The log cabin and hard cider campaign Tyler, Clay, and the durability of the two-party system Abolitionism The Oregon Trail The allure and the danger of California The Mormons and their migration Tyler and Texas The election of 1844 Texas annexation Armies along the Rio Grande The Monterrey campaign New Mexico, Chihuahua, and California Buena Vista Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, and the politics of expansion To the gates of Mexico City A conquered capital and a negotiated peace The political system and the controversies of expansion The election of 1848 The California gold rush California and the expansion of slavery The struggle for compromise