For Introduction to U.S. History courses. Making a Nation focuses on the relationships that shape and define human identity-culture, race, gender, class and sectional relations. The text shows that politics and the economy do not simply shape, but in turn are shaped by, the lives and cultural values of ordinary men and women. This political economy approach allows students to see the links between the particular and the general, between large and seemingly abstract forces such as globalization and political struggle, and the everyday decisions made by ordinary men and women. By focusing on the peoples of the US, the authors relate American history in terms of the human story, in a way that students will find eminently accessible, though the content remains fully detailed. In this first volume, the story begins with Columbus and continues to 1877. Each chapter includes a two-page case study, boxes with details about daily life, illustrations, and maps. #USA#History#Slavery#CivilWar#Reconstruction