In the 2nd edition of this best-selling and authoritative work, American History, Volume 1 surveys the broad sweep of American history from the first Native American societies to the end of the Reconstruction period, following the Civil War.
Drawing on a deep range of research and years of classroom teaching experience, Thomas S. Kidd offers students an engaging overview of the first half of American history. The second edition features new stories of people like William Bradford, Mercy Otis Warren, Francis Asbury, Harriet Tubman, Henry Obookiah, and Joaquín Murieta, to name a few. The role of Christianity in America is central in this book. Americans' faith sometimes inspired awakenings and the search for an equitable society, but at other times it justified violence and inequality.
Students will come away from American History, Volume 1, 2nd Edition better prepared to grapple with the challenges presented by the history of America's founding, the problem of slavery, and our nation's political tradition.
**Pair with the companion American History Workbook!
"In this volume of early American History through Civil War and Reconstruction, Kidd not only provides students with an exceptionally well-documented account of our political history, but an astute assessment of the Christian movements that shaped the course of our nation, be they the Puritans of New England or the evangelicals of the abolitionist movements. This clear and even-handed account cuts against the banality we find in most history textbooks today."
--David Goodwin, president, Association of Classical Christian Schools
"Thomas Kidd is a talented historian with a unique gift for in-depth research and engaging writing. This work is no exception. In this two-volume set, Kidd applies his skills to an area where they are desperately needed in America today--civics education. Smart and fair, nuanced and balanced, Kidd takes us from the American Founding to the Civil War, from populism to progressivism, from World War I to the Cold War, from the Roaring Twenties to the Great Society, from Andrew Jackson to FDR, from Reagan to Clinton, from 1492 to September 11. Elegantly and attractively written and illustrated, this text is not to be missed for your student."
--Paul Kengor, professor of political science, Grove City College
"There has long been a need for a survey textbook that gives balanced attention to the important role of Christianity in American history. Thomas Kidd's American History admirably meets that need and much more. Well written, accessible, interesting, beautifully illustrated, and academically sound, this usable and one-of-a-kind resource deserves a wide audience in both the secular and Christian college classrooms."
--Samuel Smith, graduate program director, history department chair, Liberty University
"Thomas Kidd has spent years teaching us how to think Christianly and historically about our shared past. American History is an achievement worthy of all that we have come to expect from Professor Kidd's pen. Thorough, engaging, and mature, this work will prove indispensable to students of US history for generations to come."
--John D. Wilsey, professor of church history, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Thomas S. Kidd (PhD, University of Notre Dame) is research professor of church history at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and senior research scholar at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University.