This volume presents the history of North America from the landing of Columbus in 1492 to the late 20th century. It tells the story of the French, the Spanish, Dutch, Russian, and English settlements, and of the native peoples and cultures with which they interacted and came in conflict. It continues the story of the European settlement, focusing on the United States as the representative of Anglo-American culture and Mexico as the representative of Latin American culture. Though Lands of Hope and Promise tells the secular history found in standard textbooks, it includes the contributions of the Catholic Church, Catholic communities, and individual Catholics - along with Catholic ideas - to the rich and tempestuous of American story. And it tells this history as a story, with all the color and drama that belongs to it. End of chapter reviews and other material highlight dates and events, characters in history, and definitions of key terms.Grade range: high school