Alphecca

First, I would have them read the Federalist Papers, the Constitution, and the Decleration of Independence. Then I would assign Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville and
Common Sense by Thomas Paine.

After they have the basics down, and considering the fact that most kids can't absorb traditional heavy text, I would assign the following great readable books.

David McCullough's James Madison and 1776 (which I already recommended to you).
Ron Chernow's book on Hamilton
Joseph Ellis's book on Washington and Jefferson (yes I know he is a lying SOB pinko, but they are excellent books)
James Simon's What Kind of Nation:
Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and the Epic Struggle To Create A United States

and Undaunted Courage, the Lewis and Clark book by the Band of Brothers guy. I would also recommend Citizen Soldiers which I like better than Band of Brothers - but thats for a 20th century course - I am focusing on the founding of America here).

If you want to go out further I would throw in The Education of Henry Adams (one of the all time great books ever) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

I'd have them read the biography of James J. Hill.

OK. For a start:

An Imperfect God by Henry Wiencek: Biography of George Washington and his relationship to slavery. A very eye opening book, and not in a bad way. Slavery was a far more complicated institution than is popularly portrayed. Washington was the only founder to free his slaves, even if it was after his death.

The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto: The Dutch founding of Manhattan before the Brits conquered it in 1664, starting with Hudson's voyage. Fascinating and NOT the simplistic story taught in schools. That $24 for Manhattan island was not the price. It was akin to the little corporate gifts exchanged between tough negotiators after the signing of a much more complicated deal.

The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin. 'nuff said.

Benjamin Franklin by Walter Issacson

Jefferson's War by Joseph Wheelan: About Americas first foreign war. Ironically, and fore tellingly, with the Barbary pirates of North Africa.

John Adams by David McCullough

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Rex, both by Edmund Morris. There is supposedly a third volume, not yet published, in the wings. I know Morris is controversial, but he does a good job here. Well written, not boring without being nutty like 'Dutch' was.

Nothing Like It in the World by Stephen Ambrose. About the creation of the Transcontinental Railroad, and the men who did it. They were NOT the robber barons of yore. They certainly were not angels, but they overcame great difficulties to accomplish a great task.

Gun Control and the Constitution: Sources and Explorations on the Second Amendment by Robert J. Cottrol. The title says it all. Shop carefully, most volumes are for libraries and universities and run $100. ISBN 0815316666 is the trade version, much cheaper.

Freethinkers: a history of American Secularism by Susan Jacoby. Starts with the founding runs right through to recent history. Covers the ebb and tide of religious revivalism, famous freethinkers, deists, agnostics and atheists in American history and their involvement with all sorts of movements throughout our history, both the good, abolition, womens suffrage, freedom of the press, and the bad, Communism, and how these people have been very often whitewashed out of history. Including the Great Agnostic, the staunch Republican Robert Ingersoll.

In Denial: Historians, Communism and Espionage by Haynes and Klehr. The title says it all.

The Venona Secrets by Romerstein and Breindel. Based on the Venona Transcripts, decoded communiques between Soviets here and back in the USSR that were confirmed when the archives of the KGB and GRU were opened after the fall of the Soviet Union. In short, the Rosenbergs were guilty, McCarthy was right. Too bad McCarthy was such a slimy, demagogic, grandstanding waste of human DNA. It's like finding out Clinton was right on China, (he wasn't, but...)

There is so much more, but that is a start. Most are entertaining for anyone that likes reading. A some, like Gun Control and the Constitution, Venona and In Denial are longer term reads. Do a chapter and pick it up again a couple days later.
I'll post this with links to the books on my site for ease of finding.

Tom

Oh, I agree with the others that psoted prior to me on their suggestions, I just do not want to repeat them.

Here are a few of my favorites:
The Centennial History of the Civil War ( 3 volumes) Bruce Catton- I think this may be out of print, but its available in used bookstores- I highly recommend it

I also recommend his 2- volume biography of U. S. Grant's Civil War years (Grant Moves South and Grant Takes Command).

Carl Sandburg's Lincoln is a good read.

Grant's Memoirs - U. S. Grant

Founding Father- Richard Brookhiser

The South in the American Revolution- Lucien Agniel

It almost goes without saying-

Federalist Papers

Democracy in America

Also

Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose

General Washington's Christmas Farewell- Stanley Weintraub (This one would be HIGHLY recommended for children IMHO)

Patriots (The Men Who Started the American Revolution) A.J. Langguth

and finally-

A couple of heavy-duty reads:

War for America 1775-1783- Piers Macksey

A Monetary History of the United States (VERY heavy going for a non-economist) Milton Friedman and Anna Jacobson Schwartz, but an excellent explanation of how monetary policies shaped the economy.

Hope you enjoy some of these.

Posted my list, which repeats some of the above, and is wildly ecclectic otherwise. :)

Founding Brothers is very good.

It's not (strictly) a history book, but the best book about WWII is World War II by James Jones. A lot of good history in it, not only about the fighting, but the home front as well. No other book I've ever read gives is as good at giving some idea what it was like to be in combat.

My library is rather light on general American history, but I have a few thoughts to offer:

I'll second the nomination of Catton's Centennial History of the Civil War. No finer Civil War historian ever lived or ever will, IMO.

I am partway through a very interesting book called Vindicating the Founders, which tries to counterbalance the revisionists' generally negative view of the Founders.

I strongly suggest that anyone interested in Constitutional jurisprudence read a book called Quarrels that have Shaped the Constitution, edited by John Garraty, ISBN 0-06-132084-6. It's a collection of essays by different authors about a dozen or so critical Supreme Court decisions in constitutional law, starting with Marbury v. Madison. The authors put each decision in its historical context, and you come out the other side with a better understanding of why the Court decided the way it did. You might not necessarily agree with the decisions (I certainly don't), but at least you'll understand them better.

Already mentioned... but I would have DeTouqueville's Democracy in America and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

I would also include The Levaiathan by Hobbes (sets down the principles of free markets, and what government should do to promote them.)

From the video collection The Civil War by Ken Burns. Top notch documentary.

I really don't think you should just start with American history.... Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War and Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire are intersting and show a little bit of what happens when societies lose a moral center. (Athens drunk on its defeat of Persia, and Rome becoming too caught up in "bread and circus.") Well, Gibbon is a pain to get through, but Thucydides is a good read for anyone with a strong stomach.

A decent history of Sherman's March to the Sea, The Trail of Tears, The Invasion of Mexico that lead to our accquisiton of Arizona, New Mexico, southern CA. All are about what happens when military discipline breaks down. You can't learn from your mistakes, if you don't know what they are. (Unlike the left, I don't think we should focus only on the mistakes.)

A brief survey of the posts doesn't show much about the first or second world wars. I would like to know what people think are good accounts of those times. Same for more recent wars.

Well- For WWI I'd go with S.L.A. Marshall's book World War I. Also John Keegan' books on WWI and WWII. The Guns of August (Barbara Tuchman) is also a good account of the tragic run-up to WWI.

For WWII- Eagle against the Sun by Ronald Spector for the Pacific War

Any of Samuel Eliot Morison's books on the subject (the Two- Ocean War is particularly good)

For the New-Guinea/Solomans campaign I'd go with Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis as well as Touched by Fire by Eric Bergerud.

Fire in the Sky By the same author is a detailed account of the air war in the Pacific.

Of course John Toland's Rising Sun and his biography of Hitler are good reads. Shirer's Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich is a teriffic source.

Winston Churchill's The Second World War is a good account of the British view .
This, of course just scratches the surface.

I also want to add a couple books on earlier American history to the list: The First Salute By Barbara Tuchman , and The Sovereign States, 1775-1783 by Jackson Turner Main, which is an excellent account of that period.

I could go on a long time- I'm a bit of a history fanatic, but thats enough for now.

Check out The Library of America

http://www.loa.org/catalog.jsp?sort=3

Scroll to: Colonial & Revolutionary America

History of the United States: During the Administrations of Jefferson, Henry Adams

History of the United States: During the Administrations of Madison, Henry Adams

Travels and Other Writings, William Bartram

Three Gothic Novels, Charles Brockden Brown

Autobiography, Poor Richard, and Later Writings, Benjamin Franklin

Silence Dogood, The Busy-Body, and Early Writings, Benjamin Franklin

Writings, Alexander Hamilton

Writings, Thomas Jefferson

Writings, James Madison

Collected Writings, Thomas Paine

France and England in North America: Volume One, Francis Parkman

France and England in North America: Volume Two, Francis Parkman

The Oregon Trail, The Conspiracy of Pontiac, Francis Parkman

Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville

The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence, Various authors

The Debate on the Constitution: Volume One: September 1787 to February 1788, Various authors

The Debate on the Constitution: Volume Two: January to August 1788, Various authors

Writings, George Washington

Just a great article here, but one that may detail the future of our nation. Heck... may? Looking at the way we are heading, I would say we are already on that road...

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46519

Well, the first part of it is pretty good at least.

Well this has spurned some good reading for me... went to the 2nd hand book shop and picked up a couple today:

Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis Thomas Jefferson and the opening of the American West
Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution