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Chapter One
America: A Short Biography
In This Chapter
* Tracing America's roots
* Establishing a national identity
* Dealing with growing pains
* Fighting wars of a different kind
Long before it was a nation, America was an idea, a dream, a fanciful tale.
For most of mankind's history, it didn't exist as anything but a blank
slate, waiting to be filled.
Eventually it was filled, with people who came for all sorts of reasons and
with all sorts of ideas on the best way to put together a country. Sometimes
the ideas clashed, and so did the people who held them. Some of the ideas
were pretty bad and were discarded only after a struggle. Out of the clashes
and struggles grew a country founded on a system of government that made
it unique in the world.
America was lucky to have great leaders in bad times, when it most needed
them. It developed a system of government that enabled it to slough off bad
leaders when they came along. It had abundant natural resources, generally
peaceable neighbors, and plenty of room to grow.
And boy, did it grow. But befor ... read full excerpt from: U.S. History For Dummies ebook