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Origin of America
By an Amazon.com customer
The Languages of Native North America (Cambridge Language Surveys)The Languages of Native North America (Cambridge Language Surveys) by Marianne Mithun
Buy new: $63.00 / Used from: $30.54
The people that were already here had their own words for liberty, freedom, etc., but most of their languages were steamrolled out of existence by English.
A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present (Perennial Classics)A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present (Perennial Classics) by Howard Zinn
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Viewpoints that have not always been heard.
Science and the Founding Fathers: Science in the Political Thought of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and James MadisonScience and the Founding Fathers: Science in the Political Thought of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and James Madison by I. Bernard Cohen
Buy new: $14.49 / Used from: $4.99
A fascinating, often-overlooked perspective on the minds of the Founding Fathers.
The Founders and the Classics: Greece, Rome, and the American EnlightenmentThe Founders and the Classics: Greece, Rome, and the American Enlightenment by Carl J. Richard
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What books had the founding fathers read, which helped give shape to their ideas about the Constitution?
The Federalist PapersThe Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton
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Records the newspaper debates which ultimately defended, and gave shape to the Constitution.
A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American ConstitutionA Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution by Carol Berkin
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Start with incredible paranoia, sprinkle with a little applied psychology, and presto! The US Constitution.
Seeds of Change:  Six Plants That Transformed MankindSeeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind by Henry Hobhouse
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How much of our national economic history is founded upon lowly plants, such as cotton, or the potato? An interesting angle.
The French Enlightenment in America: Essays on the Times of the Founding FathersThe French Enlightenment in America: Essays on the Times of the Founding Fathers by Paul Merrill Spurlin
Buy used from: $40.00
Explores the impact of Diderot, Voltaire, and others upon the minds of our Founding Fathers.
America's Founding Secret: What the Scottish Enlightenment Taught Our Founding FathersAmerica's Founding Secret: What the Scottish Enlightenment Taught Our Founding Fathers by Robert W. Galvin
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Oh, those canny Scots! What will they think of next...
Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson: History, Memory, and Civic Culture (Jeffersonian America)Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson: History, Memory, and Civic Culture (Jeffersonian America)
Buy new: $14.85 / Used from: $3.83
A fascinating story, which until fairly recently was not widely known at all.
The Cultural Life of the New Nation, 1776-1830The Cultural Life of the New Nation, 1776-1830 by Russel Blaine Nye
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Pretty neat. See if you can find a copy -- if all else fails, try your local library!
America Declares IndependenceAmerica Declares Independence by Alan Dershowitz
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Reason vs. dogma, secular vs. religious interests at the dawn of America -- and much more!
Historical Atlas of North America, The Penguin (Hist Atlas)Historical Atlas of North America, The Penguin (Hist Atlas) by Eric Homberger
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I never really understood exactly why the USA never combined with Canada, right at the beginning. This atlas helped me to understand that topic, and many others as well.
Ellis IslandEllis Island
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Important to remember. Many people's ancestors passed through this place.
New Worlds, Ancient Texts: The Power of Tradition and the Shock of DiscoveryNew Worlds, Ancient Texts: The Power of Tradition and the Shock of Discovery by Anthony Grafton
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How did European bookworms think about the New World, in the 1500s?
Atlas of Ancient America (Cultural Atlas of)Atlas of Ancient America (Cultural Atlas of) by Michael Coe
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Who was here before the English, French, and Spanish?
Our Continent: Natural History of North AmericaOur Continent: Natural History of North America
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A personal favorite. Beautiful pictures, and great chronological charts showing American biological evolution, over millions of years. Also good geologically.
Annals of the Former WorldAnnals of the Former World by John McPhee
Buy new: $23.10 / Used from: $4.30
Geological history of America, over hundreds of millions of years. Amazing.
At the Edge of Empire: The Backcountry in British North America (Regional Perspectives on Early America)At the Edge of Empire: The Backcountry in British North America (Regional Perspectives on Early America) by Eric Hinderaker
Buy new: $18.95 / Used from: $4.00
Colonial America, outside the parlors and drawing rooms of Boston and New York.
War under Heaven: Pontiac, the Indian Nations, and the British EmpireWar under Heaven: Pontiac, the Indian Nations, and the British Empire by Professor Gregory Evans Dowd
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After the French and Indian War, there was still conflict in the Great Lakes region. Why? What did it mean?
Sixteenth-Century North America: The Land and the People As Seen by the EuropeansSixteenth-Century North America: The Land and the People As Seen by the Europeans by Carl Ortwin Sauer
Buy used from: $14.01
Interesting survey.
Seventeenth Century North AmericaSeventeenth Century North America by Carl Ortwin Sauer
Buy used from: $2.45
Same author as the above book. Geting into the period when English-speaking peoples were taking over.
Jefferson's Demons: Portrait of a Restless MindJefferson's Demons: Portrait of a Restless Mind by Michael Knox Beran
Buy used from: $0.30
What really drove Jefferson? I haven't seen this yet, but it looks great.
Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: a Cultural History)Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: a Cultural History) by David Hackett Fischer
Buy new: $23.07 / Used from: $13.95
Puritans, "cavaliers" (soldiers), Quakers, and just poor people in general, constituted four distinct patterns of settlement. Really interesting.