The work depicts the transformation of the American wilderness into a state of urban decay caused by human development while reflecting the green, environmental themes popular with the counterculture of the 1970s.

The final 15th panel depicts what Crumb describes as the "Ecotopian Solution", which has brought humanity into a more harmonious relationship with nature by bringing the environment into the foreground.

In the final panel, the forests have reclaimed their previous lost space and people are shown riding bikes near a geodesic dome, with others playing music beneath the trees.

[4] Daniel Worden of Rochester Institute of Technology sees "A Short History of America" as a parody and continuation of the five-part series The Course of Empire (1833–1836) by American landscape painter Thomas Cole (1801–1848).

In 1981, a new version was released by Kitchen Sink Press, with Peter Poplaski adding color to the original work and turning it into a commercial poster for sale.

[10] A 1993 serigraph of "A Short History of America" was exhibited in 2009 in the show Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics into Comix at the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin.