: 9781578596393Publication Date: 2017
First Ladies & Their Contributions
Ladies of Liberty by
In Founding Mothers, Cokie Roberts paid homage to the heroic women whose patriotism and sacrifice helped create a new nation. Now the number one New York Times bestselling author and renowned political commentator--praised in USA Today as a "custodian of time-honored values"--continues the story of early America's influential women with Ladies of Liberty. In her "delightfully intimate and confiding" style (Publishers Weekly), Roberts presents a colorful blend of biographical portraits and behind-the-scenes vignettes chronicling women's public roles and private responsibilities. Recounted with the insight and humor of an expert storyteller and drawing on personal correspondence, private journals, and other primary sources--many of them previously unpublished--Roberts brings to life the extraordinary accomplishments of women who laid the groundwork for a better society. Almost every quotation here is written by a woman, to a woman, or about a woman. From first ladies to freethinkers, educators to explorers, this exceptional group includes Abigail Adams, Margaret Bayard Smith, Martha Jefferson, Dolley Madison, Elizabeth Monroe, Louisa Catherine Adams, Eliza Hamilton, Theodosia Burr, Rebecca Gratz, Louisa Livingston, Rosalie Calvert, Sacajawea, and others. In a much-needed addition to the shelves of Founding Father literature, Roberts sheds new light on the generation of heroines, reformers, and visionaries who helped shape our nation, giving these ladies of liberty the recognition they so greatly deserve.
Call Number: E302.5 .R64 2008ISBN: 9780060782344Publication Date: 2008
The Raising of a President by
"God bless my mother, all I am or ever hope to be I owe to her." -- Abraham Lincoln What are the family circumstances that have created our presidents? How did their upbring-ing shape their future and ours? New York Times bestselling author Doug Wead answers these questions in one of the most comprehensive studies of presidential families to date.When one thinks about the leadership qualities of George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt or the intellectual prowess of John Adams and Abraham Lincoln, it is hard to imagine them as children. It is even more difficult to envision the parents of our leaders, especially the larger-than-life idols of our political past. Our greatest presidents have entered the Oval Office armed with overwhelming ambition, intellect, and political savvy. But were these characteristics evident in childhood? The Raising of a President is a groundbreaking look at the parents of the American presidents, full of never-before-seen facts and anecdotes, as well as psychological profiles based on Wead's findings. He analyzes the types of families into which our presidents were born, and sheds a fascinating light on how their destinies were shaped during childhood.Using countless presidential correspondences and letters, as well as notes from hours of his own private conversations and interviews with six presidents and first ladies, Wead focuses specifically on the early life of our first president, George Washington; John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and the making of our nation's first political empire; the humble beginnings of our greatest president, Abraham Lincoln; the privileged upbringing of Franklin Delano Roosevelt; the ambitious rise of John Fitzgerald Kennedy; and the "quiet dynasty" led by George H. W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush.Throughout The Raising of a President, readers will find that the circumstances and events that would destroy most children were often the very things that sparked greatness in our nation's future leaders. These are the stories of the presidents' parents, but in a truer sense, they are the stories of the presidents themselves, from a perspective that is long overdue.
Call Number: E176.25 .W43 2005ISBN: 0743497260Publication Date: 2005
First Ladies of the United States by
Systematically profiling the 43 first ladies from Martha Washington to Hillary Clinton, these biographies examine each first lady's early years and education, family life, presidential years and legacy. A short bibliography for each entry provides a selected list of additional resources.
Call Number: EbookISBN: 1555879071Publication Date: 2000
First Ladies by
First Ladies covers all the women who have held this esteemed ""office"" since the founding of the United States, including current First Lady Laura Bush. An in-depth introductory essay traces the history of the first lady, including changes in the idea of what a president's wife should do and be, and how those perceptions have been affected by society's changing ideas about women and by the first ladies' varying degrees of interest in developing and wielding influence on a national scale. The book also offers intriguing vital statistics, such as presidents who had no wives during their presidencies, wives who devoted themselves to purely domestic duties, and wives who died during their husbands' terms in office. Appendixes listing White House hostesses, first lady ""firsts,"" and first ladies' reflections; a general bibliography; and an index round out this comprehensive survey of these important women. Arranged chronologically by term of presidency, each biographical entry includes: A detailed biography with an emphasis on life during the presidency; A chronology; Suggestions for further reading about that first lady.
Call Number: E176.2 .S36 2001ISBN: 0816041954Publication Date: 2001
American First Ladies by
Appendices. Index. Bibliographies.
Call Number: E176.2 .A44 1996ISBN: 0815325851Publication Date: 1996 Annex
First Ladies and the Fourth Estate by
Through press coverage, U.S. first ladies have become some of the most prominent and recognized figures in American politics. While the U.S. Constitution doesn't enumerate the responsibilities of the first lady, a succession of dynamic women, beginning with Martha Washington, have shaped this post into a highly visible public office. First ladies have performed a variety of public and private roles, from hostess, escort, and social advocate to advisor and policymaker. The gendered nature of the position, however, has always influenced first ladies' performance as they balanced their institutional duties with high expectations from the press and the public that they serve as role models for American women. In First Ladies and the Fourth Estate, Burns analyzes the coverage of presidents' wives in five leading newspapers and magazines?The New York Times, The Washington Post, Ladies' Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and McCall's?to prove that the press has helped shape the first lady institution as well as influence the changing social and political roles of American women. By examining press portrayals of twentieth-century first ladies, Burns highlights the intersection of gender, publicity, and power at particular historical moments. Through the years, journalists have used both the gender ideals of the time and the collective memories of previous first ladies to assess the performance of the president's wife. The first lady has emerged as a celebrity, an advocate for humanitarian causes, and, in more recent years, a political activist. Burns argues that this evolution of the first lady institution?from the "new woman" of the early 1900s to the "new traditionalist" and "superwoman" of the 1990s, and from the domesticity of the Cold War to the activism of second wave feminism?spurred increasingly critical press coverage as the presidential wives expanded their sphere of influence from the personal to the political. The interdisciplinary approach of this study reveals the significance of the first lady institution not only to women's history and gender studies but also to the study of U.S. history, the American presidency, political communication, rhetorical criticism, and media history.
Call Number: E176.2 .B86 2008ISBN: 9780875803913Publication Date: 2008
