Most historical studies bury us in wars and politics, paying scant attention to the everyday effects of pop culture. Welcome to America's other history: the arts, activities, common items, and popular opinions that profoundly impacted our national way of life.

At the birth of the nation, when America's statesmen were laying the foundations of a new government, citizens were forging a popular culture to call their own. Patriotic symbols like the eagle and the profile of George Washington symbolized the virtues of the young nation. People from all classes--farmers, merchants, and the...