Political theorist Samuel Goldman examines contemporary calls for nationalist revival, arguing that the conditions that once enabled American national cohesion no longer exist. He identifies three historical sources of American nationalism: the Puritan-derived 'covenant' tradition of chosen people with a divine mission, the republican 'crucible' tradition forged through war and sacrifice, and the 'creed' tradition grounded in shared ideals of liberty and equality. Goldman shows how each tradition depended on conditions largely absent today: religious consensus, wartime mobilization, and confident belief in progress. Mid-twentieth-century national cohesion, often invoked nostalgically, required coercive Americanization of immigrants, world war that demanded universal sacrifice, and widespread religious practice that no longer characterizes American life. Goldman is skeptical that nationalism can be revived by political will alone, since the experiences that created national feeling cannot be manufactured. The book is neither celebration nor condemnation of nationalism but a sober analysis of its historical conditions. Writing from a conservative perspective, Goldman challenges both progressive dismissal of national identity and conservative faith that nationalism can be easily restored. For anyone seeking to understand the possibilities and limits of national solidarity in contemporary America, this short book provides essential historical perspective.