American History, Volume 1: 1492-1877 surveys the broad sweep of American history from the first Native American societies to the end of the Reconstruction period, following the Civil War. Drawing on a deep range of research and years of classroom teaching experience, Thomas S. Kidd offers students an engaging overview of the first half of American history. The volume features illuminating stories of people from well-known presidents and generals, to lesser-known men and women who struggled under slavery and other forms of oppression to make their place in American life. The role of Christianity in America is central in this book. Americans’ faith sometimes inspired awakenings and the search for an equitable society, but at other times it justified violence and inequality. Students will come away from American History, Volume 1: 1492-1877 better prepared to grapple with the challenges presented by the history of America’s founding, the problem of slavery, and our nation’s political tradition.-Thomas S. Kidd is the Distinguished Professor of History, James Vardaman Endowed Professor of History and Associate Director, Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University. He is the author of many books, including Patrick Henry: First Among Patriots, George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father, American Colonial History: Clashing Cultures and Faiths, God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution, The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America, Baptists in America: A History with Barry Hankins, and Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father. You can follow him on Twitter @ThomasSKidd.---Support for the Age of Jackson Podcast was provided by Isabelle Laskari, Jared Riddick, John Muller, Julianne Johnson, Laura Lochner, Mark Etherton, Marshall Steinbaum, Martha S. Jones, Michael Gorodiloff, Mitchell Oxford, Richard D. Brown, Rod, Rosa, Stephen Campbell, and Victoria Johnson, Alice Burton, as well as Andrew Jackson's Hermitage​ in Nashville, TN.