Below you will find a selection of books from our EBook Collections. When you search for Ebooks, type in the in the time period (ex: civil war, colonial period), person, or event (ex: witchcraft trials, abolition).
Conquest by Law explores how a seemingly minor Supreme Court case in 1823, Johnson v. M'Intosh, had devastating consequences for Native Americans. Author Lindsay Robertson argues that Chief Justice John Marshall's decision created a legal doctrine that effectively stripped indigenous peoples of their land rights. Through shrewd legal maneuvering and by exploiting a flawed court system, land speculators used this doctrine to dispossess Native Americans and pave the way for westward expansion
merica's Beginnings takes the reader throughout the American colonies and introduces many leading figures, from John Smith and John Winthrop to the Founding Fathers. Along the way, Williams examines the principles that led colonists to come to America and succeeding generations to become a free and independent nation.
"Yankee Colonies Across America: Cities Upon the Hills" explores a lesser-known chapter in American history. It focuses on the mass migration of Yankees, descendants of Puritans, from New England westward in the 18th and 19th centuries. These migrants carried their social and religious values, establishing towns and institutions that reflected their ideals. The book highlights how Yankee influence shaped the American character, promoting education, temperance, and democratic government. It also explores the tensions that arose as Yankees clashed with Southerners over slavery and westward expansion.
In this book, Nicholas Cushner provides the first comprehensive overview and analysis of the American missionary activities of the Jesuits. From the North American encounter with the Indians of Florida in 1565, through Mexico, New France, the Paraguay Reductions, Andean Perus, to contact with Native Americans in Maryland on the eve of the American Revolution, members of the order interacted with both native elites and colonizers. Drawing on the abundant documentation of and scholarship about these encounters, Cushner examines how the Jesuits behaved toward the indigenous population and analyzes the way in which native belief systems were replaced by Christianity.
With the advent of European colonization, the North American landscape and the indigenous cultures that inhabited it changed irrevocably. While a large part of Native Americans' past has been marked by struggles for equality and sovereignty, a survey of the early history of various tribes reveals prosperous societies that managed to live peaceably with each other and a parade of various interlopers. This volume examines the trajectory of Native American cultures over the centuries, detailing how they have retained their longstanding values and traditions in the face of war, disease, resettlement, and assimilation.
Author Kathleen Donegan argues that colonies like Roanoke, Jamestown, Plymouth, and Barbados, were plagued by catastrophe. Starvation, disease, violence, and constant struggle defined these early years. Donegan contends that facing such hardships actually forged a new "colonial identity," distinct from European roots. She examines how colonists documented these struggles, creating a unique form of early American literature. This book offers a fresh perspective on American beginnings, emphasizing the hardships that shaped a new people.
Making liberal use of diaries and correspondence by the soldiers and their families, Charles P. Neimeyer tells the stories of the men and women who fought for the young country's independence. Presenting stories from letters and diaries of the men and women of the time, this volume reveals the stories of fear, exhaustion, hard work, grief, and exhilaration of the people in the camps and on the march.
In this title, readers will examine the technology used by military forces during Revolutionary War. Engaging text introduces readers to flintlock and smoothbore muskets, rifles, cannons, mortars, howitzers, frigates, brigs, sloops, schooners, invisible ink, and the roles they played in military campaigns.
By exploring the role of Oberlin--the college and the community--in fighting against slavery and for social equality, J. Brent Morris establishes this "hotbed of abolitionism" as the core of the antislavery movement in the West and as one of the most influential reform groups in antebellum America.
In The Debate Over Slavery David F. Ericson makes the controversial argument that despite their many ostensible differences, most Northern abolitionists and Southern defenders of slavery shared many common commitments: to liberal principles; to the nation; to the nation's special mission in history; and to secular progress.
In the decades after the Civil War, Southern white evangelicals became strong supporters of the Prohibition movement. Unlike the North's temperance movement, which had abolitionist ties, Southern evangelicals framed alcohol ("demon rum") as the root of social problems like poverty and violence. They connected Prohibition to the "Lost Cause" narrative, arguing it would restore Southern values and white supremacy. By reframing temperance in a way that resonated with Southern anxieties, white evangelicals played a key role in making the South a hotbed of Prohibition sentiment and ultimately contributing to the 18th Amendment's passage.
A collection of essays by various historians, this book explores the multifaceted reasons behind the Civil War. The book delves into the breakdown of the political system, the failures of democracy to solve the slavery issue, and the role of key figures like Abraham Lincoln. It also examines the perspectives of African Americans and the growing national divide over slavery and westward expansion.
Amy Murrell Taylor's "The Divided Family in Civil War America" explores the Civil War's impact on families, moving beyond the metaphor to lived experiences. The book sheds light on families fractured by the war, with members fighting for opposing sides. It examines the struggles of women, children, and enslaved people caught in the conflict. Taylor analyzes letters, diaries, and other sources to depict the emotional toll, the challenges on the home front, and how the war fundamentally reshaped American family dynamics.
"Fighting Chance" by Faye E. Dudden explores the complex relationship between women's suffrage and Black suffrage during Reconstruction. The book examines the surprising shift from a long-standing alliance to a bitter falling out. It delves into the reasons behind figures like Elizabeth Cady Stanton's opposition to the 15th Amendment, which enfranchised Black men but not women.
"Reconstruction: People and Perspectives" dives deep into the experiences of everyday Americans during the Reconstruction era (1865-1877) in the South. Going beyond famous figures, it uses essays and primary documents to showcase the diverse perspectives of formerly enslaved people, white Southerners, and even Northerners who migrated South.
