The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society, Combined Volume (Book Alone) - Hardcover

* Providing students with a thought-provoking account of America's past, The American People examines how American society assumed its present shape and developed its present forms of government. * A strong social emphasis underscores the "humanness" of America's history as revealed through the everyday lives of ordinary Americans. * Recovering the Past essays acquaint students with the work that historians do by introducing them to the fascinating variety of materials that historians use to understand and interpret the past. * Two new primary source features, "American Voices" and "How Others See Us" enliven the narrative with short passages from both ordinary and extraordinary Americans or from outsiders commenting on the American nation or its people.

Providing students with a thought-provoking account of America's past, The American People examines how American society assumed its present shape and developed its present forms of government. Emphasizing the interaction of ordinary Americans with extraordinary events, the text combines the discussion of political events with analysis of their impact on social and economic life. The comprehensive narrative encompasses description of the lives and experiences of Americans of all national origins and cultural backgrounds, at all class levels of society, and in all regions of the country. The thoughtful analysis seeks the connections among the political, social, economic, technological, and cultural factors that have shaped and reshaped American society over four centuries.