Chafe's analysis of changing social patterns is both solid and imaginative in the best sense ... His book will certainly increase our understanding of where we are going--and why."--Elizabeth Janeway "Adopted as required reading - tremendously popular with students - provokes lively debates."--John Rhinehart, Riverside Community College "A trenchant analysis of the underlying social and economic changes of the past century ... Particularly insightful in analyzing the ways in which racial and sexual inequality are both similar and fundamentally different."--Alice S. Rossi, University of Massachus.
The Civil War was the most devastating event in U.S. history, in which over half a million Americans paid for their beliefs with their lives. The heroic battles, harrowing marches, and military genius of generals on both sides still inspire books, movies, and the imaginations of Civil War buffs. Less obvious are the economic, political, social, and cultural repercussions of the war, which continue to influence American life. Reconstruction and the end of slavery brought deep-seated problems to the reunited nation. This single-volume encyclopedia includes 245 entries on all facets of the conflicted era. It features articles on: * Battles and campaigns (Gettysburg, Shiloh, Sherman's March to the Sea) * Culture (music, photography, religion) * Economic affairs (cost of the war, gold, Richmond Bread Riot) * Foreign affairs (France, Great Britain, Laird rams) * Health and welfare (disease, medicine, prisons) * Ideologies (federalism, free-labor ideology) * Legislative landmarks (14th Amendment, Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Wade-Davis bill) * Military terms, strategy, and weaponry (cavalry, rifles, tactics) * Minorities (black suffrage, emancipation, Native Americans) * Political events and organizations (Constitutional Union party, election of 1860, fire-eaters) * Prominent individuals (Clara Barton, Frederick Douglass, Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman) * Social reform (abolitionism, women's rights movement) * Women (nurses, women in the war, individual women) More than 200 black-and-white illustrations, including over a dozen maps, complement the entries. A list of selected Civil War museums and historic sites, suggestions for further reading, recommended websites, and a chronology of the war round out this essential resource. Oxford's Student Companions to American History are state-of-the-art references for school and home, specifically designed and written for ages 12 through adult. Each book is a concise but comprehensive A-to-Z guide to a major historical period or theme in U.S. history, with articles on key issues and prominent individuals. The authors--distinguished scholars well-known in their areas of expertise--ensure that the entries are accurate, up-to-date, and accessible. Special features include an introductory section on how to use the book, further reading lists, cross-references, chronology, and full index.
A political leader's decisions can determine the fate of a nation, but what determines how and why that leader makes certain choices? William H. Chafe, a distinguished historian of twentieth century America, examines eight of the most significant political leaders of the modern era in order to explore the relationship between their personal patterns of behavior and their political decision-making process. The result is a fascinating look at how personal lives and political fortunes have intersected to shape America over the past fifty years. One might expect our leaders to be healthy, wealthy, genteel, and happy. In fact, most of these individuals--from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Martin Luther King, Jr., from John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton--came from dysfunctional families, including three children of alcoholics; half grew up in poor or only marginally secure homes; most experienced discord in their marriages; and at least two displayed signs of mental instability. What links this extraordinarily diverse group is an intense ambition to succeed, and the drive to overcome adversity. Indeed, adversity offered a vehicle to develop the personal attributes that would define their careers and shape the way they exercised power. Chafe probes the influences that forged these men's lives, and profiles the distinctive personalities that molded their exercise of power in times of danger and strife. The history of the United States from the Depression into the new century cannot be understood without exploring the dynamic and critical relationship between personal history and political leadership that these eight life stories so poignantly reveal.
This popular classic text chronicles America's roller-coaster journey through the decades since World War II. Considering both the paradoxes and the possibilities of post-war America, Chafe portrays the significant cultural and political themes that have colored our country's past and present, including issues of race, class, gender, foreign policy, and economic and social reform. He examines such subjects as the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, the origins and the end of the Cold War, the culture of the 1970s, the Reagan years, the Clinton presidency, and the events of September 11th and their aftermath. In this edition, Chafe provides an insightful assessment of Clinton's legacy as president, particularly in light of his impeachment, and an entirely new chapter that examines the impact of two of America's most pivotal events of the twenty-first century: the 2000 presidential election turmoil and the September 11th terrorist attacks. Chafe puts forth an excellent account of George W. Bush's first year as president and also covers his subsequent role as a world leader following his administration's declared war on terrorism. The completely revised epilogue and updated bibliographic essay offer a compelling and controversial final commentary on America's past and its future. Brilliantly written by a prize-winning historian, the fifth edition of The Unfinished Journey is an essential text for all students of recent American history.
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