The Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion, 1803–1898 - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0742549836 ISBN 13: 9780742549838

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005

Synopsis

The 1803 purchase of the Louisiana Territory was a watershed event for the fledgling United States. Adding some 829,000 square miles of territory, the Louisiana Purchase set a striking precedent of Presidential power and brought to the surface profound legal and constitutional questions. As the nation continued to expand westward and into the Pacific and Caribbean, critical social, political and constitutional questions arose that greatly tested American resolve and reshaped the nation's founding premises.

In this exciting collection, Sanford Levinson and Bartholomew Sparrow bring together noted scholars in American history, constitutional law, and political science to examine role that the Louisiana Purchase played in shaping both the expansionist policies of the nineteenth century and critical interpretations of the Constitution. The Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion, 1803–1898 provides a fascinating overview of how the U.S. Constitution and the American political system is inextricably tied to the Louisiana Purchase and the territorial expansion of the United States.

About this title

About the Author:

Sanford Levinson holds the W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr., Centennial Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School and is professor of government at the University of Texas. Bartholomew Sparrow is associate professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin.

Review:

Given the expansive reach of this sturdy collection, historians in many fields will surely find gold somewhere within its boundaries. (Journal of American History)

A thought-provoking book. (Raymond D. Screws, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Great Plains Quarterly)

The Louisiana Purchase marked the true beginning of the American expansion into Thomas Jefferson's 'Empire of Liberty.' This fascinating collection explores how the American urge to reach outward, first across the continent and then across the globe, has remade America itself, often in ways that were unforeseen and unwelcome. The story of nineteenth-century American expansion, beginning with Louisiana and ending with Puerto Rico, is well worth considering in an era of globalization and global conflicts at the opening of the twenty-first century. (Keith E. Whittington, Princeton University)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0742549836
• ISBN 13: 9780742549838
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272
• Editor: Levinson Sanford, Sparrow Bartholomew