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xThis Eleventh Edition of America%u2019s History for the AP%u00ae Course is more closely aligned to the College Board%u2019s Course and Exam Description than ever. In its emphasis on historical thinking skills (developments and processes, sourcing and situation, claims and evidence in sources, contextualization, making connections, and argumentation) and reasoning processes (comparison, causation, and continuity and change), the AP%u00ae U.S. History course aims to teach our students to think like historians. As scholars and teachers who go into the classroom every day, we know the challenges of this pedagogical task well and have written the Eleventh Edition to help teachers meet them. Combining breadth with balance, America%u2019s History has long been recognized for its big-picture, analytic focus and its commitment to an integrated narrative%u2014one that does not privilege either %u201ctop down%u201d institutions or %u201cbottom up%u201d social changes and Americans%u2019 rich diversity of experiences, but instead reveals their interdependency. In each chapter we also situate U.S. history in global context, showing students how events and trends elsewhere shaped the colonies and the American nation.For the Eleventh Edition, we have maintained our focus on helping students understand not just what happened, but why. Why, for example, did the outcome of the Seven Years%u2019 War result in an imperial crisis that ultimately led to the separation of thirteen North American colonies from Great Britain? Why did the United States double its territory between 1800 and 1848? Why did the founders of the United States exclude some Americans from their vision of a democratic political system? Why did the rise of large corporations transform workers%u2019 experiences and trigger conflict? Why did the United States fight a Cold War with the Soviet Union and ascend to global leadership? You%u2019ll find these questions and many more embedded at the start of chapters and presented in the thematic Part Openers. As they read the narrative, students can use these guiding questions to trace themes, contextualize events, explore causation and consequences, and understand continuity and change.In our Internet-driven world, facts and data are immediately at our fingertips. And as TikTok and other social media have become more influential, misinformation is also everywhere. Teachers and learners need reliable facts, and they need analysis skills%u2014frameworks to help them evaluate and organize information. As it has since its inception, America%u2019s History provides students with a comprehensive explanation and interpretation of events, a road map for understanding the world in which we live.The core of a textbook is its narrative. We have endeavored to keep ours clear, accessible, and lively. In it, we focus not only on the marvelous diversity of peoples who came to call themselves Americans but also on the political, legal, and military institutions that have forged a common national identity.As we write this preface, rising political divisions at home and conflict abroad reinforce our keen awareness of the importance of our core democratic institutions and the shrinking distance between Americans and others around the globe. To help your students understand the challenges we face today, we call attention to connections with the histories of our neighbors in North and South America as well as Europe, Africa, and Asia, in all eras of our past. As authors, together we strive to infuse the most recent scholarship, the liveliest historical narratives, and historical thinking skills and reasoning processes in every page of the text. We are confident that this combination prepares your students for success on the AP%u00ae exam, and we wish you and your students success in this course and beyond.Rebecca Edwards Eric Hinderaker Robert O. Self James A. HenrettaDear Colleagues:%u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.