Explore how the United States expanded from a fragile experiment along the Atlantic coast into a nation spanning an entire continent, revealing extraordinary sacrifices and untold personal accounts that dramatically reframe the story.
Across six episodes, the season traces the sweeping impact of the Louisiana Purchase, follows the perilous push west to California, and explores the ripple effects of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It then moves to the fight over Texas and the shifting U.S.-Mexico border, examines the high-stakes gamble to acquire Alaska, and charts the rise of New York into a global powerhouse. Throughout, descendants of key figures from explorers and politicians to Indigenous leaders and immigrant laborers offer intimate, firsthand perspectives that connect these turning points to the present day.