Manifest Destiny and Empire: American Antebellum Expansionism (Volume 31) (Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lectures, published for the University of Texas at Arlington by Texas A&M University Press) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 160344047X ISBN 13: 9781603440479

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press, 2008

Synopsis

Six scholars consider important aspects of American antebellum expansion in these studies based on talks originally prepared for the Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lectures.

Robert W. Johannsen of the University of Illinois at Urbana offers fresh insight into the meaning of the term "manifest destiny," arguing for a broader definition.

John M. Belohlavek of the University of South Florida takes a close look at the expansionist attitudes of Caleb Cushing, a Massachusetts politician, diplomat, reformer, and intellectual. Cushing's life and controversial career, Belohlavek argues, mirror a young republic as it began to transform itself from "union" to "nation."

Thomas R. Hietala of Grinnell College examines the complicated clash of culturesthe result of Manifest Destinyand how it was viewed by observant individuals such as George Catlin, a painter who traveled and lived among Native Americans just prior to the expansionist surge of the 1840s and who opposed the destruction of Native Americans in the wake of the Anglo westward movement.

Winner of the Webb essay competition for 1996, Samuel J. Watson of Rice University studies U.S. Army officers' responses to territorial expansionism between 1815 and 1846. He argues that officers' views on Manifest Destiny were far more nuanced than conventional models of romantic nationalism suggest.

Sam W. Haynes uncovers the social and political complexities, including a widespread fear of Great Britain, that made Texas' annexation the most divisive issue of its day.

Robert E. May of Purdue University offers a compelling examination of American filibustering during the Manifest Destiny era.

About this title

About the Author:

SAM W. HAYNES and CHRISTOPHER M. MORRIS are associate professors of history at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Review:

"... a very satisfying collection, with edifying perspectives on an era in which expansionists prevailed." - Southwestern Historical Quarterly"

About this edition

• Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 160344047X
• ISBN 13: 9781603440479
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192
• Editor: Haynes Sam W., Morris Christopher