This trade-like survey text is known for Alan Brinkley’s clear narrative voice, impeccable scholarship, and reliability, all at a low price. It offers a careful examination of American political and diplomatic history, while also exploring the other areas of the American past that are of interest to scholars and students alike. The balanced picture that emerges connects the newer histories of society and culture with the more traditional stories of politics, diplomacy, and great public events. The fourth edition features a completely new four-color design and expanded illustration and mapping program, as well as new "America in the World" features and more!

Table of Contents:
Chapter 15: Reconstruction and the New South~ The Problems of Peacemaking~ Radical Reconstruction~ The South in Reconstruction~ The Grant Administration~ The Abandonment of Reconstruction~ The New SouthConclusionFor Further ReferenceDebating the Past: ReconstructionChapter 16: The Conquest of the Far West~ The Societies of the Far West~ The Changing Western Economy~ The Romance of the West~ The Dispersal of the Tribes~ The Rise and Decline of the Western FarmerConclusionFor Further ReferenceDebating the Past: The Frontier and the WestChapter 17: Industrial Supremacy~ Sources of Industrial Growth~ Capitalism and Its Critics~ The Ordeal of the WorkerConclusionFor Further ReferenceChapter 18: The Age of the City~ The New Urban Growth~ The Urban Landscape~ Strains of Urban Life~ The Rise of Mass Consumption~ Leisure in the Consumer Society~ High Culture in the Urban AgeConclusionFor Further ReferenceAmerica in the World: Global MigrationsChapter 19: From Stalemate to Crisis~ The Politics of Equilibrium~ The Agrarian Revolt~ The Crisis of the 1890sConclusionFor Further ReferenceDebating the Past: PopulismChapter 20: The Imperial Republic~ Stirrings of Imperialism~ War with Spain~ The Republic as EmpireConclusionFor Further ReferenceAmerica in the World: ImperialismChapter 21: The Rise of Progressivism~ The Progressive Impulse~ Women and Reform~ The Assault on the Parties~ Sources of Progressive Reform~ Crusades for Order and ReformConclusionFor Further ReferenceDebating the Past: ProgressivismChapter 22: The Battle for National Reform~ Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Party~ The Troubled Succession~ Woodrow Wilson and the New Freedom~ The "Big Stick": America and the World, 1901-1917ConclusionFor Further Reference Chapter 23: America and the Great War~ The Road to War~ "War Without Stint"~ The Search for a New World Order~ A Society in TurmoilConclusionFor Further ReferenceChapter 24: The New Era~ The New Economy~ The New Culture~ A Conflict of Cultures~ Republican GovernmentConclusionFor Further ReferenceChapter 25: The Great Depression~ The Coming of the Depression~ The American People in Hard Times~ The Depression and American Culture~ The Ordeal of Herbert HooverConclusionFor Further ReferenceDebating the Past: Causes of the Great DepressionAmerica in the World: The Global DepressionChapter 26: The New Deal~ Launching the New Deal~ The New Deal in Transition~ The New Deal in Disarray~ Limits and Legacies of the New DealConclusionFor Further ReferenceDebating the Past: The New DealChapter 27: The Global Crisis, 1921-1941~ The Diplomacy of the New Era~ Isolationism and Internationalism~ From Neutrality to Intervention ConclusionFor Further ReferenceAmerica in the World: The Sino-Japanese War, 1931-1941Chapter 28: America in a World at War~ War on Two Fronts~ The American Economy in Wartime~ Race and Gender in Wartime America~ Anxiety and Affluence in Wartime Culture~ The Defeat of the AxisConclusionFor Further ReferenceDebating the Past: The Decision to Drop the Atomic BombChapter 29: The Cold War~ Origins of the Cold War~ The Collapse of the Peace~ America After the War~ The Korean War~ The Crusade Against SubversionConclusionFor Further ReferenceDebating the Past: The Cold War Chapter 30: The Affluent Society~ The Economic "Miracle"~ The Explosion of Science and Technology~ People of Plenty~ The Other America~ The Rise of the Civil Rights Movement~ Eisenhower Republicanism~ Eisenhower, Dulles, and the Cold WarConclusionFor Further ReferenceChapter 31: The Ordeal of Liberalism~ Expanding the Liberal State~ The Battle for Racial Equality~ "Flexible Response" and the Cold War~ Vietnam~ The Traumas of 1968 ConclusionFor Further ReferenceDebating the Past: The Vietnam CommitmentAmerica in the World: 1968 Chapter 32: The Crisis of Authority~ Youth Culture~ The Mobilization of Minorities~ The New Feminism~ Nixon, Kissinger, and the War~ Nixon, Kissinger, and the World~ Politics and Economics in the Nixon Years~ The Watergate CrisisConclusionFor Further ReferenceDebating the Past: Watergate Chapter 33: From the “Age of Limits” to the Age of Reagan~ Politics and Diplomacy After Watergate~ The Rise of the New American Right~ The "Reagan Revolution"~ America and the Waning of the Cold WarConclusionFor Further Reference Chapter 34: The Age of Globalization~ The Resurgence of Partisanship~ The Economic Boom~ Science and Technology in the New Economy~ A Changing Society~ A Contested Culture~ The Perils of GlobalizationConclusionFor Further Reference