American Republics
A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850
18 June 2021
Territory Rights — Worldwide.
Description
From a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian, the powerful story of a precarious United States as it expands across a contested continent.
In this beautifully written history of America’s formative period, an eminent historian upends the traditional story of a young nation marching to its continent-spanning destiny.
The newly constituted United States actually emerged as an internally fragile union of states that clashed over a tenuous balance of regional power. European empires and the new republic of Mexico sought to contain that union by allying with Native peoples who defended their homelands. Bitter political divisions pitted those favouring strong government with elite rule against those, like Andrew Jackson, espousing a democratic populism for white men. With a flood of settlers pouring into the west, the United States invaded Canada, Florida, Texas and much of Mexico. It forcibly removed most of the Native peoples living east of the Mississippi. And after the Mexican war, with conquered territory reaching west to the Pacific, the sectional divisions over slavery produced a crisis.
Reviews
"Taylor’s special contribution in “American Republics” is his capacity for panning out to capture major historical trends… he shows his skill in producing an expansive overview that synthesizes discoveries by historians, including himself… Whether as a gloss of received historical wisdom or as an overview whose originality lies in its comprehensiveness, “American Republics” succeeds admirably." — David S. Reynolds, The New York Times Book Review
"[Alan Taylor's] book is written in clear, readable prose designed for readers with little or no prior knowledge of the period, and the work has touches of wokeness, which helps to fit it nicely into this extraordinary moment in our history." — Gordon S. Wood, The Wall Street Journal
"... masterful new volume..." — M. J. Andersen, The Boston Globe
Awards
Winner — New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize, 2022