When the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago, the 13 colonies that comprised the United States of America signaled their intention to become a free country.
Two and a half centuries later, it’s impossible to ignore how far the country has come. But there are still issues the United States faces.
This month’s Words on the Street highlights Americans’ unique stories, including those of immigrants and indigenous and Black residents. It includes books that focus on the Revolutionary War, the Jim Crow South and the modern issue of housing affordability.
By examining different facets of American history, good and bad, I believe we can help improve America. Learning about the country’s successes and failures can help us see where we want America to go next. It allows us to engage in thoughtful criticism, through reading and in other ways, which is one of the most patriotic acts we can perform.
Our nation is young compared to many others, but it is filled to the brim with voices that deserve the spotlight. Though it’s impossible to include all 250 years worth of history in seven books, here you’ll find a wide variety of perspectives.
“This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History” by Beverly Gage
Inspired by the semiquincentennial, Yale University history professor Beverly Gage decided to visit 13 historic spots to really understand U.S. history. She begins in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed, and ends at Disney World in Orange County, California. To Gage, Disneyworld brings the chronology full circle, giving us a view of modern-day America and showing us how Walt Disney’s vision reflects California’s conservative 20th-century roots. Though her nonfiction book is centered around 13 spots she views as the most pivotal to understanding major turning points in our nation’s history, Gage visits more than 300 museums, battlegrounds and memorials and travels to 19 states.
The United States is a nation with a complicated history. Gage explores sites that present an idyllic view of America, such as Colonial Williamsburg, and those that focus on the darker parts of our history, such as the site of Emmett Till’s death.
At both the beginning and the end of her book, Gage references Benjamin Franklin’s comments about a sun that was painted on the chair that future president George Washington used during the signing of the Constitution. It was unclear whether the sun was rising or setting, and Franklin connected that to the uncertainty the nation faced at its beginnings. Gage argues many Americans may be feeling similar uncertainty today, but she encourages readers to interact with more of the country themselves. Being physically present at important landmarks makes the history behind them feel more tangible, she writes, and helps people feel more linked to America.
“History Smashers: The American Revolution” by Kate Messner
You’ve likely heard that Paul Revere rode his horse through Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, yelling, “The British are coming,” but what if that isn’t exactly how it happened? History Smashers, a series of nonfiction books aimed for ages 8-12, discusses the hidden truths of historical events and landmarks, like the Salem witch trials and the Underground Railroad. In this entry focused on the American Revolution, author Kate Messner informs readers that while Revere made it to Lexington, he was captured before he could complete his mission to warn militia members that the British were on their way.
This book not only presents a thorough, honest view of history, but it also has illustrations and graphics that give readers visuals of key events, such as the riots that led to the Boston Massacre. Additionally, the book shows how Revolutionary leaders such as Samuel Adams and George Washington were both heroic and human. Adams was an early advocate for independence, but he was also a failed businessman. Washington helped establish the democratic ideals within the United States, but he also pulled the teeth of his slaves to fill in his dentures.
“This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark” by Craig Fehrman
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were sent by President Thomas Jefferson in 1804 to explore lands the United States had recently acquired through the Louisiana Purchase. You may also know Sacagawea, an indigenous woman who guided the men through unfamiliar land and spoke the language of the people living there. But the full story of the expedition is more complicated than just those three. In this biography of Lewis and Clark, Craig Fehrman sets out to show readers just how many people were involved.
Fehrman highlights many unsung heroes, including an enslaved Black man named York who grew up with Clark and later became his property, then his personal cook, nurse and guard during the expedition. Fehrman also describes John Ordway, a soldier who was often put in charge of the Corps of Discovery, a unit of the U.S. Army established specifically for this expedition, when Lewis and Clark were away. Fehrman seeks to humanize the explorers, writing about Clark’s melancholy disposition and Lewis’ can-do spirit.
“Ring Shout” by P. Djèlí Clark
This novella, which takes place in 1915, reimagines members of the Ku Klux Klan as demons. After lying dormant following the Civil War, the demons are summoned by the silent film “The Birth of a Nation,” which heavily criticizes racial equality and the Reconstruction era. The demons, known as Ku Kluxes, had been defeated previously. But when a witch watched the film, it acted like a spell that unleashed a deep hatred among other viewers, reviving the Ku Kluxes and allowing them to possess viewers. After an initial incident in Atlanta, screenings take place in other cities like Macon, Georgia, where our protagonist Maryse Boudreaux is from. When Maryse and her demon-fighting friends sense danger, they are determined to do something. After all, Maryse had family members killed by these demons and she’s determined to seek revenge.
P. Djèlí Clark targets a lot of genres in this tight book. His depictions of the Jim Crow South and how D.W. Griffith’s film inspired a revival of the racist Ku Klux Klan read like historical fiction. The various monsters and entities feel like they could come from a fantasy novel, and the book could qualify as horror with the presence of the Ku Kluxes and the havoc they wreak. This book reminds us that our past is full of atrocities. The way “The Birth of a Nation” depicted newly freed slaves and the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War resulted in an increase in lynchings and other acts of racial violence. One of the most significant examples of the increase in racial violence is the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, during which the newly revived Ku Klux Klan killed an estimated 300 people. Even today, this is still known as one of the deadliest acts of racial violence in American history.
“Ring Shout” was published in 2020, more than a century after it takes place, but the themes it addresses feel modern. Even more than 100 years after “The Birth of a Nation” was released, racism and other issues people faced after Reconstruction continue.
“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith
Francie Nolan has dreams bigger than the tenement she lives in in early 20th-century Brooklyn with her immigrant parents and her brother. Her goals of being a writer and escaping Brooklyn keep her going despite the obstacles that seem to keep finding her. In this work of historical fiction, Francie is constantly hungry, denied access to secondary school because her family needs her to work, and is forced to dodge the sexual predators that populate her neighborhood. This novel appropriate for readers 12 and up is beyond a coming of age; it’s a tale of survival and persistence.
Betty Smith’s 1943 book provides a detailed view of immigrant life during the early 20th century and is widely considered the quintessential Brooklyn novel. Francie is a character who is easy to root for because of her constant optimism and her big dreams. Her family truly comes to life through Francie’s thoughtful observations. The most memorable of the bunch is the vibrant and loving Aunt Sissy. Even though Sissy is chastised by her sisters for her affairs with men, Francie focuses on the good her aunt does for her, like going to Francie’s school and sticking up for her when she hears Francie’s teacher is treating her cruelly.
“There There” by Tommy Orange
This novel centers around 12 Native Americans, or Indians, who plan to attend the Big Oakland Powwow in Oakland, California. Each chapter follows one of the 12 seemingly disconnected characters and reveals their reasons for attending the gathering, which range from wanting to rob the powwow to mending old family wounds. Each one, regardless of their reasons, has an underlying desire to find a sense of belonging in a world that seems to have moved away from their Native traditions.
Tommy Orange’s choice to have the characters refer to themselves as Indians, a term used incorrectly by Christopher Columbus that misidentified Native people, reinforces how the obstacles this group has faced carry over across centuries.
Orange also reveals the struggles Native Americans face with his writing, which is foreboding and spares no detail. Characters like Tony Loneman, a 20-year-old with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, embody some of the obstacles Native Americans face today. Loneman’s face is disfigured and he is ostracized; many Native Americans struggle with generational trauma and substance abuse issues. Compared to other ethnic groups, Native Americans have the highest rates of alcohol and drug abuse. Many also have mental health struggles, whether they live with their tribe on a reservation or in a more urban environment, and suicide rates for Native Americans are double those of white adolescents.
“There Is No Place For Us: Working and Homeless in America” by Brian Goldstone
Brian Goldstone’s nonfiction book about finding and keeping housing in America expands on his viral 2019 The New Republic article “The New American Homeless,” a profile of Cokethia Goodman. In the article, Goodman and her family became homeless despite Goodman working a full-time job. Goldstone’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book follows five families in Atlanta who all come from different backgrounds but all end up sleeping in cars, couch surfing or staying at extended-stay hotels. Though those hotels provide residents a place to rest, they often have dirty rooms and act as for-profit homeless shelters. The families’ stories differ, but one truth unites them: in each of their cases, working a job is not enough to keep them from being homeless.
Goldstone is a journalist with a PhD in anthropology from Duke University. When he wrote this book, he sifted through diary entries and court orders and conducted hundreds of interviews. Through his extensive studies and documentation of these families, Goldstone reinforces that housing is being treated as a business, not as a universal right. Goldstone’s work following these families also shows the gaps when it comes to providing people with resources. For example, Celeste, one of the mothers featured in the book, could not stay at a homeless shelter because her son was 15 and surrounding shelters only permitted boys 13 and under. This left her with fewer housing options.
