Size Matters

Size Matters: A History of Height in America is the first history of height in America. It begins with Native Americans in approximately 3300 BCE and continues to the present and tries to answer two important historical and biological questions: why have the heights of Americans fluctuated over time, and what do changing heights tell us about the American experience? Size matters because height matters as a measure of health, well-being, and economic inequality in American history. Heights are sensitive barometers both to material and social circumstances and they are affected by subtle changes in families, communities, and society that have been very difficult to measure and understand until recently. By bringing the body back into American history, Size Matters helps us better understand important changes in the lives of Americans over time.