The Human Tradition in America from the Colonial Era through Reconstruction is a collection of the best biographical sketches from several volumes in SR Books' popular Human Tradition in America Series. Compiled by Series Editor Charles W. Calhoun, this book brings American history to life by illuminating the lives of ordinary Americans. This examination of common individuals helps personalize the nation's past in a way that examining only broad concepts and forces cannot. By including a wide range of people with respect to ethnicity, race, gender and geographic region, Prof. Calhoun has developed a text that highlights the diversity of the American experience.

Contributions by: Neal Salisbury, Marilyn Westerkamp, Rosalind J. Beiler, Robert J. Allison, Gary L. Hewitt, John Shy, Gary B. Nash, Marla R. Miller, Laura McCall, Donna L. Akers, George R. Price, Anya Jabour, Helen Deese, John Mayfield, Steven E. Woodworth, Ethan S. Rafuse, Lesley J. Gordon, Richard Lowe