* Providing students with a thought-provoking account of America's past, The American People examines how American society assumed its present shape and developed its present forms of government.

* A strong social emphasis underscores the "humanness" of America's history as revealed through the everyday lives of ordinary Americans.

* Recovering the Past essays acquaint students with the work that historians do by introducing them to the fascinating variety of materials that historians use to understand and interpret the past.

* Two new primary source features, "American Voices" and "How Others See Us" enliven the narrative with short passages from both ordinary and extraordinary Americans or from outsiders commenting on the American nation or its people.