A great companion to any American history curriculum, this innovative series discusses important themes and topics in American history using graphic organizers such as Venn diagrams, compare/contrast charts, timelines, graphs, concept webs, maps, flow charts, KWL charts, and cause and effect charts. These graphic organizers present information visually in a way that is clear and easy for the students to understand. The series follows the story of the United States from the first settlers to the growth of American cities, outlining broad themes while highlighting interesting detail and showing students how graphic organizers can help them learn and organize information. The full page graphic organizers show connections and highlight differences between related topics and ideas, and enrich students’ understanding of the topics. This book outlines the difficulties the founders of the American nation faced and how they united a group of divided states crippled by postwar debt into one strong, stable nation. A cause-and-effect-chart illustrates the problems with the Articles of Confederation and the effects it had on the states, a chart outlines the arguments discussed at the Constitutional Convention. and a Venn diagram shows the state, national, and shared powers in the new system of government.