The Brief American Pageant: A History of the Republic, Volume I: To 1877

THE BRIEF AMERICAN PAGEANT presents a concise and vivid chronological narrative, focusing on the great public debates that have dominated American history. Colorful anecdotes, first-person quotations, and the text's trademark wit keep readers engaged. Focus questions, chapter outlines and summaries, marginal glossaries, and links to additional online study aids ensure that readers understand and retain the material.

David M. Kennedy received his Ph.D. from Yale University. He is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus and co-director of The Bill Lane Center for the Study of the North American West at Stanford University. His first book, BIRTH CONTROL IN AMERICA: THE CAREER OF MARGARET SANGER, was honored with both the Bancroft Prize and the John Gilmary Shea Prize. He has won numerous teaching awards at Stanford, where he teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in American political, diplomatic, intellectual and social history and in American literature. Dr. Kennedy published a volume in the OXFORD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, FREEDOM FROM FEAR: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN DEPRESSION AND WAR, 1929 - 1945, for which he was honored with the 2000 Pulitzer Prize. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Philosophical Society, and he served from 2002 - 2011 on the board of the Pulitzer Prizes.

Lizabeth Cohen received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. She is the Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies in the History department and the Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. In 2007 - 2008 she was the Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford University. Previously, she taught at New York University and Carnegie Mellon University. She is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The author of many articles and essays, Dr. Cohen was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her first book, MAKING A NEW DEAL: INDUSTRIAL WORKERS IN CHICAGO, 1919 - 1939, for which she later won the Bancroft Prize and the Philip Taft Labor History Award. She authored A CONSUMERS' REPUBLIC: THE POLITICS OF MASS CONSUMPTION IN POSTWAR AMERICA (2003), and will soon be publishing SAVING AMERICA'S CITIES: ED LOGUE AND THE STRUGGLE TO RENEW URBAN AMERICA IN THE SUBURBAN AGE (2019), on urban renewal in American cities after World War II. At Harvard, she has taught courses in 20th-century American History, with particular attention to the intersection of social and cultural life and politics. She now oversees the Radcliffe Institute, a major center for scholarly research, creative arts and public programs.

Mel Piehl received his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is professor of Humanities and History at Valparaiso University. His scholarly interests center on American intellectual and religious history, with particular emphasis on American Catholic history and the relations between religion and social thought. His book, BREAKING BREAD: THE CATHOLIC SOCIAL WORKER AND THE ORIGIN OF CATHOLIC RADICALISM IN AMERICA, was a finalist for the Robert Kennedy National Book Award. Dr. Piehl has written numerous articles on American Catholicism and American religion and social thought. He was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Dayton in 2001-2002.