HIST 5850 - Seminar American Revolution (Samuelson): Getting Started

OneSearch

OneSearch This link opens in a new window
Pfau Library's broadest search. Find articles, books, media and more; at CSUSB and at all CSU libraries.

When searching the library catalog, use of Library of Congress subject headings can help you save time by narrowing in on very specific topics. Use them alone or in combination with keywords. You can add these to your search by using the Advanced Search mode, entering them as a phrase, and limiting the field to Subject. Some subject headings worth trying include:

United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
United States -- Politics and government -- 1775-1783
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1775-1783
United States -- Social conditions -- To 1865
United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775

Oxford Reference Online

Oxford Reference Online Premium This link opens in a new window
A good place to find encyclopedia articles and other solid reference sources to help identify key facts. The citations you find here will lead you to other useful sources of information. Search for the Revolutionary War and specific individuals or groups involved.

Backgrounders

Daily Life During the American Revolution by Dorothy Denneen Volo; James M. Volo How did the patriot army dress themselves? What was the British soldier's food ration and what were women's roles during the revolution? What types of weapons did the combatants use and how large were the naval vessels of the day? This engaging and informative resource on the social and material history of the Revolutionary War period answers these and many other questions. Covering more than just political ideologies and the outcomes of battles, Daily Life During the Revolutionary War looks at the real stuff of history--people's lives and how they lived them. Looking at the war and society from many angles, the book's 20 chapters cover such important topics as radicals, Tories, taxation, the French, the Hessians, prisoner-of-war conditions, fashion, leisure time activities, and war on the frontier, among others. Also included are more than 35 photographs and illustrations, and over a dozen charts. This behind-the-scenes look at history presents a fascinating picture of everyday life deeply affected by the spirit of '76.
Call Number: Pfau Library 3rd Floor E209 .V65 2003
ISBN: 9780313318443
Publication Date: 2003-09-30
A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution by Theodore P. Savas; J. David Dameron This is the first comprehensive account of every engagement of the Revolution, a war that began with a brief skirmish at Lexington Green on April 19, 1775, and concluded on the battlefield at the Siege of Yorktown in October 1781.
ISBN: 1611210119
Publication Date: 2006-08-19
A Handbook of American Military History by Jerry K. Sweeney (Editor) The second edition of A Handbook of American Military History delineates the military history of the United States from the Revolutionary War into the opening stages of the twenty-first century war on terrorism. Comprehensive and easy to use, it supplies essential information on the social, technological, political, tactical, and strategic developments that have affected the evolution of the U.S. armed forces. New to the second edition is a chapter on U.S. military history from 1995 through 2004 and an index. A Handbook of American Military History is the perfect reader's guide for the military history buff or anyone interested in a brief overview of American military history.
Call Number: Pfau Library 3rd Floor E181 .H23 2006
ISBN: 9780803293373
Publication Date: 2006-05-01
Many Identities, One Nation by Liam Riordan Liam Riordan explores how the American Revolution politicized religious, racial, and ethnic identity among the diverse inhabitants of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey from 1770 to 1830.
ISBN: 9780812203370
Publication Date: 2010-11-24
New American Revolution Handbook by Theodore P. Savas; J. David Dameron This remarkable new handbook makes studying the Revolutionary War simple and pleasurable. The authors use clear and concise writing broken down into short and easy to understand chapters complete with original maps, tables, charts, and dozens of drawings to trace the history of the Revolution from the beginning of the conflict through the final surrender in 1783.
ISBN: 1611210623
Publication Date: 2010-07-01
The Oxford Companion to American Military History by John Whiteclay Chambers (Editor) With more than 1,100 entries written by some 500 distinguished contributors, The Oxford Companion to American Military History is "the most comprehensive treatment of American military history ever compiled" (Parameters: U.S. Army War College Quarterly) and an "easy-to-browse, well-organized work" (The Washington Post). Here is a gold mine of information on American military history, exploring battles and soldiers, ships and weapons, services and doctrines--as well as the social and cultural impact of the U.S. military at home and around the world. The Oxford Companion to American Military History boasts over 1,100 entries written by some 500 distinguished contributors. Readers will find Stephen E. Ambrose writing on the D-Day landing, James M. McPherson on the battle of Antietam, John Keegan on the changing experience of combat, Jean Bethke Elshtain on Jane Addams, Mark A. Noll on religion and war, and Robert M. Utley on Sitting Bull. Ranging from brief factual pieces to extensive essays, the entries examine every major war from the Revolution to the Persian Gulf; important battles from Bunker Hill, to the Alamo, Gettysburg, Little Bighorn, Normandy, and Khe Sanh; and military leaders from Washington to Grant, Lee, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Westmoreland, and Schwarzkopf. Moreover, the Companion goes well beyond the usual "drum and trumpet" coverage to examine a wide range of subjects you might not expect to find. There are entries on relevant acts of Congress and on diplomatic policies such as the Monroe Doctrine and the Marshall Plan; on peace and antiwar movements; on war in film, literature, music, and photography; and on war viewed through the disciplinary lenses of anthropology, economics, gender studies, and psychology. The result is the widest ranging account compiled in one volume of war, peace, and the U.S. military. With over a thousand authoritative and vividly written entries, maps of several major wars, extensive cross-referencing, lists of further readings, and an index, this volume is the first place to turn for information on our nation's military history.
Call Number: Pfau Library 3rd Floor E181 .O94 1999
ISBN: 9780195071986
Publication Date: 2000-04-13
Patriot Battles: how the War of Independence was fought by Michael Stephenson Drawing on hundreds of specialist sources, contemporary and archival, Patriot Battles is the comprehensive one-volume study of the military aspects of the War of Independence. The first part of the book offers a richly detailed examination of the nuts and bolts of eighteenth-century combat: For example, who fought and what motivated them, whether patriot or redcoat, Hessian or Frenchman? How were they enlisted and trained? How were they clothed and fed? What weapons did they use, and how effective were they? When soldiers became casualties or fell ill, how did medical services deal with them? What roles did loyalists, women, blacks, and Indians play? The second part of the book gives a closer look at the war's greatest battles, with maps provided for each. Which men were involved, and how many? What was the state of their morale and equipment? What parts did terrain and weather play? What were the qualities of the respective commanders, and what tactics did they employ? How many casualties were inflicted? And no less important, how did the soldiers fight? Throughout, many cherished myths are challenged, reputations are reassessed, and long-held assumptions are tested. For all readers, Patriot Battles becomes not only one of the most satisfying and illuminating works to be added to the literature on the War of Independence in many years but also a refreshing wind blowing through some of its dustier corridors.
Call Number: Pfau Library 3rd Floor E230 .S75 2007
ISBN: 9780060732615
Publication Date: 2007-04-03
The Revolutionary War by Charles Patrick Neimeyer Nearly everyone in the U.S. has studied the Revolutionary War. Too often, however, historians of the Revolution focus on the activity of the army without noticing what was taking place inside the army. Making liberal use of diaries and correspondence by the soldiers and their families, Charles P. Neimeyer tells the stories of the men and women who fought for the young country's independence. Sometimes starting off as rag-tag groups of men shooting off their muskets at geese just for the thrill of the sound, the soldiers became more disciplined and focused. The army recruited a significant number of African American soldiers, who fought side by side with whites. Women also fought and served in the army, either masquerading as male soldiers or providing support for army operations in camp and on the march. Suffering through times of numbing cold and starvation where men boiled their shoes for food, the sheer perseverance of the soldiers in the ranks ultimately won the war for independence. Presenting stories from letters and diaries of the men and women of the time, this volume reveals the stories of fear, exhaustion, hard work, grief, and exhilaration of the people in the camps and on the march. Highlights include: ; Recruitment, which included just about any healthy man willing to serve, including immigrants and enemy POWs ; General Washington's attempts to create a model, respectable army ; Attempts at medical treatment, and the ravages of smallpox, which left men dying at makeshift hospitals ; African American soldiers in the War ; Women's contributions to war efforts, whether in disguise as soldiers, or in filling in for husbands killed in battle ; Daily life in the camp: the monotony, the lack of food and supplies, drinking, sleeping in huts and out in the open, games, letter writing and religious observations ; The failure to fairly pay the soldiers as they mustered out of service The book also includes a timeline that puts dates and events in better perspective; a comprehensive, topically arranged bibliography; and a thorough index.
ISBN: 0313027331
Publication Date: 2007-02-28
A Slaveholders' Union: slavery, politics, and the constitution in the early American Republic by George William Van Cleve After its early introduction into the English colonies in North America, slavery in the United States lasted as a legal institution until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865.  But increasingly during the contested politics of the early republic, abolitionists cried out that the Constitution itself was a slaveowners' document, produced to protect and further their rights. A Slaveholders' Union furthers this unsettling claim by demonstrating once and for all that slavery was indeed an essential part of the foundation of the nascent republic. In this powerful book, George William Van Cleve demonstrates that the Constitution was pro-slavery in its politics, its economics, and its law. He convincingly shows that the Constitutional provisions protecting slavery were much more than mere "political" compromises--they were integral to the principles of the new nation. By the late 1780s, a majority of Americans wanted to create a strong federal republic that would be capable of expanding into a continental empire. In order for America to become an empire on such a scale, Van Cleve argues, the Southern states had to be willing partners in the endeavor, and the cost of their allegiance was the deliberate long-term protection of slavery by America's leaders through the nation's early expansion. Reconsidering the role played by the gradual abolition of slavery in the North, Van Cleve also shows that abolition there was much less progressive in its origins--and had much less influence on slavery's expansion--than previously thought. Deftly interweaving historical and political analyses, A Slaveholders' Union will likely become the definitive explanation of slavery's persistence and growth--and of its influence on American constitutional development--from the Revolutionary War through the Missouri Compromise of 1821.
ISBN: 0226846709
Publication Date: 2011-11-30
War of the American Revolution: narrative, chronology, and bibliography by Robt. W. Coakley This is essentially a book of facts on the military history of the American Revolution, and of references to places where other and more detailed facts and interpretations may be found by those who are seeking them. It is to be hoped that in addition to its primary purpose it may also serve a broader one of assisting students, teachers, and even serious scholars to a better understanding of the military struggle in which this nation was born.
ISBN: 9780160800795
Publication Date: 2010
The World of the American Revolution: a daily life encyclopedia by Merril D. Smith (Editor) This two-volume set brings to life the daily thoughts and routines of men and women--rich and poor, of various cultures, religions, races, and beliefs--during a time of great political, social, economic, and legal turmoil. What was life really like for ordinary people during the American Revolution? What did they eat, wear, believe in, and think about? What did they do for fun? This encyclopedia explores the lives of men, women, and children--of European, Native American, and African descent--through the window of social, cultural, and material history. The two-volume set spans the period from 1774 to 1800, drawing on the most current research to illuminate people's emotional lives, interactions, opinions, views, beliefs, and intimate relationships, as well as connections between the individual and the greater world. The encyclopedia features more than 200 entries divided into topical sections, each dealing with a different aspect of cultural life--for example, Arts, Food and Drink, and Politics and Warfare. Each section opens with an introductory essay, followed by A-Z entries on various aspects of the subject area. Sidebars and primary documents enhance the learning experience. Targeting high school and college students, the title supports the American history core curriculum and the current emphasis on social history. Most importantly, its focus on the realities of daily life, rather than on dates and battles, will help students identify with and learn about this formative period of American history. Provides summaries of what people ate, wore, and read and also includes topics such as apprenticeships, camp life and military training Covers ordinary routines of daily life, such as cleanliness, use of privies, and menstruation Starts each thematic section with a brief introduction Includes primary documents that bring the past to life and are an important resource for students Offers further reading suggestions after each entry as well as a bibliography of print books, online sources, and relevant films
ISBN: 9781440830273
Publication Date: 2015-08-28