The dispossessed people of Colonial America included thousands of servants who either voluntarily or involuntarily ended up serving as agricultural, domestic, skilled, and unskilled laborers in the northern, middle, and southern British American colonies as well as British Caribbean colonies. Thousands of people arrived in the British-American colonies as indentured servants, transported felons, and kidnapped children forced into bound labor. Others already in America, such as Indians, freedmen, and poor whites, placed themselves into the service of others for food, clothing, shelter, and security; poverty in colonial America was relentless, and servitude was the voluntary and involuntary means by which the poor adapted, or tried to adapt, to miserable conditions. From the 1600s to the 1700s, Blacks, Indians, Europeans, Englishmen, children, and adults alike were indentured, apprenticed, transported as felons, kidnapped, or served as redemptioners. Though servitude was more multiracial and multicultural than slavery, involving people from numerous racial and ethnic backgrounds, far fewer books have been written about it. This fascinating new study of servitude in colonial America provides the first complete overview of the varied lives of the dispossessed in 17th- and 18th-century America, examining colonial American servitude in all of its forms. Illustrates how a majority of residents in Colonial America at any given time from 1607 to 1776 were dispossessed of basic freedoms Explains how the dispossessed Colonial American, deprived of basic rights, generated principles of freedom and equality that resulted in the American Revolution Shows that the basic rights of children were ignored in Stuart and Georgian England, which resulted in their transportation to America Describes how thousands of inhabitants of Colonial America were felons reprieved of the death penalty and prisoners of war

How has the U.S. dealt, throughout its long history, with one of the world's oldest problems? Although poverty has always been part of the human experience, societal reactions and responses to it have been as varied as the condition has been static. Poverty in America has its own turbulent history of causes, effects, and remedies, from debtor's prison to the War on Poverty, from Social Darwinism to Food Stamps. This in-depth encyclopedia covers the entire history of American poverty from all angles--historical, social, cultural, political, spiritual, and literary. How has poverty been defined in America? What has been done to prevent it? How have minority groups been affected? How has the church reacted? And what, if anything, can be done to eliminate it? Poverty in America covers these issues in vivid detail, from the colonial period to the Industrial Revolution to the global economy of the 21st century. Entries include: Affirmative Action American Indians and Poverty Drugs, Alcohol, and the Poor Equal Employment Opportunity The Grapes of Wrath Head Start No Child Left Behind Protest Movements Welfare State Impactful primary document excerpts from key periods throughout American history are also included, providing firsthand accounts from all sides of the issue. A chronology of events and an extensive bibliography round out this fascinating work.

Science in the Ancient World presents a worldwide history of science, from prehistoric times through the medieval period. It covers Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas and includes topics ranging from alchemy and astrology to psychology and physics. This work spans prehistory to 1500 CE, examining thousands of years of history in four world regions: Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Highlights of this period include the onset of civilization and science in Mesopotamia and Egypt, the accomplishments of the ancient Greeks between 700 BCE and 100 CE, the adaptation of Greek science by the Romans, the spread of Greek science during the Hellenistic Age, the expansion of Islamic power and commensurate scientific knowledge, and the development of science and philosophy in ancient China and India. Focusing on the history of the science that blossomed in the above regions, scientific disciplines covered include alchemy, astronomy, astrology, agriculture, architecture, biology, botany, chemistry, engineering, exploration, geography, hydraulics, institutions of science, marine science, mathematics, medicine, meteorology, military science, myth and religion, philosophy, philosophy of science, psychology, physics, and social sciences. In all of these fields, theory and application are explored, as are leading individuals and schools of thought, centers of intellectual activity, and notable accomplishments and inventions. Coverage provides global view of science in the ancient world Short topical sections offer objective, fundamental information about science from antiquity through the Middle Ages Each section cites works for further reading, and the book closes with a selected, general bibliography A detailed timeline places important people, events, and discoveries into chronological context

The first A–Z resource to catalog the achievements and legacy of more than four millennia of scientific thought in the ancient world of the Mediterranean and the Near East, providing a complete overview of the physical, chemical, life, medical, and social sciences of the classical world. Many are familiar with such wonders as steam power and the discovery that the planets revolve around the Sun. The fact that such phenomena were known to the ancient Greeks more than 2,000 years ago is less well known. Now, Science in the Ancient World fills this gap by covering all the major scientific developments during 4,000 years of ancient history. Over 200 A–Z entries explore the origins of science, from astronomy and mathematics to medicine and chemistry. Giants like Aristotle and Plato are examined, together with more obscure figures like Nearchus, explorer of the Indian Ocean, and Hero, discoverer of steam power. Emphasis is placed on the diversity of ancient science, from the achievements of the Mesopotamians to the science of the Romans. The philosophies behind ancient science are explored, from the Epicurean pursuit of happiness to the asceticism of the Stoics. This comprehensive survey brings to the modern reader a long lost age of scientific discovery.

Creating an unconventional portrait of the life and thought of an Enlightenment historian and scientist, this study focuses upon Jeremy Belknap's letters, journals, and essays, which provide a clear sense of how a dialogue with the past can yield an appreciation of life and acceptance of self. Author of the three volume "History of New Hampshire" and the two volume "American Biography," Jeremy Belknap (1744-1798) was the American Plutarch because he used the past to learn more about his own life and the lives of others. He experienced the past vicariously through his imagination and experientially through his journeys throughout New England in search of clues to the explanation of the natural and human past of America.

The book is built around Belknap's engaging correspondence with his friend Ebenezer Hazard, as well as Belknap's own travel journals of his expeditions to upstate New York and throughout New Hampshire. His journey to the White Mountains of New Hampshire in 1784 was the climax of his active inquiry into the past. Far from a dry, historiographical account, this study provides a fluid and descriptive narrative of Belknap, his journeys, and his times. This is a unique portrayal of human nature in general and 18th century society in particular.

Originally published in 2011, this volume publishes the letters of Jeremy Belknap and Ebenezer Hazard. The letters encompassed twenty years, from 1779 to 1798, during a time when the United States was warring against England, establishing new governments, building a national identity, exploring the hinterland, and refining an American identity in prose and verse. The letters of Hazard and Belknap tell of an age when science and religion had not yet divorced due to irreconcilable differences, when the most profound philosophy nestled comfortably next to a childlike fascination with the remarkable. The two friends explored in their epistles the nature of love, death, and piety; the best way for humans to govern themselves; matters of religious and scientific truth and the best means to arrive at it; the methods and writing of history; human credulity; and the wonders of nature.

Originally published in 2011, this volume publishes the letters of Jeremy Belknap and Ebenezer Hazard. The letters encompassed twenty years, from 1779 to 1798, during a time when the United States was warring against England, establishing new governments, building a national identity, exploring the hinterland, and refining an American identity in prose and verse. The letters of Hazard and Belknap tell of an age when science and religion had not yet divorced due to irreconcilable differences, when the most profound philosophy nestled comfortably next to a childlike fascination with the remarkable. The two friends explored in their epistles the nature of love, death, and piety; the best way for humans to govern themselves; matters of religious and scientific truth and the best means to arrive at it; the methods and writing of history; human credulity; and the wonders of nature.

Divided into four volumes, Race and Ethnicity in America provides a complete overview of the history of racial and ethnic relations in America, from pre-contact to the present. The five hundred years since Europeans made contact with the indigenous peoples of America have been dominated by racial and ethnic tensions. During the colonial period, from 1500 to 1776, slavery and servitude of whites, blacks, and Indians formed the foundation for race and ethnic relations. After the American Revolution, slavery, labor inequalities, and immigration led to racial and ethnic tensions; after the Civil War, labor inequalities, immigration, and the fight for civil rights dominated America's racial and ethnic experience. From the 1960s to the present, the unfulfilled promise of civil rights for all ethnic and racial groups in America has been the most important sociopolitical issue in America. Race and Ethnicity in America tells this story of the fight for equality in America. The first volume spans pre-contact to the American Revolution; the second, the American Revolution to the Civil War; the third, Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement; and the fourth, the Civil Rights Movement to the present. All volumes explore the culture, society, labor, war and politics, and cultural expressions of racial and ethnic groups. Contextualizes the political experiences and contributions of minorities within American politics, society, and culture Includes people of color (e.g., African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and American Indians), those of mixed races, and ethnic groups that experienced minority status in politics, particularly in the 19th century (e.g., Irish, Jewish, Italian) Features chronological organization as well as a historical overview and timeline for contextual understanding and ease of reference Comprises A-Z entries that detail the political, social, and cultural histories of racial and ethnic minority groups, and concludes with a curated selection of key primary source documents Provides cross-disciplinary information that explores the experiences of racial and ethnic minorities in America over a period of five hundred years through history and social studies, political science, and ethnic studies

This essential reference examines the history, culture, and modern tribal concerns of American Indians in North America. Despite the fact that 565 federally recognized tribes exist on the continent of North America, non-Native Americans typically know very little about the modern world of American Indians. In a few instances, the uneasy coexistence of the two cultures has served to create controversy, such as fake Indians fraudulently leveraging ethnicity-based benefits, U.S. officials disposing of nuclear waste near reservations, and sports clubs basing mascots on cultural stereotypes. This unique survey scrutinizes the historical background as well as the contemporary issues of American Indian societies as both part of-and completely separate from-the world around them. Encyclopedia of American Indian Issues Today features subjects commonly discussed, including reservations, poverty, sovereignty, the problem of solid waste on reservations, and the lives of urban Indians, among other contemporary issues. Organized into ten sections, the book also provides helpful sidebars and informative essays to address topics on casinos and gaming, sexual identity, education, and poverty. Sidebars with additional information, resources, and primary source excerpts Contributions from top scholars in the field Bibliographies at the end of each essay for additional research