The colonies declare independence, taking on the might of the British Empire. Washington's army is near defeat, but new weapons and battle tactics turn the tide. Forged through revolution, a new nation is born.

The attack on Pearl Harbor brings America into World War. The war effort revitalizes the nation's economy. American innovation and manufacturing might invigorate the Allies in Europe and in the Pacific, the ultimate piece of technology ends the war; a new global superpower takes the stage.

World War II transforms America into a global Superpower. The economy booms. Technology feeds the boom and a new age of consumerism is born. More than twenty thousand cars roll off production lines daily and - just like the Transcontinental Railroad more than a century before - the Interstate highways connect the country. After defending their country and their ideals the Greatest Generation comes home. Like the pioneers before them they push back the boundaries, plowing up over a million acres of virgin territory a year to create the suburbs. This pioneering spirit knows no bounds as first the jet age and then the space age takes America into the supersonic era. The first man walks on the moon - and plants the American flag. Optimism for the future prevails - but first America must deal with the past - and the issue of race. It's a second Civil War, but finally the Civil Rights movement brings the words of the Declaration of Independence home to ALL Americans - black and white.