I've just finished reading a wonderful little book that offers a bird's-eye view of American history, without being too broad or too focused. "A Time For Freedom: What Happened When in America," by Lynne Cheney is about 270 pages and covers over 500 years, but it is much easier to read--and more educational--then you might expect. The format consists of year dated headers and short, to-the-point paragraphs (a lot like a blog, in fact), which ensured I never got bored reading, moving along quickly from one historical event to the next. Original quotes from historical figures saturate almost every page. And besides that, there are pictures.

Cheney sticks to major, culture-shaping turning points, such as wars, elections, and the passing of controversial laws and constitutional amendments--for example the Sixteenth Amendment, ratified in 1913, which gave Congress "the power to establish a federal income tax." (pg. 147) Of special interest is the issue of slavery, and the advent of civil rights; as recently as 50 years ago (1957) white crowds kept nine black students from attending a public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Cheney also gives a prominent place to the women's suffrage movement (black men were allowed to vote before white women were), a long-lasting campaign that, in my view, evolved into feminism, a movement now both growing and dying at once. The issue of civil rights aptly illustrates how judicial opinion has changed over time: In 1883 the Supreme Court declared "the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which outlawed discrimination in public facilities, unconstitutional." (pg. 120)

Notably absent from "A Time For Freedom" is the gay rights movement--probably a reflection of Cheney's conservative bent. Euthanasia and assisted suicide, too, are unaddressed subjects, and the abortion rights controversy is only lightly noted. Terrorism is given more ink, even as far back as the 1886 Haymarket Riot, when anarchists bombed and killed several police officers. (pg. 121)

The heavy focus on political development in America makes this book an excellent reference source, at least for conservatives. The Truman Doctrine, for instance, is explained by a quote from President Harry Truman on page 192: "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." Truman made this statement in an attempt to solicit Congressional funds for Greece and Turkey, two nations resisting the growth of Soviet Russia.

Reading "A Time For Freedom," I noticed how the role of the federal government expanded during and subsequent to the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt (elected 1932), who came to office during the Great Depression. It was Roosevelt who enacted Social Security. In the 1920s, the federal government was 3 percent of the gross domestic product. In 2004 it was 20 percent. (pg. 161-162)

Cheney seems to take a neutral position on evolution. While addressing the Scopes Trial (pg. 162-163), she quotes both lawyers for the case back to back:

Here, we find today as brazen and as bold an attempt to destroy learning as was ever made in the Middle Ages, and the only difference is we have not provided that they shall be burned at the stake.

--Clarence Darrow

Religion is not hostile to learning. . . . Christianity welcomes truth from whatever source it comes. . . . Evolution is not truth; it is merely an hypothesis--it is millions of guesses strung together.

--William Jennings Bryan

She also takes the traditional anthropological view of the population of Early America--migration by boat or over the Bering Land Bridge "More than 13,000 years ago."

Some things I didn't know:

• There were already black slaves in America in 1619 (sold to colonists in Jamestown), one year before the Pilgrims landed in the Mayflower. (pg. 11)
  
• The National Origins Act of 1924 prohibited Asians from immigrating to the U.S. and established quotas for immigrants of other nationalities. (pg. 161) Quotas also made it difficult for Jews fleeing German persecution before WWII to gain refuge in America.
• John F. Kennedy had quite a taste for "covert operations". (See pages 212-217)
• The description of America as a "melting pot" originated from the popular Israel Zangwill play, The Melting Pot, which spawned numerous spin-off pageants in schools across the country. (pg. 139-139)

The high view of democracy Cheney proposes may smack of "democracy worship" to some--a problem if the virtues of a democratic government are intended to replace a faith in Jesus Christ.

For all the information contained within the covers of "A Time For Freedom," the book is a simple and easy read, and is helpful for establishing a working knowledge of the major political and social developments of the United States. I'll be keeping it handy as a reference, both to look up specific events and to understand the national climate surrounding them.

"A Time For Freedom: What Happened When in America" by Lynne V. Cheney; 304 pages; 2005, Simon & Schuster, New York.