Kathleen DuVal – författare

WINNER OF THE 2025 PULITZER PRIZE FOR HISTORYWINNER OF THE 2024 CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZEWinner of the Bancroft Prize 2025Winner of the Mark Lynton History Prize 2025For centuries, Europeans assumed that indigenous Americans lacked the sophistication to build cities and establish hierarchies. For over a millennium, prior to and after the arrival of white colonialists, however, native nations had been adapting to changing climates, founding and abandoning urban centres and forging complex, democratic societies.In this magisterial new history of North America, Kathleen DuVal puts indigenous people back at the heart of the story. From the splendour of ancient cities like Cahokia and Moundsville to the careful diplomacy of native leaders in the face of colonial expansion, Native Nations reveals the diversity of indigenous civilisation and shows how a 1,000-year legacy still shapes America today, in struggles over sovereignty, climate and indigenous rights.

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • “A magisterial overview of a thousand years of Native American history” (The New York Review of Books), from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue todayWINNER OF THE BANCROFT PRIZE, THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE, AND THE MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE Long before the colonization of North America, Indigenous Americans built diverse civilizations and adapted to a changing world in ways that reverberated globally. And, as award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal vividly recounts, when Europeans did arrive, no civilization came to a halt because of a few wandering explorers, even when the strangers came well armed.A millennium ago, North American cities rivaled urban centers around the world in size. Then, following a period of climate change and instability, numerous smaller nations emerged, moving away from rather than toward urbanization. From this urban past, egalitarian government structures, diplomacy, and complex economies spread across North America. So, when Europeans showed up in the sixteenth century, they encountered societies they did not understand—those having developed differently from their own—and whose power they often underestimated.For centuries afterward, Indigenous people maintained an upper hand and used Europeans in pursuit of their own interests. In Native Nations, we see how Mohawks closely controlled trade with the Dutch—and influenced global markets—and how Quapaws manipulated French colonists. Power dynamics shifted after the American Revolution, but Indigenous people continued to command much of the continent’s land and resources. Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa forged new alliances and encouraged a controversial new definition of Native identity to attempt to wall off U.S. ambitions. The Cherokees created institutions to assert their sovereignty on the global stage, and the Kiowas used their power in the west to regulate the passage of white settlers across their territory.In this important addition to the growing tradition of North American history centered on Indigenous nations, Kathleen DuVal shows how the definitions of power and means of exerting it shifted over time, but the sovereignty and influence of Native peoples remained a constant—and will continue far into the future.“An essential American history”—The Wall Street Journal

This reader provides students with key documents from colonial American history, including new English translations of non-English documents. The documents in this collection take the reader beyond the traditional story of the English colonies. Readers explore the Spanish, French, Dutch, Russian, German, and even Icelandic colonial efforts throughout North America, including California, New Mexico, Texas, the Great Plains, Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New England. Throughout, the collection provides not only the perspectives of Europeans but also of Native Americans and Africans. By looking beyond traditional sources, students see the power and diversity of Native Americans and learn that European domination of the continent was not inevitable. They see different forms of slavery and ways that slaves dealt with their captivity. By considering multiple perspectives, students learn that colonial history was largely the attempts of various peoples to understand strangers and adapt them to their own will.

This reader provides students with key documents from colonial American history, including new English translations of non-English documents. The documents in this collection take the reader beyond the traditional story of the English colonies. Readers explore the Spanish, French, Dutch, Russian, German, and even Icelandic colonial efforts throughout North America, including California, New Mexico, Texas, the Great Plains, Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New England. Throughout, the collection provides not only the perspectives of Europeans but also of Native Americans and Africans. By looking beyond traditional sources, students see the power and diversity of Native Americans and learn that European domination of the continent was not inevitable. They see different forms of slavery and ways that slaves dealt with their captivity. By considering multiple perspectives, students learn that colonial history was largely the attempts of various peoples to understand strangers and adapt them to their own will.

In The Native Ground, Kathleen DuVal argues that it was Indians rather than European would-be colonizers who were more often able to determine the form and content of the relations between the two groups. Along the banks of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers, far from Paris, Madrid, and London, European colonialism met neither accommodation nor resistance but incorporation. Rather than being colonized, Indians drew European empires into local patterns of land and resource allocation, sustenance, goods exchange, gender relations, diplomacy, and warfare. Placing Indians at the center of the story, DuVal shows both their diversity and our contemporary tendency to exaggerate the influence of Europeans in places far from their centers of power. Europeans were often more dependent on Indians than Indians were on them.Now the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado, this native ground was originally populated by indigenous peoples, became part of the French and Spanish empires, and in 1803 was bought by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. Drawing on archaeology and oral history, as well as documents in English, French, and Spanish, DuVal chronicles the successive migrations of Indians and Europeans to the area from precolonial times through the 1820s. These myriad native groups-Mississippians, Quapaws, Osages, Chickasaws, Caddos, and Cherokees-and the waves of Europeans all competed with one another for control of the region.Only in the nineteenth century did outsiders initiate a future in which one people would claim exclusive ownership of the mid-continent. After the War of 1812, these settlers came in numbers large enough to overwhelm the region's inhabitants and reject the early patterns of cross-cultural interdependence. As citizens of the United States, they persuaded the federal government to muster its resources on behalf of their dreams of landholding and citizenship.With keen insight and broad vision, Kathleen DuVal retells the story of Indian and European contact in a more complex and, ultimately, more satisfactory way.

In The Native Ground, Kathleen DuVal argues that it was Indians rather than European would-be colonizers who were more often able to determine the form and content of the relations between the two groups. Along the banks of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers, far from Paris, Madrid, and London, European colonialism met neither accommodation nor resistance but incorporation. Rather than being colonized, Indians drew European empires into local patterns of land and resource allocation, sustenance, goods exchange, gender relations, diplomacy, and warfare. Placing Indians at the center of the story, DuVal shows both their diversity and our contemporary tendency to exaggerate the influence of Europeans in places far from their centers of power. Europeans were often more dependent on Indians than Indians were on them.Now the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado, this native ground was originally populated by indigenous peoples, became part of the French and Spanish empires, and in 1803 was bought by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. Drawing on archaeology and oral history, as well as documents in English, French, and Spanish, DuVal chronicles the successive migrations of Indians and Europeans to the area from precolonial times through the 1820s. These myriad native groups-Mississippians, Quapaws, Osages, Chickasaws, Caddos, and Cherokees-and the waves of Europeans all competed with one another for control of the region.Only in the nineteenth century did outsiders initiate a future in which one people would claim exclusive ownership of the mid-continent. After the War of 1812, these settlers came in numbers large enough to overwhelm the region's inhabitants and reject the early patterns of cross-cultural interdependence. As citizens of the United States, they persuaded the federal government to muster its resources on behalf of their dreams of landholding and citizenship.With keen insight and broad vision, Kathleen DuVal retells the story of Indian and European contact in a more complex and, ultimately, more satisfactory way.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by instructors and students alike because it delivers an authoritative, concise, and integrated American history. In the Seventh Edition, Eric Foner welcomes acclaimed scholars Kathleen DuVal and Lisa McGirr as co-authors. Together, they have enhanced coverage of Native American history with an emphasis on how it refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s urgent guiding theme. New pedagogical tools, including a guided interactive reading experience with support in developing critical thinking skills, are designed to help students get the most out of this beloved text.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by instructors and students alike because it delivers an authoritative, concise, and integrated American history. In the Seventh Edition, Eric Foner welcomes acclaimed scholars Kathleen DuVal and Lisa McGirr as co-authors. Together, they have enhanced coverage of Native American history with an emphasis on how it refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s urgent guiding theme. New pedagogical tools, including a guided interactive reading experience with support in developing critical thinking skills, are designed to help students get the most out of this beloved text.The Seagull Edition offers the complete text of the Full Edition in full color and a portable trim size with fewer illustrations and maps and an exceptionally low price.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by instructors and students alike because it delivers an authoritative, concise, and integrated American history. In the Seventh Edition, Eric Foner welcomes acclaimed scholars Kathleen DuVal and Lisa McGirr as co-authors. Together, they have enhanced coverage of Native American history with an emphasis on how it refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s urgent guiding theme. New pedagogical tools, including a guided interactive reading experience with support in developing critical thinking skills, are designed to help students get the most out of this beloved text.The Seagull Edition offers the complete text of the Full Edition in full color and a portable trim size with fewer illustrations and maps and an exceptionally low price.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by instructors and students alike because it delivers an authoritative, concise, and integrated American history. In the Seventh Edition, Eric Foner welcomes acclaimed scholars Kathleen DuVal and Lisa McGirr as co-authors. Together, they have enhanced coverage of Native American history with an emphasis on how it refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s urgent guiding theme. New pedagogical tools, including a guided interactive reading experience with support in developing critical thinking skills, are designed to help students get the most out of this beloved text.The Brief Edition is 30% shorter than the Full Edition and features a slightly smaller trim size. It shares the same pedagogical features of the Full Edition.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by instructors and students alike because it delivers an authoritative, concise, and integrated American history. In the Seventh Edition, Eric Foner welcomes acclaimed scholars Kathleen DuVal and Lisa McGirr as co-authors. Together, they have enhanced coverage of Native American history with an emphasis on how it refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s urgent guiding theme. New pedagogical tools, including a guided interactive reading experience with support in developing critical thinking skills, are designed to help students get the most out of this beloved text.The Brief Edition is 30% shorter than the Full Edition and features a slightly smaller trim size. It shares the same pedagogical features of the Full Edition.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by instructors and students alike because it delivers an authoritative, concise, and integrated American history. In the Seventh Edition, Eric Foner welcomes acclaimed scholars Kathleen DuVal and Lisa McGirr as co-authors. Together, they have enhanced coverage of Native American history with an emphasis on how it refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s urgent guiding theme. New pedagogical tools, including a guided interactive reading experience with support in developing critical thinking skills, are designed to help students get the most out of this beloved text.The Brief Edition is 30% shorter than the Full Edition and features a slightly smaller trim size. It shares the same pedagogical features of the Full Edition.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by instructors and students alike because it delivers a concise and authoritative American history that explains not just what happened but why. Aligned with the nine-part structure of the AP® U.S. History course and filled with opportunities to hone AP® skills and to practice AP® writing, the text provides students with the foundation they need to be successful on the AP® exam and beyond. In the Seventh Edition, Eric Foner welcomes acclaimed scholars Kathleen DuVal and Lisa McGirr as co-authors. Together, they have enhanced coverage of Native American history with an emphasis on how it refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s urgent guiding theme.AP® is a trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by students and instructors alike because it pulls the puzzle pieces of the past into a coherent picture. Learning not only the “what” but also the “why” helps students take away key information and develop historical and critical thinking skills for the course and their lives beyond it.The authors have added timely new scholarship on women’s history to the Eighth Edition, with an emphasis on how this coverage refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s guiding theme.Students benefit from an interactive ebook reading experience with new tools that bring primary source documents, visuals, and maps to life. And instructors can choose from flexible new options that allow them to easily tailor our teaching and learning resources to their goals.The Full Edition features the complete text with all the pedagogical features and sources and a rich visual program.Highlights of the Eighth Edition’s new content:New coverage of women’s history throughout the narrative and primary source document features as well as in new author videos helps students see themselves in the stories of America’s history and brings new relevance to the central theme of American freedom.New “A Closer Look” features in the Norton Illumine Ebook bring history to life, with interactive map activities and video tours of key images in each chapter. These supplement the existing interactive “Voices of Freedom” paired primary source document features and “Visions of Freedom” visual source features in each chapter.New audio recordings of the “Who Is an American?” primary source document features are now available in the Norton Illumine Ebook. Now, every primary source document in the ebook includes an author-recorded audio reading.New assignable “Making the Most of Your Textbook” activity in the Norton Illumine Ebook helps set students up for success from the very beginning.Revised and expanded Primary and Secondary Source Collection provides hundreds of extra primary sources, now available in the Norton Ebook Reader with new secondary source excerpts.Updated Eighth Edition of Voices of Freedom companion primary source reader, with a new LMS-friendly Give Me Liberty! PLUS digital bundle option to make it easier than ever for instructors to assign the #1 bestselling reader in its most accessible and user-friendly environment. Learn more at digital.wwnorton.com/givemelibertyplus.Brief new primer on teaching U.S. history in the age of generative AI, found in the Instructor’s Manual.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by students and instructors alike because it pulls the puzzle pieces of the past into a coherent picture. Learning not only the “what” but also the “why” helps students take away key information and develop historical and critical thinking skills for the course and their lives beyond it.The authors have added timely new scholarship on women’s history to the Eighth Edition, with an emphasis on how this coverage refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s guiding theme.Students benefit from an interactive ebook reading experience with new tools that bring primary source documents, visuals, and maps to life. And instructors can choose from flexible new options that allow them to easily tailor our teaching and learning resources to their goals.The Full Edition features the complete text with all the pedagogical features and sources and a rich visual program.Highlights of the Eighth Edition’s new content:New coverage of women’s history throughout the narrative and primary source document features as well as in new author videos helps students see themselves in the stories of America’s history and brings new relevance to the central theme of American freedom.New “A Closer Look” features in the Norton Illumine Ebook bring history to life, with interactive map activities and video tours of key images in each chapter. These supplement the existing interactive “Voices of Freedom” paired primary source document features and “Visions of Freedom” visual source features in each chapter.New audio recordings of the “Who Is an American?” primary source document features are now available in the Norton Illumine Ebook. Now, every primary source document in the ebook includes an author-recorded audio reading.New assignable “Making the Most of Your Textbook” activity in the Norton Illumine Ebook helps set students up for success from the very beginning.Revised and expanded Primary and Secondary Source Collection provides hundreds of extra primary sources, now available in the Norton Ebook Reader with new secondary source excerpts.Updated Eighth Edition of Voices of Freedom companion primary source reader, with a new LMS-friendly Give Me Liberty! PLUS digital bundle option to make it easier than ever for instructors to assign the #1 bestselling reader in its most accessible and user-friendly environment. Learn more at digital.wwnorton.com/givemelibertyplus.Brief new primer on teaching U.S. history in the age of generative AI, found in the Instructor’s Manual.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by students and instructors alike because it pulls the puzzle pieces of the past into a coherent picture. Learning not only the “what” but also the “why” helps students take away key information and develop historical and critical thinking skills for the course and their lives beyond it.The authors have added timely new scholarship on women’s history to the Eighth Edition, with an emphasis on how this coverage refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s guiding theme.Students benefit from an interactive ebook reading experience with new tools that bring primary source documents, visuals, and maps to life. And instructors can choose from flexible new options that allow them to easily tailor our teaching and learning resources to their goals.The Full Edition features the complete text with all the pedagogical features and sources and a rich visual program.Highlights of the Eighth Edition’s new content:New coverage of women’s history throughout the narrative and primary source document features as well as in new author videos helps students see themselves in the stories of America’s history and brings new relevance to the central theme of American freedom.New “A Closer Look” features in the Norton Illumine Ebook bring history to life, with interactive map activities and video tours of key images in each chapter. These supplement the existing interactive “Voices of Freedom” paired primary source document features and “Visions of Freedom” visual source features in each chapter.New audio recordings of the “Who Is an American?” primary source document features are now available in the Norton Illumine Ebook. Now, every primary source document in the ebook includes an author-recorded audio reading.New assignable “Making the Most of Your Textbook” activity in the Norton Illumine Ebook helps set students up for success from the very beginning.Revised and expanded Primary and Secondary Source Collection provides hundreds of extra primary sources, now available in the Norton Ebook Reader with new secondary source excerpts.Updated Eighth Edition of Voices of Freedom companion primary source reader, with a new LMS-friendly Give Me Liberty! PLUS digital bundle option to make it easier than ever for instructors to assign the #1 bestselling reader in its most accessible and user-friendly environment. Learn more at digital.wwnorton.com/givemelibertyplus.Brief new primer on teaching U.S. history in the age of generative AI, found in the Instructor’s Manual.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by students and instructors alike because it pulls the puzzle pieces of the past into a coherent picture. Learning not only the “what” but also the “why” helps students take away key information and develop historical and critical thinking skills for the course and their lives beyond it.The authors have added timely new scholarship on women’s history to the Eighth Edition, with an emphasis on how this coverage refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s guiding theme.Students benefit from an interactive ebook reading experience with new tools that bring primary source documents, visuals, and maps to life. And instructors can choose from flexible new options that allow them to easily tailor our teaching and learning resources to their goals.The Seagull Edition offers the same text and document features as the Full Edition but includes only the essential images and pedagogy in a value-priced, compact format. Highlights of the Eighth Edition’s new content:New coverage of women’s history throughout the narrative and primary source document features as well as in new author videos helps students see themselves in the stories of America’s history and brings new relevance to the central theme of American freedom.New “A Closer Look” features in the Norton Illumine Ebook bring history to life, with interactive map activities and video tours of key images in each chapter. These supplement the existing interactive “Voices of Freedom” paired primary source document features and “Visions of Freedom” visual source features in each chapter.New audio recordings of the “Who Is an American?” primary source document features are now available in the Norton Illumine Ebook. Now, every primary source document in the ebook includes an author-recorded audio reading.New assignable “Making the Most of Your Textbook” activity in the Norton Illumine Ebook helps set students up for success from the very beginning.Revised and expanded Primary and Secondary Source Collection provides hundreds of extra primary sources, now available in the Norton Ebook Reader with new secondary source excerpts.Updated Eighth Edition of Voices of Freedom companion primary source reader, with a new LMS-friendly Give Me Liberty! PLUS digital bundle option to make it easier than ever for instructors to assign the #1 bestselling reader in its most accessible and user-friendly environment. Learn more at digital.wwnorton.com/givemelibertyplus.Brief new primer on teaching U.S. history in the age of generative AI, found in the Instructor’s Manual.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by students and instructors alike because it pulls the puzzle pieces of the past into a coherent picture. Learning not only the “what” but also the “why” helps students take away key information and develop historical and critical thinking skills for the course and their lives beyond it.The authors have added timely new scholarship on women’s history to the Eighth Edition, with an emphasis on how this coverage refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s guiding theme.Students benefit from an interactive ebook reading experience with new tools that bring primary source documents, visuals, and maps to life. And instructors can choose from flexible new options that allow them to easily tailor our teaching and learning resources to their goals.The Seagull Edition offers the same text and document features as the Full Edition but includes only the essential images and pedagogy in a value-priced, compact format. Highlights of the Eighth Edition’s new content:New coverage of women’s history throughout the narrative and primary source document features as well as in new author videos helps students see themselves in the stories of America’s history and brings new relevance to the central theme of American freedom.New “A Closer Look” features in the Norton Illumine Ebook bring history to life, with interactive map activities and video tours of key images in each chapter. These supplement the existing interactive “Voices of Freedom” paired primary source document features and “Visions of Freedom” visual source features in each chapter.New audio recordings of the “Who Is an American?” primary source document features are now available in the Norton Illumine Ebook. Now, every primary source document in the ebook includes an author-recorded audio reading.New assignable “Making the Most of Your Textbook” activity in the Norton Illumine Ebook helps set students up for success from the very beginning.Revised and expanded Primary and Secondary Source Collection provides hundreds of extra primary sources, now available in the Norton Ebook Reader with new secondary source excerpts.Updated Eighth Edition of Voices of Freedom companion primary source reader, with a new LMS-friendly Give Me Liberty! PLUS digital bundle option to make it easier than ever for instructors to assign the #1 bestselling reader in its most accessible and user-friendly environment. Learn more at digital.wwnorton.com/givemelibertyplus.Brief new primer on teaching U.S. history in the age of generative AI, found in the Instructor’s Manual.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by students and instructors alike because it pulls the puzzle pieces of the past into a coherent picture. Learning not only the “what” but also the “why” helps students take away key information and develop historical and critical thinking skills for the course and their lives beyond it.The authors have added timely new scholarship on women’s history to the Eighth Edition, with an emphasis on how this coverage refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s guiding theme.Students benefit from an interactive ebook reading experience with new tools that bring primary source documents, visuals, and maps to life. And instructors can choose from flexible new options that allow them to easily tailor our teaching and learning resources to their goals.The Brief Edition features all the pedagogical features and sources with a 30% shorter narrative and fewer images. Highlights of the Eighth Edition’s new content:New coverage of women’s history throughout the narrative and primary source document features as well as in new author videos helps students see themselves in the stories of America’s history and brings new relevance to the central theme of American freedom.New “A Closer Look” features in the Norton Illumine Ebook bring history to life, with interactive map activities and video tours of key images in each chapter. These supplement the existing interactive “Voices of Freedom” paired primary source document features and “Visions of Freedom” visual source features in each chapter.New audio recordings of the “Who Is an American?” primary source document features are now available in the Norton Illumine Ebook. Now, every primary source document in the ebook includes an author-recorded audio reading.New assignable “Making the Most of Your Textbook” activity in the Norton Illumine Ebook helps set students up for success from the very beginning.Revised and expanded Primary and Secondary Source Collection provides hundreds of extra primary sources, now available in the Norton Ebook Reader with new secondary source excerpts.Updated Eighth Edition of Voices of Freedom companion primary source reader, with a new LMS-friendly Give Me Liberty! PLUS digital bundle option to make it easier than ever for instructors to assign the #1 bestselling reader in its most accessible and user-friendly environment. Learn more at digital.wwnorton.com/givemelibertyplus.Brief new primer on teaching U.S. history in the age of generative AI, found in the Instructor’s Manual.

Give Me Liberty! is beloved by students and instructors alike because it pulls the puzzle pieces of the past into a coherent picture. Learning not only the “what” but also the “why” helps students take away key information and develop historical and critical thinking skills for the course and their lives beyond it.The authors have added timely new scholarship on women’s history to the Eighth Edition, with an emphasis on how this coverage refines our understanding of freedom—the book’s guiding theme.Students benefit from an interactive ebook reading experience with new tools that bring primary source documents, visuals, and maps to life. And instructors can choose from flexible new options that allow them to easily tailor our teaching and learning resources to their goals.The Brief Edition features all the pedagogical features and sources with a 30% shorter narrative and fewer images. Highlights of the Eighth Edition’s new content:New coverage of women’s history throughout the narrative and primary source document features as well as in new author videos helps students see themselves in the stories of America’s history and brings new relevance to the central theme of American freedom.New “A Closer Look” features in the Norton Illumine Ebook bring history to life, with interactive map activities and video tours of key images in each chapter. These supplement the existing interactive “Voices of Freedom” paired primary source document features and “Visions of Freedom” visual source features in each chapter.New audio recordings of the “Who Is an American?” primary source document features are now available in the Norton Illumine Ebook. Now, every primary source document in the ebook includes an author-recorded audio reading.New assignable “Making the Most of Your Textbook” activity in the Norton Illumine Ebook helps set students up for success from the very beginning.Revised and expanded Primary and Secondary Source Collection provides hundreds of extra primary sources, now available in the Norton Ebook Reader with new secondary source excerpts.Updated Eighth Edition of Voices of Freedom companion primary source reader, with a new LMS-friendly Give Me Liberty! PLUS digital bundle option to make it easier than ever for instructors to assign the #1 bestselling reader in its most accessible and user-friendly environment. Learn more at digital.wwnorton.com/givemelibertyplus.Brief new primer on teaching U.S. history in the age of generative AI, found in the Instructor’s Manual.

Reading the founding documents of the United States and understanding their historical context can help us to consider vital questions about governance and democracy in present day America. In Foundations of American Democracy, the 250-year evolution of democratic republicanism is examined through the lens of twenty-one critical documents from our nation’s past. The reader is divided into three parts. Starting with the Declaration of Independence, “Foundations” explores documents that laid the groundwork on which America was built. “A More Perfect Union” offers selections related to the American Civil War and Reconstruction. And “The Gospel of Freedom” highlights the challenges and struggles faced by generations of citizens who demanded participation and representation in our democracy. The authors of these works wrestled with some of the most difficult questions of their time, creating prose that is in turn eloquent, anguished, and passionate about the challenges of forming “a more perfect Union.” Each chapter includes a concise introduction, one primary document, questions for discussion, and a section on further readings. The reader includes well-known documents such as the Federalist Papers and the Emancipation Proclamation as well as other works that broaden our view of America’s ongoing democratic experiment. Eleven historians from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill contributed to this volume which was developed as a resource for the foundations of American democracy requirement across the University of North Carolina System.

A rising-star historian offers a significant new global perspective on the Revolutionary War with the story of the conflict as seen through the eyes of the outsiders of colonial society Winner of the Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year Award • Winner of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey History Prize • Finalist for the George Washington Book Prize Over the last decade, award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal has revitalized the study of early America’s marginalized voices. Now, in Independence Lost, she recounts an untold story as rich and significant as that of the Founding Fathers: the history of the Revolutionary Era as experienced by slaves, American Indians, women, and British loyalists living on Florida’s Gulf Coast. While citizens of the thirteen rebelling colonies came to blows with the British Empire over tariffs and parliamentary representation, the situation on the rest of the continent was even more fraught. In the Gulf of Mexico, Spanish forces clashed with Britain’s strained army to carve up the Gulf Coast, as both sides competed for allegiances with the powerful Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek nations who inhabited the region. Meanwhile, African American slaves had little control over their own lives, but some individuals found opportunities to expand their freedoms during the war. Independence Lost reveals that individual motives counted as much as the ideals of liberty and freedom the Founders espoused: Independence had a personal as well as national meaning, and the choices made by people living outside the colonies were of critical importance to the war’s outcome. DuVal introduces us to the Mobile slave Petit Jean, who organized militias to fight the British at sea; the Chickasaw diplomat Payamataha, who worked to keep his people out of war; New Orleans merchant Oliver Pollock and his wife, Margaret O’Brien Pollock, who risked their own wealth to organize funds and garner Spanish support for the American Revolution; the half-Scottish-Creek leader Alexander McGillivray, who fought to protect indigenous interests from European imperial encroachment; the Cajun refugee Amand Broussard, who spent a lifetime in conflict with the British; and Scottish loyalists James and Isabella Bruce, whose work on behalf of the British Empire placed them in grave danger. Their lives illuminate the fateful events that took place along the Gulf of Mexico and, in the process, changed the history of North America itself. Adding new depth and moral complexity, Kathleen DuVal reinvigorates the story of the American Revolution. Independence Lost is a bold work that fully establishes the reputation of a historian who is already regarded as one of her generation’s best.Praise for Independence Lost“[An] astonishing story . . . Independence Lost will knock your socks off. To read [this book] is to see that the task of recovering the entire American Revolution has barely begun.”—The New York Times Book Review   “A richly documented and compelling account.”—The Wall Street Journal   “A remarkable, necessary—and entirely new—book about the American Revolution.”—The Daily Beast   “A completely new take on the American Revolution, rife with pathos, double-dealing, and intrigue.”—Elizabeth A. Fenn, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Encounters at the Heart of the WorldFrom the Hardcover edition.