This fascinating exploration of the interaction between people and the natural environment covers American history from Native America to the present. The physical environment--the biological world, the weather, the presence or absence of resources--plays an important role in nearly every event in history. This book is based on the belief that it is vitally important to examine the ways in which the United States has dealt with the natural bounty bestowed upon it and to look at the pivotal events of American history through the lens of the environment. Chronologically arranged according to the historical eras outlined in the National Standards for United States History, chapters cover American history from Native America through the arrival of Europeans to the present. Informative entries on people and events are combined with significant primary sources to provide an overview of specifically environmental topics, as well as many that are not, at first glance, environment-related. In so doing, the book creates fodder for student research and demonstrates the important role the natural world has played in the story of America. * Provides brief histories of the people, places, and events associated with American history and ties them to the environment * Begins each chapter with an essay that overviews the period and supplies readers with a historical frame of reference * Offers alphabetically arranged entries in each subdivision for ease of use * Utilizes primary source documents to engage the reader and encourage critical thinking * Presents students with an excellent starting point for conducting research on this increasingly popular topic.