You cannot really understand a nation today without a knowledge of its past. The role of economics in shaping its past is like that of the drum section of a marching band. The "battery" of a band, the drum section provides the tempo, rhythm, and power. As though they are guided by an invisible hand, in a market economy said the father of modern economic thought, Adam Smith, buyers and sellers following their own self interest promote the interest of their society. This economic and business history of the United States is lively because it is built around interesting personalities and events and looks forward beyond the surface for longer term meanings and consequences. Readers will wonder why some of those exposed to economic concepts elsewhere find economics--a science of common sense--a difficult subject. In its presentation it is not politically correct by either past or current standards.