These United States: A Nation in the Making: 1945 to the Present

by Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore, Thomas J. Sugrue

From two major scholars, a powerful narrative that explores the making and unmaking of American democracy and global power in the twentieth century. President Franklin Roosevelt told Americans in a 1936 fireside chat, “I do not look upon these United States as a finished product. We are still in the making.” These United States builds on this foundation to present a readable, accessible history of the United States throughout the twentieth century―an ongoing and inspiring story of great leaders and everyday citizens marching, fighting, voting, and legislating to make the nation’s promise of democracy a reality for all Americans.

In the college edition of These United States, Gilmore and Sugrue seamlessly weave insightful analysis with all of the support tools needed by students and instructors alike, including paired primary source documents, review questions, key terms, maps, and figures in a dynamic four-color design.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, Audiobook, 21st Century

333 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2015

About the author

Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore is the Peter V. and C. Van Woodward Professor of History, African American Studies, and American Studies at Yale University. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gilmore presents a fairly standard history of the United States from the Spanish-American War through Obama's second term. She leans heavily on social and bottom-up historical approaches, but not so much as to be unbalanced. A particular strength of hers is the structure - there are a number of instances of introducing a small example which pays off in recognizing continuity with an event fifteen years later, where that same individual or group pops up. The choice of everyday individuals whose stories she tells is also well done - the public housing resident in New Orleans, the Walmart worker in the post-industrial California central valley, the disenchanted white housewife in 1970s Detroit - each tells a story that Gilmore weaves nicely into a larger narrative. This is a good general history for any interested reader.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit disappointing, a bit in the same way as Silk Roads. I came into it expecting history from a different perspective, with the experience of otherwise marginalised groups and common people in the centre. Instead, while there was more than the usual helping of public opinion, civil rights, Japanese internment, and women's suffrage, it all seemed pretty familiar. There was some material on Black civil rights activism before the 1950s that was new to me, and the portrayal of Woodrow Wilson as first and foremost a southern racist is, if not entirely unfamiliar, certainly timely.

[Aurelia Behaeghel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book, would have loved if it was written now instead of 2014. The hope at the ending of the final chapter is somewhat depressing.

[Kerry]

Slate book review:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/bo...

[Leanna Pohevitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent in-depth look at recent American history. I was especially pleased at how many females and progressive groups were highlighted.

[Ryan Darnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly balanced take on 20th-21st century America. A great primer for any U.S. history enthusiast.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book hoping to get a clearer picture of how the political past has shaped the political present in the United States & this book delivers on that. For the beginner in US politics the structure of the chapters, arranged in short sections, and the unfussy writing makes it easy to read & understand. I got the most out of the 1st half of the book & will continue reading up on that time period as I find it the most fascinating in US history. This book gave a great overview of the politics allowing you to see how policies affected each other & shaped worldwide history.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review coming shortly.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very comprehensive history but does leave out some important events but it’s understandable considering the books scope.

[Anthony Burley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome presentation of American History from a myriad of perspectives and individual stories/reflections.

[Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published late last year, I first became aware of this hefty survey on the course of United States history from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century from this Slate.com review . It intrigued me, at the beginning of the fractious battle for 2016 election already lining up to see a critical take on the idea of a steady “progress” from the past to the present when in many ways things seem to be more divisive than ever. From the “gilded age” of the 1890s to the new “gilded age” of the 1990s, “These United States” carefully records the wax and wane of the role of government on the people and economy of the nation, and the effects this had on class, race, and gender in American society.

A rather general history of the nation, the focus the authors placed on how the various historical events of the century affected various average American citizens framing each of their chapters was particularly interesting. From small town soldiers who left for the trenches of the “Great War,” to young men finding employment in the WPA, to women fighting Wal-Mart for discrimination or surviving the terror of the government's botched response to Hurricane Katrina, viewing these events through these eyes was one of the most affecting aspects of the treatise. While not delving too deeply into any specific topic, the broad account of the flux of the political establishment made for some very thought provoking reading, as parallels from earlier periods of history seemed to be evident as time went on. The shift of the mainstream political parties from one side of the political spectrum to the other throughout the century, and a general shift to the right for each of them is definitely something the authors describe well and seems all too familiar. In their conclusion, they write “well into the twenty-first century, the promises of the twentieth- equality, opportunity, and justice- remained only partially fulfilled.”

During the months I have been slowly working my way through the decades, reading this account really put things in perspective, particularly as I also read Colin Woodard’s latest work, American Character, a much briefer, more shallow but equally riveting account of the same themes. In fact, Woodard might take off where they left in his analysis of American society through history, as they conclude “These United States” with “that struggle between individual interest and social responsibility remains the enduring contradiction of modern American history,” Woodard’s main argument.

[Paige McLoughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

vivid history with lots of exemplars from 1890 through the bush years from the gilded age to the second gilded age with a progressive new deal bubble in the middle.

Update 10/9/2022 a big chunk of the book goes from the new deal era to Reagan's election in 1980. It is like all the heroics and drama for mid-century America with a tragic ending in the sixties and seventies and America since Reagan is a dreary epilogue of stagnation and decline of democratic institutions.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear-eyed, comprehensive, and succinct history of the United States from 1890 to today which does an excellent job of balancing its lens between social, political, legislative, and ideological movements and events. One of the fastest 700+ page history books I have ever read!

[Parashar B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An all around good read, but I was hoping for more on the last couple of decades, and it was a very small part of the book.

[Kevin]

Making or remaking of a nation?