A History of the American People - LA Mission

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A HISTORY

OF THE

AMERICAN

PEOPLE

______________________________

Paul Johnson

`Be not afraid of greatness¡¯

Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, II, v

HarperCollins Publishers

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This book was originally published in Great Britain in 1997

by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. Copyright ? 1997 by Paul Johnson.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of

this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without

written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in

critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins

Publishers, Inc., 1o East 53rd Street, New York, NY ioozz.

HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business, or

sales promotional use. For information please write: Special Markets

Department, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1o East 53rd Street,

New York, NY 10022

FIRST U.S. EDITION

__________________________________________

Library of Congress Cataloging¡ªin¡ªPublication Data

Johnson, Paul, 1928¡ª

A history of the American people / Paul

Johnson.¡ª1st U.S. ed.

p. cm.

"Originally published in Great Britain in

1997 by Weidenfeld and Nicolson"¡ªT.p. Verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0¡ª06¡ª016836¡ª6

I. United States¡ªHistory. I. Title.

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This book is dedicated to the people of America¡ªstrong, outspoken, intense in their convictions,

sometimes wrong¡ªheaded but always generous and brave, with a passion for justice no nation

has ever matched.

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CONTENTS

Preface

PART ONE

¡®A City on a Hill¡¯

Colonial America, 1580¡ª1750

Europe and the Transatlantic Adventure

Ralegh, the Proto¡ªAmerican, and the Roanoke Disaster

Jamestown: The First Permanent Foothold

Mayflower and the Formative Event

`The Natural Inheritance of the Elect Nation¡¯

John Winthrop and His `Little Speech¡¯ on Liberty

Roger Williams: The First Dissentient

The Catholics in Maryland

The Primitive Structure of Colonial America

Carolina: The First Slave State

Cotton Mather and the End of the Puritan Utopia

Oglethorpe and Early Georgia

Why Colonial Control Did Not Work

The Rise of Philadelphia

Elected Assemblies versus the Governors

The Great Awakening and Its Political Impact

PART TWO

¡®That the Free Constitution Be Sacredly Maintained¡¯

Revolutionary America, 1750¡ª1815

George Washington and the War against France

Poor Quality of British Leadership

The Role of Benjamin Franklin

Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence

The Galvanizing Effect of Tom Paine

Washington, the War, and the Intervention of Europe

Patriots and Loyalists: America¡¯s First Civil War

The Constitutional Convention

The Ratification Debate

Citizenship, the Suffrage, and `The Tyranny of the Majority¡¯

The Role of Religion in the Constitution

The Presidency, Hamilton, and Public Finance

Success of Washington and His Farewell Address

John Adams and the European War

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