Free summaries
History - American — page 2
74 public-domain history - american books, summarised. Page 2 of 2.
The Future of the American Negro
Booker T. Washington
Real economic independence and practical skill must precede political equality and intellectual distinction if a historically marginalized people are to secure a permanent home in the nation's civic life.
Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 02 (of 15), American (2)
Charles Morris
Centuries of conflict, ambition, and sudden twists of fortune shape the American continent long before it becomes a unified power.
History of the English People, Volume VIII: Modern England, 1760-1815
John Richard Green
Between the reign of George III and the fall of Napoleon, Britain transformed from an agrarian island into a world-dominating industrial and maritime power.
New York Times Current History
Various
Governments, soldiers, and citizens locked in global conflict attempt to explain, justify, and document the early months of the First World War.
The Conquest of Canada, Vol. 1
George Warburton
A stark structural divide defines the early history of North America: while English settlers built permanent, self-sustaining communities along the coast, the French erected a centralized feudal outpost strictly bound to the interests of the distant crown.
Old Mackinaw
W. P. (William Peter) Strickland
In the nineteenth century, the Straits of Mackinac served as the undisputed geographic heart of North American commerce, history, and spiritual life.
Blue Ridge Country
Jean Thomas
Deep within the isolated hollows of the Southern Highlands, a centuries-old culture shaped by rugged mountains, bloody feuds, and enduring oral traditions yields a surprisingly complex portrait of American life.
The Story of the Upper Canadian Rebellion, Volume 1
John Charles Dent
A entrenched oligarchy, a series of mounting official abuses, and a populace driven to the edge of revolt form the backdrop of this sharp, meticulous history of colonial misrule.
Four Years in Rebel Capitals: An Inside View of Life in the Southern Confederacy from Birth to Death
T. C. (Thomas Cooper) De Leon
This memoir offers a vivid, ground-level perspective on the Confederate experience, capturing the daily atmosphere and shifting fortunes of a society under siege from its inception to its final collapse.
History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880. Vol 1: Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens
George Washington Williams
The American Negro is not merely a subject of historical study, but a foundational thread in the tapestry of the Republic, possessing a heritage of resilience, intellect, and civic contribution that spans centuries.
The Greatest Highway in the World: Historical, Industrial and Descriptive Information of the Towns, Cities and Country Passed Through Between New York and Chicago Via the New York Central Lines. Based on the Encyclopaedia Britannica
New York Central Railroad Company
This guide chronicles the storied landscapes and industrial hubs along the rail route connecting New York and Chicago. It transforms a standard transit schedule into a rich narrative of American history and progress.
The Battle of New Orleans: including the Previous Engagements between the Americans
Z. F. (Zachariah Frederick) Smith
The decisive triumph at the Battle of New Orleans remains a testament to the grit of American frontiersmen against the refined, veteran might of the British Empire. This account chronicles the tactical mastery that secured the American frontier.
The United States Constitution
United States
This foundational charter outlines the essential architecture of a self-governing republic, establishing the distribution of power and the core responsibilities of a nascent federal authority.
Life at Puget Sound: With Sketches of Travel in Washington Territory, British Columbia, Oregon and California
Caroline C. Leighton
The rugged, untamed beauty of the Pacific Northwest serves as the backdrop for this observant chronicle of life on the frontier, where nature’s grandeur dictates the rhythm of daily existence.
Secret armies
John L. (John Louis) Spivak
An investigative journalist pulls back the curtain on a global network of Nazi saboteurs, secret agents, and propagandists working to destabilize democracies from within.
The liberty minstrel
George Washington Clark
A desperate, rhythmic call to conscience, this collection of antislavery songs transforms the political agitation of the 1840s into a visceral, musical plea for human dignity and immediate action.
Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
This analysis of state-sanctioned violence and mob rule serves as a foundational text in American investigative journalism. It methodically dismantles the prevailing myths used to justify the extrajudicial murder of Black citizens in the post-Reconstruction South.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 3, July, 1851
Various
This collection offers a multifaceted glimpse into the mid-nineteenth-century American mind, blending historical reflection, scientific inquiry, and serialized fiction within a single periodical volume.
Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie in 1860-'61
Abner Doubleday
A firsthand account of the tension and tactical maneuvering that defined the opening shots of the American Civil War from within the walls of a besieged federal outpost.
The Attempted Assassination of ex-President Theodore Roosevelt
Oliver E. Remey
A bullet destined for the heart of a former president strikes a manuscript and a spectacle case instead, sparking an extraordinary collision between political fervor and individual delusion in the heart of Milwaukee.
The New Land: Stories of Jews Who Had a Part in the Making of Our Country
Elma Ehrlich Levinger
The American story, as it is often told, is a mosaic of arrivals and aspirations. Here, the focus shifts to the specific contributions, struggles, and persistent dreams of the Jewish people as they helped forge the identity of a young nation.
A short history of Pittsburgh
Samuel Harden Church
Deep amidst the wilderness of western Pennsylvania, a strategic river junction evolves from a deadly colonial battleground into a titan of American industrial power.
The Indian Question
Francis Amasa Walker
A clear-eyed, policy-driven examination of the United States’ nineteenth-century Indigenous relations proposes that structural reform and humane governance must replace the twin failures of open warfare and empty promises.
Among the Pines
James R. (James Roberts) Gilmore
In the opening months of the American Civil War, a Northern traveler journeys deep into the coastal pine forests of South Carolina, where he encounters a society fractured by slavery, class divisions, and impending ruin.
Columbus and Other Heroes of American Discovery
N. D'Anvers
Centuries of ocean voyages, overland treks, and brutal encounters reshape a continent as European travelers push relentlessly across North American wilderness.
The story of the first trans-continental railroad
William Francis Bailey
An ambitious nation channels its post-war momentum into the dirt, iron, and mountains of the West, determined to bind two oceans together with rails.