The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S. History Textbook, Vol. 1: To 1877

by Joseph L. Locke (Editor), Ben Wright (Editor)

"I too am not a bit tamed―I too am untranslatable / I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world."―Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," Leaves of Grass The American Yawp is a free, online, collaboratively built American history textbook. Over 300 historians joined together to create the book they wanted for their own students―an accessible, synthetic narrative that reflects the best of recent historical scholarship and provides a jumping-off point for discussions in the U.S. history classroom and beyond. Long before Whitman and long after, Americans have sung something collectively amid the deafening roar of their many individual voices. The Yawp highlights the dynamism and conflict inherent in the history of the United States, while also looking for the common threads that help us make sense of the past. Without losing sight of politics and power, The American Yawp incorporates transnational perspectives, integrates diverse voices, recovers narratives of resistance, and explores the complex process of cultural creation. It looks for America in crowded slave cabins, bustling markets, congested tenements, and marbled halls. It navigates between maternity wards, prisons, streets, bars, and boardrooms. The fully peer-reviewed edition of The American Yawp will be available in two print volumes designed for the U.S. history survey. Volume I begins with the indigenous people who called the Americas home before chronicling the collision of Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans. The American Yawp traces the development of colonial society in the context of the larger Atlantic World and investigates the origins and ruptures of slavery, the American Revolution, and the new nation's development and rebirth through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Rather than asserting a fixed narrative of American progress, The American Yawp gives students a starting point for asking their own questions about how the past informs the problems and opportunities that we confront today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, School, Education, Read For School, College, The United States Of America

456 pages, Paperback

Published January 22, 2019

Reviews

[Emily Romo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this book for my American history class, and although there was invaluable information within it. I found that it left out a lot of stories from the perspective of slaves and Indigenous peoples, that could have the power to really shift our understanding of early American history. The textbook overall seemed repetitive and jumped back and forth in time, making it hard to understand.

[final muzak · Rating 1 out of 5]

That was really, really punishing.

[Cayden Burgon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do appreciate the book's organization of sections within each chapter that are relatively short yet incredibly dense and very informative. Even so, I give it two starts primarily due to its radical practice of capitalizing "Black" and not "white" when referring to people which obviously has racial motivations. This sort of divisive nonsense should have no place in academia. Along with that, the book goes far beyond discussing the (very valid) issues of race and gender to perceiving nearly everything through the lens of race and gender.

[Newt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good basic overview of the founding of the United States. The last chapter is a real kick in the teeth (as it should be).

[esther]

SCHOOL

[amberrr · Rating 2 out of 5]

did i skim? maybe. 2/5

[Basil · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actually good I just hate school rn

[Kara Naghoster · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5✰

Very informative and interesting.

I hated it.

[Rebecca Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Textbook for class lol! But, I’m counting it towards my “books read” since I read every single page in this bad boy.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

US History L

[Scotty W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this for school, so I’m claiming it as a book for the year😔 But I enjoy history so 5 stars

[Angeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate dual credit history

[marcus miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are using this as a textbook for an AP American History class. It is quite readable, especially for a textbook. It expresses a point of view reflecting the latest in research and scholarship which students seem to enjoy as it gives them something to react to whether they agree or disagree. There are times there is some repetition from chapter to chapter, which some might find annoying, yet it serves to remind the reader, that for example, abolition, or the women's right movement cannot be confined to one time period or one chapter.
The text is available on-line and in comparison to many AP or college textbooks, the cost is quite reasonable.

[RyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overview of American history split into two volumes:
Volume 1: Before 1877
Volume 2: After 1877

Each chapter is written by a different author, and you can also make any suggestions as this is a collaborative text.

This is a great place to start if you want to begin studying the history of the United States of America or if you just want a refresher!

[Steven A]

The opinions of the authors show though

[Bookish Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read this for my college class so it was pretty hard to enjoyably read but I did it so I’m counting it.

[Brandon R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any history book that tries to cover a large expanse of time will undoubtedly leave things out. But the choices these authors made are sometimes confusing, as is the "narrative". The story reviews the same points about Andrew Jackson in a few different chapters, but doesn't say much at all about his terrible policies such as the Trail of Tears. It talks about the terrains of the Klan, but nothing at all about how Grant and Congress tried to defang it.

For a book with chapter titles that delineate time periods, they sure do jump around a bunch. In the chapter on Reconstruction (the last chapter, so most recallable to my mind) they talk more about the cause of the Civil War, and arguments about it, after the fact. At that point, the possibility of a fuller understanding of events is clouded by an indefinite timeline.

I am reading this book and its sequel along with my daughter's high school history class, and it's no wonder that she dreads reading it. It is confusing and vague, while being incredibly and frustratingly specific. What a strange book. I encourage a reading of Zinn's "People's History" and Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me" instead. They are more engaging and understandable.

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're going to review this book... please review the book and not your class. I definitely agree with the criticisms given by the two other reviewers who are writing about the book's content and not their individual classes. That said, this is a well-formatted and easy-to-read American history textbook. It is unique in that it is meant to be accessed for free online and is frequently updated to add more detail, with each chapter acting like a summary article about the events it covers and ending with a bibliography of primary and other secondary sources. I enjoyed reading it and it was easy to use for the projects I needed it for.

[Lola Petite · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recommended in college History reading. I’m ashamed that in 2023 History books still speak 1/2 truths and presume to congratulate American hero’s like Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. This book is a typical white-washed read with the victors stories told. It’s like having a family member tell you what makes them look good. Not a recommended read and if your History teacher requests you read this book - try another professor.

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean it’s a history book, what can you say. It isn’t the WORST American history book I’ve read, but it isn’t the best either. It misses a lot of stuff and jumps back and forth, it also repeats information a ton.

[Layni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dense material, it leaves out a lot of stories that make history fun. It felt a good comprehensive Cliffnotes version of American History though, definitely easy enough to read a chapter a week for a semester.

[Zach Waldis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid, lucid history up to the Civil War. The level of depth is roughly AP high school or early undergraduate, so it could be enjoyed by a wide audience. The tone of the narrative is quite dark during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

[Mira Sturdivant · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reader is really where it shines.
The text is fine, but the accompanying reader has such a great collection of first-hand documents that really transformed a lot of what I know and really gave me a brand new interest in American history.

[Cheryl Wedesweiler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another incredible history book that was optional for the course, but was really a valuable resource. Go to YOUTUBE.COM and listen to the detailed explanation of the book by Bradley Lucier-fantastic.

[T.R. Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A textbook, but a good textbook.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!!!!!!!

[Nora · Rating 2 out of 5]

i deserve to tag this as a book i read this year

[Kathryn Bonneville · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a life changing book for me, the artistry of the writing made me cry.

[☮ morgan ☮]

DNF

Shhhhh, no one tell my teacher please.

[Rosy B · Rating 1 out of 5]

made me wanna kill myself continuously thanks guys