Introduction -- Businessmen become revolutionaries (1764/1777) -- A new republic grapples with old issues (1778/1790) -- The british empire makes war against its offspring (1791/1815) -- Almost free labor (1816/1837) -- Might makes right (1838/1850) -- Northern industry tames southern agriculture (1851/1865) -- More competition, more oppression (1866/1877) -- The great american relocation (1878/1890) -- A clumsy foray into colonialism (1891/1901) -- Trustbuster (1901/1913) -- Anglo-american power shift (1914/1921) -- Ascendant consumerism (1922/1928) -- The implosion of ?laissez-faire (1929/1939) -- An unprecedented middle class (1941/1959) -- Military-industrial complex (1960/1975) -- Tax credit utopia (1976/1988) -- A kinder and gentler corporate mandate (1989/2000) -- Post 9-11 -- Summary -- Chapter notes -- Selected bibliography -- Index