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The editors ask readers to ponder the lives of John Winthrop and Thomas Jefferson. Each held a Utopian vision one based upon the demands of community the other on the autonomy of the individual. This recurring theme of community versus the individual provides a useful point of departure for showing that Americans have been more rambunctious ant contentious than Tocquerville or Riesman found them to be, that blandness has not been the defining characteristic for all Americans. The American History Series uses primary sources to debate important historical events, periods, and movements. Both shrill and moderate, the selections-by experts, policy makers, and concerned citizens-include complete articles and speeches, long book excerpts, and occasional cartoons and boxed quotations...all fully documented. Every attempt has been made to include the most important and relevant viewpoints in each chapter.