Of the People A History of the United States: Volume I: to 1877

People, Places, and Power - the Story of American Democracy.Of the People: A History of the United States not only tells the history of America-of its people and places, of its dealings and ideals-but it also unfolds the story of American democracy, carefully marking how this country's evolution has been anything but certain, from its complex beginnings toits modern challenges.The book incorporates three unique features into each chapter: DT American Portraits are biographical vignettes that open every chapter and focus on one person (ordinary or not) whose individual experiences helped to shape our common history.DT American Landscapes are brief essays that focus on one essential space, building, locale, town, encampment, community, or region in time, examining the dynamic of people and power.DT America and the World vignettes also appear in every chapter, setting America's history within a global context.The authors see American history as a story "of the people," of their struggles to shape their lives and their land. This comprehensive survey focuses on the social and political lives of people-some famous, some ordinary-revealing the compelling story of America's democracy first from anindividual perspective, then also from within their communities, and ultimately within the larger context of the world.

James Oakes is Distinguished Professor of History and Graduate School Humanities Professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center.

Michael McGerr is Paul V. McNutt Professor of History in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University-Bloomington.

Jan Ellen Lewis is Professor of History and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University, Newark. She also teaches in the history PhD program at Rutgers, New Brunswick, and was a visiting professor of history at Princeton.

Nick Cullather is a historian of U.S. foreign relations at Indiana University-Bloomington.

The late Jeanne Boydston was Robinson-Edwards Professor of American History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.