Focused on the rich cultural and ethnic diversity that characterizes the United States' heritage, this book weaves together the complex interaction of social, political, and historical forces that have shaped the United States and from which the American people have evolved.Joins the separate experiences and perceptions of diverse Americans -- women and men, Native Americans, African Americans, and European Americans, politicians and constituents -- with an explanation of how differences of caste and class have been managed through established social and political channels, or have shaped the social fabric through accommodation, conflict, or rebellion. This book considers the roles of minority peoples including African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders. Also covers the precolonial past slavery and empire in the Colonial Period, the Civil Rights Movement from the 1940s to the 1960s, and provides full coverage of the post-1970 era including the 1980s and early 1990s.