http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ A search of MERLOT materials Copyright 1997-2013 MERLOT. All rights reserved. Fri, 24 May 2013 11:54:07 PDT Fri, 24 May 2013 11:54:07 PDT http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/images/merlot.gif http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ 44 34 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=515433 This is a free, online textbook that also offers links to Documents and External Links. "This part of American history, known as the ante-bellum (before war) era, begins with expansion and the great migration across the continent west of the Mississippi. The idea of manifest destiny—that the United States was bound sooner or later to occupy the entire North American Hemisphere—came of age in the 1840s. It began with the annexation of Texas, which led to the Mexican-American War and the great land cession that resulted from it. It was also the time of “Oregon Fever” as wagon trains took pioneers over the Rocky Mountains to the Willamette and Columbia River valleys.״ http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=349765 Finally, the best history has at its foundation a story. A printer challenges a King and so is laid the foundation of the first amendment; a New Jersey miner finds gold in California and sets off a torrent of movement westward; a woman going home from work does not relinquish her seat and a Civil Rights movement explodes.These stories all help to ask the question, "What is an American?" You'll help to answer that question. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=349772 A chronological look at how the United States took shape -- from its origins as an obscure set of colonies on the Atlantic coast a little more than 200 years ago into what one political analyst today calls "the first universal nation." This fully illustrated edition has been completely revised and updated by Alonzo L. Hamby, Distinguished Professor of History at Ohio University. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=302339 Topics in Premodern Chinese History and its counterparts are intended to differ from commercial textbooks in several key respects. First, these textbook modules are designed to fit perfectly with specific courses at PSU. They are intended to reduce greatly the need for taking notes and the usual anxieties about what information is of greater or lesser importance in the course. Properly used, these books can reduce note taking by as much as 80-90% and should help hold the quantity of information to manageable proportions (assuming reasonably good study habits, of course).In terms of its approach to the subject matter, Topics in Premodern Chinese History emphasizes a succession of topics rather than strict adherence to the flow of time. In a general way, the chapters move from earlier periods of time to later periods of time, but their content and organization gives top priority to coverage of topics. These topics, while important and, hopefully, interesting are but a small subset of the content of Chinese history. Others putting together a book like this might select a significantly different set of topics. While the "mainstream" narrative of politics and institutions is present in these pages, the emphasis is on social and cultural history wherever possible.More generally, a goal of this book and the course as a whole is to encourage broad, integrative thinking about history and human affairs. Readers are encouraged to compare Chinese history with the histories of other parts of the world and with contemporary problems and issues. Here and there, readers are also encouraged to think about the process of history making (i.e., writing) itself. How, in other words, have specific people or groups constructed their pasts, and what consequences might their choices have brought about? Constructing history is an ongoing human endeavor, and it is often fraught with controversy. In order usefully to think about larger issues, it is necessary to reduce the scope of coverage in a course like this and to increase the depth. In other words, it is better to study a smaller number of things in greater depth than to attempt a quick, superficial survey of a larger number of topics. Topics in Premodern Chinese History was written with these general goals in mind.This book and its companions do a reasonably good job of solving a practical problem that inevitably occurs in survey history courses. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=433542 Each chapter covers a period of historical time (e.g. a century). Sections within chapters describe what was going on in every geographical region of the world; each section provides a reference for that region in the subsequent chapter, i.e. in the next time period. The reader can thus get a snapshot of the entire world at a point in time by reading one chapter, or can follow the history of a region through time by linking to sections in successive chapters. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=442472 This is a free, open textbook that is part of the Connexions collection at Rice University. According to the author, "The structure of the work is innovative. Each chapter covers a period of historical time (e.g. a century). Sections within chapters describe what was going on in every geographical region of the world; each section provides a reference for that region in the subsequent chapter, i.e. in the next time period. The reader can thus get a snapshot of the entire world at a point in time by reading one chapter, or can follow the history of a region through time by linking to sections in successive chapters. This modular, linked structure is ideally suited to web-based online implementation, especially to the Connexions platform. I am pleased to make this content available on Connexions for the enjoyment and enlightenment of everyone with an interest in the history of our world.״ http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=357360 Survey Course in American History http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=515436 Thjis is a free, online textbook that also offers links to Documents and External Sites. 'The symbol of the Gilded Age was the steel mill, filling the air with noise, the skies with smoke, the lungs with poison. Yet the steel mill was the symbol of progress, a source of national wealth and strength as it provided the necessary material for the railroad, the bridge and the skyscraper. It bespoke the age of great factories, where hundreds labored around the clock, often in appalling conditions and on low pay.At the other end of the scale were the huge achievements of the “Robber Barons,” who built the great transcontinental railroads, huge factories, fabulous mansions and immense fortunes. Ruthless in their pursuit of business interests, they ran roughshod over their workers and cared little for the small businessmen whom they trampled into the ground. It was the age of “Social Darwinism,”—dog eat dog, no holds barred, hell for leather. At the same time, they did things for which they are remembered to this day—museums, universities, concert halls, hospitals and libraries bear their names.Off to the side was the worker, the “man with the hoe,” humble, sore oppressed, struggling to keep himself and his family alive. The was the time of the “war between capital and labor,” and for a time it seemed that labor must lose. The period has been called the Age of exploitation, and everything was exploited: humans being and the environment.The end of that period was “The Reckless Decade,” the 1890s, when, had it not been for the Progressive movement which began around the turn of the century, the country could easily have erupted into serious disturbances if—not outright rebellion—against the excesses of big capital.״ http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=442213 This free, online textbook is found at HippoCampus, so the book is indexed by topic, rather than using a table of contents. This makes it a little harder to access than the normal textbook. Some of the textbook content is written text, while other parts are multi-media.“HippoCampus is a project of the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education (MITE). The goal of HippoCampus is to provide high-quality, multimedia content on general education subjects to high school and college students free of charge. HippoCampus was designed as part of Open Education Resources (OER), a worldwide effort to improve access to quality education for everyone.” http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=638248 This application provides access to titles from the British Library’s 19th century book collection. It includes classic novels, works of philosophy, history and science. Browse, search and read these historic books on a platform that enhances the reading experience. These digital book images have been captured in color to preserve the look of the original book. Marbled papers, embossed covers, engraved illustrations maps, and beautifully colored plates are intact and help create a unique reading environment.