When the Eagle screamed: The romantic horizon in American diplomacy, 1800-1860 (America in crises series)

by William H. Goetzmann

Book Overview

When the Eagle Screamed argues that America?s expansionism between 1800 and 1860 positioned it against some of the world?s most powerful and aggressive nations. As the United States moved onto the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B0000CNHOO
• Release Date: January 1966
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 138 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Whew! Powerful Little Book

In just over 100 pages Goetzmann takes you from 1800 through 1860 detailing how an infant nation begins to mature and deal with players on the world stage. He covers national attitudes and how the country expanded during this period. Treaty after treaty; compromise after compromise. Great reference. Get it!

Crisp, Concise, Complete.

This is the finest single volume history on Manifest Destiny written to date. It is not introspective, it is not apologetic, and it is not revisionist. What it is is factual. Starting with the two primary architects of America's westward expansion, Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams, Goetzmann proceeds to add the contributions or vision of each administration sequentially until the entire period, 1800-1860 is covered in complete detail.This is a wonderful compendium of Manifest Destiny from the Adams-Onis Treaty and the Monroe Doctrine to the fur trade, the War with Mexico, and the California gold rush. Rather than focusing solely on internal developments, Goetzmann integrates external impacts into the story line as well. Thus the reader is treated to the impact of the various filibusterers, the impact on Latin American relations, the impact of our relationships in the Pacific Rim and most important the continual intriguing and rivalry with France and Great Britain.This is a much needed macro study of the sixty years it took for the United States to grow from a fledgling republic to its emergence as a world power. No other nation completed this journey in such a short period of time. And no other nation has maintained its position with such complete dominance for so long a time. This is the story of how the United States emerged to not only fill a continent but to also embrace the world.

A Rousing Patriotic Essay on American Expansionism

This book, first published in 1966 and reissued in 2000, provides a concise, upbeat description of American expansion between 1800 and 1860. This work is refreshingly free of politically correct revisionism, particularly in its treatment of the Mexican-American War. Goetzmann, one of America's most prominent historians of the West, writes in a lively style. At just over one hundred pages, the main text is an easy read. The eight maps are helpful. The suggestions for addtional reading, while thorough, are dated. Michael Michaud, Vienna, Austria