by Clarence B. Carson
6 volumes
Dr. Clarence Carson (1925-2003) was the son of an Alabama tenant farmer who worked diligently to educate himself, eventually earning a Ph.D. in history from Vanderbilt University and pursuing a career as a college teacher. He also wrote quite a bit, producing twelve books and hundreds of articles. He was a staunch champion of liberty, and taught both how the idea of liberty was central to the founding of the United States, and how the idea has eroded over the years.
Carson’s Basic History of the United States is the American history that we recommend. If you'll spend some time looking at the tables of contents for the six volumes, you will see why. It tells the story of our country in a straightforward manner, not burdened either by statist propaganda or by starry-eyed idealism about the founders. The history comes in six paperback volumes, and each volume is quite manageable, being from 200 to 300 pages long. There is also a teacher's guide available.
Individual volumes also available
Related books
Volume 1: The Colonial Experience 1607-1774 (184
pp)
Prologue: Why the Study of History?
1. Introduction
2. European Background
The Classical Heritage
The Christian Heritage
The Middle Ages
The Renaissance
The Protestant Reformation
The Rise of Nation-States
The Age of Discovery
3. The English and America
Geography of England
English Political System
Oppression in England
Vitality of the English
Geography of Eastern America
The American Indian
4. The Establishment of the Colonies
Virginia
New England
The Proprietary Colonies
5. The Development and Growth of the Colonies
Population Growth and Movement
Towns, Plantations, and Farms
The Disintegration of the Class System
Religious Change and the Great Awakening
6. The Mercantile Crunch
Mercantilism
British Mercantilism in the Colonies
Colonial Mercantilism
The Impact of Mercantilism
7. The Spread of Liberating Ideas
The Continuation of Classical Learning
Colonial Literature
Science and Natural Law
The Classical Motif
John Locke and the Glorious Revolution
Development of Self-government
Adam Smith and a Free Economy
8. British Acts Become Oppressive
The First Crisis—1764-1766
The Townshend Acts
The British Resolve to Use Force
Notes
Glossary
Suggestions for Additional Reading
Index
About the Author
Volume 2: The Beginning of the Republic 1775-1825 (262
pp)
1. Introduction
2. Independence
The Move Toward Independence
The Declaration of Independence
The Articles of Confederation
3. The War for Independence
British and American Power to Make War
Strategy of the War
Battle For Canada
Struggle for the Middle States
The Ravages of Inflation
Enter the French
The Unequal Naval Conflict
The Battle for the South
Victory
4. Confederation Period
The Treaty of Paris
Western Lands
Weakness of the Confederation
Toward a Constitutional Convention
5. The Making of the Constitution
The Men Who Made the Constitution
The Task of the Convention
The Compromises
The Form of the Government
Ratification of the Constituion
A Bill of Rights
6. The Fruits of Independence
An Empire for Liberty
Limited Government
Freeing the Individual
Free Trade
The Voluntary Way
7. Establishing the Government
The Problems of the New Government
Establishing the Branches of Government
Hamilton and Economic Policy
Independence in a Hostile World
Rise of Political Parties
Washington's Farewell
8. The Struggle for Political Leadership
Election of 1796
The Adams Administration
The XYZ Affair
Alien and Sedition Acts
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Undeclared War and the French Settlement
The Election of 1800
9. The Jeffersonian Republicans
The United States in 1800
The Jeffersonians
The Constitution as Higher Law
Economy in Government
The Era of Good Feelings
10. Napoleonic Wars and Expansion of the Domain
War with Tripoli
Purchase of Louisiana
Exploration of the West
War of 1812
The Acquisition of Florida
The Monroe Doctrine
The 50th Anniversary of Independence
Notes
Glossary
Suggestions for Additional Reading
Appendices
Declaration of Independence
Constitution of the United States
Washington's Farewell Address
Jefferson's First Inaugural Address
Monroe Doctrine
Index
3. The Sections and the Civil War 1826-1877 (224
pp)
1. Introduction
2. The Rise of Sectionalism
Regional Differences and Changes
The Election of 1824
The Adams Administration
The Emergence of Two Parties
3. Jacksonian Democracy
The People's Choice
The Meaning of Jacksonian Democracy
Jackson's Administrations
a. Replacing Government Employees
b. Webster-Hayne Debates
c. Maysville Road Bill
d. The Removal of the Indians
e. The Nullification Controversy
f. The Bank Controversy
4. Americans at Work
The Voluntary Way
The Family Farm
The Factory System
The Plantation System
5. Romanticism and Reform
Developing an American Literature
The Transcendentalists
Southern Literature
New Churches and Religious Enthusiasm
The Reformation of Society
a. Utopian Communities
b. Public School Movement
c. Abolitionists
6. Westward Expansion
Whigs and Democrats
Transportation Linking East and West
a. Era of Turnpikes and Roads
b. Era of the Canals
c. The Coming of the Railroads
Territorial Expansion
a. Texas and Annexation
b. Acquiring Oregon
c. Mexican War
7. The Coming of the Civil War
The Last Major Efforts at Compromise
a. The Compromise of 1850
b. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Frustration at the North
a. Changes in the North
b. Political Ascendancy of the SOuth
c. Frustrating Developments
Fears at the South
The Election of Lincoln and Secession of the South
8. The Civil War
The Sinews of War—North
and SOuth
The Strategy of the War
Early Stages of the War 1861-1863
Behind the Lines
Fall of the Confederacy
9. Reconstruction
Devastation at the South
Presidential Reconstruction
Congressional Reconstruction
Constitutional Reconstruction
Reconstruction Politics
The End of Reconstruction
Notes
Glossary
Suggestions for Additional Reading
Index
Volume 4: The Growth of America 1878-1928 (300pp)
1. Introduction
2. Economic Growth
Conditions of Growth and Development
Development of Nationwide Business
The Growth of Cities
The Filling Out of the West
3. Naturalistic Outlook
Theories of Evolution
Biological Evolution
Critique of Darwinian Evolution
The Impact of Evolution
Naturalism in Literature
Conservative Darwinism
Reform Darwinism
4. Radical Ideas and Collectivism
The New Immigration
European Socialism
a. Revolutionary Socialism
b. Evolutionary Socialism
Collectivism in America
5. Political Climate, 1877-1896
Issues and Acts
a. Civil Service Reform
b. The Protective Tariff
c. Silver, Bimetallism, and Inflation
d. The Regulation of Business
Regulation and the Courts
The Rise of Labor Unions
Populism
6. Progressivism
The Progressive Ethos
a. Pragmatism
b. Progressive Education
c. The Social Gospel
d. The Muckrakers
e. Domestication of Socialism
The Imperial Surge
a. Annexation of Hawaii
b. Spanish-American War
c. United States Acquires Colonies
The Open Door in China
Racial Segregation in the South
7. Progressives in Power
Roosevelt in Power
a. The Panama Canal
b. Roosevelt's Foreign
Policy
c. Domestic Regulation
d. Conservation
The Taft Administration
Election of 1912
Wilson's New Freedom
a. Domestic Intervention
b. Foreign Intervention
The Progressive Amendments
8. World War I and the Disruption of Europe
War Comes to Europe
American Neutrality
United States in World War I
a. Mobilizing for War
b. Winning the War
A Discordant Peace
9. Bolshevism and the Spread of Totalitarianism
Communism in Russia
Reaction in the United States
The Permanent Revolution in Russia
Fascism in Italy
Nazism in Germany
10. The 1920s in America
The Alienation of the Intellectuals
Republicans in Power
a. The Harding Administration
b. Scandals
c. The Coolidge Adminstration
Monetarism and Prosperity
Symptoms of Moral Decline
Notes
Glossary
Suggestions for Additional Reading
Index
Volume 5: The Welfare State 1929-1985 (346 pp)
1. Introduction
2. The Great Depression
The Coming of the Depression
The Depression Deepens
Mr. Hoover's Dilemma
Government Response to Depression
The Election of 1932
The Banking Crisis
3. The Thrust of the New Deal
Origins of the New Deal
The First Hundred Days
a. Inflation
b. Government Planning
c. Relief
New Deal Hoopla and Harsh Realit
Foreign Policy of the Early New Deal
4. Toward the Welfare State
The Tenor of Life
The Pink Decade
The Second New Deal
a. Relief and Government
Aid
b. National Labor Relations Act
c. Social Security
The New Deal at Bay
a. Courts Block New Deal
b. The Election of 1936
Roosevelt Takes the Offensive
a. Court Reorganization Plan
b. More Welfare Legislation
Evaluation of the New Deal
5. The Coming of World War II
War Comes to Europe
Nazi Conquest of Western Europe
The United States in the Face of World War
The Axis Powers Invade Russia
Pearl Harbor
A Postscript to Pearl Harbor
6. The United States in World War II
Mobilization for War
Grand Strategy for War
Weapons, Tactics, and Commanders
Early Stages of the War, 1942-1944
a. The Struggle for the South
Pacific
b. The Struggle for the Mediterranean
Victory in Europe
a. The Election of 1944
b. The Battle of the Bulge
c. The Sweep Through Germany
Victory against Japan
7. The Cold War
The Failure of the United Nations
Tentative Resistance to Communism
Communists Take China
The Korean Conflict
Anti-Communism: Popular Ferver vs. Sophistry
Twists and Turns in the Cold War
8. Welfarism at Home and Abroad
Welfarism at Home
a. Truman and the Fair
Deal
b. The Eisenhower Years
c. Kennedy's New Frontier
b. Johnson and the Great Society
Welfarism Abroad
9. A Second Radical Reconstruction, 1960-1975
An Activist Supreme Court
Impact of the Warren Court
Black Activism
The Great Cultural Revolution
The War in Vietnam
Assault on American Civilization
10. The Conservative Response
The Conservative Movement
a. Men and Books
b. Organizations and
Publications
c. Common Core of Conservative
Ideas
Conservatism into the Political Arena
a. The Nixon Years
b. Watergate and the Aftermath
c. The Carter Interlude
d. Reagan Begins
Notes
Glossary
Suggestions for Additional Reading
Index
Volume 6: America: From Gridlock to Deadlock 1985-2001 (327
pp)
Acknowledgments
Illustrations
1. Introduction
2. The Philosophic and Religious Divide
The Outlook that is Losing its Hold
a. Materialism
b. Irrationalism
c. Statism
d. Democratism alias Collectivism
e. Other Strains in the Fading
Outlook
The Permanent Things
The Divide
3. The Debacle of the Welfare State
Chronology
The Financial Morass
The Moral Breakdown
a. Dependence on Government
b. The Breakup of the Family
c. Offshoots of the Moral Breakdown
The Feudalization of Society
4. Conservative and Liberal: Surge and Evasion
The Conservative Surge
The Liberal Evasions
5. Political Gridlock I—Reagan's
Second Term
Chronolgy
The Election of 1984
Economic Thrusts
The Constitution and the Supreme Court
The Iran Contra Affair
6. The Collapse of Communism
Chronology
The Spinning Off of the Satellites
The Breakup of the Soviet Union
Secessions, and More Secessions
The Relics of Communism
7. Political Gridlock II—Bush
Deadlocked
Chronology
Investigating the Investigators
Economic Difficulties
The Supreme Court
Military Undertakings
Black Advancement and Racial Turmoil
8. Americans at Work and Play
Americans at Work
a. Government Obstacles
to Production
b. Conglomerates, Mergers, and
Takeovers
c. Trends in Business and Work
Americans at Play
a. The Business of Entertainment
b. The Vulgarizing of Entertainment
9. The Debasement of Learning
10. Political Gridlock III—Clinton's
Tailspin
Chronology
The Election of 1992
Appointments—Multi-Cultural and Others
Aroma From the Clintons' Past
Conservative Talk and Liberal Policies
The 1884 Mid-term Elections
Clinton's Humanitarian Military
11. Developments in General 1995-2000
Election of 1996
Hidden Inflation and Prospiterity
The Internet
Mergers
The Signs of the Times
12. Impeachment and Trial
The Gathering of Evidence
The Impeachment
The Trial of President Clinton
The Trial Moves to Conclusion
13. Clinton Assault on the Rule of Law
The Rule of Law
Executive Orders
Bending the Justice Department
The Constitution and Foreign Affairs
Princess Diana, Relativism, and Clinton
14. Deadlock
The Election of 2000
The Descent of Lawyers and Lawsuits and the Reign of the Media
The Clash of the Courts
Denouement
Glossary
Index
