Challenging the Myths of US History
Seven Short Essays on the Past and Present
Seiten
2025
University of California Press (Verlag)
978-0-520-40245-4 (ISBN)
University of California Press (Verlag)
978-0-520-40245-4 (ISBN)
A provocative, critical take on the traditional narrative of US history—and a call to reimagine America's past.
According to textbooks, the media, and politicians of all stripes, the story of the United States is one of steady progress toward a "more perfect union." In this narrative, ideals of liberty and freedom explain the Revolution and the Civil War and drove racial progress. Similarly, foreign policy, if marked by stumbles, has been largely well-intentioned.
In seven pithy and provocative essays, historian Marc Egnal challenges this account. He argues that wealthy individuals who were set on economic and territorial expansion shaped the American narrative. The seven essays look at progress in the writing of history, the Revolution, the Civil War, violence, Vietnam, the women's movement, and the rise of Donald Trump. Egnal does not ignore protests and lofty ideals. Instead, he shows they were subordinate to the plans of the expansionists and to the racism that so often accompanied their designs. Accessible and engaging, Challenging the Myths of US History urges readers to question long-held assumptions and to look at the American past from a very different perspective.
According to textbooks, the media, and politicians of all stripes, the story of the United States is one of steady progress toward a "more perfect union." In this narrative, ideals of liberty and freedom explain the Revolution and the Civil War and drove racial progress. Similarly, foreign policy, if marked by stumbles, has been largely well-intentioned.
In seven pithy and provocative essays, historian Marc Egnal challenges this account. He argues that wealthy individuals who were set on economic and territorial expansion shaped the American narrative. The seven essays look at progress in the writing of history, the Revolution, the Civil War, violence, Vietnam, the women's movement, and the rise of Donald Trump. Egnal does not ignore protests and lofty ideals. Instead, he shows they were subordinate to the plans of the expansionists and to the racism that so often accompanied their designs. Accessible and engaging, Challenging the Myths of US History urges readers to question long-held assumptions and to look at the American past from a very different perspective.
Marc Egnal is Professor of History Emeritus at York University, Toronto, and author of Clash of Extremes: The Economic Origins of the Civil War.
Contents
Preface: Getting Right with the Past
1. Is There Progress in the Study of US History?
2. Why the American Revolution?
3. What Caused the Civil War?
4. Homicidal Nation: Why Do Americans Kill Each Other So Often?
5. Why Did the United States Fight in Vietnam?
6. Do "Waves" Explain the Women's Movement?
7. Why Do So Many Americans Passionately Support Donald Trump?
Conclusion and Acknowledgments
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
| Erscheinungsdatum | 26.08.2025 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 3 tables |
| Verlagsort | Berkerley |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 140 x 216 mm |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik | |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Politische Systeme | |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Politische Theorie | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-520-40245-6 / 0520402456 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-520-40245-4 / 9780520402454 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
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