Presents the history of the United States from the colonization of the New World through the middle of the eighteenth century.

It was a exuberant time for the citizens of the United States, who included a range of folks from mountain men and railroad builders to whalers and farmers, as they pushed forward into the open frontier, with all their hopes and fears.

It will take us into the heart of the Civil War, from the Battle of Manassas to the battle of Gettysburg and on until the south's surrender at Appomattox. Follow the common soldiers, in blue or gray, as they endure long marches, freezing winter camps and the bloodiest battles ever fought on American soil.

Discusses captains of industry Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford in the 'Gilded Age'; the technology of trains, telephones, electric lights, harvesters, vacuum cleaners and more; and Americans Mother Jones, Ida Tarbell, Big Bill Haywood, Sam Gompers and Teddy Roosevelt; and the beginning of World War I.