Over the course of the 19th century the United States expanded westward to the Pacific coast; its population increased tenfold; it experienced civil war, ended African American slavery, and industrialized; by 1914, it was a powerful nation on the world stage. Steven Hahn takes a new approach to this era of American history, taking in the experience of women, Latinos and African Americans, themes such as the family and American capitalism, and the global perspective. Part of The Penguin History of the United States.