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I was surprised by Andersonville, Georgia. The site of the Civil War prison camp is just a big grassy field, but Andersonville is also the site of the National Prisoner of War Museum. It was a very sobering experience. I visited years ago but I still think every now and again about some of the stories I read/heard there.

It's also interesting to go to the site and read the about Andersonville prison and learn that Henry Wirtz--the Confederate commander of the prison--was I think the only guy officially tried and executed for war crimes after the Civil War. Then you wander into Andersonville town proper and see an old-school Daughters of the Confederacy monument dedicated to the heroic efforts of Captain Wirtz! It's bizarre. But I think it makes you think about the whole idea of commemoration and the stories we tell about our history.

If it makes sense for your route, I very highly recommend that you drive part of the way on the Natchez Trace Parkway. It's a 400-mile road that runs from Natchez, Mississippi, all the way nearly to Nashville, Tennessee, and the entire route is technically a national park. There's little things to stop off and look at all along the way and lots of campgrounds. I drove through a part of it this summer and we stopped off to look at some Indian mounds and an old cabin that was a historic stage stop--it felt like you were in the middle of nowhere and it was lovely. I don't recommend any one particular thing to go see on that route, but its more of just to get a feel for all of that beautiful green country that's out there.

If you find yourself in San Diego, it's worth it to take a look at the Mormon Battalion Site--their story is one of the lesser known stories of the Mexican-American War and the Gold Rush. The museum is free and tours are about an hour long.

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

John Adams by David McCullough

History of the United States of America during the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson by Henry Adams

History of the United States of America during the Administrations of James Madison by Henry Adams

The Last Founding Father: James Monroa and a Nation's Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger

John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham

Edmund Morris' Teddy Roosevelt Trilogy

Here's one I just got done with, "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" by Edmund Morris. I guess it won a Pulitzer. It was a very interesting look at everyday life and his relationships with those around him. It did go through major historical events (such as the Panama Canal) but from the perspective of his mindset and personal thoughts during the event. A very good read.

I have not read it, but I have seen some excellent reviews of this:

https://www.amazon.com/Founding-Martyr-Joseph-American-Revolutions-ebook/dp/B077LR8Y2P/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=2EVFA8QH14XKY&keywords=joseph+warren&qid=1669315159&sprefix=joseph+war%2Caps%2C438&sr=8-1

Check Nathalia Holt. I'm currently reading her Wise Gals book about women in the early days of the CIA. She also has one on Rocket Girls and Women in early Disney Animation.

Also The Woman Who Could Not Be Silenced by Kate Moore. About a woman committed to a mental hospital against her will during the 1860s.

MARGINALIZED ON THE CONTINENT America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States

https://www.amazon.com/America-Americans-History-Xenophobia-United/dp/1541672607

MARGINALIZED ELSEWHERE IN THE US EMPIRE How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States https://www.amazon.com/How-Hide-Empire-History-Greater/dp/1250251095/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2HNHHAVHE007Y&keywords=how+to+hide+an+empire&qid=1666449279&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjk5IiwicXNhIjoiMS41MCIsInFzcCI6IjEuNTkifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=ho...

For those interested, there's some more information on inaugural medals and badges here.

Great book on this spy ring and time period - Fallout. He also has one on the early part of the cold war and one on Daniel Ellsburg. They are technically written as young adult non fiction but are written so well you would never know. Love his writing.

I mean, there are always just HIST text books like THIS (this is for a CA state history class at SFSU). I am sure that there are similar books like this per state but I haven't looked yet.

You might like the series, A History of US. It’s an 11-volume set, and you may be able to get the individual books from your local library (I did). I used these books when teaching my history to my kids, but I learned a lot, too.

I read the first edition of this one and thought it was a good representation:

https://www.amazon.com/Westward-Expansion-History-American-Frontier-dp-0023098600/dp/0023098600/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Irving Stone’s “Men to Match My Mountains” is a fun, easy read… But maybe he plays a bit fast and lose. YMMV.

"The American Pageant" is a popular textbook that covers several aspects of society. There are high school and college versions. Volume II covers the period 1865 to the present. I'm not sure what the latest version is, but here is one on Amazon...

https://www.amazon.com/American-Pageant-David-M-Kennedy/dp/1305075927

Hello, I'm a bot! The movie you linked is called The Hunley, here are some Trailers

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1442980/7203772

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Maybe this will interest you more.... this episode is about the January 6th Trump coup... No QAnon person would be caught dead defaming trump haha

Robert Stinnett, a WWII Navy vet who served on the same aircraft carrier as George H.W. Bush, did some groundbreaking work on the conspiracy theory that FDR sought to provoke Japan into attacking the US. After the war Stinnett became a journalist with a focus on WWII and Pearl Harbor.

Stinnett uncovered the US gov'ts "McCollum Memo" with a FOIA request. That memo was written by a mid-level Navy intelligence officer who born in Japan and functioned as a liaison between the Navy Dept. and the White House. That memo listed out 8 steps the US would have to take to provoke Japan into attacking the US.

Stinnett's findings were covered his book Day Of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor.

Also, to add to the OC, use this link for scholarly articles that require you to pay and don't allow you to get them for free with a student log in. I used it for my entire time at undergrad, and it was fantastic. Just go to, say, google scholar, click on an article, and if it's locked behind a paywall, just copy the link of the article page and paste it here at this site that I've provided, and you should gain access to the entire free article. The website is also made to help, and does not run risk of malware. Good luck. https://sci-hub.do

Hey, I had already replied before, but just read https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-threat-of-tribalism?utm_source=pocket-newtab : it might also be a good example of what you're looking for.

Policing took on a new role in America following the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s. It started with Nixon, but took off under Reagan, H.W. Bush, and Clinton.

The documentary 13th on Netflix illustrates this change pretty well, or you can read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.

I've only read 2 of the books on this list, Affairs of Honor and A Brief History of Reconstruction but both are beyond excellent! I know you said you were more interested in American history from 150 years ago but the thing is that many Americans tend to overlook most of that period and obsess over the Founding. I'm capitalizing that because it's that important not only socially but politically and legally.

Due in part to our unique constitutional structure you'll hear lots of references in political conversations to what kind of country the Founders intended the United States to be. A huge portion of the pretensions proclamations of that nature are historically inaccurate. The best complete history of the entire founding of the United States I've found is John Ferling's A Leap in the Dark.

The enviornmental effects were minor relative to the columbian exchange.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/03/1491/302445/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JMKVE4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

The Native Americans has massively intervened and changed the natural environment. Then, basically, the vast bulk of them died, long before the english colonies got past the Mississippi. Their dying led to the collapse of their created ecosystem, which was simulateously feeling the effects of a massive invasion of plants and animals from Europe/Asia/Africa. This collapse led to a chaotic realignment of species in north and south america, and a fundamental change in ecosystems.

<em>Alistair Cooke's America</em> is a very good starting place. Stylish text and great illustrations.

Avoid starting off with blatant propaganda like Howard Zinn.