America, 1603-1789: Prelude to a Nation

In less than three hundred pages Lawrence H. Leder succinctly explains the origins of the United States. The explanation emphasizes political developments and includes clear discussions of complicated topics such as English government (national and local) in the seventeenth century, the relationship of church and state in Puritan Massachusetts Bay, and British imperial administration. More detailed and equally clear is the discussion of political developments in the new nation. The first half of the volume treats the years before 1763 where the necessary information on English background to discovery and colonization, exploration and settlement, and the conquest of other European possessions in North America are discussed. Despite their brief treatment, social and economic developments are related to political developments with remarkable success. In addition special effort is made to point out the changes in black slavery through the two centuries.