SERIES FOREWORD American history has been shaped by numerous debates over issues far rang- ing in content and time. Debates over the right, or lack thereof, to take the land of the Native Americans, and the proper place and role of women, sparked by Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, respectively, marked the earliest years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Debates over slavery, the nature and size of the federal government, the emergence of big business, and the rights of labor and immigrants were central to the Republic in the nineteenth century and, in some cases, remain alive today. World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War sparked debates that tore at the body politic. Even the Revolution involved a debate over whether America should be America or remain part of Great Britain. And the Civil War, considered by many the central event in American history, was the outgrowth of a long debate that found no peaceful resolution. This series, Shapers of the Great American Debates, will examine many of these debates—from those between Native Americans and European settlers to those between ‘‘natives’’ and ‘‘newcomers.’’ Each volume will focus on a particular issue, concentrating on those men and women who shaped the debates. The authors will pay special attention to fleshing out the life histor- ies of the shapers, considering the relationship between biography or per- sonal history and policy or philosophy. Each volume will begin with an introductory overview, include approximately twenty biographies of ten to fifteen pages, an appendix that briefly describes other key figures, a biblio- graphical essay, and a subject index. Unlike works that emphasize end results, the books in this series will devote equal attention to both sides, to the ‘‘winners’’ and the ‘‘losers.’’ This will lead to a more complete under- standing of the richness and complexity of America’s past than is afforded by works that examine only the victors. Taken together, the books in this series remind us of the many ways that class, race, ethnicity, gender, and region have divided rather than united the inhabitants of the United States of America. Each study reminds us of the frequency and variety of debates in America, a reflection of the diversity
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