THE BRIEF AMERICAN PAGEANT presents a concise and vivid chronological narrative, focusing on the central themes and great public debates that have dominated American history. Colorful anecdotes, first-person quotations, and the text’s trademark wit are all evident throughout. The strong historical narrative is highlighted by focus questions, chapter outlines and summaries, marginal glossaries, and special features such as “Makers of America”, “Examining the Evidence”, and “Thinking Globally”. Links to additional online study aids ensure that students understand and retain the material as they read and prepare for exams. Available in the following split options: Volume I: To 1877 (Chapters 1–22), ISBN: 9781285193304; Volume II: Since 1865 (Chapters 22–41), ISBN: 9781285193311.

22. The Ordeal of Reconstruction 1865–1877.
Part IV: FORGING AN INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY 1865–1909.
23. Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age 1869–1896.
24. Industry Comes of Age 1865–1900.
25. America Moves to the City 1865–1900.
26. The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution 1865–1896.
27. Empire and Expansion 1890–1909.
Part V: STRUGGLING FOR JUSTICE AT HOME AND ABROAD 1901–1945.
28. Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt 1901–1912.
29. Wilsonian Progressivism in Peace and War 1913–1920.
30. American Life in the “Roaring Twenties” 1920–1929.
31. The Politics of Boom and Bust 1920–1932.
32. The Great Depression and the New Deal 1933–1939.
33. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War 1933–1941.
34. America in World War II 1941–1945.
Part VI: MAKING MODERN AMERICA 1945 TO THE PRESENT.
35. The Cold War Begins 1945–1952.
36. American Zenith 1952–1963.
37. The Stormy Sixties 1963–1973.
38. Challenges to the Postwar Order 1973–1980.
39. The Resurgence of Conservatism 1980–1992.
40. America Confronts the Post-Cold War Era 1992–2000.
41. The American People Face a New Century 2001–2014.

THE BRIEF AMERICAN PAGEANT presents a concise and vivid chronological narrative, focusing on the central themes and great public debates that have dominated American history. Colorful anecdotes, first-person quotations, and the text’s trademark wit are all evident throughout. The strong historical narrative is highlighted by focus questions, chapter outlines and summaries, marginal glossaries, and special features such as “Makers of America”, “Examining the Evidence”, and “Thinking Globally”. Links to additional online study aids ensure that students understand and retain the material as they read and prepare for exams. Available in the following split options: Volume I: To 1877 (Chapters 1–22), ISBN: 9781285193304; Volume II: Since 1865 (Chapters 22–41), ISBN: 9781285193311. A renewed and strengthened global focus throughout the Ninth Edition helps students appreciate the American story within a worldwide context. An expanded set of “Thinking Globally” essays demonstrates how developments in North America were part of worldwide phenomena. New essays include “Alexis de Tocqueville on Democracy in America and Europe” (Chapter 13), “America and the World in Depression and War: A Study in Contrasts” (Chapter 34), and “The Global 1960s” (Chapter 37). Much of the post-World War II material (Chapters 35–41) has been revised and updated. Fresh and lively discussions examine America’s postwar power and prosperity, the “challenges to the postwar order,” the rise of political conservatism, and the post-Cold War and post-9/11 developments in foreign policy. Instructors who want to engage students with recent American history -- the last 75 years -- will find insightful and exciting treatments. Colorful anecdotes, first-person quotations, and the text’s trademark wit contribute to the book’s reputation as one of the most popular, effective, and entertaining texts in American history. The popular “Makers of America” feature brings alive not only major ethnic and social groups (the Plains Indians, Italian Americans, the Vietnamese), but also prominent social and political groups and movements (the Oneida Community, the Environmentalists, the Feminists). These exceptionally well-written essays add depth and personality to the historical presentation in the text. Quote boxes sprinkled liberally throughout the chapters take students back to the period under discussion and give them a sense of what people of the time said and thought about various events, questions, and controversies. “Examining the Evidence” features give students a chance to practice the art of historical thinking by showing how historians develop interpretations of the past. They cover a wide range of sources that lead students to discover: how a letter from a black freedman to his former master illuminates his family’s hopes for a new life; what the manuscript census teaches us about immigrant households in New York in 1900; how political cartoons work to make points with satire and humor; or how the shopping mall changed consumers’ behavior and politicians’ campaign tactics after World War II. The maps in the text are exceedingly clear and closely linked to the textual narrative. They provide precise topographical detail and clear labels to better communicate the text’s analytical points. In addition, a global locator map in a corner of each map provides geographical context for the area under discussion. Key terms are highlighted in the text and defined in the margins where they are first introduced. Both key terms and key people lists appear at the end of the chapter to help students review chapter highlights. In every chapter, focus questions, chapter outlines and summaries, marginal glossaries, and links to related primary sources ensure that students understand and retain the material as they read and prepare for exams.