The rich and unique history of the 'Lone Star State' is presented in this new book through the lives of a variety of Texans who put a human face on the state's history. Biographical sketches of fifteen famous and little-known men and women of different colors, religions, and economic backgrounds offer new insight into the history of the state. Starting in the sixteenth century with Alvar N?Òez Cabeza de Vaca, the first European to make contact with Texas Indian tribes, and tracing Texas history to the late twentieth century with a final sketch of Gary Gaines, a high-school football coach, The Human Tradition in Texas brings the state's history to life by showing real people and the events and times in which they lived. Written by leading and rising scholars of Texas history, this book presents the major themes and periods in Texas history, including the settling of Anglo-Americans in the region, bringing an American democ-racy that supported slavery; the Civil War and Reconstruction; technologi-cal developments in the late nineteenth century, including railroads and irrigation for crops and livestock; Texas's transformation in the early twentieth century from a world of cotton and cattle to a world of paved streets, electricity and running water; the challenges to modernization faced by the state with the development of the oil industry, the growth in industrialization, and the increasing size of Texas's cities; the new age, with Texas taking leadership roles in the oil, aviation, and entertainment industries; and the expanding inclusiveness of Texas society, nowhere more complete than on the sports field-particularly the football field. A collection of accessible and entertaining essays on this vast, vibrant state, The Human Tradition in Texas is an excellent resource for courses in Texas history and the history of the American West.

In The Human Tradition in the New South, historian James C. Klotter brings together twelve biographical essays that explore the region's political, economic, and social development since the Civil War. Like all books in this series, these essays chronicle the lives of ordinary Americans whose lives and contributions help to highlight the great transformations that occurred in the South. With profiles ranging from Winnie Davis to Dizzy Dean, from Ralph David Abernathy to Harland Sanders, The Human Tradition in the New South brings to life this dynamic and vibrant region and is an excellent resource for courses in Southern history, race relations, social history, and the American history survey.

Designed as a text for the second half of the U.S. history survey course, The Human Tradition in America from 1865 to the Present is a collection of the best biographical essays from several volumes in SR Books' popular Human Tradition in America series. Like all books in the series, this text presents history from the "bottom up" by chronicling the lives of ordinary Americans. These brief biographical sketches stress to students that history is created by people, making the subject appealing and vibrant in a way that just names and dates in a standard textbook cannot. Capturing the rich diversity of the United States, The Human Tradition in America from 1865 to the Present includes the stories of a variety of Americans of different races, ethnic groups, sexual orientations, religious affiliations, and genders from many different regions of the country. For this reader, series editor Charles Calhoun has carefully selected biographies of individuals whose lives highlight important themes from this dynamic period of history. The essays included here are sure to engage students, provoke lively classroom discussion, and promote critical thinking.

The Human Tradition in the American West is an engrossing collection of 13 biographies of men and women whose contributions to the development of the American West have largely been left untold in the history books. This volume goes beyond the traditional biographical reader by including the lives that collectively offer racial and gender diversity as well as differing class and sexual orientation backgrounds. Editors Benson Tong and Regan A. Lutz have assembled an impressive group of scholars whose succinct and well-written accounts will give students a more complete understanding of this diverse, dynamic region of the United States. This book is an excellent resource for courses on the American West, U.S. history survey courses and courses in American social and cultural history.

American society in the years from 1920 to 1945 experienced great transformation and upheaval. Significant changes in the role of government, in the nation's world outlook, in the economy, in technology, and in the social order challenged those who lived in this tumultuous period framed by the two world wars. This transformation lies at the core of this collection of biographical essays. Written by leading and rising scholars, these never-before-published pieces provide students with a greater understanding of a period that in many ways represents an important last chapter in the creation of modern America.

The importance of the South in the development of the United States has always been clear, but in recent decades the rise of the sunbelt-politically, economically, and culturally-has made the significance of the region's history all the more apparent. In The Human Tradition in the Old South, Professor James C. Klotter has gathered twelve insightful essays that explore the region's past and ponder its place in the broader story of the nation. This highly readable volume presents the South's rich and varied history through the lives of a wide range of individuals-men and women, African Americans, whites, and Native Americans from many different Southern states. Written by well-established scholars these mini-biographies collectively range in time from the late colonial/early national period to the present. Filled with lively stories of fascinating Southerners and the times in which they lived, The Human Tradition in the Old South is ideal for courses on Southern history, social history, race relations, and the American history survey course.

Assembles biographical stories of famous leaders and unknown activists, covering the 18th century up to 1970. Relates to enslaved artisans, interracial unionism, immigration, Jewish radicalism and gender, the New Black Politics, reverse migration in World War II, the United Farm Workers Union, etc.

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This new book consists of mini-biographies of 15 Americans who lived during the Antebellum period in American history. Part of The Human Tradition in America series, the anthology paints vivid portraits of the lives of lesser-known Americans. Raising new questions from fresh perspectives, this volume contributes to a broader understanding of the dynamic forces that shaped the political, economic, social, and institutional changes that characterized the antebellum period. Moving beyond the older, outdated historical narratives of political institutions and the great men who shaped them, these biographies offer revealing insights on gender roles and relations, working-class experiences, race, and local economic change and its effect on society and politics. The voices of these ordinary individuals-African Americans, women, ethnic groups, and workers-have until recently often been silent in history texts. At the same time, these biographies also reveal the major themes that were part of the history of the early republic and antebellum era, including the politics of the Jacksonian era, the democratization of politics and society, party formation, market revolution, territorial expansion, the removal of Indians from their territory, religious freedom, and slavery. Accessible and fascinating, these biographies present a vivid picture of the richly varied character of American life in the first half of the nine-teenth century. This book is ideal for courses on the Early National period, U.S. history survey, and American social and cultural history.

The period between 1870 and 1920 was one of the most dynamic in American history. This era witnessed the invention of the automobile, the establishment of women's suffrage, and the opening of the Panama Canal. While a time of great advance-ment, the Gilded Age and Progressive Era were also periods of uncertainty as Americans coped with corrupt politicians, unchecked big business, and a vast influx of immigrants. SR Books offers a new approach to this time period in its book The Human Tradition in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. This volume looks at the experiences of 13 people who contributed to the shaping of American culture and thought during this period. These concise accounts are written by leading historians and give students an intimate view of history. This is an excellent text for courses in American studies.