Book excerpt: The boundary between the U.S. and Canada is far more than a line on a map or a demarcation on the ground. In a broad sense, it represents the aspirations, successes, frustrations, failures, and compromises of the two largest countries on the North American continent. Behind this unfortified boundary lie the negotiations, surveys, and intrigue leading to the final establishment of this international border that had its beginnings in the eighteenth century.