Is there a specific history of the visual medium of photography in the United States that would justify speaking of American photography? What made classic figures of international photography such as Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Ansel Adams, and Frederick Sommer—or even Robert Frank—American photographers? This volume presents examples of pioneering texts on the history of photography in America and more recent research on social, political, and artistic aspects of the medium. The spectrum of topics ranges from the aesthetic and social function of the daguerreotype to the role of photography in shaping the identity of the African American population of North America. With essays by Kaspar M. Fleischmann, Martin Gasser, Anne Hammond, Robin Kelsey, Anne McCauley, Shelley Rice, Shawn Michelle Smith, Maren Stange, Alan Trachtenberg, Kelley Wilder, and Deborah Willis.