arcara Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 I've chosen my dd's main history spine for next year, but I think it's nice to have a few supplementary books around. Plus, my dd loves history and I know she would enjoy having plenty of sources around. So, can you recommend any good US history texts or supplements? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 The best US history textbook I've found is K12's The American Odyssey. I reviewed at least eight before I found it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Elliot Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 What did you choose for the main spine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcara Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 I chose Lands of Hope and Promise by the Catholic Textbook Project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in CA Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 I plan using many of the American Experience documentaries in addition to books for our US History study in the fall. Netflix has many of them although not on instant watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 We loved History of US, although that was our spine and we supplemented it with other readings and movies/documentaries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacharsis Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 A few that might be helpful for American history before World War I: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is a nice slice of life, and helps add context to the face on the hundred dollar bills. :) The Federalist Papers and the Anti-Federalist Papers are good for understanding what sort of concerns surrounded the Constitution. Letters from an American Farmer by J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur captures the early enthusiasm quite well, and also points out the important distinction between those who wanted the U.S. to be a new experiment, and those who merely wanted it to be a New England, a philosophical divide still found today. Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville is another good one. The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery provide some helpful insights into the post Civil War period. Frederick Jackson Turner's The Frontier In American History was pretty influential in its day, although his version of history has been criticized by the historians that came after him. Read as part of a larger narrative it might help to show how the West was viewed then compared to how it is viewed now. How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis is nice for giving some visual context to the Gilded Age, maybe supplemented by Ida Tabell's History of the Standard Oil Company or Lincoln Steffens' Shame of the Cities. Also something like The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and his Gospel of Wealth for the perspective from the other end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcara Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Thanks, y'all! Lots of great resources!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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