A merican History: A Very Short Introduction VERY SHORT INTRODUCTIONS are for anyone wanting a stimulating and accessible way in to a new subject. They are written by experts and have b een published in more than 25 languages worldwide. The series began in 1995 and now represents a wide variety of topics in h istory, philosophy, religion, science, and the humanities. The VSI library now contains more than 300 volumes—a Very Short Introduction to e verything from ancient Egypt and Indian philosophy to conceptual art and cosmology—and will continue to grow in a variety of disciplines. Very Short Introductions available now: ADVERTISING Winston Fletcher ART HISTORY Dana Arnold AFRICAN HISTORY John Parker and ART THEORY Cynthia Freeland Richard Rathbone ATHEISM Julian Baggini AGNOSTICISM Robin Le Poidevin AUGUSTINE Henry Chadwick AMERICAN HISTORY Paul S. Boyer AUSTRALIA Kenneth Morgan AMERICAN IMMIGRATION AUTISM Uta Frith David A. Gerber THE AZTECS Davíd Carrasco AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES BARTHES Jonathan Culler AND ELECTIONS L. Sandy Maisel BEAUTY Roger Scruton THE AMERICAN BESTSELLERS John Sutherland PRESIDENCY Charles O. Jones THE BIBLE John Riches ANAESTHESIA Aidan O’Donnell BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY ANARCHISM Colin Ward Eric H. Cline ANCIENT EGYPT Ian Shaw BIOGRAPHY Hermione Lee ANCIENT GREECE Paul Cartledge THE BLUES Elijah Wald ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY Julia Annas THE BOOK OF MORMON ANCIENT WARFARE Terryl Givens Harry Sidebottom BORDERS Alexander C. Diener ANGELS David Albert Jones THE BRAIN Michael O’Shea ANGLICANISM Mark Chapman BRITISH POLITICS Anthony Wright - THE ANGLO SAXON AGE John Blair BUDDHA Michael Carrithers THE ANIMAL KINGDOM BUDDHISM Damien Keown Peter Holland BUDDHIST ETHICS Damien Keown ANIMAL RIGHTS David DeGrazia CANCER Nicholas James THE ANTARCTIC Klaus Dodds CAPITALISM James Fulcher ANTISEMITISM Steven Beller CATHOLICISM Gerald O’Collins ANXIETY Daniel Freeman and THE CELL Terence Allen and Jason Freeman Graham Cowling THE APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS THE CELTS Barry Cunliffe Paul Foster CHAOS Leonard Smith ARCHAEOLOGY Paul Bahn CHILDREN’S LITERATURE ARCHITECTURE Andrew Ballantyne Kimberley Reynolds ARISTOCRACY William Doyle CHINESE LITERATURE Sabina Knight ARISTOTLE Jonathan Barnes CHOICE THEORY Michael Allingham CHRISTIAN ART Beth Williamson DOCUMENTARY FILM CHRISTIAN ETHICS D. Stephen Long Patricia Aufderheide CHRISTIANITY Linda Woodhead DREAMING J. Allan Hobson CITIZENSHIP Richard Bellamy DRUGS Leslie Iversen CIVIL ENGINEERING DRUIDS Barry Cunliffe David Muir Wood EARLY MUSIC Thomas Forrest Kelly CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY THE EARTH Martin Redfern Helen Morales ECONOMICS Partha Dasgupta CLASSICS Mary Beard and EGYPTIAN MYTH Geraldine Pinch - John Henderson EIGHTEENTH CENTURY BRITAIN CLAUSEWITZ Michael Howard Paul Langford THE COLD WAR Robert McMahon THE ELEMENTS Philip Ball COLONIAL LATIN AMERICAN EMOTION Dylan Evans LITERATURE Rolena Adorno EMPIRE Stephen Howe COMMUNISM Leslie Holmes ENGELS Terrell Carver THE COMPUTER Darrel Ince ENGINEERING David Blockley THE CONQUISTADORS ENGLISH LITERATURE Jonathan Bate Matthew Restall and ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS Felipe Fernández-Armesto Stephen Smith CONSCIENCE Paul Strohm EPIDEMIOLOGY Rodolfo Saracci CONSCIOUSNESS Susan Blackmore ETHICS Simon Blackburn CONTEMPORARY ART THE EUROPEAN UNION Julian Stallabrass John Pinder and Simon Usherwood CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY EVOLUTION Brian and Simon Critchley Deborah Charlesworth COSMOLOGY Peter Coles EXISTENTIALISM Thomas Flynn CRITICAL THEORY FASCISM Kevin Passmore Stephen Eric Bronner FASHION Rebecca Arnold THE CRUSADES Christopher Tyerman FEMINISM Margaret Walters CRYPTOGRAPHY Fred Piper and FILM Michael Wood Sean Murphy FILM MUSIC Kathryn Kalinak THE CULTURAL THE FIRST WORLD WAR REVOLUTION Richard Curt Kraus Michael Howard DADA AND SURREALISM FOLK MUSIC Mark Slobin David Hopkins FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY DARWIN Jonathan Howard David Canter THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS FORENSIC SCIENCE Jim Fraser Timothy Lim FOSSILS Keith Thomson DEMOCRACY Bernard Crick FOUCAULT Gary Gutting DERRIDA Simon Glendinning FREE SPEECH Nigel Warburton DESCARTES Tom Sorell FREE WILL Thomas Pink DESERTS Nick Middleton FRENCH LITERATURE John D. Lyons DESIGN John Heskett THE FRENCH REVOLUTION DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY William Doyle Lewis Wolpert FREUD Anthony Storr THE DEVIL Darren Oldridge FUNDAMENTALISM Malise Ruthven DICTIONARIES Lynda Mugglestone GALAXIES John Gribbin DINOSAURS David Norman GALILEO Stillman Drake DIPLOMACY Joseph M. Siracusa GAME THEORY Ken Binmore GANDHI Bhikhu Parekh INTELLIGENCE Ian J. Deary GENIUS Andrew Robinson INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION GEOGRAPHY John Matthews and Khalid Koser David Herbert INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS GEOPOLITICS Klaus Dodds Paul Wilkinson GERMAN LITERATURE ISLAM Malise Ruthven Nicholas Boyle ISLAMIC HISTORY Adam Silverstein GERMAN PHILOSOPHY ITALIAN LITERATURE Andrew Bowie Peter Hainsworth and GLOBAL CATASTROPHES David Robey Bill McGuire JESUS Richard Bauckham GLOBAL ECONOMIC HISTORY JOURNALISM Ian Hargreaves Robert C. Allen JUDAISM Norman Solomon GLOBAL WARMING Mark Maslin JUNG Anthony Stevens GLOBALIZATION Manfred Steger KABBALAH Joseph Dan THE GOTHIC Nick Groom KAFKA Ritchie Robertson GOVERNANCE Mark Bevir KANT Roger Scruton THE GREAT DEPRESSION KEYNES Robert Skidelsky AND THE NEW DEAL KIERKEGAARD Patrick Gardiner Eric Rauchway THE KORAN Michael Cook HABERMAS James Gordon Finlayson LANDSCAPES AND HEGEL Peter Singer GEOMORPHOLOGY HEIDEGGER Michael Inwood Andrew Goudie and Heather Viles HERODOTUS Jennifer T. Roberts LANGUAGES Stephen R. Anderson HIEROGLYPHS Penelope Wilson LATE ANTIQUITY Gillian Clark HINDUISM Kim Knott LAW Raymond Wacks HISTORY John H. Arnold THE LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY Peter Atkins Michael Hoskin LEADERSHIP Keith Grint THE HISTORY OF LIFE LINCOLN Allen C. Guelzo Michael Benton LINGUISTICS Peter Matthews THE HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS LITERARY THEORY Jonathan Culler Jacqueline Stedall LOCKE John Dunn THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE LOGIC Graham Priest William Bynum MACHIAVELLI Quentin Skinner THE HISTORY OF TIME MADNESS Andrew Scull - Leofranc Holford S trevens MAGIC Owen Davies HIV/AIDS Alan Whiteside MAGNA CARTA Nick Vincent HOBBES Richard Tuck MAGNETISM Stephen Blundell HUMAN EVOLUTION Bernard Wood THE MARQUIS DE SADE HUMAN RIGHTS Andrew Clapham John Phillips HUMANISM Stephen Law MARTIN LUTHER Scott H. Hendrix HUME A. J. Ayer MARX Peter Singer IDEOLOGY Michael Freeden MATHEMATICS Timothy Gowers INDIAN PHILOSOPHY THE MEANING OF LIFE Sue Hamilton Terry Eagleton INFORMATION Luciano Floridi MEDICAL ETHICS Tony Hope INNOVATION Mark Dodgson and MEDIEVAL BRITAIN John Gillingham David Gann and Ralph A. Griffiths MEMORY Jonathan K. Foster THE OLD TESTAMENT METAPHYSICS Stephen Mumford Michael D. Coogan MICHAEL FARADAY THE ORCHESTRA D. Kern Holoman Frank A.J.L. James ORGANIZATIONS Mary Jo Hatch MODERN ART David Cottington PAGANISM Owen Davies MODERN CHINA Rana Mitter PARTICLE PHYSICS Frank Close MODERN FRANCE PAUL E. P. Sanders Vanessa R. Schwartz PENTECOSTALISM William K. Kay MODERN IRELAND Senia Pašeta THE PERIODIC TABLE Eric R. Scerri MODERN JAPAN PHILOSOPHY Edward Craig Christopher Goto-Jones PHILOSOPHY OF LAW MODERN LATIN AMERICAN Raymond Wacks LITERATURE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE Roberto González Echevarría Samir Okasha MODERNISM Christopher Butler PHOTOGRAPHY Steve Edwards MOLECULES Philip Ball PLAGUE Paul Slack THE MONGOLS Morris Rossabi PLANETS David A. Rothery MORMONISM PLANTS Timothy Walker Richard Lyman Bushman PLATO Julia Annas MUHAMMAD Jonathan A.C. Brown POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY MULTICULTURALISM Ali Rattansi David Miller MUSIC Nicholas Cook POLITICS Kenneth Minogue MYTH Robert A. Segal POSTCOLONIALISM Robert Young NATIONALISM Steven Grosby POSTMODERNISM Christopher Butler NELSON MANDELA Elleke Boehmer POSTSTRUCTURALISM NEOLIBERALISM Manfred Steger and Catherine Belsey Ravi Roy PREHISTORY Chris Gosden THE NEW TESTAMENT PRESOCRATIC PHILOSOPHY Luke Timothy Johnson Catherine Osborne THE NEW TESTAMENT AS PRIVACY Raymond Wacks LITERATURE Kyle Keefer PROBABILITY John Haigh NEWTON Robert Iliffe PROGRESSIVISM Walter Nugent NIETZSCHE Michael Tanner PROTESTANTISM Mark A. Noll - NINETEENTH CENTURY BRITAIN PSYCHIATRY Tom Burns Christopher Harvie and PSYCHOLOGY Gillian Butler and H. C. G. Matthew Freda McManus THE NORMAN CONQUEST PURITANISM Francis J. Bremer George Garnett THE QUAKERS Pink Dandelion NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS QUANTUM THEORY Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green John Polkinghorne NORTHERN IRELAND RACISM Ali Rattansi Marc Mulholland RADIOACTIVITY Claudio Tuniz NOTHING Frank Close THE REAGAN REVOLUTION NUCLEAR POWER Maxwell Irvine Gil Troy NUCLEAR WEAPONS REALITY Jan Westerhoff Joseph M. Siracusa THE REFORMATION Peter Marshall NUMBERS Peter M. Higgins RELATIVITY Russell Stannard OBJECTIVITY RELIGION IN AMERICA Stephen Gaukroger Timothy Beal THE RENAISSANCE Jerry Brotton SOCRATES C. C. W. Taylor RENAISSANCE ART THE SOVIET UNION Stephen Lovell Geraldine A. Johnson THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR RISK Baruch Fischhoff and John Kadvany Helen Graham RIVERS Nick Middleton SPANISH LITERATURE Jo Labanyi ROBOTICS Alan Winfield SPINOZA Roger Scruton ROMAN BRITAIN Peter Salway STARS Andrew King THE ROMAN EMPIRE STATISTICS David J. Hand Christopher Kelly STEM CELLS Jonathan Slack THE ROMAN REPUBLIC STUART BRITAIN John Morrill David Gwynn SUPERCONDUCTIVITY ROMANTICISM Michael Ferber Stephen Blundell ROUSSEAU Robert Wokler TERRORISM Charles Townshend RUSSELL A. C. Grayling THEOLOGY David F. Ford RUSSIAN HISTORY Geoffrey Hosking THOMAS AQUINAS Fergus Kerr RUSSIAN LITERATURE Catriona Kelly TOCQUEVILLE Harvey C. Mansfield THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION TRAGEDY Adrian Poole S. A. Smith TRUST Katherine Hawley SCHIZOPHRENIA Chris Frith and THE TUDORS John Guy - Eve Johnstone TWENTIETH CENTURY BRITAIN SCHOPENHAUER Christopher Janaway Kenneth O. Morgan SCIENCE AND RELIGION THE UNITED NATIONS Thomas Dixon Jussi M. Hanhimäki SCIENCE FICTION David Seed THE U.S. CONGRESS THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION Donald A. Ritchie Lawrence M. Principe THE U.S. SUPREME COURT SCOTLAND Rab Houston Linda Greenhouse SEXUALITY Véronique Mottier UTOPIANISM Lyman Tower Sargent SHAKESPEARE Germaine Greer THE VIKINGS Julian Richards SIKHISM Eleanor Nesbitt VIRUSES Dorothy H. Crawford SLEEP Steven W. Lockley and WITCHCRAFT Malcolm Gaskill Russell G. Foster WITTGENSTEIN A. C. Grayling SOCIAL AND CULTURAL WORLD MUSIC Philip Bohlman ANTHROPOLOGY THE WORLD TRADE John Monaghan and Peter Just ORGANIZATION Amrita Narlikar SOCIALISM Michael Newman WRITING AND SCRIPT SOCIOLOGY Steve Bruce Andrew Robinson A vailable soon: Networks Martyrdom Guido Caldarelli and Michele Catanzaro J olyon Mitchell Work Rastafari S teve Fineman E nnis B. Edmonds Spirituality P hilip Sheldrake For more information visit our web site w ww.oup.co.uk/general/vsi/ P aul S. Boyer American History A Very Short Introduction 1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence i n research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2012 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Boyer, Paul S. American history : a very short introduction / Paul S. Boyer. p. cm. — (Very short introductions) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-538914-2 (pbk.) 1. United States—History. I. Title. E178.B782 2012 973—dc23 2012004837 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd., Gosport, Hants. on acid-free paper I lovingly dedicate this work to my dear wife, Ann Chapman Boyer, who has been a pillar of strength in many ways during its completion, and also to our son, Alex, and his wife, Mary, and our daughter, Kate, and her husband, Michael, for their unstinting love and support. I also dedicate the book to our grandsons, Ethan and Jake, hoping it may pique their interest in the field to which their grandfather devoted his career.