"Written by a combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a former professor of US history at West Point, his alma mater, this book grew out of the lectures Sjursen produced for the survey course he taught to cadets. Sjursen challenges readers to think deeply and critically and to apply common sense to their understanding of our republic's history. Covering all of the major events, movements and figures in American history, Sjursen flips the lens, offering fresh insights and uncommon empathy"-- Publisher.

"An earlier version of this volume's contents appeared in serialized form at the truthdig.com website under the title 'American History for Truthdiggers'"--Title page verso.

Original sin--American slavery, American freedom -- Roots in religious zealotry -- Whose Empire? -- Patriots or insurgents? -- Independence and Civil War (part one) -- Whose revolution? (part two) -- Flowering or excess of democracy -- Counter-revolution of 1787?- New constitution, new nation -- George Washington's turbulent administration -- Liberty versus order -- The Jefferson enigma -- The forgotten and peculiar war of 1812 -- Birth of an era of revolutions -- Andrew Jackson's white male world and the start of modern politics -- The fraudulent Mexican-American War -- A broken Union -- The second American Civil War-the slow, perilous shift to emancipation -- Reconstruction, a failed experiment? -- Lies we tell ourselves about the old West -- Wealth and squalor in the Progressive Era -- The tragic dawn of overseas imperialism -- A savage war to end all wars, and a failed peace -- The decade the roared and wept -- FDR and his deal for a desperate time -- From isolationism to a Second World conflagration -- Just how good was the "Good War"? -- A cruel, costly, and anxious Cold War -- JFK's Cold War chains -- Vietnam, and American tragedy -- Civil rights, a dream deferred -- Nixon's dark legacy -- Carter's cage of crisis -- The Reagan revolution -- Bush the elder--struggling in Reagan's shadow -- Bill Clinton, the new Democrat -- Bush II and the birth of forever war -- The Obama disappointment -- Epilogue: A once, always, and future empire.