This book presents some of the most significant social history to date in one single volume. Readers will find that Exploring America's Past is not only up to date, but also more inclusive and multicultural than other similar collections. The essays in this book concentrate on issues in America, ranging from freedom, to sexuality, to industry, to war, to minorities, to our youth culture, dance, and music. This comprehensive collection of essays will be ideal for U.S. history survey courses. Contents: Introduction and Acknowledgements; The Meaning of Freedom, Eric Foner; Chinese-Americans Build a Railroad, Jack Chen; Populist Dreams and Negro Rights: East Texas as a Case Study, Lawrence Goodwyn; The Sociology and Historiography of Immigration, Ewa Morawska; Studying American Political Development in the Progressive Era, Martin Sklar; Charity Girls and City Pleasure: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920, Kathy Peiss; Encountering Mass Culture at the Grassroots: The Experience of Chicago Workers in the 1920s, Lizabeth Cohen; Origins of a Sit-Down Era: Worker Militancy and Innovation in the Rubber Industry, 1934-1938, Daniel Nelson; The Politics of Sacrifice on the Homefront in World War II, Mark Leff; The Riddle of the Zoot, Robin D.G. Kelley; The Land of a Thousand Dances: Youth, Minorities, and the Rise of Rock and Roll, George Lipsitz; The Unraveling of America, Allen Matusow; Ronald Reagan and the Movie, Michael Rogin.

More than 450 accounts of the myriad customs, beliefs, legends, languages, adventures, and traditions that helped form America, illustrated with over 700 photographs, paintings, and engravings.

Who are the girls that helped build America? Conventional history books shed little light on the influence and impact of girls’ contributions to society and culture. This oversight is challenged by Girl Museum and their team, who give voices to the most neglected, yet profoundly impactful, historical narratives of American history: young girls. Exploring American Girls’ History through 50 Historic Treasures showcases girls and their experiences through the lens of place and material culture. Discover how the objects and sites that girls left behind tell stories about America that you have never heard before. Readers will journey from the first peoples who called the continent home, to 21st century struggles for civil rights, becoming immersed in stories that show how the local impacts the global and vice versa, as told by the girls who built America. Their stories, dreams, struggles, and triumphs are the centerpiece of the nation’s story as never before, helping to define both the struggle and meaning of being “American.” This full-color book is a must-read for those who yearn for more balanced representation in historic narratives, as well as an inspiration to young people, showing them that everyone makes history. It includes color photographs of all the treasured objects explored.

EXPLORE AMERICAN HISTORY INSTRUCTORS GUIDE w/PDFA multi-year History curriculum for high school students Explore American History is a curriculum for high school students participating in alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards. The Teacher's Manual has a lesson outline for each page of the Student Book with Big Ideas, Additional Facts, and Extension Activities.