Interpretations of American History II. [antikvár]

PREFACE TO THE SIXTH EDITION We designed this two-volume book of readings to accompany American history survey courses. Reflecting our philosophy of teaching history, the choice of readings is based on four main assumptions. First, that the approach to history should be broadly conceptual and not narrowly factual. Second, that students should read both the most recent scholarship and older and more traditional interpretations. Third, that students should have available historiographical introductions to shed light on the readings. And lastly, that the readings themselves should be intellectually stimulating, rich in interpretation, and attractive in style. To meet the challenge posed by our first assumption, we chose selections that are conceptual in character. In each case these selections represent an interpretation that illuminates a particular problem or period. Despite the different issues or eras presented, one theme emerges from all the selections: the view of American history is constantly changing. Generally speaking, new interpretations appear for two reasons. First, the perspective of American historians of a given generation has been shaped in large measure by the sweep of events in the world outside the scholar's study. Scholars have tended to reflect in their writings, either explicitly or implicitly, the problems or predilections of the age in which they live. Each succeeding generation, therefore, has rewritten America's past, in part, to suit the felt needs of its own time. In our introductions we have sought to show how contemporary concerns of the age in which scholars wrote shaped their starting assumptions, gathering of evidence, and interpretation of events. From the 1960s to 1990, for example, the consciousness of many American historians was influenced by various social changes affecting racial minorities, women, ethnic groups, and social classes as well as by recent political, economic, and technological developments. It is not surprising, then, to find these same themes cropping up in the writings of recent scholars dealing with earlier periods of American history. Secondly, the picture of America's past is constantly changing because of intellectual shifts within the historical profession itself. These changes have taken place inside the scholar's study, so to speak. Vll