Although European expansion was the driving force that first opened up the frontier land called America, the growth of the new nation would be forged over the centuries by the diverse peoples who stuggled to make it their home. But not everyone who made a home in the country that carved democracy out of tyranny was accepted as a full American citizen - when the democratic, humanitarian principles were re-tested by the native Americans, Blacks, immigrants, religious minorities and women, these principles were too often found wanting. This book documents the relationship between these outgroups and the power-holders as it examines the social, cultural, political and economic development of the US.