Early American History: Society, Politics, and Culture

Early American History: Society, Politics, and Culture blends social, political, and intellectual history to give students a well-rounded, comprehensive understanding of early American primary sources.

Featuring a wide variety of written matter including newspaper articles, constitutional documents, and letters, the book exposes students to those both great and humble who chronicled the life and times of a new nation. The words of known historical figures such as Cotton Mather, Tecumseh, Thomas Jefferson, and Frederick Douglass are balanced by writings such as Mary Chestnut's A Diary from Dixie, published in 1861, and Maria Stewart’s address given at Franklin Hall in 1832.

Different voices, philosophies, and points are view are explored thoughtfully and respectfully. There are discussion questions for each primary source document, as well as comparison questions that can be used as essay assignments.

The reading selections are concise and diverse, which maintains student interest while making the book ideal for assigning multiple weekly readings. Early American History is appropriate for courses in American history through 1865, American civilization, and social history.

Christopher Cameron holds a Ph.D. in American history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is an assistant professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and the U.S. Department of Education, Dr. Cameron’s teaching and research interests are early American history, slavery and abolition, and American religious and intellectual history. He has several publications in progress, including his book To Plead Our Own Cause: African Americans in Massachusetts and the Making of the Antislavery Movement.