In the wake of the Civil War, every aspect of American life was to be shaped anew by the energies of a nation now reborn. The remarkable story of the growth these energies achieved is told here--beginning with General Grant's historic ride into the little village of Appomattox and the Battle of Appomattox Court House, and taking the reader up through the extraordinary staccato of modern-day political events. In this newly expanded and completely up-to-date edition, Foster Rhea Dulles vividly depicts the individuals, episodes, and ideas that have guided the course of over a hundred years of American history: reconstruction in the South, the westward surge, Populism and Progressivism, the New Deal, the impact of the Vietnamese conflict, and the Negro revolution on the American conscience. The United States Since 1865 is a record not only of political and economic events, but of social and cultural developments as well. New directions in literature and the arts, the advent of Henry Ford's Model-T and pioneer motion picture theaters, the cultural élan brought to the White House during the Kennedy years--these too contributed to the making of modern America. Written for the general reader as well as the student of American history, this authoritative work--along with its companion volume, The United States to 1865--provides a highly readable and thoroughly up-to-date reassessment of America's heritage to her citizens and to the world.