Introduction 1 Book 1: Shaping the USA 5 Chapter 1: You Say You Want a Revolution 7 Chapter 2: Blueprints and Birth Pains 23 Chapter 3: Stepping Up as a World Power 37 Chapter 4: Uncle Sam's Depressed 53 Chapter 5: This New America 65 Book 2: Expanding America into Its Current Shape 81 Chapter 1: War, Gold, and a Gathering Storm 83 Chapter 2: Pulling Back Together after the Civil War 95 Chapter 3: Growing Up in the Late 1800s 105 Chapter 4: Making Public Policy 117 Chapter 5: Conducting Foreign Policy 133 Chapter 6: Discovering Dissent, Equality, and Diversity 155 Book 3: The Wars That Influenced the Shape 183 Chapter 1: A Revolutionary Story 185 Chapter 2: Irreconcilable Differences: The American Civil War 201 Chapter 3: The Great War and Its Aftermath 221 Chapter 4: World War II: Why It Matters 235 Chapter 5: Welcome to Vietnam 249 Chapter 6: Terror Comes Home; America Goes to War(s) 267 Book 4: The Hands That Guided the Shape 279 Chapter 1: Scoping Out the Founding Fathers 281 Chapter 2: Presidents and the Presidency 297 Chapter 3: Presidential Rankings and Evaluations 309 Chapter 4: The Changing Role of First Ladies 321 Book 5: The People Who Infused the Shape. 333 Chapter 1: Pilgrims' Progress: The English Colonies 335 Chapter 2: A Brief History of the American Indian 347 Chapter 3: Native Americans: Today and Tomorrow 369 Chapter 4: From Empires to Bondage to Freedom 385 Chapter 5: I, Too, Sing America: Civil Rights 411 Book 6: American Government and Politics 441 Chapter 1: Designing a New Country 443 Chapter 2: Elections, Political Parties, and Interest Groups 461 Chapter 3: Be a Part of the Solution -- Vote! 477 Chapter 4: Electoral College Election Controversies 493 Book 7: American Society and the Economy 503 Chapter 1: Emblems of America and Civic Responsibility 505 Chapter 2: Major Changes as America Grew 523 Chapter 3: The Great Depression: An Economic Disaster 545 Chapter 4: Recessions Can Be Really Depressing 559 Chapter 5: Historic Firsts, Reforms, and Challenges 571 Index 593.