Using images as primary historical evidence, Visions of America brings history alive for a generation of visual learners–and shows how conflicting visions of America have shaped our nation’s past.

Visions of America recognizes the value of using images to engage students in serious inquiry about the historical development of the United States. Visual images are critical primary sources, and using them effectively requires the development of key analytic skills. This new textbook revolutionizes the role of images in the history survey by integrating them into the narrative. The visual legacy of the nation’s past also provides insight into the competing visions of America that have shaped American political culture. Visions of America explores the tensions and conflicts that have marked virtually every chapter of American history. It presents history as a dynamic, unpredictable, and dramatic process shaped by the choices made by people of all classes.