American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850
- Downloads：8811
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-27 06:51:45
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Alan Taylor
- ISBN：1324005793
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
In this beautifully written history of America’s formative period， a preeminent historian upends the traditional story of a young nation confidently marching to its continent-spanning destiny。 The newly constituted United States actually emerged as a fragile， internally divided union of states contending still with European empires and other independent republics on the North American continent。 Native peoples sought to defend their homelands from the flood of American settlers through strategic alliances with the other continental powers。 The system of American slavery grew increasingly powerful and expansive， its vigorous internal trade in Black Americans separating parents and children， husbands and wives。 Bitter party divisions pitted elites favoring strong government against those， like Andrew Jackson， espousing a democratic populism for white men。 Violence was both routine and organized: the United States invaded Canada， Florida， Texas， and much of Mexico， and forcibly removed most of the Native peoples living east of the Mississippi。 At the end of the period the United States， its conquered territory reaching the Pacific， remained internally divided， with sectional animosities over slavery growing more intense。
Taylor’s elegant history of this tumultuous period offers indelible miniatures of key characters from Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth to Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Margaret Fuller。 It captures the high-stakes political drama as Jackson and Adams， Clay， Calhoun， and Webster contend over slavery， the economy， Indian removal， and national expansion。 A ground-level account of American industrialization conveys the everyday lives of factory workers and immigrant families。 And the immersive narrative puts us on the streets of Port-au-Prince， Mexico City， Quebec， and the Cherokee capital， New Echota。
Absorbing and chilling， American Republics illuminates the continuities between our own social and political divisions and the events of this formative period。
Taylor’s elegant history of this tumultuous period offers indelible miniatures of key characters from Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth to Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Margaret Fuller。 It captures the high-stakes political drama as Jackson and Adams， Clay， Calhoun， and Webster contend over slavery， the economy， Indian removal， and national expansion。 A ground-level account of American industrialization conveys the everyday lives of factory workers and immigrant families。 And the immersive narrative puts us on the streets of Port-au-Prince， Mexico City， Quebec， and the Cherokee capital， New Echota。
Absorbing and chilling， American Republics illuminates the continuities between our own social and political divisions and the events of this formative period。
Reviews
Tascha Folsoi
，
Must read！ Alan Taylor， in his dedication to helping us understand our own origins as a nation， is one of the most patriotic historians we will ever have。 The greatest threat to any nation， religion， or even relationship occurs when people and movements try to advance a destructive， selfish agenda under the false flag of a shared， cherished principle such as freedom， equality， or even religious faith。 While we may not agree as to who are the current bearers of the false flags， this dynamic is so Must read！ Alan Taylor， in his dedication to helping us understand our own origins as a nation， is one of the most patriotic historians we will ever have。 The greatest threat to any nation， religion， or even relationship occurs when people and movements try to advance a destructive， selfish agenda under the false flag of a shared， cherished principle such as freedom， equality， or even religious faith。 While we may not agree as to who are the current bearers of the false flags， this dynamic is something every American would probably agree threatens society today。 In a fast-moving， engaging style， Taylor logically lays out how false flags were sewn， raised， and waved in the time period this book covers to justify slavery and dispossession of native lands。 This is hardly an attack on the people of America as he quotes countless people -white， black， and native- who speak out against those waving the false flags。 The book explains so much of the period， step by step。 Taylor shows how that fear that if Britain and France were left to control territory on the continent， they could destroy the union。 This fueled Americans rush to dispossess Indians of their lands。 Similarly， people feared that if all the land were not under American control in the hands of slave states or states with fugitive slave laws， slaves could escape and then help others to revolt against whites and escape。 You see that Manifest Destiny in its time was not so much a visionary prediction as a defensive position。 You will learn about black and white abolitionists and about white people opposed slavery in the west， not because they were moral， but simply because they feared the power of the large plantation owner to control the wealth in the way corporations can today。 Over and over again， you see where the stated reasons for slavery and the violent dispossession of land were cloaked as “freedom to have property” or “saving the savages”。 Again， the author makes the case by using the words of the many moral Americans who wrote and spoke against the hypocrisy and brutality within the time period。 He reveals the threats to liberty and justice for all by using the words of people who spoke up on behalf of those principals。 You learn about how urbanization and the separation from the workers and owners unfolded， the beginnings of the Mormons， how Andrew Jackson came to be Andrew Jackson and how he created a coalition of working people and how that coalition later falls apart。 You will see how land was taken from Native Americans through pseudo-legal means。 He covers the Southwest， including how the ranchos were created from the missions， how white people from the East and from Europe came to obtain these ranchos。 There is the birth of the different Texases， California， and Oregon。 The unfolding of the Mexican-American War， and the lead-up to the Civil War。 If you want a handle on this time period， presented in a very cause and effect way， this book is an excellent overview that will foster many questions and much further reading in your mind。 Read it！ It’s a great book that will give you a much clearer understanding of the past and better ability to explain to yourself and others how we got here。 It’s informative and a super easy read！ 。。。more
Stephen Morrissey
，
Alan Taylor has unfurled a wonderfully updated， searing and massively necessary reinterpretation of American history， first with "American Colonies"， then with "American Revolutions"， and now， with the third installment in the series， "American Republics，" which picks up the narrative in the immediate aftermath of the War of the American Revolution and trundles through to the Compromise of 1850 and boiling sectional tensions within the youthful and disjointed United States of America。 The period Alan Taylor has unfurled a wonderfully updated， searing and massively necessary reinterpretation of American history， first with "American Colonies"， then with "American Revolutions"， and now， with the third installment in the series， "American Republics，" which picks up the narrative in the immediate aftermath of the War of the American Revolution and trundles through to the Compromise of 1850 and boiling sectional tensions within the youthful and disjointed United States of America。 The period of the early to mid-19th Century in America has dripped with commendation as "Manifest Destiny，" a sojourning of settlers across the vast， virgin lands of the West that turned the Louisiana Territory， Great Plains and Pacific Coast into a magnificent vanguard of liberty and prosperity。 As with other marbled themes of American history， Taylor disputes this one， showing instead an insecure United States that sought to expand outward and westward in order to prevent internal rebellions and foreign imperial designs on a nation found to be more foundering than triumphant in the 1800s。 Amidst this push to the West， settlers displaced and committed genocide against the Native American peoples， culminating in Andrew Jackson's vicious Indian removal policies all the way through to the Mexican War。Americans in the 1800s， in Taylor's view， did not cohere so much as contest among each other: for commercial gain; for religious fervor and independence; for a greater say by the common （white） man in government; and for space and soil。 Taylor's book is unrelenting in the tragedies of America in the 1800s - massive expansion of enslaved African-Americans; constant pushing， killing and trampling of Native Americans; a democracy framed not as magnanimous and seeking greater liberty， but a jealous guarding by white Americans of privileges over non-citizen （and perhaps non-human） blacks， Hispanics， Native Americans and others。Taylor's narrative is indeed wrenching， but does it miss some of the aspirational qualities of American nationhood？ Gordon Wood， in a recent review of "American Republics，" notes that "The history of the United States can never be understood， even by the victims of slavery and racism， as merely a tragic tale。" There is almost all tragedy in Taylor's telling， so where does the impetus originate from in a Civil War that erupts in 1861， a war that started as an effort to save the Union， but ended in a bloody and radical break with tradition in emancipating African-Americans and setting the government towards the ideal of greater democratic governance and credibility。 Taylor's "American Republics" is no doubt significant and correct in its focus on the brutal nature of 19th Century America。 Unlike Europe， though， the brutality rested atop a cauldron of ideas of liberty for all that， when brought to a boil， exploded through to make America much more than what it started out as: a republic for propertied white men。 。。。more
Michael Trapani
，
Taylor’s fascinating book revolves around his recurring argument: that Manifest Destiny was not some providential duty to stretch Protestant Christianity and democracy across the continent but instead stemmed from American insecurity over having their fragile union of states upended by real and perceived enemies， both within and without。In Taylor’s convincing view， white Americans saw danger from savage Indians and rebellious slaves around every corner with a host of European powers ready and wi Taylor’s fascinating book revolves around his recurring argument: that Manifest Destiny was not some providential duty to stretch Protestant Christianity and democracy across the continent but instead stemmed from American insecurity over having their fragile union of states upended by real and perceived enemies， both within and without。In Taylor’s convincing view， white Americans saw danger from savage Indians and rebellious slaves around every corner with a host of European powers ready and willing to aid those groups in the fragmentation of the US。 Only by removing Indians to the furthest corners of the continent and killing those who wouldn’t leave and placing ironclad restrictions on all Blacks， both free and slave could the country keep together the fragile strands of union。 Taylor tells his story with graphic detail （his coverage of the volunteer soldiers of the Mexican American War is particularly gruesome） and is not afraid to throw out phrases like white supremacy when describing America’s expansion during these years。 It’s a very good read; accessible and something for the casual history fan and history scholar alike。 If you’re a flag-waving patriot though， proceed with caution。 。。。more
Steven
，
This is a great review of the histories of republics in North America， 1783-1850。
Andrew Clough
，
Not quite as good as the Oxford History of the United States books but nearly there and it brought some nice perspective to the triangulation of US Indian policy and relations with Great Britain。 That one of the motivations for the War of 1812 was that Britain was selling arms to Indians the US was trying to wipe out was new to me。 That victory at New Orleans let the US have a freer hand in how it interpreted aspects of the Treaty of Ghent likewise with regards to the Indians Britain was allied Not quite as good as the Oxford History of the United States books but nearly there and it brought some nice perspective to the triangulation of US Indian policy and relations with Great Britain。 That one of the motivations for the War of 1812 was that Britain was selling arms to Indians the US was trying to wipe out was new to me。 That victory at New Orleans let the US have a freer hand in how it interpreted aspects of the Treaty of Ghent likewise with regards to the Indians Britain was allied with。 The book does deny agency to Indians at other times though， portraying the Comanche as raiding in response to Texan provocations rather than a tribute-extracting empire。 。。。more
Brian Skinner
，
Pretty good book but biased。 Every single bad thing described is done by a white person。 Totally ignores things like the behavior of the commanches or utah Indians selling their kids into slavery in mexico。 The terrorism of Simon Bolivar is glossed over。 I don’t mind reading bad things white people did or said but to exclude the other sides bad behavior is Howard Zinn like。 Yes Gordon S Wood is right about this being a “woke” book。 It is still valuable for the information contained even though t Pretty good book but biased。 Every single bad thing described is done by a white person。 Totally ignores things like the behavior of the commanches or utah Indians selling their kids into slavery in mexico。 The terrorism of Simon Bolivar is glossed over。 I don’t mind reading bad things white people did or said but to exclude the other sides bad behavior is Howard Zinn like。 Yes Gordon S Wood is right about this being a “woke” book。 It is still valuable for the information contained even though the author has an agenda which is not the same as wanting to present the true nature of events。 。。。more
Carles
，
I do like reading history and find myself more prone to read historical fiction as the story brings the historical background to life。 This book reads like historical fiction， unlike almost any other 'history' book that I have read。 In particular， it is fun to read the intimacy of certain person's lives， as this makes the activities of the time feel more present。 I must say， that while reading this， and then reading current events today （2021）， we have not progressed much as a culture。 Many of t I do like reading history and find myself more prone to read historical fiction as the story brings the historical background to life。 This book reads like historical fiction， unlike almost any other 'history' book that I have read。 In particular， it is fun to read the intimacy of certain person's lives， as this makes the activities of the time feel more present。 I must say， that while reading this， and then reading current events today （2021）， we have not progressed much as a culture。 Many of the conflicts and prejudices in the early 1800's could be transposed to today's strongly polarized world， and they didn't have the internet then to blame it on！ I would even say that， compared to the festering Southern-Northern battle over slavery in that period， we have made next to no progress in coming to grips with economic and social magnitude of the slave-based economies of the early colonies， which gives the 1619 Project such relevance。 Of course， this makes it ever so threatening to many who just cannot come to grips with the way they were fed a very white American History as they grew up， myself being one of them， and I thought that I had a good and broad education at the hands of the Cristian Brothers。 How wrong I was。 Although Taylor stopped at the doorstep of the Civil War， it is hard to not guess the logical conclusion of essentially two nations living as one， and how rupture was inevitable。 But should this continue even today？ Have we learned nothing from history？ 。。。more
James
，
Author calls it the Die Harder to American Colonies。 Yes！
Dwight
，