I very curious regarding your opinion on the poor quality of textbooks. Can you give me examples of what you mean? Interpretations you disagree with? Facts wrong? Important subjects left out?

As a history major constantly looking for substantive resources for citation, I’d say a great textbook chock full of primary sources is Sources for America’s History by James Henretta. There are two volumes for every edition which cover U.S. history up until, and since, 1877. The books are organized not only chronologically, but based on topics ranging from the role of women in society to presidential politics and foreign relations. The books are published by Macmillan, but there are plenty of other resources that can help with a broad base of topics if you know where to look. For example, William Herndon, a former law partner of Abraham Lincoln, compiled the testimonies of those who knew Lincoln best to create a well-rounded and accurate picture of the man himself. It was not widely accepted amongst historians until the 1980s, but since then, Herndon’s Lincoln has become a definitive source for presidential and Civil War historians alike. Hope this helps!!