Constructing the American Past Vol. 1 : A Source Book of a People's History

Constructing the American Past achieves a level of inclusion and depth rarely found in other source books. Each chapter focuses on a particular problem or moment in American history, and provides students with several points of view. The photographs, posters and maps included in the text ask the students to “read” the visual sources of American history. By exposing students to primary sources, the building blocks of history, Constructing the American Past fosters a solid foundation and invites its readers to build their own understanding of American history.

Elliott J. Gorn teaches history and American studies at Brown University. He is author of The Manly Art, Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America, Dillinger's Wild Ride, and co-author of A Brief History of American Sports.

Randy Roberts earned his Ph.D. From Louisiana State University. His area of special interest include modern U.S. history and the history of sports and films in America. He is a faculty member at Purdue University where he has won the Murphy Award for outstanding teaching, the Teacher of the Year Award, and the Society of Professional Journalists Teacher of the Year Award. The books he has authored or co-authored include Jack Dempsey: The Manassa Mauler (1979, expanded ed., 1984), Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes (1983), Heavy Justice: The State of Indiana vs. Michael G. Tyson (1994), My Lai: A Brief History with Documents (1998), John Wayne: American (1995), Where the Domino Fell: America in Vietnam, 1945-1990 (1990, rev. ed., 1996), Winning Is the Only Thing: Sports in America Since1945 (1989), "But They Can't Beat US": Oscar Robertson and Crispus Attucks Tigers (1999), Joe Louis: Hard Times Man (2010). Pittsburg Sports: Stories From the Steel City (2000), and A Line in the Sand: The alamo in Blood and Memory (2001). He edited The Rock, The Curse, and the Hub: A Random History of Boston Sports (2005). Roberts serves as co-editor of the Sports and Society series, University of Illinois Press, and is on the editorial board of theJournal of Sports History.

A teacher of American history and world religions, Terry Bilhartz is an associate dean at Sam Houston State University. He is the author of Urban Religion and the Second Great Awakening, Sacred Words: A Source Book on the Great Religions of the World, and co-author of Currents in American History: A Brief History of the United States.