This title offers an accessible, inclusive sourcebook covering a pivotal era in U.S. history. It features carefully curated primary sources along with highly targeted activities to help students engage with and analyze primary documents, from the arrival of Spanish explorers and English settlers to the stirrings of revolutionary sentiment in the 1750s. Presenting marginalized voices, including women, African Americans, and Native Americans, this anthology represents a modern approach to historical reference. Document texts are abridged to remain brief and accessible, even to struggling readers (including ESL students), while activity questions range in difficulty from basic to more advanced. Featuring the contributions of numerous scholars, this volume is an essential reference for students, researchers, and teachers of early American history.