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American History Books
Steve Wiegand
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Published:
March 24, 2025

U.S. History For Dummies

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Overview

Explore the good, the bad, and the ugly of the United States history.

Looking for the essentials of more than 200 years of United States history? Starting at the early civilizations, U.S. History For Dummies covers the growing pains of a new nation. Brush up on the major wars, from fighting against each other to fighting the world. And discover the major people and events that shaped the country. Stay in the know, with coverage of timely topics like climate change, Covid, and the January 6th Capitol riot. Then, when you're ready, challenge yourself with free online chapter quizzes. With history covering the start of the U.S. to the 2024 election, learn how this nation came to be what it is today.

  • Read engaging accounts of the major events in the history of the United States
  • Learn about important historical figures who shaped the nation
  • Discover the background of the big issues that Americans face
  • Explore important wars and iconic cultural moments
  • FREE 1-year access to chapter quizzes online!

Whether you're a history buff eager to delve into the history of the United States or a student searching for a guide to help them with their studies, U.S. History For Dummies has you covered with clear, easy-to-understand information.

     
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About The Author

Steve Wiegand is an award-winning political journalist and history writer. Over a 35-year career, he worked as a reporter and columnist at the San Diego Evening Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and Sacramento Bee. He is the author or coauthor of 10 books dealing with various aspects of U.S. and world history.

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u.s. history for dummies

CHEAT SHEET

This Cheat Sheet provides key dates that outline some of the most important events in U.S. history, which is as complex and fascinating as the people who populate the country. Key dates in US historyYou may think U.S. history starts with the American Revolution, but before that pivotal event came the hunters who first explored the continent and the Europeans who tried to colonize it.
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Articles from
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After World War II, not all the world’s communists were in other countries. Since the 1920s, there had been a communist party in the United States that had taken orders from party leaders in the Soviet Union. But the average American didn’t pay much attention.After World War II, however, “communist” became a much dirtier word.
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America had gone through hard times before: a bank panic and depression in the early 1820s, and other economic hard times in the late 1830s, the mid-1870s, and the early and mid-1890s. But never did it suffer an economic illness so deep and so long as the Great Depression of the 1930s.Economists have argued ever since as to just what caused it.
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Although the war on terrorism dominated George W. Bush’s presidency, he did attempt to make changes on domestic issues as well. Near the end of his final term, the blustery rhetoric in Washington was like a gentle summer breeze when compared to the hurricanes that blew into the South. Hurricane Katrina devastates the Big Easy On August 23, 2005, a hurricane formed over the Bahamas and headed toward the southeastern United States.
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You may think that U.S. history starts with the American Revolution, but before that pivotal event came the hunters who first explored the continent and the Europeans who tried to colonize it. Of course, after John Hancock and his colleagues signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 things got really interesting, and historically significant people and events contributed to the making of the country we have today.
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One of the topics American historians like to speculate on is what might have happened if Abraham Lincoln hadn’t been assassinated. Would he have been able to come up with a widely accepted plan to reunite the states and give the former slaves their rightful place in society? Would that have led to better race relations sooner in America?
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How did slavery in America begin? Actually, slavery was the first cash crop of the first permanent English colony in America. Jamestown settlers bought 20 human beings from Africa to work in the tobacco fields. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-53345The arrival of slaves in Jamestown: One of the key elements in America’s history.
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On September 11, 2001 the United States suffered the worst terrorist attack on its soil in its history. The attack was heartbreaking to U.S. citizens and prompted immediate political reaction. The U.S. government launched a War on Terror, specifically targeting the individuals who perpetrated the attack on 9/11.
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In the early American South, tobacco, once the major crop, had worn out the soil in many areas, and many Southern planters were looking for a substitute. Cotton was a possibility because of the big demand for it, especially in England. But the variety of cotton that grew well in most of the South was difficult to de-seed.
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Ronald Reagan figured that if you cut taxes on companies and the very wealthy and reduced regulations on business, they would invest more, the economy would expand, and everyone would benefit. Of course, this approach, based heavily on the views of economist Milton Friedman, a Reagan advisor, would require cutting government services, which would most affect Americans on the bottom of the economic ladder.
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This Cheat Sheet provides key dates that outline some of the most important events in U.S. history, which is as complex and fascinating as the people who populate the country. Key dates in US historyYou may think U.S. history starts with the American Revolution, but before that pivotal event came the hunters who first explored the continent and the Europeans who tried to colonize it.
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