A History of the United States is a highly readable, lucid, and authoritative account of the course of American history, discussing political, social, economic, and cultural developments. Major themes include the relationship between territorial expansion and political history; the critical role of ethnic and racial conflict, and the complex relationship between race and class in American history; the powerful traditions of regionalism in American life and the shifting centres of gravity in American geography; and the remarkable force of radical evangelical and apocalyptic religion. The book also considers the enduring American tradition of identifying and stigmatizing 'dangerous outsiders', and the significance of these ideas for cultural and political history.