American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850

From a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian, the powerful story of a precarious United States as it expands across a contested continent

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 544 pages
Publication date: 17 June 2022
Publisher: WW Norton & Co

In this captivating account of the formative years of the Americas, an esteemed historian presents a fresh perspective on the traditional narrative of a young nation's march toward its expansive destiny. The newly formed United States, rather than a cohesive and united entity, actually comprised a fragile union of states engaged in constant clashes over the delicate balance of regional power. European empires and the emerging Mexican republic sought to contain this union by forming alliances with Native peoples, who valiantly defended their ancestral lands. Intense political divisions emerged, pitting those advocating for robust government and elite rule against those, such as Andrew Jackson, championing a democratic populism for white men. As a wave of settlers flooded into the western territories, the United States embarked on a series of territorial expansions, invading Canada, Florida, Texas, and a significant portion of Mexico. In a ruthless move, it forcibly removed most Native peoples residing east of the Mississippi River. Following the Mexican war, which resulted in the conquest of vast territories extending westward to the Pacific, the issue of slavery became a source of deep sectional divisions, leading to a crisis that would shape the nation's future.

Weight: 414g
Dimension: 139 x 207 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781324021803