Eduard Aleksandrovich Ivanyan - Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, head of the department of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, editor-in-chief of the magazine “USA and Canada: Economics, Politics and Culture”. For the first time in Russian educational literature, the main patterns have been traced and the features of the historical development of the American states, from the appearance of the first people in North America to the beginning of the 21st century. The stages of formation of American society, the processes of modernization of its economic, social and political structures are analyzed in detail. Includes materials about prominent US political and public figures. A detailed description of US foreign policy is given, problems of American culture, etc. are considered. The manual is written on the basis of an analysis of extensive domestic and foreign scientific literature, taking into account the latest theoretical and methodological research, modern approaches to the study of modern and contemporary history of foreign countries. A wide range of sources was used: official documents, memoirs, publications in periodicals, statistical materials. Particular attention is paid to legislative acts. For students of history departments of universities, pedagogical universities and foreign language institutes, where a course in the history of foreign countries is studied, as well as for students of colleges, lyceums and gymnasiums of the humanities as a teaching aid in regional studies.