This Land

The Louisiana Purchase doubles America's size overnight and reshapes the country forever; originally meant to unify a new nation, the deal sows seeds of deepening division that will ultimately tear the republic apart and ignite a civil war.

The Lewis and Clark expedition - part of Jefferson's vision to create an America stretching "from sea to shining sea" - marks rapid expansion westward, but ultimately leads to the darkest period in Native American history.

California's rise was not promised. Descendants of the settlers, laborers, and visionaries who pushed west in pursuit of Manifest Destiny reveal the hardship and ambition that transformed a distant frontier and the American map forever.

The Alaska Purchase adds vast territory to the U.S. but is also one of the Earth's most extreme environments. Initially thought to be a failure, oil is discovered, and the land becomes a cornerstone of America's economy - with hidden costs.

The 1836 Battle of the Alamo becomes a rallying cry for the Texas Revolution, culminating in the U.S. seizing vast territory from Mexico. As decades pass, the nation grows by nearly a third, reshaping North America and its balance of power.