A New History of the United States / The greater republic, embracing the growth and achievements of our country from the earliest days of discovery and settlement to the present eventful year

The narrative presents a chronological national history from early European voyages and indigenous cultures through colonial settlement, intercolonial conflicts, and the struggle for independence, then follows the establishment of constitutional government, westward growth, sectional tensions and the Civil War, and later economic and territorial expansion. It combines political and military accounts with biographical sketches of leaders and takes up the nation's recent overseas acquisitions, describing their geography, peoples, and resources. Emphasis is placed on institutions, wars, state formation, and national development, and the volume is richly illustrated to support its descriptive and instructional aims.