Includes bibliographical references (pages 357-361).
Summary
Examines how the spiritual beliefs and vision of America's founders shaped the country's history and culture and assesses the influence of the spiritual traditions of African slaves, Native Americans, and early mystical communities on colonial America.
"An eclectic mixture of autobiography, U.S. intellectual history, philosophical inquiry, and spiritual wonderment, this extended meditative essay examines "America as an Idea" by uncovering the latent wisdom of many of its shining lights: Benjamin Franklin, William Penn, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Walt Whitman. Needleman, a philosophy professor and author of Money and the Meaning of Life, reinterprets the lives of each of these leaders in the context of their strong spiritual beliefs and their contributions to unifying a deeply divided body politic. The author liberally quotes classical philosophers, historians, biographers, and the subjects themselves, and he often interjects his own life experiences and spiritual beliefs into his loosely structured narrative. Needleman also tackles what he considers to be America's two most grievous historical blemishes: the murder of Native American culture and slavery and suggests how America should confront these wrongs." [from the "Library Journal"]
I. The crisis of the new order. -- American democracy in a revolutionary age -- The Republican interest and the self-created democracy -- The making of Jeffersonian democracy -- Jefferson's two presidencies -- Nationalism and the War of 1812 -- II. Democracy ascendant. -- The era of bad feelings -- Slavery, compromise, and democratic politics -- The politics of moral improvement -- The aristocracy and democracy of America -- The Jackson era: uneasy beginnings -- Radical democracies -- 1832: Jackson's crucial year -- Banks, abolitionists, and the equal rights democracy -- "The republic has degenerated into a democracy" -- The politics of hard times -- Whigs, Democrats, and democracy -- III. Slavery and the crisis of American democracy. -- Whig debacle, Democratic confusion -- Antislavery, annexation, and the advent of young Hickory -- The bitter fruits of Manifest Destiny -- War, slavery, and the American 1848 -- Political truce, uneasy consequences -- The truce collapses -- A nightmare broods over society -- The faith that right makes might -- The Iliad of all our woes.
Summary
Political historian Wilentz traces an arc from the earliest days of the Republic to the opening shots of the Civil War, showing how the elitist young American republic became a rough-and-tumble democracy. He brings to life the era after the American Revolution, when the idea of democracy remained contentious, and Jeffersonians and Federalists clashed over the role of ordinary citizens in government of, by, and for the people. The triumph of Andrew Jackson soon defined this role on the national level, while city democrats, Anti-Masons, fugitive slaves, and a host of others hewed their own local definitions. In these definitions Wilentz recovers the beginnings of a discontent--two starkly opposed democracies, one in the North and another in the South--and the wary balance that lasted until the election of Abraham Lincoln sparked its bloody resolution.--From publisher description.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 467-498) and index.
Contents
The newspaper-based political system of the nineteenth-century United States -- The printing trade in early American politics -- The two national Gazettes and the beginnings of newspaper politics -- Benjamin Franklin Bache and the price of partisanship -- The background and failure of the sedition Act -- Charles Holt's generation: from commercial printers to political professionals -- The expansion of the Republican newspaper network, 1798-1800 -- A presence in the public sphere: William Duane and the triumph of newspaper politics -- The new conventional wisdom: consolidating and expanding a newspaper-based political system -- The federalists strike back -- Improving on the Sedition Act: press freedom and political culture after 1800 -- The "tyranny of printers" in Jeffersonian Philadelphia -- Ordinary editors and everyday politics: how the system worked -- Newspaper editors and the reconstruction of party politics.
xix, 321 p., [8] leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 25 cm.
Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-308) and index.
Contents
The Gettysburg campaign : a brief chronology -- Prologue : the lay of the land; a sign of the times -- An afternoon in the badlands -- The season of disbelief -- Desolation's edge -- Flying thick like blackbirds -- Bold acts -- The wide eye of the storm -- The aftermath -- The seesaw of honor, or, How the pigpen was mightier than the sword -- Women and remembrance -- Making a living on hallowed land.
Summary
"In the summer of 1863, as Union and Confederate armies marched on southern Pennsylvania, the town of Gettysburg found itself thrust onto the center stage of war. The three days of fighting that ensued decisively turned the tide of the Civil War. In The Colors of Courage, Margaret Creighton narrates the tale of this crucial battle from the viewpoint of three unsung groups - women, immigrants, and African Americans - and reveals how wide the battle's dimensions were."
"Creighton draws on memoirs, letters, diaries, and newspapers to bring to life the individuals at the heart of her narrative. In telling the stories of these participants, Margaret Creighton has written a work of original history - a narrative that is sure to redefine the Civil War's most remarkable event."--Jacket.
The Irish Scots and the "Scotch-Irish" : an historical and ethnological monograph, with some reference to Scotia Major and Scotia Minor : to which is added a chapter on "How the Irish came as builders of the nation"
Reprint of the ed. published: Concord, N.H. : The American-Irish Historical Society, 1902, which was originally published in the Granite monthly, Concord, N.H., Jan-Mar. 1888. The chapter on "How the Irish came as builders of the nation", is based upon articles contributed to the Boston Pilot, 1890, etc., and the Boston Sunday Globe, Mar. 17, 1895.
"Supplementary facts and comment": p. [83]-128.
Includes index.
Facsim. reprint. Originally published: [Baltimore, Md.] : Clearfield, 1902.
"Scotia" was derived from the Latin name for the Gaels: Scoti. The use of the word changed over time, and "Scotia" became a term for what is now called Scotland. "Scotia" was also used to refer to Ireland. In the text, the author provides a quotation that says that "Major Scotia" refers to Ireland.
American Association for State and Local History book series
Notes
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
Introduction: The past as context -- Creating a place -- The power of place -- Sharing the story -- Making connections -- Contemplating change -- The call of wildness -- Sustaining the future -- Touring a culture -- A wonderful place -- Under construction.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-243) and index.
Summary
"As a nation we bring many perspectives to our commemorative places and our ideas may change over time, especially on difficult topics like slavery and racism. Why a place is saved and how it is interpreted to visitors has much to do with our collective memory of the events that took place there. Using the skills of an archaeologist and a historian, Paul Shackel examines four well-known Civil War-era National Park sites and shows us how public memory shaped their creation and continues to shape their interpretation. Shackel shows us that 'public memory' is really 'public memories'. and interpretation may change dramatically from one generation to another as interpreters try to accommodate, or ignore, certain memories. Memory in Black and White is important reading for all who are interested in history and memory of landscapes, and will be especially useful to those involved in preserving and interpreting a controversial place." [from the publisher]
x, 205 pages, [8] pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
Notes
Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-200) and index.
Contents
Setting the stage : the war, army, and community -- Martha Washington at Valley Forge : "the worthy partner of the worthiest of men" -- Martha Washington at the other encampments : a resolute and loyal lady -- Catharine Greene and Lucy Knox : the ladies come to Valley Forge -- Rebekah Biddle, Lady Stirling, and Alice Shippen at Valley Forge : "I should not be sorry to see you here" -- The women with Washington's "family" : slaves, servants, and spies -- Camp women at Valley Forge : "a caravan of wild beasts" -- Camp women with the Continental Army : cannonballs and cooking kettles -- The general returns to Valley Forge : a distinguished officer's musings -- Appendix: Making the myth of Martha Washington : nineteenth-century fantasy vs. eighteenth-century reality.
Summary
"[This book] tells the story of the forgotten women who spent the winter of 1777-78 with the Continental Army at Valley Forge -- from those on society's lowest rungs to ladies of the upper echelon. Poor, dirty beings who clung to the very edge of survival, many camp women were soldiers' wives who worked as the army's washerwomen, nurses, cooks, or seamstresses. Though these women's written correspondence is scarce, author Nancy Loane uses sources such as issued military orders, pension depositions after the war, and soldiers' descriptions to bring these women to life. Other women at the encampment were of higher status: they traveled with Washington's entourage when the army headquarters shifted from place to place and served the general as valued cooks, laundresses, or housekeepers ... Drawing from diary entries and letters, Following the drum illuminates the experiences of these ladies, including Martha Washington, Lucy Knox, and Lady Stirling, during the encampment and then traces their lives after the Revolutionary War"--Jacket.
