The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S. History Textbook, Vol. 2: Since 1877

by Joseph L. Locke (Editor), Ben Wright (Editor)

"I too am not a bit tamed―I too am untranslatable / I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world."―Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself," Leaves of Grass The American Yawp is a free, online, collaboratively built American history textbook. Over 300 historians joined together to create the book they wanted for their own students―an accessible, synthetic narrative that reflects the best of recent historical scholarship and provides a jumping-off point for discussions in the U.S. history classroom and beyond. Long before Whitman and long after, Americans have sung something collectively amid the deafening roar of their many individual voices. The Yawp highlights the dynamism and conflict inherent in the history of the United States, while also looking for the common threads that help us make sense of the past. Without losing sight of politics and power, The American Yawp incorporates transnational perspectives, integrates diverse voices, recovers narratives of resistance, and explores the complex process of cultural creation. It looks for America in crowded slave cabins, bustling markets, congested tenements, and marbled halls. It navigates between maternity wards, prisons, streets, bars, and boardrooms. The fully peer-reviewed edition of The American Yawp will be available in two print volumes designed for the U.S. history survey. Volume II opens in the Gilded Age, before moving through the twentieth century as the country reckoned with economic crises, world wars, and social, cultural, and political upheaval at home. Bringing the narrative up to the present, The American Yawp enables students to ask their own questions about how the past informs the problems and opportunities we confront today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Textbooks, Reference, 21st Century, 20th Century

464 pages, Paperback

Published January 22, 2019

Reviews

[Annika Ringnalda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Literal hell. APUSH me off a cliff.

[Ray]

I had to read this for my history class. I didn't go through all that not to log it as one of my books for the year. Not rating it but one of the better textbooks ive had in college.

[jorerou]

HISTORY🔥🔥🔥 I LOVE HISTORY🔥🔥🔥

[Madeline H · Rating 1 out of 5]

My favorite chapter was the one about world war 2. What a book!

[Kyla Strecker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean, fairly entertaining for a history text book, but very clearly biased. I’m glad I’m finally finished, and that’s all I’ve got.

[Samantha Kidder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic free online book. Used this all semester for my US history 1877-present class. Helped with finding primary and secondary sources for projects and papers.

[ruby]

read this for a class so of course it has to count toward my reading goal.

[Mariam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I better get a 5 on the APUSH test.

[Kara Naghoster · Rating 3 out of 5]

3✰

Weirdly sad that this is over???

Can't believe I'm about to be a senior 😭

[Sophie Drobnick · Rating 3 out of 5]

i mean it’s a history textbook so ofc i wasn’t reading it for fun and didn’t particularly enjoy it, but it was a well written, inclusive history of the US since 1877.

[Kathryn Looney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall good textbook. Although it was a bit unorganized and themes/chronological order would jump around a bit, which made it hard for notes. Also it wouldn't always define a reference to an act, doctrine, etc. which was annoying sometimes. Very modern, which was good but also excluded Native Americans and their history in the US most of the time.



President James Garfield is shot and dies in 1881.

[Ian Hiett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most engaging and informative American history book I've read.

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not one to review books. I'm not one to put myself out online. I'm not one to tell others what they should or shouldn't read and write. That's none of my business - I've read Ray Bradbury's writing, and believe whole-heartedly that there should under no circumstance be full censorship of writing of any kind.

Now you're probably expecting for there to be a "but" - so here it is:
This book is not a history book - it is an opinion piece with well-formatted reference pages at the end of each essay. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright accomplished the writing not of "the American Yawp", but of their own uniquely biased yawp. The same could be said for volume one, though I found volume two to be wildly more repulsive. I'm saying all this as someone who read this book not of my own accord but to fulfill curriculum standards at my college: they are a shame to the book's namesake and to Whitman's poetry.
History, we know, at its purist form is entirely objective- it cannot be relative unless you evaluate it from individual experience which we know to be faulty. This is the beginning of Locke's error. The American Yawp as we know it cites history as relative and being from the point of view which suits a certain narrative. (I don't know about you, but I prefer my accounts of history to be unbiased.)
I went into this book understanding that I may hold qualms with portrayals of certain political figures, opinions on wars, etc, but the vulgarness with which this book describes nothing but that which suits itself is repulsive.
History, especially American history, can be simultaneously beautiful and ugly - that is the theme of humanity, after all - but only when described as according to itself. There's nothing wrong with historic accounts from one's point of view - name any first century or BCE author who didn't - but the point I'm trying to get at is that modern history must be cited in a modern way. We must be unbiased and strictly factual in our account, we must not add anything which is extra to the narrative.
This is the way myself and my fellow students must write, I expect my educators to do the same.

I write this review not as a disgruntled netizen but as a wholly frustrated and saddened student longing for the true spirit of knowledge to be brought back to education. The American Yawp is more worthy of study and discussion in a creative writing course than that of American History.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great introduction of a broad comprehension of American History. This is a free textbook online so I cannot complain too much. I LOVED the primary sources included in each chapter. I was bummed it did not do vocabulary. As a teacher of social studies I feel many chapters may have been difficult to comprehend for an individual with little background knowledge in American history. It went in depth more than other textbooks with political affiliations and religious counters. It was weak on accuracy of indigenous history with errors to our tribes.

[marcus miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable scan of U.S. History from 1877 to the present, especially considering its sold primarily as a textbook. The author's dare to take a point of view which may bother some, yet since I was using this for a text, found it generated questions and discussion from the students. I appreciated being able to use the on-line resources and found the cost of the printed book to be so much more reasonable than many college level history reviews.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for my US history class so I definitely wasn’t reading it for fun, but the textbook was *just* okay. It definitely jumped around a lot, but my biggest complaint is that it’s very clearly biased. Like, I understand historians are people too, but if you can’t take your personal opinion out of your writing, then perhaps you shouldn’t be a historian…
At the end of the day, I shouldn’t be able to tell the author’s political affiliation just by reading his textbook.

[GiGi ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡!!!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading through volume 2 for my final exam tmrw and this textbook is VERY slay and I DONT mean the same slaying as Robert F. Kennedy😍she does love the word ‘ disillusioned ‘ a lot though but that’s okay and it’s free ??? Thank you American yawp for not making reading about American history so insufferable

[Billie Jo Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for a college history class. I did not start with the first volume but I did enjoy reading the second volume. Great historical information and I also enjoyed the pictures that were included in some of the chapters.

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally done and ready to make the last lesson for my Dual Credit class. It’s not bad, but it repeats information and seems disjointed at times. I think it could be organized more cohesively.

[Audrey Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

i said what i said.

[anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

ew

[Dol Leander · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent textbook, i always prefer a free option

[Bella · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5 ⭐️

[cady · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 bc no full picture of the kennedys (EZ 5 on the APUSH exam)

[Zach Waldis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark, brief, and illuminating second half. While not at the graduate level, it's a good general primer.

[Carla Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accurate and not watered down

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

had to read this for dc history💔 lwk it was more interesting than the first volume

[Alessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate you Joseph L. Locke

[Kitty Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh… it was intriguing but the narrative bounced back and forth. Decent read though.

[Esther conley]

hooray finished my textbook