Attendant cruelties

"For nearly four centuries, religion and capitalism have been the cental values of the American way. Most Americans have made of this national legacy a force of inclusion in a land shaped by successive waves of change and immigration. But others have chosen to define their nation's values by exclusion, within a Republic to be sure, but within a democratic polity also constrained by race, class, and gender. In consequence, America has often been deeply divided - as during its terrible Civil War - but it is also the only country in the world where Left and Right have had, and still have, so broad a common origin."--BOOK JACKET.