In November 2020, The New York Times asked fifteen of its columnists to 'explain what the past four years have cost America.' Not one of the columnists focused on President Trump's racism. This book seeks to redress this imbalance and bring Black Americans' role in our economy to the forefront. While all humans were created equal, economic history in the United States tells a different story. Reconstruction lasted for only a decade, and Jim Crow laws replaced it. The Civil Rights Movement lasted through the 1960s, yet decayed under President Nixon. The United States has been declining in the Social Product Index, where it now is the lowest of the G7 and 26th in the world. For health and happiness, Temin argues that we need lasting integration efforts that allow Black Americans equal opportunity. This book convincingly integrates Black and white activities into an inclusive economic history of America.

Peter Temin is the Elisha Gray II Professor of Economics Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Introduction: Part I. The Nineteenth Century: 1. Slavery and the civil war; 2. Reconstruction; 3. The gilded age and jim crow laws; Part II. The Twentieth Century: 4. The great migration, depression and world wars; 5. Postwar prosperity and the civil rights movement; 6. A new gilded age and mass incarceration; Part III. The Twenty-First Century Begins: 7. Racism rises and America declines; Conclusion.