Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Teaching Eighth Graders 1

Louisiana Purchase 3

Lewis and Clark Expedition 5

American Society and the Developing American Character 11

Texas Independence and the Mexican War 16

Westward Expansion and the California Gold Rush 24

The Nation Drifts Toward War 29

The Civil War Begins 36

On to Gettysburg 1862-63; Emancipation Proclamation 43

The War in the South 49

The War’s Aftermath 52

The Reconstruction 1865-77 54

Setbacks to Reconstruction; the Government’s Response 56

African-American Biographies 59

The Growth of Industry and the Financial Empires 62

Review 70

Bibliography 71