Reading Curriculum (Revised)

Strategy: The Accordion Method

Do not read top-to-bottom. Execute each Phase in three passes:

1. Pass A (The Spine): Read the survey chapters to build the timeline.
2. Pass B (The Anchor): Read the primary deep-dive text for the era.
3. Pass C (The Color): Read biographies and cultural histories to add texture.

Use the Completion Ledger at the bottom to track books that span multiple phases.

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Stage 0: The Reference Shelf (The Audit)

Keep these on your desk. Consult them to “fact check” the Spine when you hit a controversial topic.

• Conservative View: A Patriot’s History of the United States — Larry Schweikart
• Liberal View: These Truths — Jill Lepore
• Foreign Policy Reference: From Colony to Superpower — George C. Herring (Keep handy for wars/treaties)

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Phase I: The New World (Pre-History – 1763)

Goal: Understand the land and the colonial mindset before the politics start.

• Pass A (Spine): A History of the American People — Paul Johnson (Parts 1–2)
• Pass A (Foreign Policy): From Colony to Superpower — Herring (Introduction)
• Pass B (Context): 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus — Charles C. Mann
• Pass C (Daily Life): Wilderness at Dawn — Ted Morgan

Phase II: The Revolution (1763–1789)

Goal: From “Subject” to “Citizen.”

• Pass A (Foreign Policy): From Colony to Superpower — Herring (Ch. 1)
• Pass B (Anchor): The Glorious Cause — Robert Middlekauff
• Pass B (Philosophy): The Creation of the American Republic — Gordon S. Wood
• Pass C (Biography): Benjamin Franklin: An American Life — Walter Isaacson
• Pass C (Biography): John Adams — David McCullough
• Pass C (Roots): First Principles — Thomas E. Ricks
• Ken Burns — American Revolution Doc

Phase III: The Constitution & Early Republic (1787–1815)

Goal: Structure and Survival.

• Pass A (Foreign Policy): From Colony to Superpower — Herring (Ch. 2–3)
• Pass B (Narrative): Plain, Honest Men — Richard Beeman
• Pass B (Debate): Ratification — Pauline Maier
• Pass B (Anchor): The Great Upheaval — Jay Winik
• Pass C (Primary Source): The Federalist Papers — Hamilton, Madison, Jay (Focus on #10, #51, #78)
• Pass C (Icon): Washington: A Life — Ron Chernow
• Pass C (Architect): Alexander Hamilton — Ron Chernow
• Pass C (Enigma): American Sphinx — Joseph Ellis
• Pass C (Context): Rush — Stephen Fried
• Constitutional Questions With Justice Neil M. Gorsuch — YouTube

Phase IV: Market Revolution (1815–1848)

Goal: The Industrial and Democratic revolutions.

• Pass A (Spine): A History of the American People — Paul Johnson (Part 3)
• Pass A (Foreign Policy): From Colony to Superpower — Herring (Ch. 4)
• Pass B (Masterpiece): What Hath God Wrought — Daniel Walker Howe
• Pass C (Adventure): Undaunted Courage — Stephen Ambrose
• Pass C (Law): The Pursuit of Happiness — Jeffrey Rosen

Phase V: The House Divided (1848–1877)

Goal: The Civil War and the failure of Reconstruction.

• Pass A (Spine): A History of the American People — Paul Johnson (Part 4)
• Pass A (Foreign Policy): From Colony to Superpower — Herring (Ch. 5–6)
• Pass B (War Anchor): Battle Cry of Freedom — James McPherson
• Pass B (Aftermath Anchor): Reconstruction — Eric Foner
• Pass C (Prelude): How the Word Is Passed — Clint Smith
• Pass C (Biography): A. Lincoln — Ronald C. White
• Pass C (Biography): Grant — Ron Chernow
• Pass C (Memory): Race and Reunion — David W. Blight
• Supplementary: This Republic of Suffering — Drew Gilpin Faust
• Supplementary: Lincoln at Gettysburg — Garry Wills
• The Entire History of the American Civil War — YouTube

Phase VI: Gilded Age & The West (1877–1900)

Goal: The closing of the frontier and the rise of capital.

• Pass A (Spine): A History of the American People — Paul Johnson (Part 5)
• Pass A (Foreign Policy): From Colony to Superpower — Herring (Ch. 7)
• Pass A (Economy): The Rise and Fall of American Growth — Gordon (Ch. 1–4)
• Pass B (The West): Empire of the Summer Moon — S.C. Gwynne
• Pass B (Tragedy): Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee — Dee Brown
• Pass C (Kinetic): The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt — Edmund Morris
• Pass C (Capital): Morgan: American Financier — Jean Strouse
• Pass C (Innovation): The Wright Brothers — David McCullough
• Pass C (Infrastructure): The Great Bridge — David McCullough
• The Gilded Age — PBS Documentary

Phase VII: Progressive Era & The Wars (1900–1945)

Goal: The “30 Years Crisis” (WWI, Depression, WWII).

• Pass A (Spine): A History of the American People — Paul Johnson (Part 6)
• Pass A (Foreign Policy): From Colony to Superpower — Herring (Ch. 8–14)
• Pass A (Economy): The Rise and Fall of American Growth — Gordon (Ch. 5–9 + Entr’acte)
• Pass B (Anchor): Freedom from Fear — David M. Kennedy
• Pass B (Disaster): Rising Tide — John M. Barry
• Pass C (World Stage): The First World War — John Keegan
• Pass C (Peace): Paris 1919 — Margaret MacMillan
• Pass C (Leadership): No Ordinary Time — Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Pass C (Battle): The Longest Day — Cornelius Ryan
• Pass C (Biography): Theodore Rex / Colonel Roosevelt — Edmund Morris
• Pass C (Fiction): The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald

Phase VIII: The American Zenith (1945–1968)

Goal: The Imperial Presidency and the Civil Rights Movement.

• Pass A (Spine): A History of the American People — Paul Johnson (Part 7)
• Pass A (Foreign Policy): From Colony to Superpower — Herring (Ch. 15–16)
• Pass A (Economy): The Rise and Fall of American Growth — Gordon (Ch. 10–12)
• Pass B (Anchor): Grand Expectations — James T. Patterson
• Pass B (Institutions): G-Man — Beverly Gage
• Pass C (Senate): Master of the Senate — Robert A. Caro
• Pass C (Movement): Parting the Waters — Taylor Branch
• Pass C (Cold War): The Coldest Winter — David Halberstam
• Pass C (Culture): The Fifties / The Children — David Halberstam
• Pass C (Biography): Truman — David McCullough
• Pass C (Biography): George Marshall: Defender of the Republic — David L. Roll
• Pass C (Biography): Kissinger: The Idealist — Niall Ferguson

Phase IX: The Fracture (1968–1991)

Goal: The end of the New Deal order.

• Pass A (Spine): A History of the American People — Paul Johnson (Finish)
• Pass A (Foreign Policy): From Colony to Superpower — Herring (Ch. 17–19)
• Pass A (Economy): The Rise and Fall of American Growth — Gordon (Ch. 13–15 + Entr’acte)
• Pass B (Shift): Nixonland — Rick Perlstein
• Pass B (Realignment): Reaganland — Rick Perlstein
• Pass C (Urban Power): The Power Broker — Robert A. Caro
• Pass C (Transition): The Passage of Power — Robert A. Caro
• Pass C (Endgame): The Peacemaker — William Inboden

Phase X: The Modern Era (1992–Present)

Goal: Contextualizing the now.

• Pass A (Anchor): The American Century and Beyond — George C. Herring
• Pass A (Economy): The Rise and Fall of American Growth — Gordon (Ch. 16–18 + Postscript)
• Pass B (Empire): How to Hide an Empire — Daniel Immerwahr
• Pass B (War): The Assassins’ Gate — George Packer
• Pass C (Synthesis): Presidents of War — Michael Beschloss

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Phase XI: Thematic & Regional (Deep Dives)

Read these when you need a break from the timeline.

• The Story of American Freedom — Eric Foner (Philosophical overview)
• The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea — Jack E. Davis (Environmental)
• Wicked River — Lee Sandlin (Regional)
• Lone Star — T.R. Fehrenbach (Texas)
• A People’s History of the United States — Howard Zinn (Contrast/Audit)
• Bowling Alone — Robert D. Putnam (Sociology)

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Completion Ledger (The “Stage Omega”)

Goal: Track the completion of books that were split across multiple phases.

• George C. Herring — From Colony to Superpower

  • Intro (Phase I)
  • Ch. 1 (Phase II)
  • Ch. 2–3 (Phase III)
  • Ch. 4 (Phase IV)
  • Ch. 5–6 (Phase V)
  • Ch. 7 (Phase VI)
  • Ch. 8–14 (Phase VII)
  • Ch. 15–16 (Phase VIII)
  • Ch. 17–19 (Phase IX)
  • Ch. 20+ (Phase X)

• Robert J. Gordon — The Rise and Fall of American Growth

  • Ch. 1–4 (Phase VI)
  • Ch. 5–9 (Phase VII)
  • Ch. 10–12 (Phase VIII)
  • Ch. 13–15 (Phase IX)
  • Ch. 16–18 (Phase X)

• Paul Johnson — A History of the American People

  • Parts 1–2 (Phase I)
  • Part 3 (Phase IV)
  • Part 4 (Phase V)
  • Part 5 (Phase VI)
  • Part 6 (Phase VII)
  • Part 7 (Phase VIII)
  • Finish (Phase IX)

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Stage 12: Supplementary & Media

Videos, courses, and resources from your original list.

• Hillsdale College Online Courses (Federalist, Constitution 101, Foreign Policy)
• The Great Courses (American Civil War, Ancient Civilizations, History of US)
• American-Backed Coups, Mapped — YouTube