"Some studies of early America highlight events such as the first Thanksgiving and the establishment of different colonies. But true historians realize that American history is tightly bound to the history of enslavement in the Americas. This carefully researched volume presents the difficult topic of American slavery sensitively yet comprehensively. Readers will learn about the European slave trade and how and why it expanded to the American colonies. Theyll also learn how slavery repeatedly threatened to tear the nation apart for decades before the Civil War. Historical images and thoughtful fact boxes and sidebars enhance the texts critical ideas"--.