Throes of Democracy

The American Civil War Era, 1829-1877

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877)
Cover of the book Throes of Democracy by Walter A. McDougall, HarperCollins e-books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Walter A. McDougall ISBN: 9780061862366
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books Publication: April 7, 2009
Imprint: HarperCollins e-books Language: English
Author: Walter A. McDougall
ISBN: 9780061862366
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
Publication: April 7, 2009
Imprint: HarperCollins e-books
Language: English

"And then there came a day of fire!" From its shocking curtain-raiser—the conflagration that consumed Lower Manhattan in 1835—to the climactic centennial year of 1876, when Americans staged a corrupt, deadlocked presidential campaign (fought out in Florida), Walter A. McDougall's Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era, 1829-1877 throws off sparks like a flywheel. This eagerly awaited sequel to Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History, 1585-1828 carries the saga of the American people's continuous self-reinvention from the inauguration of President Andrew Jackson through the eras of Manifest Destiny, Civil War, and Reconstruction, America's first failed crusade to put "freedom on the march" through regime change and nation building.

But Throes of Democracy is much more than a political history. Here, for the first time, is the American epic as lived by Germans and Irish, Catholics and Jews, as well as people of British Protestant and African American stock; an epic defined as much by folks in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Texas as by those in Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia; an epic in which Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, showman P. T. Barnum, and circus clown Dan Rice figure as prominently as Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Henry Ward Beecher; an epic in which railroad management and land speculation prove as gripping as Indian wars. Walter A. McDougall's zesty, irreverent narrative says something new, shrewd, ironic, or funny about almost everything as it reveals our national penchant for pretense—a predilection that explains both the periodic throes of democracy and the perennial resilience of the United States.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

"And then there came a day of fire!" From its shocking curtain-raiser—the conflagration that consumed Lower Manhattan in 1835—to the climactic centennial year of 1876, when Americans staged a corrupt, deadlocked presidential campaign (fought out in Florida), Walter A. McDougall's Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era, 1829-1877 throws off sparks like a flywheel. This eagerly awaited sequel to Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History, 1585-1828 carries the saga of the American people's continuous self-reinvention from the inauguration of President Andrew Jackson through the eras of Manifest Destiny, Civil War, and Reconstruction, America's first failed crusade to put "freedom on the march" through regime change and nation building.

But Throes of Democracy is much more than a political history. Here, for the first time, is the American epic as lived by Germans and Irish, Catholics and Jews, as well as people of British Protestant and African American stock; an epic defined as much by folks in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Texas as by those in Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia; an epic in which Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, showman P. T. Barnum, and circus clown Dan Rice figure as prominently as Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Henry Ward Beecher; an epic in which railroad management and land speculation prove as gripping as Indian wars. Walter A. McDougall's zesty, irreverent narrative says something new, shrewd, ironic, or funny about almost everything as it reveals our national penchant for pretense—a predilection that explains both the periodic throes of democracy and the perennial resilience of the United States.

More books from HarperCollins e-books

Cover of the book Lost Girls and Love Hotels by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book Sandman Slim by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book The Kennedys by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book Circle of Three by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book Live Rich by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book Hot Stuff by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book The Last True Cowboy by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book The Ultimate Muffin Book by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book Blind Faith by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book The Essential Clive Barker by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book 2010: Take Back America by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book Vanish with the Rose by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book With Violets by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book Furious Love by Walter A. McDougall
Cover of the book Cosmic Adventure by Walter A. McDougall
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy