Out of Our Past: The Forces That Shaped Modern America
by Carl N. Degler
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The original edition of this now classic work was hailed by Jacob Cohen in The Nation as "the finest one-volume interpretation of American history extant." For this Third Edition of Out of Our Past, Carl Degler has added a comprehensive new chapter on the historical development of American families, brought up to date the discussion of U.S. foreign policy, greatly expanded sections dealing with the place and history of women in our past, and made numerous changes throughout the text in light show more of scholarship published since the appearance of the 1970 Revised Edition. show lessTags
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Degler plots a largely sociological arc of American development seeing an at times painful but 'progressively' growing approach to an inclusive, guarantor society underpinned by by an unbreakable union of states offering ciitzen equality (settled by the Civil War after the spineless federal government that arose from the American Revolution) and an overt socialism that arose from the Great Depression. For instance, where it is not unusual for a book on American history to underscore how financial panics are cyclical, this book explores how anit-immigrant fervor is has also risen and fallen periodically. Degler looks back to a socialist Thirties and post-WWI unionism and prosperity from The Fifties see a future of a stronger central show more government offer more assurances. show less
2225 Out of Our Past: The Forces That Shaped Modern America, by Carl N. Degler (read 14 Aug 1989) This is a 1959 book about "forces" that shaped America. Very dated in the later parts. Some things he said were right. He spent a lot of time saying Reconstruction wasn't as bad as Claude Bowers, et al., said. Quite a book.
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21+ Works 802 Members
Carl Degler writes history with flair, and his spirited and readable topical history of the United States, Out of Our Past (1959), has long been a favorite among college students and general readers. In 1972 another of his works, Neither Black nor White (1971), won the Pulitzer Prize in history and the Bancroft Prize and was co-winner of the show more Beveridge Prize. Born in Orange, New Jersey, Degler matriculated at Upsala College and received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1947. He taught at Hunter College, New York University, and City College of New York before joining the faculty of Vassar College in 1952. Sixteen years later he moved on to Stanford University, where he was Margaret Byrne Professor until his retirement in 1990. In 1973 and 1974 he was Harmsworth Professor at Oxford University. He served as president of the American Historical Association from 1958 to 1986 and the Organization of American Historian (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Out of Our Past: The Forces That Shaped Modern America
- Original publication date
- 1959 (1st editon) (1st editon); 1970 (revised edition) (revised edition)
- Important places
- USA
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 255
- Popularity
- 126,612
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.59)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 9
