The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society, Volume I: To 1877

by Gary B. Nash, Julie Roy Jeffrey, John R. Howe Jr.

Providing students with a thought-provoking account of America’s past, The American People examines how American society assumed its present shape and developed its present forms of government. Emphasizing the interaction of ordinary Americans with extraordinary events, the text combines the discussion of political events with analysis of their impact on social and economic life. The comprehensive narrative encompasses description of the lives and experiences of Americans of all national origins and cultural backgrounds, at all class levels of society, and in all regions of the country. The thoughtful analysis seeks the connections among the political, social, economic, technological, and cultural factors that have shaped and reshaped American society over four centuries.

Genres: History, Textbooks, Nonfiction, American History, Teaching, College, Education

Paperback

First published January 28, 1986

About the author

Gary B. Nash was a distinguished American historian known for his scholarship on the American Revolutionary era, slavery, and the experiences of marginalized communities in shaping early U.S. history. A graduate of Princeton University, where he earned both his undergraduate and doctoral degrees, Nash also served in the U.S. Navy before embarking on an academic career. He taught at Princeton and then at UCLA, where he became a full professor and later held key administrative roles focused on educational development.
Nash's work highlighted the roles of working-class individuals, African Americans, Native Americans, and women in the nation's founding, challenging traditional narratives centered solely on elite figures. His inclusive approach often sparked debate, notably with historian Edmund Morgan, who questioned the broader impact of the grassroots movements Nash emphasized.
Beyond academia, Nash was instrumental in shaping history education in the United States. He co-directed the development of the National History Standards and led the National Center for History in the Schools. A past president of the Organization of American Historians, he was also a member of numerous esteemed scholarly societies. Throughout his career, Nash authored or contributed to dozens of influential books, articles, and essays that left a lasting mark on the field.

Reviews

[Aria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Revisionist bullshit.

[Murilo Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish. If you know American history VERY well, then this book is for you. If you have some notion, then this book will fill your head with literally billions of facts and details but WILL NOT provide the bigger picture of ANYTHING. So nothing will make sense or connect to each other, but the level of detail the authors give to subtopics of subperiods of almost each year is impressive. Read almost 400 pages and didn’t learn much.

[annabeth ☼ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to read this for my history class this summer and I dreaded it every week. As someone who doesn’t have much knowledge of American history because so many textbooks just spew facts at you without explaining much, I should not have been surprised that this textbook took the same approach. A disappointment for sure, but I passed the class so… all’s well that ends well I suppose.

[Anna Lippold · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book was required to read for my online history class, I found the authors' writing very easy to understand and learn. One of my favorite parts of the book was the stories included in the beginning of each chapter. These true stories told of the hardships of US life, whether it be families or lonely farmers. Each story related to the chapters topic, which gave me a better understanding of each chapters' contents and events.

[Keertana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am using this textbook for the duration of my school year and as far as textbooks go, it's quite decent. It gives excellent explanations, but as GoodReads Ratings are based on personal enjoyment, I have to admit it's easy to fall asleep while reading this, so this is highly recommended as a bedtime story or for history professors who get a kick out of 1000+ pages of US History all in one...

[Emma Leshan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm finally done!!!!!!!!

[Judith Jordet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too few U.S. history text books published since the 1980's have incorporate Mexican Americans into the national history. This college level text by Gary Nash and Julie Roy Jeffrey, gives a more balanced interpretation of the Mexican War and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. The usual treatment of the war and the resulting treaty, focuses on negotiation and border disputes rather than the cause of the war and the results of the treaty that continues to impact the discussion of the U.S. political relationship with Mexico. This textbook is one of the few voices that clearly states the cause of the Mexican war which was Manifest Destiny and American expansionism.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo even states in the sub heading, "guaranteed the civil and political rights of former Mexican citizens and their rights to their [deeded] land." Reporting how this promise was a hollow one, makes this textbook one of the more complete discussion of the war and the many ways the treaty was ignored.

A more thorough discussion of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo can be found in the 1990 book, "The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: a legacy of conflict" by Richard Griswold del Castillo

[Chloe Campbell · Rating 1 out of 5]

-9 gazillion

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was for a class I took that covers American history from 1492 to 1877. The chapters are easy to read and often include photos, maps and excerps from historical documents. Pretty good American history text. Doesn't lean too far in either direction as far as policital takes on events. I'm planning on taking the class that deals with the history from 1776-1887 so hopefully it will be just as interesting.

[Ellee Shields · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a history book that I had to read for an online history 108 class at Allan Handcock College over summer. It was chapter 14 through Chapter 28 about Us History. I learned about the cold war, the depressions, the wold wars, fires, disasters, and many discoveries. It was very informational and i learned a lot about the United States. I like history a lot but I am not into reading history text books for fun that is why i rated it so low.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical (but bearable) US history textbook.

[Chole Allyson · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a text book, it was pretty good. This had a lot of historical stories and I was able to get a better grasp on society at that time.

[Chole Allyson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had some interesting historical stories that I read.

[Jamal Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

school textbook. very broad and biased. a bit to PC for my flavor.

[Nana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Textbook local college class

[Martin Screeton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and would recommend all people read it!

[Peter Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful, easy to read college textbook that emphasizes substance over style.