Like race and gender, disability has recently become a critical field of study in examining the USA heritage. Sparked by the disability rights movement of the late 20th century, disability history both expands and challenges the traditional American narrative of self-reliance, individualism, and opportunity and yields new understandings of such bedrock values as community, family, and citizenship.

This book brings together a distinguished international group of scholars in an effort to answer this key question through a sustained interrogation of the periods, themes, fields, problems and perspectives in historical writing on the United States. How have the intricate issues surrounding gender, race, slavery and civil rights been resolved and interpreted in recent American history? How have historians dealt with the complexities of events such as the American Revolution, the Civil War, Reconstruction and the New Deal in developing their historical narratives? In what ways have technological developments in industry, print and film influenced the questions historians ask?

Scientific American is a popular science magazine published since August 28, 1845, which according to the magazine makes it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. It brings articles about new and innovative research to the amateur and lay audience.