Writing the American Past: US History to 1877 - Softcover

"This volume provides a fascinating set of documents and a superb teaching tool. It introduces students to the intellectual excitement and the practical challenges of archival research." Nancy A. Hewitt, Rutgers University, New Brunswick "Writing the American Past gives students a real taste of what it is like to be a historian - deciphering and understanding primary documents in order to interpret the past." Tim Lockley, University of Warwick "Writing the American Past presents a wide array of primary sources in original form that have never been published before. This collection provides opportunities to explore new facets of American history while preparing students for archival research." J. Kent McGaughy, Houston Community College-Northwest "Writing the American Past is one of the most interesting and intellectually challenging document collections I have come across in twenty-five years of teaching U.S. history. Both students and scholars will hone their analytical skills by engaging the primary sources included in this brilliantly conceived source book." Peter A. Coclanis, Albert R. Newsome Professor of History, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill "This is terrific! Through these carefully selected documents, presented in their original form, students will discover the excitement of archival research, and come to appreciate the historian's craft. " Penne Restad, University of Texas at Austin

Writing the American Past reproduces dozens of untranscribed, handwritten documents, offering students the opportunity to transcribe, decipher, and interpret primary sources. Documents include diary entries from Massachusetts in the 1690s, a woman detailing the Great Awakening, an eighteenth-century treaty with Native Americans, a journal describing antebellum train travel, and a letter by a slave Skillfully teaches students to engage with the raw material of pre-1877 US history: the written document An introduction and headnotes to each document contextualize the sources and provide a foundation from which the student can explore the material