The course of daily life in the United States has been a product of tradition, environment, and circumstance. How did the Civil War alter the lives of women, both white and black, left alone on southern farms? How did the Great Depression change the lives of working class families in eastern cities? How did the discovery of gold in California transform the lives of native American, Hispanic, and white communities in western territories? Organized by time period as spelled out in the National Standards for U.S. History, these four volumes effectively analyze the diverse whole of American experience, examining the domestic, economic, intellectual, material, political, recreational, and religious life of the American people between 1763 and 2005. Working under the editorial direction of general editor Randall M. Miller, professor of history at St. Joseph's University, a group of expert volume editors carefully integrate material drawn from volumes in Greenwood's highly successful Daily Life Through History series with new material researched and written by themselves and other scholars. The four volumes cover the following periods: The War of Independence and Antebellum Expansion and Reform, 1763-1861, The Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Industrialization of America, 1861-1900, The Emergence of Modern America, World War I, and the Great Depression, 1900-1940 and Wartime, Postwar, and Contemporary America, 1940-Present. Each volume includes a selection of primary documents, a timeline of important events during the period, images illustrating the text, and extensive bibliography of further information resources—both print and electronic—and a detailed subject index.

For the first time the social history of the United States is examined in four chronological periods: 1960-1966, when modern ideals flourished and then began to fade; 1967-1974, when cultural changes began to remake America; 1975-1980, when the cultural changes led to standoffs between opposing sides; and the 1980s, when postmodern conditions broadened their influence and discord became more pronounced.

Examine the everyday lives of ordinary Americans from the 1940s and 1950s and discover how very different the two decades were. World War II affected Americans and the way they behaved, not only in the 1940s, but also in the years that followed when the depression that preceded the war was replaced with an economic boom. Explore how women's roles and lives changed during these two very distinct decades, how politics and political decisions impacted all walks of life, and what the advent of growing technology, much of it developed during the war, meant to the general population. What was it like to be a woman suddenly earning her own money while men were off fighting? How did children and teenagers contribute to the war effort? How did housing change in postwar America? What pastimes were popular during these two decades and how did they reflect the times? These questions and others are explored in detail, encouraging students, teachers, and interested readers to recognize the tremendous shift in society between the war years and the atomic age that immediately followed. This text presents the 1940s as a time of social problems that existed alongside community commitment to the war, while the 1950s are presented as a time when exciting social change such as the beginning of the civil rights movement and the building of Levittowns occurred. After the war ordinary people began to question long-accepted ideas. The exploration of these everyday details provides a rich look at two very important decades in our country's history.

This thorough exploration of the aspects of everyday life in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) provides fascinating insight into a culture and time that is often misunderstood, especially by those from western cultures. Here students will find the details of what life was really like for these people. How was their society structured? How did they entertain themselves? What sorts of food did they eat? The answers to these and other questions are provided in full detail to bring this golden age of Chinese culture alive for the modern reader. Based mainly on classical translations from the Chinese themselves, each chapter addresses a specific aspect of daily living in the voices of those who lived during the time. A myriad of interesting details are provided to help readers discover, among other things, what life was like in the city, what homes and gardens were like, how the role's of men and women differed, and the many rituals in which people participated. Detailed descriptions of the clothes and materials people wore, the games they played and the cooking methods they used for specific foods provide readers with the ability to experiment on their own to recreate the time and place, so they can have a better understanding of this intriguing culture.

Students will write more effective term papers with this guide to 500 term paper ideas—as well as a listing of appropriate print and nonprint sources— on twentieth-century U.S. history. This guide presents entries on 100 of the most important events and developments in twentieth-century U.S. history organized in chronological order. Each entry consists of a short description of the event, followed by five specific suggestions for term papers about the event, and a wide-ranging annotated bibliography of 15-35 books, articles, videos, and a web site appropriate for student research. In every case the emphasis is on recent and up-to-date material, as well as landmark works and primary sources. Every entry contains a video and concludes with a recommended web site, producing a multimedia approach designed to appeal to the current information-gathering habits and preferences of young people. From the Spanish-American War to the creation of NAFTA, the 100 events and developments cover political, social, economic, and cultural issues. The work has been designed to meet the needs of the U.S. history curriculum. Term paper topic ideas offer students thought-provoking suggestions that are challenging and develop critical thinking skills. The annotated bibliography is organized into reference sources, general sources, specialized sources, biographical sources, periodical articles, recommended videos and World Wide Web sites. All items are readily available in school, public, and academic library collections. This unique guide is valuable not only to students, but to teachers and librarians who guide students in research, and is an excellent purchasing guide for librarians who serve student needs.

Provides an overview of life in the United States since 1970, discussing family, social attitudes, religion, education, science, technology, entertainment, crime, labor, military, transportation, public health, and other related topics.

During the 1920s and 1930s, changes in the American population, increasing urbanization, and innovations in technology exerted major influences on the daily lives of ordinary people. Explore how everyday living changed during these years when use of automobiles and home electrification first became commonplace, when radio emerged, and when cinema, with the addition of sound, became broadly popular. Find out how worklife, domestic life, and leisure-time activities were affected by these factors as well as by the politics of the time. Details of matters such as the creation of the pickup truck, the development of radio programming, and the first mass use of cosmetics provide an enjoyable read that brings the period clearly into focus. Centering its attention on the broad masses of the population, this animated reference resource emphasizes the wide variety of experiences of people living through The Roaring Twenties and The Great Depression. Readers will be surprised to discover that some of the assumptions we have about the lives of average Americans during these eras are historically inaccurate. A final chapter provides a unique look at six American communities and gives a vivid sense of the diversity of American experience over the course of these tumultuous years.