Pre-reading and pre-watching for C19th America GCSE (updated April 22)

The aim of this section is to give you a selection of books and films to read/watch in preparation for teaching or studying C19th USA.  Click the images to go to a product page. Do get in touch if you have any other recommendations. More beyond the break

TV and Film

A documentary which details American expansion from 1789-1900. Well put together with some excellent interviews and really tight focus on personal stories. The settler-colonial aspect gets less attention than it might do but still a helpful source.

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This SHP online discussion covers the teaching of the conflicts on the Northern Plains which occurred during the mid C19th. It also deals more broadly with how we teach about Indigenous peoples in US history and touches on a wide range of issues to be aware of. 

Watch here: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vX49IClrLs

A helpful documentary looking at the Oceti Sakowin (Lakota and Dakota peoples)

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Deeply moving account of the life of Solomon Northup who was kidnapped into slavery. Based faithfully on Northup's original book, which can be downloaded for free online.

If you want to understand America's own telling of the settlement of the West then this is the best film to do it. A classic, though clearly from the white US perspective. Myth making in action. 

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End of the Line follows the story of Indigenous women seeking to block the construction of the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline. This helps explain the importance of historical issues in the US today.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6101736/

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Book selection

The definitive book on pre-Civil War slavery and the expansion of the USA. Baptist explains all American development through the lens of slavery and exploitation. Absolutely brilliant. Also an audio book.

This book gives a good sense of the expansion of the USA as an act of settler colonialism. It is highly readable and is available in a kids version too!

Nick Estes 'Our History is the Future' takes a perspective which aims to show Indigenous continuity in US history. It is a powerful read.

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A searing indictment of the USA's policies towards Indigenous peoples prior to 1850. A clear focus on the delibertate and genocidal policy decisions which forcibily removed Native peoples from their lands. Avaialble as a book or audio book.

The book is available online HERE. It has been written specifically for teachers to help them engage with integrating Indigenous peoples into their narratives. Many of the chapters can be read as needed but I would highly recommend starting with Chapter 17 on settler colonialism. Chapters 5-10 are highly relevant to most GCSE courses. ​

A fantastic introduction to the American West. Also available as an audio book.

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Extremely powerful book about Native survival and success since 1890. Also has an excellent chapter detailing the whole story of US colonialism prior to 1890.

Deloria challenges myths about Native peoples but also helps build a new narrative around settler-colonialism.

This comic book covers the experinces of Indigenous peoples from across the Americas. There is an excellent chapter on the resistance of Plains peoples to colonialism.

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Luther Standing Bear documents his childhood and the impact of reservation and assimialtion policies on his people. You can read the book here.

Zitkala-Sa's powerful stories of resistance and survival as a Dakota woman growing up at the end of the 19th century.

A wonderful series of books by the Ojibwe auther Louise Erdrich. The series explores the lives of an Ojibwe family in the 1840s and the imapct of colonialism.