| List of Figures and Maps | p. xiii |
| Preface | p. xv |
| Prelude: The American Landscape in 1760 | p. 1 |
| A Tour of the Northern Colonies | p. 2 |
| A Tour of the South | p. 17 |
| The Atlantic Trading Community | p. 35 |
| The Atlantic Economy | p. 36 |
| The Staple Trade | p. 39 |
| The Urban Experience | p. 43 |
| The Atlantic Cultural Community | p. 47 |
| The Educational Exchange | p. 47 |
| The Scientific Exchange | p. 49 |
| The Artistic Community | p. 55 |
| The Literary Community | p. 56 |
| Dawn of Enlightenment | p. 58 |
| Religous Awakenings | p. 62 |
| British America in 1763 | p. 68 |
| The Imperial Challenge, 1763-1770 | p. 71 |
| Writs of Assistance | p. 74 |
| The Parson's Cause | p. 75 |
| Parliament Takes a Hand | p. 77 |
| The Stamp Act | p. 79 |
| Parliament Retreats | p. 86 |
| A New Challenge: Townshend Taxes | p. 89 |
| "The Bloody Business on King Street" | p. 93 |
| The Road to Revolution, 1770-1774 | p. 97 |
| An Internal Distraction: The Regulators | p. 97 |
| Controversy over the Wilderness | p. 100 |
| Samuel Adams: Lonely Rebel | p. 103 |
| Orchestrated Violence: The Tea Parties | p. 106 |
| The Continental Congress | p. 112 |
| Economic Warfare | p. 116 |
| Struggle for Independence, 1775-1778 | p. 119 |
| Gathering an Army | p. 121 |
| Common Sense | p. 124 |
| The Revolution as Civil War | p. 128 |
| An Island versus a Continent | p. 132 |
| From Long Island to Trenton | p. 134 |
| Contest for the Fourteenth Colony | p. 138 |
| The Hinge of Fate | p. 141 |
| A World War | p. 147 |
| A Nation Born | p. 153 |
| Winter at Valley Forge | p. 153 |
| Stalemate in the North | p. 155 |
| Conquering the Northwest | p. 159 |
| The War Shifts to the South | p. 159 |
| The Road to Yorktown | p. 163 |
| The Financial Crisis | p. 165 |
| The Peacemakers | p. 167 |
| The Revolution at Home | p. 171 |
| Thirteen Republics | p. 173 |
| A Bourgeois Society | p. 177 |
| African Americans, Slave and Free | p. 179 |
| Liberty's Daughters Become the Republic's Mothers | p. 183 |
| Reform with Caution | p. 186 |
| A Time of Trial | p. 193 |
| Articles of Confederation | p. 193 |
| Origins of National Politics | p. 196 |
| Organizing the West | p. 198 |
| Demobilization and Depression | p. 203 |
| The Fight over Paper Money | p. 207 |
| "A Little Rebellion..." | p. 211 |
| From Many, One | p. 215 |
| Toward a Stronger Union | p. 217 |
| The Federal Convention | p. 220 |
| Crafting the Constitution | p. 223 |
| The Great Debate | p. 228 |
| Ratification | p. 231 |
| The New Nation | p. 239 |
| Black Communities, Slave and Free | p. 240 |
| Republican Motherhood | p. 243 |
| Seeds of Industrial Capitalism | p. 244 |
| The Restless Frontier | p. 247 |
| Birth of the Cotton Kingdom | p. 248 |
| Transport and Trade | p. 250 |
| Launching the Ship of State, 1789-1794 | p. 255 |
| Organizing a Government | p. 256 |
| The Bill of Rights | p. 258 |
| Public Finance: Hamilton versus Madison | p. 259 |
| The Politics of Neutrality | p. 266 |
| Western Lands and Border Warfare | p. 270 |
| The Whiskey Rebellion | p. 276 |
| Fall of the Federalists, 1794-1800 | p. 279 |
| The Jay Treaty | p. 280 |
| Washington's Farewell | p. 284 |
| The XYZ Affair | p. 287 |
| Federalist Repression | p. 292 |
| Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions | p. 293 |
| The Politics of Peace | p. 294 |
| Gabriel's Conspiracy: The African-American "Revolution of 1800" | p. 296 |
| The Search for National Identity | p. 301 |
| An American Style in Literature and the Arts | p. 301 |
| An American Style of Building | p. 307 |
| Home Furnishings | p. 312 |
| The Search for National Symbols | p. 314 |
| Religion: The American Version of Protestantism | p. 316 |
| The Pursuit of Science | p. 319 |
| Jeffersonian Liberalism | p. 323 |
| Election of 1800 | p. 324 |
| The Experiment Confirmed | p. 328 |
| A New Capital City | p. 328 |
| "A Wise and Frugal Government..." | p. 331 |
| Gallatin at the Treasury | p. 335 |
| Assault on the Courts | p. 338 |
| Jeffersonian Nationalism | p. 345 |
| The Barbary War | p. 345 |
| The Rising Empire | p. 347 |
| Exploration of Louisiana | p. 351 |
| The West Florida Controversy | p. 353 |
| The Conspiracy of Aaron Burr | p. 356 |
| The Road to War, 1805-1812 | p. 361 |
| Impressment and the Orders-in-Council | p. 361 |
| The Embargo Experiment | p. 365 |
| Madison in Command | p. 368 |
| Jefferson and Western Lands | p. 371 |
| Tecumseh and Tippecanoe | p. 375 |
| The Declaration of War | p. 381 |
| "Mr. Madison's War" | p. 385 |
| 1812: Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory | p. 385 |
| Victories at Sea | p. 388 |
| Recovery of the West: 1813 | p. 390 |
| Politics and War: The East in 1813 | p. 392 |
| Jackson and Horseshoe Bend | p. 393 |
| The Campaign of 1814 | p. 394 |
| From Lake Champlain to New Orleans | p. 397 |
| The Peace of Christmas Eve | p. 401 |
| The Hartford Convention | p. 403 |
| Changing of the Guard | p. 404 |
| Some Suggested Readings | p. 407 |
| Index | p. 421 |
| About the Author | p. 439 |
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