Chapter 1 Panoramic View 1
1.1 Overview 1
1.2 Geography of the United States 4
1.3 Climate＆Environment 6
1.4 American Dream 8
Chapter 2 A Nation of Immigration 18
2.1 The Colonial Period 20
2.2 The Old Immigration 22
2.3 New Immigration 24
2.4 Most Recent Immigration 27
2.5 Contemporary immigration 31
Chapter 3 Ethnic Groups in the United States 41
3.1 White Americans 42
3.2 Black Americans 44
3.3 Asian Americans 49
3.4 Native Americans and Alaska Natives 53
3.5 Hispanic and Latino Americans 56
Chapter 4 History of the United States 66
4.1 Colonial Period 68
4.2 Formation of the United States of America 70
4.3 Civil War Era 74
4.4 Two World Wars 76
4.5 The Cold War Era 81
4.6 The World Superpower 85
Chapter 5 Politics of the United States 97
5.1 Federal，State and Local Governments 98
5.2 Political Culture 102
5.3 Political Parties and Elections 103
5.4 Law of the United States 114
Chapter 6 Religion in the United States 124
6.1 Christianity 126
6.2 Other Religions 128
6.3 Religion and Politics 132
Chapter 7 Education in the United States 142
7.1 Elementary and Secondary Education 145
7.2 College and University 158
7.3 Contemporary Education Issues 163
Chapter 8 Society and Customs 181
8.1 Social Class and Race 182
8.2 American Social Life 186
8.3 National Holidays 200
8.4 Food and Sport Cultures 207
Chapter 9 Media of the United States 225
9.1 Radio 225
9.2 Newspapers and Magazines 226
9.3 Television in the United States 229
9.4 Cinema of the United States 238
Chapter 10 American Literature 256
10.1 Colonial Literature 256
10.2 American Poetry 260
10.3 Realism，Post-World War Ⅱ 261
10.4 Contemporary American Literature 268
Bibliography 280