A History of US: Liberty for All?: 1820-1860A History of US Book Five

A History of US #5

by Joy Hakim

Early nineteenth century America could just about be summed up by Henry David Thoreau's words when he said, "Eastward I go only by force, but westward I go free." It was an exuberant time for the diverse citizens of the United States, who included a range of folk, from mountain men and railroad builders to whalers and farmers, as they pushed forward into the open frontier and all their hopes and fears are captured in Liberty for All? In addition to colorful accounts of the massive westward migration, the California Gold Rush, a war with Mexico, the Oregon boundary conflict, Texas and the Alamo, Liberty for All? takes a deep look at the issue that began to gnaw at the country's core: How, in the land where "all men are created equal," could there be slaves?

Genres: History, Nonfiction, School, American History, Read For School, Historical, Childrens

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

I've just updated A HISTORY OF US to include some new stories, especially those on people who haven't had their full story told, like Native Americans and African Americans. I've been astounded by some of what I've learned, I think you will be too.


My husband and I live most of the year in Colorado. I grew up in Rutland, Vermont and graduated from Rutland High School. I earned a bachelor's degree in government at Smith College, a master's degree in education from Goucher College, as well as an honorary doctorate from Goucher.

I've been a teacher: in Syracuse, New York; Omaha, Nebraska; and Virginia Beach, Virginia. And I've taught in elementary school, middle school, high school, and in a community college.

I've also been a newspaper woman: a general reporter, a business reporter, and an associate editor and editorial writer at Norfolk's Virginian-Pilot.

We have three children and five grandchildren.

from: http://www.joyhakim.com/biography.html

Reviews

[Scarlett Readz and Runz....Through Novel Time & Distance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great middle grade American History series.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there was a lot of very good information here, the book just jumped around way too much for my taste. She didn't stay on a theme or timeline over the period, but jumped about from slavery to presidents then perhaps women's rights & over to railroads, pioneers, or the Gold Rush & back to slavery possibly at an earlier time. I never really got a sense of the time beyond chaos. It certainly was & she did a good job mentioning most things but I look to historians to put things into a sort of understandable order. She didn't. That's a let down.

There was an awful lot left out. While she mentioned Andrew Jackson & something about him kicking the Indians off their land the "Trail of Tears" & Jackson telling the Supreme Court, especially Marshall, to stop him if they could was never mentioned. I'm not that familiar with the period, but I consider that one of the more important tests of our country. She did spend time on the Dred Scot Decision & did a pretty comprehensive job otherwise.

So far this series got 5 star reviews for the first 3 books & the last one was a 4 star review. This one is only getting 3 stars. As usual, it was very well narrated & the afterword was fun. The chronology mentions several things not included in the text, too. I hope the next book is better.

[Laura Housley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite way to learn American history. I turned a couple days ago to her later book (#9) to read up on the Spanish Influenza of 1919. Then noticed this one (#5) in my Audible account and finished it up. There's a reason this series has won awards. I first noticed this series in my sister's bookcase. When I was younger my family had a set of encyclopedias. Noone has encyclopedia's anymore, but every family library would benefit from this series.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This time through US history we're camping out in the period before/during/after the Civil War. Living in the southwest, I appreciated the look at what was going on in this direction and connecting it to the broader happenings in the country.

[Rykki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, the fifth in the series, has a little bit of overlap with the previous book. The overwhelming focus of this book is westward expansion and the build up to the Civil War. There is also some discussion of women's rights.

I will say I was pleasantly surprised that there were some influential moments in history that were covered which most books, such as some of the famous poets and authors, and about the whaling industry in New England. It went far more in detail about the effects of the invention of the steam engine and the beginning of railroads across the country than I'd ever gone into in school. They even talked about the Mormons and their journey to Salt Lake City.

However, I will also say that there hasn't been much effort put into creating a balanced view of history when it comes to the South. It seems like every reference in the book paints the South in the light of slavery and views on slavery, even though it does mention well-known Southerners (and slave owners) that opposed the idea of slavery. Beyond the slavery issue there was little talk of life in the South or political views on anything other than slavery. It was the one area where it seemed there was little effort put into creating an in depth view of what was going on in the country. Even if the author doesn't like or support the views or lifestyles of the people in the south, it could have still been covered in a little more detail. It felt like it fell a little flat.

Otherwise the book did cover a good deal of topics in American history, so many of which were glossed over or ignored in traditional school settings. It even went so far as to mention the Donner party, even though she only went so far as to suggest the reader look into it on their own, considering it to violent and gristly for this series. Overall I'd say it provided a pretty good view of American history during this period and covered much of the necessary knowledge to go into understanding the start of the Civil War.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do feel like most of her books on these subjects tend to jump around a bit, which is both a good and bad thing, bad if you are really trying to form a timeline and keep things congruent for your student, and good because if you decide you do not need to go over a particular topic its not entirely missed anyway because the story will likelt jump to another subject. overall, i generally enjoy her books, so i would give this a 3.5 stars we read this as our history spine in homeschool

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am very much enjoying this series as an overview of U.S. history. Originally designed for teens its still great for adults as well.

(Note: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book. 3 = Very good; 4 = Outstanding {only about 5% of the books I read merit this}; 5 = All time favorites {one of these may come along every 400-500 books})

[Apzmarshl · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. This is where we really start questioning slavery. The author gives great context to learn by and reminds us that in order to really study history, you have to put yourself in history, and not judge it from the present.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume 5 of Joy Hakim's excellent history of the United States, this volume ("Liberty for All?: 1820-1860") covers the turbulent period leading directly up to the American Civil War. Highly recommended.

[Allie Massaro · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of my school books. I hated it

[Rebekah Byson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still the best US history series for older kids and teens!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, Joy Hakim presents History in a way that is accessible and interesting, but without a whole lot of meat on its 'bones'.

[Lisa Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

If only all history could be written in such an accessible, anecdotal manner. What a pleasure.

[Sunny Kim]

this book was OK but I didn’t really like the history part. I like how they all went to search for gold and how woman’s got there, right

[Crystal Lutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, easy and clear read of history.

[Marianne Robin-Tani · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that Ms.Hakim finds it vital to include forgotten stories about EVERYONE in her history books makes them fascinating and truer than any history lesson I ever learned in school.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time learning about the Civil War, and this book explains all the events leading up to it! I had NO idea how fragile the "peace" was. We really had to go to war.
I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--a Mormon--and Chapter 7 is all about Mormons. I was suprised and pleased by how she stated the facts as they were and mentioned how Joseph Smith was murdered. I was expecting her to get all preachy, but it was great! It made me trust the rest of the book a lot more. She does mention Brigham Young's 40 wives and asks the question: what do YOU think of that? I would think he was crazy, too, if you didn't understand everything that was happening! She also said that perhaps polygamy was allowed because there were many more LDS females than males and they needed to be protected--I think that's part of it, too!
All Historians are biased, but I think Joy Hakim tries to just state the facts.
I wish the Underground Railroad section was longer, but I loved learning about Jedediah Smith, Sojourner Truth, and Ellen and William Craft!

[The other John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Five of A History of US is both the same old, same old and something different. Ms. Hakim actually backs up a bit and looks again at some of the years covered in Volume 4. But whereas in The New Nation she focused more on the political events of the era, in this volume she takes a more cultural path. Liberty for All? follows the mountain men, the forty-niners, the Mormons, the whalers, the suffragettes, the authors, poets and painters who all added to the tapestry of America. Of course, running throughout the book is the issue of slavery, which built up over the years. The book ends in 1860 with the fuse burning and the powder keg ready to explode.

[Jenevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review first published on My Blog.

From 2013
The 5th book in her US history series for middle school. Better than some of the others. There was some interesting information in there setting things up for the Civil War and while I appreciated learning more about the authors and artists of that time, I'm not sure how much Jon got out of that. There were definitely parts that I felt could have moved more quickly but at the same time, I think it was good to show where the country was and all the things that went into creating the factions of North vs. South. It wasn't just slavery although that was the main thing but industry, life styles, and exploration as well.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joy Hakim continues to provide a very readable history of the United States. This volume concentrates on the period in US history before the Civil War looking at a multitude of questions regarding the settling of the West, the Texas question, the road to Oregon, California Gold Rush while also presenting the growth in US authors, artists, industry. The contradiction of slavery with the Declaration of Independence and the conflict between slaveholders and abolitionists was handled well. In all a solid read. I read this with my son as part of his history class.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book immensely. I began reading it aloud to the kids and then the older ones went to public school and I put it away for a while hoping we'd pick it up again together. When I did pick it up to finish off myself, I was surprised at how much I missed reading it. As it is titled Liberty for All?, Joy Hakim truly dealt with all the groups who were still struggling to share their voice in the new country. I look forward to reading more.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never realized how many things were going on just prior to the US Civil War. It really was a crazy time! Short chapters helped to bring everything together for me. Did I really not learn this stuff in school, or was I just not interested enough to pay attention?

[Evelynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a history book. What much is there to say? Well-written for middle school students and even high school students. It showed some stories that I hadn't read into before but had heard of, and it was a refreshing outlook on this era of my country, the U.S. Very interesting.

[Rose]

973.5 Hak

[Cws]

JRef3#5

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

She rights history like a story, and makes it very interesting and enjoyable.

[Kendall Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is ok. I liked book four and three better. I'm glad I finished it though! Onto book seven! =)

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

easy to read basic information

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

great resource for teachers and students for the history and creation of america... with maps, illustrations, cartoons, and more

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good resource for children to learn about american expansion and internal focus of political policies.