This edition of Race and Ethnicity in America provides an inclusive overview of the history of racial and ethnic relations in America, from European contact to the present.

The five hundred years since Europeans made contact with the indigenous peoples of America have been dominated by racial and ethnic tensions. During the colonial period, from 1500 to 1776, slavery and servitude of whites, Black people, and Indians formed the foundation for race and ethnic relations. After the American Revolution, slavery, labor inequalities, and immigration led to racial and ethnic tensions; after the Civil War, these same inequalities, and the fight for civil rights dominated America's racial and ethnic experience. From the 1960s to the present, the unfulfilled promise of civil rights for all ethnic and racial groups has been the most important sociopolitical issue in America. Race and Ethnicity in America tells this story of the fight for equality in America.

A condensation of the 4-volume Race and Ethnicity in America: From Pre-contact to the Present, this A-to-Z edition covers influential people and events from the voyages of Columbus to the present. Focusing on the American Revolution, Civil War, Reconstruction, and Civil Rights Movement, this book explores the culture, society, labor, war and politics, and cultural expressions of racial and ethnic groups throughout the entire period.