Prologue: The defeat of the past
The continental setting
From the jaws of defeat
An era of good and bad feelings
The world that cotton made
Awakenings of religion
Overthrowing the tyranny of distance
The improvers
Pursuing the millennium
Andrew Jackson and his age
Battles over sovereignty
Jacksonian democracy and the rule of law
Reason and revelation
Jackson's third term
The new economy
The Whigs and their age
American renaissance
Texas, Tyler, and the telegraph
Westward the star of empire
The war against Mexico
The revolutions of 1848
Finale: A vision of the future.