Part one: Colonial matters, 1763-1776, Offensive acts
Resistance becomes rebellion
Pledging lives and fortunes
Part two: The Revolutionary War, 1776-1781. Blood, property, and profit
Valley Forge dreams
Interlude: assault on Fort Wilson
Bricks without straw: the path to Yorktown
Part three: Victory and aftermath, 1781-1789. Triumph, and the costs of war
Targets of ire
Curing the defects
Part four: The federalist ascendancy, 1789-1796. Washington: creating the establishment
Progress, panic, and paternalism
New resistance to authority
Part five: Parties, populism, and striving for economic independence, 1797-1813. Adams: necessary transitions
Jefferson: the pendulum swing
Madison: a war for economic freedom.