This book defines war, rather than liberty, as the primary means by which the peoples of North America have defined social, cultural, and political boundaries for the last half-millennium. From the Seven Years' War, to the ambivalent response to the First World War, through to involvement in the Second World War, Vietnam and Iraq, this book traces the birth and evolution of a militaristic nation. The Dominion of War is a landmark account of how republic and empire have coexisted in history as two faces of the same coin. It is sure to contribute to the debate on the imperialist ambitions of America's foreign policy in the twenty-first century.