The fifth edition of America Past and Present is a comprehensive revision of a bestselling textbook. It presents a clear, relevant, and balanced history of the United States as an unfolding story of national development, from the days of the earliest inhabitants to the present. The word story is emphasized because of the authors' strong belief in the value of historical narrative in providing a vivid sense of the past. Each chapter blends the excitement and drama of the American experience with insights about the social, economic, and cultural issues that underlie it.

The fifth edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect recent scholarly work and offer new perspectives. Some examples of what's new to this edition include:

• Ten new Special Feature essays -- four focus on the communications revolution, and four emphasize religion/spiritualism throughout history -- both topics students will find engaging. In addition, a new essay on Madam C. J. Walker, and a new essay on U. S. prisoners of war who defected to Korea after the Korean War.
• The illustrious photo program now includes examples of artifacts ("A Look at the Past") that present students with a material record of America's past.
• New material on slave families, the effects of the Civil War on slave families, the differing effects of the Civil War for women in the north and in the south, and the militia movement of the 1990s.
• Chapters 28 - 33 have been reorganized to present a stricter chronological presentation.
• A new Law and Society essay on the case of Quok Walker -- an African who challenged the constitutionality of slavery in revolutionary Massachusetts.
• Exciting new ancillaries include this web site, New Instructors and Teaching Assistant's Guide to Teaching American History, and Divine Presentation Maker.