The first programme is a personal memoire of Alistair Cooke's infatuation with America and its effect on his life.
Tracing the settlements and influence of the Spanish in the West and the French in the East.
Following the English dissenters and adventurers who settled in America in the 16th and 17th centuries.
America's struggle to gain independence from Britain.
How the 13 American colonies were unified after winning independence from the British and the formation of the government.
Pioneers and the dispossession of native Americans.
A look at slavery in the Southern States and the causes and effects of the Civil War.
The great push west by settlers including the Mormons, the founding of Salt Lake City and the crossing of the continent by railroad.
The rise of business and technology: Chicago, railroads, Edison, oil, Rockerfeller and the moneyed classes.
What was the impact of the flood of immigrants coming from Europe at the turn of the 19th century?
Prosperity and politics in the 1920s.
The USA as a world military power and the growth of the United Nations.
Alistair Cooke concludes the series by looking at contemporary America in the early 1970s and how it has diverged from the original aims of the settlers.