From virtuous republic to nation-state -- Negotiating a national past: statewide textbook adoption and the legacy of the Civil War -- Rise of the (Catholic) American nation: United States history in parochial schools -- Race and the limits of community -- Anglo-Saxonism and the revolt against the professors -- Harold Rugg vs. Horatio Alger: social class and economic opportunity, 1930-1960 -- The narrative "unravels," 1961-1985: a story in three parts