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 struggled to make it their home. But not everyone who made a home in the country was accepted as an American. When the democratic, humanitarian principles were retested by the native Americans, blacks, immigrants, religious minorities, and women, these principles were too often found wanting. The Free and the Unfree documents the dynamic relationship between these outgroups and the power-holders as it weaves in a broad tapestry the threads of social, cultural, political and economic developments of a vigorous nation. The book conveys with a keen sense of participation, the unfolding of the United States through four historical eras.