United States History: General Histories and Historiography
 

General Histories of the United States

A definitive, though dated, work on U.S. History is:

·     Beard, Charles A., and Mary Ritter Beard. 1929.  The rise of American civilization. 2 vol.  New York:                    Request Retrieval: WEST    973 B368r

Other basic texts include:

·           Jenkins, Philip. A history of the United States. New York : St. Martin's  Press,     1997.                   Request Retrieval: WEST     E  178.1 .J35 1997

·             Morison, Samuel Eliot. 1965.  The Oxford History of the American People. New York: Oxford University Press.   Request Retrieval:WEST     973 M861oa

Two recent works, written from different viewpoints have been well-reviewed in the academic and popular press:

·   For a conservative history of the United States, consult: 

             Johnson, Paul.   1998.  A History of the American People.  New York: HarperCollins  Publishers.                                Request Retrieval: WEST        E 178 .J675 1998

             Johnson reinterprets the history and culture of the U.S., covering politics,economics, social life, religion, and art and science.

 

·  For a radical history of the United States, consult:

Zinn, Howard.  1995.  A People's History of the United States : 1492-Present.  Rev. and updated ed.  New York : HarperPerennial.
Request Retrieval: WEST         E  178.1 .Z53 1995

            American history written from the perspective of the politically and economically exploited populations.

Online histories can be found at these sites:

Historical Documents

United Kingdom

United States
 

Texts

  Eliohs (Electronic Library of Modern Historiography) Catalogue

   Researching History Online (Primary Sources)
 

Historiography

Historiography is the study of schools of thought, directions, and interpretations of events and processes in the various fields of the discipline.   Some of the major works of U.S. historiography are:

·  Foner, Eric, ed.  1990.  New American History. Philadelphia, Pa: Temple University Press.  (rev. 1997)                                      Request Retrieval: WEST       E    175 .N53 1990

• Hollinger, David A. and Charles Capper.  Eds.  1997. The American intellectual tradition : a sourcebook.  2 vol. 3rd ed.  New York, NY : Oxford University Press.  Request Retrieval: WEST       E  169.1 .A47218  1997

• Kutler, Stanley and Katz, Stanley.  Eds.  1982. New perspectives on the American past.  2 vol.  2nd ed.  Boston: Little, Brown.              Request Retrieval: WEST     E  178 .K2 1972

• Kammen, Michael.  Ed.  1980.  The Past Before Us: contemporary historical writing in the United States.

Ithaca : Cornell University Press.   Request Retrieval: WEST     D  13 .P36

• Woodward, C. Vann.  Ed.  1968.  The Comparative Approach to American History.  New York: Basic Books.                                          Request Retrieval: WEST             973 C737

REVIEW ESSAYS

• Selected Topics:

         The American Historical Review publishes a review essay on a selected topic in each issue.
         Some recently published essays are:

       "Imperialism and History: A Century of Theory, from Marx to Postcolonialism"
         by Patrick Wolfe     AHR - April 1997

         "American Synecdoche: Thomas Jefferson as Image, Icon, Character, and Self"
         by Jan Lewis and Peter S. Onuf     AHR - February 1998

       "Race Culture: Recent Perspectives on the History of Eugenics"
         by Frank Dikötter     AHR - April 1998

       "Histories of Childhood"
         by Hugh Cunningham     AHR - October 1998

       "Gender, Consumption, and Commodity Culture"
         by Mary Louise Roberts     AHR - June 1998
 

·  "The Challenge of American History"  

Reviews in American History 26.1, March 1998, devoted a special issue" to "The Challenge of American History."

             UF students, faculty, and staff may access this full text issue on the Web via PROJECT MUSE:
                http://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/reviews_in_american_history/toc/rahv026.html#v026.1

STUDYING HISTORY, from the Internet Modern History Sourcebook
                   Using Primary Sources
                   Nature of Historiography

HISTORIOGRAPHY:  SUBJECT HEADINGS IN LUIS AND WEBLUIS
These are some subject headings/keywords that may be helpful in trying to locate books on historiography, or schools of thought on a particular topic:
 

HISTORIANS--Attitudes

HISTORICAL RESEARCH--Evaluation

HISTORIOGRAPHY

            --Analysis

            --Bibliography

            --Case Studies

            --Congresses

            --Handbooks Manuals, etc.

            --History

            --Moral and Ethical Aspects

            --Periodicals

            --Social Aspects

            --Sources

HISTORY

            --Methodology

            --Philosophy

            --Research

OBJECTIVITY--Analysis
 
 

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07/04
C. Barnes