Originally published: New York : Viking, 2011

According to award-winning journalist and historian Colin Woodard, North America is made up of eleven distinct nations, each with its own unique historical roots. In American Nations he takes readers on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, offering a revolutionary and revelatory take on American identity, and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and continue to mold our future. From the Deep South to the Far West, to Yankeedom to El Norte, Woodard reveals how each region continues to uphold its distinguishing ideals and identities today, with results that can be seen in the composition of the U.S. Congress or on the county-by-county election maps of presidential elections

Introduction --

Part 1.

Origins: 1590 to 1769. Founding El Norte ; Founding New France ; Founding Tidewater ; Founding Yankeedom ; Founding New Netherland ; Colonies' first revolt ; Founding the Deep South ; Founding the Midlands ; Founding Greater Appalachia --

Part 2.

Unlikely allies : 1770 to 1815. A common struggle ; Six wars of liberation ; Independence or revolution? ; Nations in the North ; First secessionists --

Part 3.

Wars for the West : 1816 to 1877. Yankeedom spreads west ; Midlands spread west ; Appalachia spreads west ; Deep South spreads west ; Conquering El Norte ; Founding the Left Coast ; War for the West --

Part 4.

Culture wars : 1878 to 2010. Founding the Far West ; Immigration and identity ; Gods and missions ; Culture clash ; War, empire, and the military ; Struggle for power I : the blue nations ; Struggle for power II : the red and the purple -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgments and suggested reading -- Notes -- Index