A History of the American People

A History of the American People

by James Truslow Adams

Originally published in 1933, and written by "America’s historian", James Truslow Adams, this 2 volume set tells the story of the rise of the American nation encompassing from economics, religion, social change and politics from settlement to the Great Depression. Due emphasis is given to the inter-connectedness of America with Europe – both in terms of cultural heritage and political and military entanglements. Extensive in size and scope and richly illustrated with half-tones and maps these volumes balance a historical narrative with philosophical interpretation whilst touching on as many aspects of American life and history as possible.

1028 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2020

About the author

Born to a wealthy Yankee family in Brooklyn, New York, Adams took his bachelor's degree from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1898, and a MA degree from Yale University in 1900. He entered investment banking, rising to partner in a New York Stock Exchange member firm. until 1912. In 1912, he considered his savings ample enough to switch his to a career as a writer.

Adams coined the term "American Dream" in his 1931 book The Epic of America. His American Dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.

An American historian, Adams wrote The Founding of New England (1921), which brought him the Pulitzer Prize in history for 1922, was followed by Revolutionary New England, 1691–1776 (1923) and New England in the Republic, 1776–1850 (1926). Among the best of his many books are Provincial Society, 1690–1763 (Vol. III in the “History of American Life” series, 1927) and The Epic of America (1931), which was widely translated. The Adams Family (1930) and Henry Adams (1933) were books on the famous Massachusetts clan, to which he was not related.