DON’T KNOW

DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT?

H I S T O RY

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY BUT NEVER LEARNED

KENNETH C. DAVIS

To my children, Jenny and Colin

CONTENTS

P R E FA C E T O T H E R E V I S E D E D I T I O N ix

I N T R O D U C T I O N xi

AU T H O R ' S N O T E xxiii

CHAPTER 1

Brave New World

1

CHAPTER 2

Say You Want a Revolution

47

CHAPTER 3

Growth of a Nation: From the Creation of the Constitution to Manifest Destiny

107

CHAPTER 4

Apocalypse Then: To Civil War and Reconstruction

183

CHAPTER 5

When Monopoly Wasn't a Game: The Growing Empire from Wild West to World War I

253

CHAPTER 6

Boom to Bust to Big Boom: From the Jazz Age and the Great Depression to Hiroshima

319

viii

Contents

CHAPTER 7

Commies, Containment, and Cold War: America in the Fifties

397

CHAPTER 8

The Torch Is Passed: From Camelot to Hollywood on the Potomac

437

CHAPTER 9

From the Evil Empire to the Axis of Evil

533

A F T E RW O R D 589

APPENDIX 1

The Bill of Rights and Other Constitutional Amendments

595

APPENDIX 2

Is the Electoral College a Party School? A Presidential Election Primer

618

APPENDIX 3

U.S. Presidents and Their Administrations

624

Selected Readings 631 Acknowledgments 657 Searchable Terms 659

About the Author Also by Kenneth C. Davis

Credits Cover Copyright About the Publisher

PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION

When Don't Know Much About? History first appeared in 1990, it was simply meant to serve as a fresh new take on American history. Busting myths with a dose of humor and real stories about real people, the book was conceived as an antidote to the dull, dreary textbooks we suffered through in high school or college. Nobody was more surprised than I was when the book spent 35 weeks on the New York Times Best-seller list and became an "antitextbook" that has sold 1.3 million copies. If nothing else, this little book proved that Americans don't hate history--they just hate the dull version they got when they were growing up.

With the same question-and-answer style, this updated, revised, and greatly expanded edition brings history right up to Bill Clinton's impeachment and the bizarre 2000 election. Incorporating new discoveries, revelations, and theories about America's past, this revised edition elaborates on such long-standing American controversies as the Jefferson-Hemings affair, the Hiss and Rosenberg cases, and the IranContra adventure. There are also many new questions, many of them resulting from readers' questions to me over the years.

For history buffs and history-phobes, longtime fans and a new generation still in the dark about America's past, this book provides "Everything You Need to Know About American History." And more!

Kenneth C. Davis AUGUST 2002

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