One of the first U.S. economic history texts on the market, this text presents economic events chronologically for easy understanding, equipping students with a firm foundation in the evolution of American economic history. Features: * Five key themes provide the foundation of the book: 1) economic growth, 2) markets and the role of government, 3) the quest for security, 4) competitiveness and international comparisons, and 5) demographic forces. * The text emphasizes the big picture of historical change, the role of economic forces in prompting change, and the ability of economics to improve our understanding of history. * Featured in each chapter, Economic Insights boxes give students hands-on practice developing analytical skills using basic economic principles. Reflecting the real-world marketplace in the 1990s and beyond, the text places particular emphasis on the changing role of women in the labour market. * The text offers fresh insight on the role of property rights in creating an efficient market, the political economy and regulation, and recent theories about the causes and consequences of the Great Depression. * Each part opens with a list of major trends, giving students a broad overview of U.S. economic history. New to this edition: * Completely revised and updated, the eighth edition features a stronger emphasis on economics in the twentieth century, such as the expanded coverage in Part 5 The Postwar Era, 1946 to the Present. * A new, expanded focus on the critical role of institutions in the success of the U.S. economy emphasizes the complex relationship between institutions, the norms, customs, and laws of society and its economic performance. The text highlights the difficulties of building market-based economies in the former Soviet Union and the consequences of its dissolution of political and economic ties. * In order to extend students' understanding of the development of U.S. economic policy to the world at large, the new edition has significantly increased the number of in-text comparisons of American historical economic developments to the experience of other countries and times. * A greater emphasis on explicit economic theory as tested by empirical evidence is now included, particularly in the Economic Insight boxes but also in numerous in-text examples that allow current research to illuminate economic history.