author
John Bach McMaster
1852–1932
Best known for bringing everyday Americans into the story of U.S. history, this influential historian wrote with an eye for newspapers, prices, politics, and ordinary life. His work helped push historical writing beyond presidents and wars toward the experiences of the broader public.
2 Audiobooks
A Brief History of the United States
by John Bach McMaster
A School History of the United States
by John Bach McMaster
About the author
Born in Brooklyn on June 29, 1852, John Bach McMaster first trained as an engineer, graduating from the College of the City of New York and later teaching civil engineering at Princeton. In 1883 he joined the University of Pennsylvania, where he became professor of American history and spent decades building his reputation as one of the leading historians of his time.
McMaster is most closely associated with A History of the People of the United States, an ambitious multivolume work published over many years. What made it stand out was its focus on everyday life as well as politics, drawing on newspapers and other lively sources to show how ordinary people lived, argued, worked, and followed public events.
He also wrote school histories and other books on the American past, helping bring history to a wide readership beyond the university. He died on May 24, 1932, and is still remembered as an early pioneer of social history in the United States.