The Importance of Discussion in American History

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Psychologists call it choice paralysis. For me, it’s more like choice defeat. When confronted with too many options, I shut down. I still remember the first time this happened. I went to the mall for some new clothes (it was the ’90s and there was no internet). Almost immediately, my entire emotional world seemed to collapse. I was overwhelmed and had to leave. So, I drove home in my awesome Subaru Justy (I had a white one!)

The choices are endless

Fast forward 30 years, and the same thing happens to me when I’m selecting textbooks and primary sources for my United States history survey. There are so many amazing history textbooks. Each one has so much information with many broad points, specific examples, charts, maps, and student learning outcomes.

Then, there’s the availability of primary sources, with millions upon millions of available documents. I’m thankful for resources like, Chronicling America and books.google.com, but still struggle. I feel awash in a sea of too many options.

Major Problems in American History takes a different approach

I approached our new edition of “Major Problems in American History, Volume I and Volume II” to help educators like me. Instead of offering more content, I tried to offer better direction. I hoped that reading this text would be less like going to the mall for new apparel and more like receiving a curated clothing box. This new fifth edition of “Major Problems in American History” offers clear direction for students in various ways.

Chapter structure

Each chapter begins with succinct introductions (two–four pages) that invite students to explore the major themes and issues of a historical era. A timeline with about 10 key moments follows. Together, the short introduction and timeline don’t overwhelm the reader, but rather invite them to engage with the text. This quickly sets the stage for the primary sources later to come.

Selection of primary sources

The primary sources revolve around one or two central problems from each era. For example, the chapter on so-called “Jacksonian Democracy” asks: why did some Americans revere Andrew Jackson while others despised him? This fundamental issue, or “major problem,” determines which sources I included and how I ask students to approach them. By looking at sources related to the Indian Removal Act and its consequences, debates about state nullification of federal laws, and every high school teacher’s beloved Bank War, instructors can analyze with a purpose.

The purpose of secondary sources

The primary sources and the major problem they address then take center stage in secondary sources where historians offer differing perspectives on the fundamental issue students are analyzing. Students follow how professional historians have dealt with the main problem, what sources they examine, and how they make meaning of the sources. In this way, the historical scholarship becomes a teaching tool. Secondary sources help teach students differing approaches to analysis.

In the chapter on early English colonizing of North America, historians and source authors, Rachel Herrman and Rachel Winchcombe examine the “starving time” of Jamestown. Herrman looks at reports from this time to understand how the English continued to market colonization as reports of scarcity – and even cannibalism – became widespread. Winchcombe uses archeological evidence and even bone analysis to uncover what the people of Jamestown actually ate to understand how this experience of colonization influenced approaches to dietary behaviors. As students read the primary and secondary sources, they can reflect upon the major problem framed in each chapter, and hopefully embrace the complexities of the past and begin the challenging process of drawing their own conclusions about it.

This edition of “Major Problems in American History” is for the instructors and students who want to maximize their time interpreting, discussing, and sinking their teeth into fundamental issues from the past. The goal is to avoid overwhelming amounts of content and data, and instead let students wrestle with issues from the past, many of which continue to impact people today.

 

Written by Edward J. Blum, Professor of history at San Diego State University and co-author of “Major Problems in American History, Volume I and Volume II,” 5e

 

Interested in learning more about “Major Problems in American History” by Edward J. Blum, Elizabeth Cobbs and Vanessa Walker? Check out Volume I and Volume II for your history course, coming later this spring, 2025, and browse other history titles on our discipline page.