Sixteenth-century background -- Creating new frontiers, 1600-74 -- Britain, France, and the natives, 1674-1715 -- Multiple currents, 1715-53 -- War for dominance, 1754-64 -- Britain triumphant to America independent, 1765-76 -- Britain defeated, 1775-83 -- Flexing muscles, 1783-1811 -- Florida, but not Canada : from the War of 1812 to the Monroe Doctrine, 1812-23 -- Expansionism and its problems, 1823-43 -- From the Oregon question to the Gadsden Purchase, 1844-53 -- A great power in the making? : America, 1853-61 -- America divided, 1861-63 -- Winning the war, 1863-65 -- Settling the North American question, 1865-71 -- Postscript, 1871-2010.