This unconventional history of the United States is examined from the viewpoint of citizens who were not necessarily beneficiaries of American democracy. Beginning with Christopher Columbus landing in the Bahamas in 1492 through the 2000 presidential election and the "War on Terrorism," this book concentrates on the experiences of women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, working poor, immigrant laborers, and other disenfranchised groups and how they were affected by major events in American history.