Powerfully synthesizing major currents in the field, this book addresses the issue of inequality across American politics and society, using race as a lens for the exploration of major themes in American history. It considers the concept of race as a social construction, against the background of the historical struggles for “fairness” in a society based on the framework of democracy, whose principle is that majority’s consent be necessary for the fulfillment of “justice.”

Professor Masaki Kawashima is Director of the Center for American Studies (CAS), Editor of Nanzan Review of American Studies (NRAS), and Professor of American History at the Department of British and American Studies, Nanzan University, Japan. Professor Kawashima obtained his Litt.D. at Kyoto University, Japan, and has been researching and publishing on American history for over 30 years.