This review episode traces the broad sweep of U.S. history from 1491 through the end of Reconstruction, guided by W. E. B. Du Bois’s idea of a widening circle of democracy and a narrowing circle of caste. Rather than memorizing dates, we move chronologically while returning to core questions about power, belonging, and resistance. From Native societies before Columbus to colonization, revolution, expansion, slavery, civil war, and Reconstruction, we examine who benefited from change, who was excluded, and who fought back. Along the way, we highlight continuities as well as turning points, showing how American ideals repeatedly clashed with American realities.