By the end of the 18th century, former British colonies settle on the east coast of North America to become the USA, before setting sights on what lay west.

As the United States advances west, what appeared to be empty terrain is in fact a richly inhabited landscape of indigenous peoples who will not surrender their lands without a fight.

Mexican-owned Texas offers land and freedom for those white settlers searching for a fresh start, but the influx of people becomes the catalyst for the brutal Mexican-American war that changes the course of US history forever.

Newly acquired California proves to be invaluable as the discovery of gold unleashes the largest migration in United States history and ignites a debate on slavery, culminating in the Civil War.

The race of the railroads to join the east and west coasts begins a new chapter in US dominance and leads to the rise of an American icon: the cowboy.

As the century draws to a close, the scars of systematic ethnic cleansing of native peoples along with US claims on land stretch across the entire continent.