This history of America’s recent past focuses on the importance of the United States’ interaction with the outside world and includes detailed accounts of the presidencies of Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush. Provides a substantial account of the dramatic history of America since 1980, covering the Reagan years, the Clinton presidency, the impact of 9/11, the War on Terror, and the election of Barack Obama Based on both secondary and primary resources, and includes research taken from newspapers, magazines, official documents, and memoirs Written by a distinguished contemporary historian and a leading historian of the United States Discusses the growing fragmentation of American society and the increasing distance between rich and poor under the impact of public policies and global forces

G.I. Gurdjieff (d. 1949) remains an important, if controversial, figure in early 20th-century Western Esoteric thought. Born in the culturally diverse region of the Caucasus, Gurdjieff traveled in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere in search of practical spiritual knowledge. Though oftentimes allusive, references to Sufi teachings and characters take a prominent position in Gurdjieff's work and writings. Since his death, a discourse on Gurdjieff and Sufism has developed through the contributions as well as critiques of his students and interlocutors. J.G. Bennett began an experimental 'Fourth Way' school in England in the 1970s which included the introduction of Sufi practices and teachings. In America this discourse has further expanded through the collaboration and engagement of contemporary Sufi teachers. This work does not simply demonstrate the influence of Gurdjieff and his ideas, but approaches the specific discourse on and about Gurdjieff and Sufism in the context of contemporary religious and spiritual teachings, particularly in the United States, and highlights some of the adaptive, boundary-crossing, and hybrid features that have led to the continuing influence of Sufism.

Provides a look at the origins of the culture wars of modern America and the political and economic transformation of the U.S. republic This book tells, in clear and lively prose, how Americans struggled with modernity in both its cultural and economic forms between the start of World War I and the end of World War II, focusing on the 1920s through 1930s. This edition includes revisions that expand the scope and features increased coverage of topics that will be of great interest to new readers as well as those familiar with the subject. The Birth of Modern America, 1914-1945, Second Edition begins with a discussion of the promises and perils of the progressive era. The book goes on to look at the Great War and life on the home front and explores many paradoxes that marked the birth of Modern America. Topics covered include: the pervasive racism and nativism during and after WWI; the disillusionment with Woodrow Wilson's rhetorical idealism; the emergence of national media; the Great Depression; FDR and the New Deal; the attack on Pearl Harbor; Hollywood’s part during World War II; the United States' decision to drop "the bomb" on Japan; and more. Makes a strong contribution to understanding American society in the interwar years (1920s and 1930s) Disputes that American entry into WWII brought the New Deal to an end and argues that wartime measures foreshadowed postwar American practice Features more coverage of politics in the 1920s and 1930s Includes an Afterword covering the G.I. bill, postwar prosperity, Americans' move to the suburbs, the challenges to peace in Europe and Asia, and the Cold War The Birth of Modern America, 1914-1945 is an excellent book for undergraduate courses on the 20th Century and advanced placement courses. It will benefit all students and scholars of the Progressive Era, the Depression, 1920s and 1930s America, and America between the Wars.

America is a nation that celebrates diversity and freedom of conscience. Yet, as Alexis de Tocqueville observed, democratic times often demand conformity. Nowadays, conformity might be enforced in the name of diversity itself, and go so far as to infringe on the rights of conscience, expression, association, and religious freedom. Americans have recently been confronted by this paradox in various ways, from federal health care mandates, to campus speech codes, to consumer boycotts, to public intimidation, to vexatious litigation, to private corporations dismissing employees for expressing certain political views. In this book, Bradley C. S. Watson brings together leading thinkers from a variety of disciplines to examine the manner and extent to which conformity is demanded by contemporary American law and social practice. Contributors also consider the long-term results of such demands for conformity for the health—and even survival—of a constitutional republic.

This book provides innovative pedagogy, theory, and strategies for college and university professors who seek effective methods and materials for teaching about gender and sex to today’s students. It provides thoughtful reflections on the new struggles and opportunities instructors face in teaching gender and sex during what has been called the “post-feminist era.” Building off its predecessor: Teaching Race and Anti-Racism in Contemporary America, this book offers complementary classroom exercises for teachers, that foster active and collaborative learning. Through reflecting on the gendered dimensions of the current political, economic, and cultural climate, as well as presenting novel lesson plans and classroom activities, Teaching Gender and Sex in Contemporary America is a valuable resource for educators.

Born in a farmhouse in the Texas Hill Country, Lyndon Baines Johnson brought a western sensibility to the White House. Building on recent studies that have delved into Johnson’s Texas roots, Kevin J. Fernlund has written a brief, lively biography of the thirty-sixth president that better shows how his home state molded his early years—and how the one-time Houston schoolteacher eventually became a Texas tornado twisting across the state’s and soon the nation’s political landscape. Lyndon B. Johnson and Modern America offers a concise look at LBJ that shows how his career coincided with the ascendancy of American liberalism within a Cold War context. In particular, Fernlund extends recent observations regarding Johnson’s important role in regional transformation at a time when the South and West became full partners in the American economy. In examining LBJ’s promotion of the space program and his disastrous decision to escalate the war in Vietnam, Fernlund shows how these and other Johnson administration policies affected the American West. He describes how Johnson’s liberal agenda for the West became subverted by illiberal wars with enemies foreign and domestic, exposing the limits of liberalism and fostering the region’s nascent conservatism. He also compares Johnson’s commitment to social justice with that of his arch nemesis Ho Chi Minh, providing new insight for readers and an intriguing springboard for classroom discussion. Although subsequent presidents also hailed from the West, Fernlund argues that Johnson was our last truly western chief executive. This new approach to LBJ offers a novel reading of an important Texan, his huge circles of influence, and his lasting impact on the American scene.

The second edition of Dr. Gary A. Donaldson’s highly successful textbook The Making of Modern America, introduces students to the cultural, social and political paths the United States has traveled from the end of WWII to the present day.

In post-Civil War America, civilians were ordinarily far-removed from the actual fighting. War brought about tremendous and far-reaching changes to America's society, politics, and economy nonetheless. Readers are offered detailed glimpses into the lives of ordinary folk struggling with the privations, shortages, and anxieties brought on by U.S. entry into war. They are also shown how they strove to turn changing times to their advantage, especially civically and economically, as minorities pressed for political inclusion and traders profited from government contracts and women took on well-paying skilled jobs in large numbers for the first time. Susan Badger Doyle's chapter on the Indian Wars in the American West shows how for whites the migration westward was the path to a land of opportunity, for Native Americans migration it was a disastrous epoch that led to their near-extermination. Michael Neiberg's piece on World War I highlights how America's entry into the war on the Allied side was far from universally popular or supported because of large German and Irish immigrant communities, and how this tepid support led to the creation of some of the harshest censorship and curtailment of civil rights in U.S. history. Judy Litoff's chapter on the home front during World War II focuses on the exceptional changes brought on by total mobilization for the war effort, African-Americans' push for expanded civil rights, to women entering the workforce in large numbers, to the public's acceptance, even expectation, of centralized planning and government intervention in economic and social matters. Jon Timothy Kelly's essay on the Cold War provides a look at how the country quickly returned to a state of readiness when the end of World War II ushered in the Cold War and the immanent threat of nuclear annihilation, even as a booming economy brought undreamt of material prosperity to huge numbers of Americans. Finally, James Landers describes how American involvement in Vietnam, the first televised war, profoundly changed American attitudes about war even as this particular conflict touched few Americans, but divided them like few previous events have.

During the Cold War, national discourse strove for unity through patriotism and political moderation to face a common enemy. Some authors and intellectuals supported that narrative by casting America’s complicated history with race and poverty as moral rather than merely political problems. Southern Literature, Cold War Culture, and the Making of Modern America examines southern literature and the culture within the United States from the period just before the Cold War through the civil rights movement to show how this literature won a significant place in Cold War culture and shaped the nation through the time of Hillbilly Elegy. Tackling cultural issues in the country through subtext and metaphor, the works of authors like William Faulkner, Lillian Smith, Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, Ralph Ellison, Alice Walker, and Walker Percy redefined “South” as much more than a geographical identity within an empire. The “South” has become a racially coded sociopolitical and cultural identity associated with white populist conservatism that breaks geographical boundaries and, as it has in the past, continues to have a disproportionate influence on the nation’s future and values.

Step back in time and experience World War I and the beginnings of modern America. The past will come to life with well-researched, clearly written informational text, primary sources with accompanying questions, charts, graphs, diagrams, timelines, and maps, multiple prompts, and more. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.