This publication is a compilation of primary source materials related to issues that have occupied the attention of the American people from colonial days to the present. It is intended for use at the secondary level. A prologue contains creation stories and poems on the origins of the world and man. Documentation of the primary sources is provided. Five chapters treat specific time periods in U.S. history. The time periods covered include the European Colonization of North America, 1492-1700; Founding the New Nation, 1770-1800; Establishing the New Nation, 1800-1865; Reconstruction, Industrialism, and Imperialism, 1865-1912; and International Involvement, Social Change, and Liberation, 1912-1976. Each chapter presents a brief introduction, identifies five or six issues, and concludes with a bibliography of the sources of the primary materials. A general reading list concludes the publication. (Author/RM)