Major Problems in American History (v. 1)

Designed to encourage critical thinking about history, the Major Problems in American History series introduces students to both primary sources and analytical essays on important topics in U.S. history. This collection serves as the primary anthology for the introductory survey course, covering the subject's entire chronological span. Comprehensive topical coverage includes politics, economics, labor, gender, culture, and social trends. The Second Edition features integrated coverage of women in Volume I, as well as a streamlined chronology in Volume II. Key pedagogical elements of the Major Problems format have been retained: 14 to 15 chapters per volume, chapter introductions, headnotes, and suggested readings.

1. Conquest and Colliding Empires DOCUMENTS 1. The Iroquois Describe the Beginning of the World, n.d. 2. Christopher Columbus Recounts His First Encounters with Native People, 1493 3. Fray Bernardino de Sahagun Relates an Aztec Chronicler's Account of the Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs, 1519 4. Father Bartolome de Las Casas Disparages the Treatment of the Indians, 1542 5. Reverend John Heckewelder Records a Native Oral Tradition of the First Arrival of Europeans on Manhattan Island (1610), Printed in 1818 6. Father Paul Le Jeune Reports on His Encounters with the Indians, 1634 7. William Wood Describes Indian Responses to the English, 1634 ESSAYS James H. Merrell, The Indians' New World Neal Salisbury, The Indians' Old World 2. The Southern Colonies in British America DOCUMENTS 1. Edward Waterhouse, a British Official, Recounts an Indian Attack on Early Virginia Settlement, 1622 2. Indentured Servant Richard Frethorne Laments His Condition in Virginia, 1623 3. George Alsop, a Resident of Maryland, Argues That Servants Profit from Life in the Colonies, 1666 4. Nathaniel Bacon, Leader of a Rebellion, Recounts the Misdeeds of the Virginia Governor, 1676 5. Virginia's Statutes Illustrate the Declining Status of African American Slaves, 1660-1705 6. Southern Planter William Byrd Describes His Views Toward Learning and His Slaves, 1709-1710 7. African Olaudah Equiano Recounts the Horrors of Enslavement, 1757 8. Anglican Minister Charles Woodmason Complains About Life in the Carolina Backcountry, 1768 ESSAYS Kathleen M. Brown, The Anxious World of the Slaveowning Patriarch Philip D. Morgan, The Effects of Paternalism Among Whites and Blacks 3. Colonial New England and the Middle Colonies in British America DOCUMENTS 1. Puritan Leader John Winthrop Provides a Model of Christian Charity, 1630 2. William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Colony, Mourns a Wickedness That Breaks Forth, 1642 3. Mary Rowlandson, A New England Woman, Recounts Her Experience of Captivity and Escape from the Wampanoag during King Philip's War, 1675 4. Proprietor William Penn Promotes His Colony, 1681 5. Massachusetts Officials Describe the Outbreak of Witchcraft in Salem, 1692 6. Reverend Jonathan Edwards Pictures Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, 1741 7. A Young Benjamin Franklin Celebrates a Life of Thrift and Industry, 1733, 1750 8. Dr. Alexander Hamilton Depicts the Material Acquisitions of Northern Colonists, 1744 9. Gottlieb Mittelberger, a German Immigrant, Portrays the Difficulties of Immigration, 1750 ESSAYS James A. Henretta, The Northern Colonies as a Family-Centered Society T. H. Breen, The Northern Colonies as an Empire of Goods 4. The American Revolution DOCUMENTS 1. The Stamp Act Congress Condemns the Stamp Act, 1765 2. Virginian Patrick Henry Warns the British to Maintain American Liberties, 1775 3. Pamphleteer Thomas Paine Advocates the "Common Sense" of Independence, 1776 4. Abigail Adams, Wife of John Adams, Asks Her Husband to "Remember the Ladies," 1776 5. Mohawk Leader Joseph Brant Commits the Loyalty of His People to Britain, 1776 6. The Declaration of Independence States American Grievances Against British "Tyranny," 1776 7. African Americans Petition for Freedom, 1777 8. General Washington Argues for Greater Military Funding by Portraying the Plight of Soldiers at Valley Forge, 1778 9. Loyalists Plead Their Cause to the King, 1782 ESSAYS Gordon S. Wood, Radical Possibilities of the American Revolution Woody Holton, The Revolution as an Economic Response to American Uncertainties 5. The Making of the Constitution DOCUMENTS 1. The Articles of Confederation Stress the Rights of States, 1781 2. Cato, an African American, Pleads for the Abolition of Slavery in Pennsylvania, 1781 3. Frenchman Hector St. John Crevecoeur Compares the Freedom in the North with Slavery in the South, 1782 4. Slaveholders in Virginia Argue Against the Abolition of Slavery, 1784-1785 5. Thomas Jefferson Proposes the Protection of Religious Freedom in Virginia, 178

To 1877

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