Introduction 1
Part 1: America's Birth and Toddler Years 5
Chapter 1: America: A Short Biography 7
Chapter 2: American Indians and Explorers: 21,000 BCE (?) -1607 21
Chapter 3: Pilgrims' Progress: The English Colonies, 1607-1700 37
Chapter 4: You Say You Want a Revolution: 1700-1775 49
Chapter 5: Yankee Doodlin': 1775-1783 65
Chapter 6: Blueprints and Birth Pains: 1783-1800 79
Part 2: Growing Pains 91
Chapter 7: "Long Tom" and One Weird War: 1800-1815 93
Chapter 8: Pulling Together to Keep from Falling Apart: 1815-1844 109
Chapter 9: War, Gold, and a Gathering Storm: 1845-1860 129
Chapter 10: A Most Uncivil War: 1861-1865 143
Chapter 11: Putting the Country Back Together: 1865-1876 157
Part 3: Coming of Age 167
Chapter 12: Growing Up: 1876-1898 169
Chapter 13: Stepping Up as a World Power: 1899-1918 183
Chapter 14: Gin, Jazz, and Lucky Lindy: 1919-1929 197
Chapter 15: Uncle Sam's Depressed: 1930-1940 211
Chapter 16: The World at War: 1941-1945 225
Part 4: America in Adulthood 241
Chapter 17: TV, Elvis, and Reds Under the Bed: 1946-1960 243
Chapter 18: Camelot to Watergate: 1961-1974 259
Chapter 19: Hold the Malaise, or Ayatollah So: 1975-1992 275
Chapter 20: No Sex, Please, I'm the President: 1993-1999 289
Part 5: Nearing Our Semiquincentennial 301
Chapter 21: Terror Comes Home; America Goes to War(s) 303
Chapter 22: Recessions Can Be Really Depressing 315
Chapter 23: Reforming Healthcare Is No Tea Party 327
Chapter 24: America Disagrees with Itself 341
Chapter 25: Stormy Weather 353
Chapter 26: This New America 371
Part 6: The Part of Tens 389
Chapter 27: Ten Innovations That Made It Easier to Be Lazy 391
Chapter 28: Ten Events That Helped Shape American Culture 397
Part 7: The Appendixes 403
Appendix A: The Bill of Rights: Amendments 1-10 of the Constitution 405
Appendix B: The Declaration of Independence 409
Index 413
