Convulsed States: Earthquakes, Prophecy, and the Remaking of Early America

The New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12 were the strongest temblors in the North American interior in at least the past five centuries, leading to a range of interpretations and connections between environmental, spiritual, and political disorder. Convulsed States by Jonathan Todd Hancock uses archival research to explore these interpretations and shed new light on revivalism, nation remaking, and the relationship between religious and political authority in the early nineteenth century.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 204 pages
\n Publication date: 30 April 2021
\n Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
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The New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12 were the most powerful tremors to strike the interior of North America in at least the past five centuries. A wide range of thinkers, from the Great Plains to the Atlantic Coast and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, grappled with the enigmatic natural phenomena. They invoked various traditions of inquiry into the natural world and drew connections between signs of environmental, spiritual, and political turmoil on the eve of the War of 1812. Drawing from extensive archival research, Convulsed States delves into their interpretations to provide insights into revivalism, nation-building, and the interplay between religious and political authority across Native nations and the United States in the early nineteenth century. With a compelling narrative and rigorous comparative analysis, Jonathan Todd Hancock uses the earthquakes to bridge historical fields and shed new light on this pivotal era of nation-building.

Through the diverse efforts of various peoples to understand the New Madrid earthquakes, Hancock reimagines early nineteenth-century North America as a place where all its inhabitants grappled with fundamental human questions amidst prophecies, political reinventions, and war.

\n Weight: 340g\n
Dimension: 155 x 234 x 16 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781469662183\n \n