British Colonies Forge an American Empire: A Basis for Trans-Atlantic Comparisons (Unabridged‪)‬

That the early United States was (or were) referred to as the New Empire would seem nonsensical or flatly erroneous today on both sides of the Atlantic.

In fact, Europeans and Americans alike viewed the United Colonies as a potential empire existing uneasily within an empire, the British Empire. This perspective impacted the crafting of the Continental Congress and the US government, whereas the governments of the member states were viewed as commensurate with the contemporary kingdoms in Europe. Yet today, the United States as a whole is typically assumed to be equivalent to a large EU state, hence leaving out vital empire-level attributes and dynamics that the American founders assumed would continue to be taken into account in American constitutional law and governance. The basic premise of this book says to Americans: Remember, if you forget who you are, you are bound for trouble.