Designed to encourage critical thinking about history, the Major Problems in American History series introduces students to both primary sources and analytical essays on important topics in U.S. history. This text serves as the primary anthology, even the textbook, for the course, covering the subject's entire chronological span. With nearly 50% new documents, the Second Edition places greater emphasis on diplomacy and foreign affairs, popular culture, religion, and the history of national and group identities. Documents in each chapter identify key issues and capture the passionate spirit and conviction of the historical actors. The essay selections highlight classic and current scholarship on the social and cultural history of the early republic.