Introduction: The vanquished and the vanishing
Constructing the house of Chouteau : St. Louis
"We are well off that there are no Virginians in this quarter" : the two wests from 1763 to 1803
Surviving the transition to American rule
How the West was sold
Beyond St. Louis : negotiating the course of empire
Managing the tribe of Chouteau
"Avec bien du regret" : the Americanization of Creole St. Louis and French Detroit
"La confédération perdue" : the legacy of francophone culture in mid-America
Conclusion.