Books on U.S. History

Explore national history with this collection of study guides for fiction and non-fiction texts covering events, key figures, and viewpoints that have shaped the United States over the centuries. A sampling of topics within this collection includes the Puritans, Indigenous peoples, the successes and failures of the country's founders, U.S. presidents, war, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, and more.

Clean Getaway

by Nic Stone

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Hate & Anger, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Love, Shame & Pride, Race, Aging, Death, Grandparents, Childhood & Youth, The Past, Fathers, Equality, Politics & Government, Justice, Safety & Danger

Tags African American Literature, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, US History, Black Lives Matter, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction

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Common Sense

by Thomas Paine

Publication year 1776

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Tags Politics & Government, American Revolution, US History, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

The all-time best-selling published work in American history, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense helped ignite a revolution that changed the world. Released in January 1776, the pamphlet condemned the arbitrary rule of Britain’s King George III and his Parliament, and it urged colonists to rise up against their oppressors and replace colonial rule with a democratic republic of free and equal citizens. Common Sense helped inspire rebel leaders to declare American independence six months later.An e-book... Read Common Sense Summary

Confederates In The Attic

by Tony Horwitz

Publication year 1998

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes The Past, Grief

Tags Sociology, Action & Adventure, US History, American Civil War, Military & War, World History, Travel Literature, Humor, Politics & Government

Confederates in the Attic is a non-fiction book written by Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Tony Horwitz. The book is a mixture of ethnography—the study of a specific group of people in a specific place—and travel writing, where Horwitz attempts to dive deeply into his childhood fascination for the American Civil War by traveling through the deep South, visiting Confederate battlefields, museums, and monuments, and interviewing the locals that he comes into contact with about their relationship to... Read Confederates In The Attic Summary

Constitution of United States of America

by Constitutional Convention

Publication year 1787

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Politics & Government, Nation

Tags Politics & Government, US History, Crime & Law

The Constitution of the United States is the oldest national constitution that’s still in use. The idea of founding a government on the basis of a written constitution was revolutionary when the US Constitution was drafted in 1787. The idea had two novel components: first, the document both establishes and limits the power of the government—no figurehead, ruler, or body of legislators stands above the Constitution. Second, it was written by representatives of the governed—55... Read Constitution of United States of America Summary

Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto

by Vine Deloria Jr.

Publication year 1969

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Indigenous Identity, Colonialism, Nation, Politics & Government

Tags Anthropology, Anthropology, World History, US History, Politics & Government, Race & Racism, Social Justice

Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto was written in 1969 by Vine Deloria Jr., a historian, theologian, activist, and member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The work explores the oppression and exploitation of Native people in the United States, outlines the history of Indian resistance, and recommends a course of action for modern Indigenous people. Extremely influential in the 1960s and 1970s Native American Movement, Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto remains... Read Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto Summary

Dead Wake

by Erik Larson

Publication year 2015

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Tags Politics & Government, World History, World War I, European History, US History, Military & War, Biography

In Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, writer Erik Larson traces the Lusitania’s final journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The Lusitania is a British passenger liner owned by the Cunard Steamship Company. First sailing in 1907, the Lusitania quickly sets records for the fastest journey across the Atlantic Ocean, stealing the coveted Blue Riband away from Germany.Dead Wake follows the Lusitania’s final journey, which took place during the first week of May 1915... Read Dead Wake Summary

Democracy in America

by Alexis de Tocqueville

Publication year 1835

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags US History, Politics & Government, French Literature, American Literature, Sociology, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is a work of history and political philosophy published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840. Tocqueville embarked on his own political career in France but is best known for his contributions to history and political philosophy.The first volume is based on Tocqueville’s nearly yearlong sojourn in the United States, ostensibly to study its prisons and prison reform. In his introduction Tocqueville emphasizes that... Read Democracy in America Summary

Desert Exile

by Yoshiko Uchida

Publication year 1982

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family

Tags Asian Literature, Japanese Literature, US History, Race & Racism, World War II, Military & War, World History, Biography

Desert Exile tells the story of the author Yoshiko Uchida and the Uchida family’s experience as Japanese-Americans interned in concentration camps by the U.S. government after the Pearl Harbor attacks during World War II. The book follows a linear narrative arc that details the Uchidas’ experience, while Uchida often reflects discursively, using one point in her life as a vortex for connecting that moment to another memory and in turn creating a larger impression of... Read Desert Exile Summary

Destiny of the Republic

by Candice Millard

Publication year 2011

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Good & Evil

Tags US History, World History, Biography, Politics & Government

Destiny of the Republic, a nonfiction book written by Candice Millard in 2011, tells the story of President James Garfield’s death in 1881 after being shot by Charles Guiteau. The first section, entitled “Promise,” provides the necessary background of all the individuals who play a role in the story. The first chapter is about the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, introducing Garfield, Alexander Graham Bell, and Joseph Lister–three men whose lives would intersect years later... Read Destiny of the Republic Summary