Synopses & Reviews
A sweeping history of the 1840s that captures America’s enormous sense of possibility and shows how the extraordinary expansion of territories forced the nation to come to grips with the deep rift that would bring war just a decade later.
Steven Woodworth paints a vivid and panoramic portrait of America at its most vibrant and expansive: the annexations of Texas, California, and the states of the Pacific Northwest; prospectors heading west in search of gold; the founding of the Church of Latter-Day Saints and the eventual migration of the Mormons; railroads and telegraph lines connecting populations as never before; William Henry Harrison waging the first modern populist campaign for president, focusing on entertaining voters rather than discussing issues. And throughout, Woodworth traces the path of what had been the “local” issue of slavery as it grew into a central national issue that divided religions, political parties, and, ultimately, the nation itself.
An absorbing, animated re-creation of a decade that forged our nation’s character and destiny.
Synopsis
This sweeping history of the 1840s captures America's enormous sense of possibility and shows how the extraordinary expansion of territories forced the nation to come to grips with the deep rift that would bring war just a decade later.
About the Author
Steven E. Woodworth was born in Ohio and grew up in the Midwest. He earned his Ph.D. in history at Rice University in 1987, and is the author, coauthor, or editor of twenty-eight books on American history, including Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861-1865. He is currently a professor of history at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
Table of Contents
List of MapsPreface
PART ONE: The Two Party System
The Log Cabin and Hard Cider Campaign
Tyler, Clay, and the Durability of the Two-Party System
Abolitionism
PART TWO: Westward Expansion
The Oregon Trail
The Allure and the Danger of California
The Mormons and Their Migration
PART THREE: The Politics of Expansion
Tyler and Texas
The Election of 1844
Texas Annexation
PART FOUR: War with Mexico
Armies Along the Rio Grande
The Monterrey Campaign
New Mexico, Chihuahua, and California
Buena Vista
Veracruz, Cerro Gordo, and the Politics of Expansion
To the Gates of Mexico City
A Conquered Capital and a Negotiated Peace
PART FIVE: The Political System and the Controversies of Expansion
The Election of 1848
The California Gold Rush
California and the Expansion of Slavery
The Struggle for Compromise
Notes
Index