David Stephen Heidler's Books

The Rise of Andrew Jackson

Myth, Manipulation, and the Making of Modern Politics

By: David S Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

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The Rise of Andrew Jackson

Myth, Manipulation, and the Making of Modern Politics

By: David S Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

The story of Andrew Jackson's improbable ascent to the White House, centered on the handlers and propagandists who made it possible Andrew Jackson was volatile and prone to violence, and well into his forties his sole claim on the public's affections derived from his victory in a thirty-minute battle at New Orleans in early 1815. Yet those in his immediate circle believed he was a great man who should be president of the United States. Jackson's election in 1828 is usually viewed as a result of the expansion of democracy. Historians David and Jeanne Heidler argue that he actually owed his victory to his closest supporters, who wrote hagiographies of him, founded newspapers to savage his enemies, and built a political network that was always on message. In transforming a difficult man into a paragon of republican virtue, the Jacksonites exploded the old order and created a mode of electioneering that has been mimicked ever since.

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435

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Basic Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

046509757X

ISBN 13

9780465097579

The Mexican War

By: David S. Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

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The Mexican War

By: David S. Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

Victory over Mexico added vast western territories to America, but it also quickened the domestic slavery debate and crippled Mexico for decades, making the Mexican War one of our most ambiguous conflicts. Primary documents, biographical sketches and narrative chapters rounded out by twenty images and maps and a robust bibliography and index make this work by two of America's foremost Antebellum historians a must have to understand one of our most contentious episodes. The United States went to war with Mexico in the spring of 1846 and by the fall of 1847 American soldiers were walking in the streets of Mexico City. The following February, Mexico was forced to sign the Treaty fo Guadalupe Hidalgo that ceded what became the U.S. Southwest and Pacific Coast. Rather than an isolated episode, the war was the culmination of a series of events that began before Mexican independence and included treaty arrangements with Spain, the revolt of Mexico's northern province of Texas, and the growing discord over American reactions to Texan independence. The legacy of the war was dire for both countries. The victorious United States commenced a bitter argument over the fate of slavery in the territories acquired from Mexico that eventually culminated in southern secession and Civil War. Defeated Mexico coped for decades with a ruined economy and a broken political system while nursing a grudge against the Colossus of the North. This book examines these events from both the American and Mexican perspectives. Topics covered include succinct histories of the American and Mexican Republics from their colonial founding to their independence from European countries; The problems over Texas, including Anglo immigration, the Texas Revolution, and the controversies surrounding U.S. annexation of Texas; the crises instigated by American annexation of Texas brought on by the crossed purposes of American expansionist aims and domestic concerns over slavery; the northern campaigns of the war in California and New Mexico; Winfield Scott's amphibious landing and siege at Vera Cruz and his epic march to Mexico City and the collapse of the Mexican government; and finally the crafting of the peace treaty and the bitter legacies of the war for both the U.S. and Mexico. Biographical sketches of Valentin Gomez Farias, Jose Joaquin de Herrere, Sam Houston, Stephen Watts Kearny, President James Polk and other notable figures of the event provide firsthand glimpses into the motivations of the key players. Nine maps, eleven images, a detailed chronology, and a dozen vital annotated primary documents add considerable depth to the book. An extensive annotated biography and robust index complete this valuable new edition on one of Young America's most trying and contentious periods.

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262

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Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0313069042

ISBN 13

9780313069048

Washington's Circle

The Creation of the President

By: David S. Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

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Washington's Circle

The Creation of the President

By: David S. Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

History enthusiasts and admirers of Team of Rivals will rejoice in this magisterial account of the extraordinary Americans who served the nation’s first chief executive: Together, they created the presidency for a country disgusted by crowns and the people who would wear them. In 1789, as George Washington became the first president of the United States, the world was all but certain that the American experiment in liberty and representative government would founder. More than a few Americans feared that the world was right. In Washington’s Circle, we see how Washington and his trusted advisers, close friends, and devoted family defied the doomsayers to lay the foundation for an enduring constitutional republic. This is a fresh look at an aloof man whose service in the Revolutionary War had already earned him the acclaim of fellow citizens. Washington was easy to revere, if difficult to know. David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler reveal Washington’s character through his relationship with his inner circle, showing how this unlikely group created the office of the presidency. Here is a story of cooperation, confrontation, triumph, and disappointment, as the president, Congress, and the courts sorted out the limits of executive power, quarreled over funding the government, coped with domestic strife, and faced a world at war while trying to keep their country at peace. Even more, it is a story of remarkable people striving for extraordinary achievements. Many of these characters are familiar as historic icons, but in these pages they act and speak as living individuals: the often irked and frequently irksome John Adams, in the vice presidency; the mercurial Alexander Hamilton, leading the Treasury Department; the brilliant, deceptively cunning Thomas Jefferson, as secretary of state; James Madison, who was Washington’s advocate—and his eyes and ears—in Congress; and Washington’s old friend and former brother-in-arms Henry Knox, at the administration’s beleaguered War Department. Their stories mingle with those of Edmund Randolph, John Jay, Gouverneur Morris, and the others who stood with a self-educated Virginia farmer to forge the presidency into an institution protective of its privileges but respectful of congressional prerogatives. Written with energy, wit, and an eye for vivid detail, Washington’s Circle is the fascinating account of the people who met the most formidable challenges of the government’s earliest hours with pluck, ability, and enviable resourcefulness. When the world said they would fail, they rolled up their sleeves. This is their story. Praise for Washington’s Circle “A fine, readable history of the first presidency . . . [David and Jeanne Heidler] provide not only a lively history but a group portrait of Washington and the various figures vying to influence him.”—The Wall Street Journal “Washington’s Circle positively glows with narrative exuberance. This is a book that will make even the most jaded student of the American Revolution bark little laughs of pure delight while reading.”—Open Letters Monthly “Traditional accounts portray Washington as a solitary actor in the drama of American nationhood, as chilly and featureless as the marble shaft that dominates his namesake capitol. In fact, he was the intensely human lead in one of history’s most colorful, and contentious, ensembles. David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler bring the whole cast to unforgettable life in this character study–cum–group portrait–cum–old-fashioned page-turner.”—Richard Norton Smith, author of On His Own Terms

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578

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Random House Trade Paperbacks

Published Date

ISBN 10

0812981596

ISBN 13

9780812981599

Henry Clay

The Essential American

By: David S. Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

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Henry Clay

The Essential American

By: David S. Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

He was the Great Compromiser, a canny and colorful legislator whose life mirrors the story of America from its founding until the eve of the Civil War. Speaker of the House, senator, secretary of state, five-time presidential candidate, and idol to the young Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay is captured in full at last in this rich and sweeping biography. David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler present Clay in his early years as a precocious, witty, and optimistic Virginia farm boy who at the age of twenty transformed himself into an attorney. The authors reveal Clay’s tumultuous career in Washington, including his participation in the deadlocked election of 1824 that haunted him for the rest of his career, and shine new light on Clay’s marriage to plain, wealthy Lucretia Hart, a union that lasted fifty-three years and produced eleven children. Featuring an inimitable supporting cast including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay is beautifully written and replete with fresh anecdotes and insights. Horse trader and risk taker, arm twister and joke teller, Henry Clay was the consummate politician who gave ground, made deals, and changed the lives of millions.

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656

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Random House Trade Paperbacks

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ISBN 10

0812978951

ISBN 13

9780812978957

How to Get Rid of a President

History's Guide to Removing Unpopular, Unable, or Unfit Chief Executives

By: David Priess

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How to Get Rid of a President

History's Guide to Removing Unpopular, Unable, or Unfit Chief Executives

By: David Priess

A vivid political history of the schemes, plots, maneuvers, and conspiracies that have attempted -- successfully and not -- to remove unwanted presidents To limit executive power, the founding fathers created fixed presidential terms of four years, giving voters regular opportunities to remove their leaders. Even so, Americans have often resorted to more dramatic paths to disempower the chief executive. The American presidency has seen it all, from rejecting a sitting president's renomination bid and undermining their authority in office to the more drastic methods of impeachment, and, most brutal of all, assassination. How to Get Rid of a President showcases the political dark arts in action: a stew of election dramas, national tragedies, and presidential departures mixed with party intrigue, personal betrayal, and backroom shenanigans. This briskly paced, darkly humorous voyage proves that while the pomp and circumstance of presidential elections might draw more attention, the way that presidents are removed teaches us much more about our political order.

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272

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PublicAffairs

Published Date

ISBN 10

1541788214

ISBN 13

9781541788213

Old Hickory's War

Andrew Jackson and the Quest for Empire

By: David Heidler,Jeanne Heidler

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Old Hickory's War

Andrew Jackson and the Quest for Empire

By: David Heidler,Jeanne Heidler

In the years following the War of 1812, Battle of New Orleans hero General Andrew Jackson became a power unto himself. He had earlier gained national acclaim and a military promotion upon successfully leading the West Tennessee militia in the Creek War of 1813--1814, Jackson furthered his fame in the First Seminole War in 1818, which led to his invasion of Spanish West Florida without presidential or congressional authorization and to the execution of two British subjects. In Old Hickory's War, David and Jeanne Heidler present an iconoclastic interpretation of the political, military, and ethnic complexities of Jackson's involvement in those two historic episodes. Their exciting narrative shows how the general's unpredictable behavior and determination to achieve his goals, combined with a timid administration headed by James Monroe, brought the United States to the brink of an international crisis in 1818 and sparked the longest congressional debate of the period.

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332

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LSU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807128678

ISBN 13

9780807128671

George Washington and the Two-Term Precedent

By: David A. Yalof

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George Washington and the Two-Term Precedent

By: David A. Yalof

One of the earliest and most consequential presidential decisions in American history was George Washington’s choice to step down after two terms in office, despite the fact that he would almost certainly have won a third term had he chosen to run. The example he intended to set—and the circumstances he faced at the time—tell a more complicated story of the true motives behind his decision to retire and the impact his decision had on his successors and the nation. In George Washington and the Two-Term Precedent, David A. Yalof examines how this decision set a pattern that would be followed by presidents for more than a century until FDR began serving a third term in 1941. While often portrayed simply as a noble decision by Washington to restrain the power of the executive office, Washington’s decision was in fact motivated by self-interest and a desire to cement a legacy of honor and integrity. Yalof shows that he was never motivated by the desire to reign in the executive with an unwritten two-term limit. If anything, Washington hoped to strengthen the executive branch by demonstrating that the institution of the presidency could be trusted with the power and independence than it had so far received. His voluntary relinquishment of the presidency after two terms in office achieved these goals. Yalof focuses on the two-term precedent and how it came into being not by legal prescription but by the tacit influence of Washington’s refusal to run for a third term and what it suggests about American conceptions of executive power. George Washington and the Two-Term Precedent offers a sober reminder that the country’s most famous and original hero chose to walk away from power, and it was that decision that cemented his greatness in American history.

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128

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University Press of Kansas

Published Date

ISBN 10

0700635106

ISBN 13

9780700635108

The First Populist

The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson

By: David S. Brown

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The First Populist

The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson

By: David S. Brown

A timely, “solidly researched [and] gracefully written” (The Wall Street Journal) biography of President Andrew Jackson that offers a fresh reexamination of this charismatic figure in the context of American populism—connecting the complex man and the politician to a longer history of division, dissent, and partisanship that has come to define our current times. Andrew Jackson rose from rural poverty in the Carolinas to become the dominant figure in American politics between Jefferson and Lincoln. His reputation, however, defies easy description. Some regard him as the symbol of a powerful democratic movement that saw early 19th-century voting rights expanded for propertyless white men. Others stress Jackson’s prominent role in removing Native American peoples from their ancestral lands, which then became the center of a thriving southern cotton kingdom worked by more than a million enslaved people. A combative, self-defined champion of “farmers, mechanics, and laborers,” Jackson railed against East Coast elites and Virginia aristocracy, fostering a brand of democracy that struck a chord with the common man and helped catapult him into the presidency. “The General,” as he was known, was the first president to be born of humble origins, first orphan, and thus far the only former prisoner of war to occupy the office. Drawing on a wide range of sources, The First Populist takes a fresh look at Jackson’s public career, including the pivotal Battle of New Orleans (1815) and the bitterly fought Bank War; it reveals his marriage to an already married woman and a deadly duel with a Nashville dandy, and analyzes his magnetic hold on the public imagination of the country in the decades between the War of 1812 and the Civil War. “By assessing the frequent comparisons between Jackson and Donald Trump…the hope is that a fresh understanding of the divisive times of ‘the country’s original anti-establishment president’ might shed light on our own” (The Christian Science Monitor).

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432

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1982191104

ISBN 13

9781982191108

Slavery in the American Republic

Developing the Federal Government, 1791–1861

By: David F. Ericson

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Slavery in the American Republic

Developing the Federal Government, 1791–1861

By: David F. Ericson

Many scholars believe that the existence of slavery stymied the development of the American state because slaveholding Southern politicians were so at odds with a federal government they feared would abolish their peculiar institution. David Ericson argues to the contrary, showing that over a seventy-year period slavery actually contributed significantly to the development of the American state, even as a "house divided." Drawing on deep archival research that tracks federal expenditures on slavery-related items, Ericson reveals how the policies, practices, and institutions of the early national government functioned to protect slavery and thereby contributed to its own development. Here are surprising descriptions of how the federal government increased its state capacities as it implemented slavery-friendly policies, such as creating more stable slave markets by removing Native Americans, deterring slave revolts, recovering fugitive slaves, enacting a ban on slave imports, and not enacting a ban on the interstate slave trade. It also bolstered its own law-enforcement power by reinforcing navy squadrons to interdict illegal slave trading, hiring deputy marshals to capture fugitive slaves and slave rescuers, and deploying soldiers to remove Native Americans and deter slave rescues and revolts. Going beyond Don Fehrenbacher's The Slaveholding Republic, Ericson shows how the presence of slavery indirectly influenced the development of the American state in highly significant ways. Enforcement of the 1808 slave-import ban involved the federal government in border control for the first time, and participation in founding a colony in Liberia established an early model of public-private partnerships. The presence of slavery also spurred the development of the U.S. Army through its many slavery-related deployments, particularly during the Second Seminole War, and the federal government's own slave rentals influenced its labor-management practices. Ericson's study unearths a long-neglected history, connecting slavery-influenced policy areas more explicitly to early American state development and more fully accounting for the money and manpower the federal government devoted to those areas. Rich in historical detail, it marks a significant contribution to our understanding of state development and the impact of slavery on early American politics.

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310

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University Press of Kansas

Published Date

ISBN 10

0700617965

ISBN 13

9780700617968

The Farmers' Game

Baseball in Rural America

By: David Vaught

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The Farmers' Game

Baseball in Rural America

By: David Vaught

A journey through the national pastime’s roots in America’s small towns and wide-open spaces: “An absorbing read.” —The Tampa Tribune In the film Field of Dreams, the lead character gives his struggling farming community a magical place where the smell of roasted peanuts gently wafts over the crowded grandstand on a warm summer evening, just as the star pitcher takes the mound. In The Farmers’ Game, David Vaught examines the history and character of baseball through a series of essay-vignettes—presenting the sport as essentially rural, reflecting the nature of farm and small-town life. Vaught does not deny or devalue the lively stickball games played in the streets of Brooklyn, but he sees the history of the game and the rural United States as related and mutually revealing. His subjects include nineteenth-century Cooperstown, the playing fields of Texas and Minnesota, the rural communities of California, the great farmer-pitcher Bob Feller, and the notorious Gaylord Perry. Although—contrary to legend—Abner Doubleday did not invent baseball in a cow pasture in upstate New York, many fans enjoy the game for its nostalgic qualities. Vaught’s deeply researched exploration of baseball’s rural roots helps explain its enduring popularity.

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367

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Johns Hopkins University Press+ORM

Published Date

ISBN 10

1421408333

ISBN 13

9781421408330

Waging War

The Clash Between Presidents and Congress, 1776 to ISIS

By: David J. Barron

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Waging War

The Clash Between Presidents and Congress, 1776 to ISIS

By: David J. Barron

An “ambitious...deep history and a thoughtful inquiry into how the constitutional system of checks and balances has functioned when it comes to waging war and making peace” (The Washington Post)—here is the full, compelling account of this never-ending debate. The Constitution states that it is Congress that declares war, but it is the presidents who have more often taken us to war and decided how to wage it. In Waging War, David J. Barron opens with an account of George Washington and the Continental Congress over Washington’s plan to burn New York City before the British invasion. Congress ordered him not to, and he obeyed. Barron takes us through all the wars that followed: 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American war, World Wars One and Two, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and now, most spectacularly, the War on Terror. Congress has criticized George W. Bush for being too aggressive and Barack Obama for not being aggressive enough, but it avoids a vote on the matter. By recounting how our presidents have declared and waged wars, Barron shows that these executives have had to get their way without openly defying Congress. In this “vivid…rich and detailed history” (The New York Times Book Review), Waging War shows us our country’s revered and colorful presidents at their most trying times—Washington, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Johnson, both Bushes, and Obama. Their wars have made heroes of some and victims of others, but most have proved adept at getting their way over reluctant or hostile Congresses. Donald Trump will face this challenge immediately—and the Constitution and its fragile system of checks and balances will once again be at the forefront of the national debate. More essential than ever, Waging War is “both timely and timeless” (The Boston Globe).

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576

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Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1451681992

ISBN 13

9781451681994

DeWitt Clinton and Amos Eaton

Geology and Power in Early New York

By: David I. Spanagel

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DeWitt Clinton and Amos Eaton

Geology and Power in Early New York

By: David I. Spanagel

Explores the origins of American geology and the culture that helped give it rise, focusing on Amos Eaton, the educator and amateur scientist who founded the Rensselaer School, and on DeWitt Clinton, the masterful politician who led the movement for the Erie Canal.

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285

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JHU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1421411040

ISBN 13

9781421411040

George Washington

The Political Rise of America's Founding Father

By: David O. Stewart

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George Washington

The Political Rise of America's Founding Father

By: David O. Stewart

A fascinating and illuminating account of how George Washington became the dominant force in the creation of the United States of America, from award-winning author David O. Stewart “An outstanding biography . . . [George Washington] has a narrative drive such a life deserves.”—The Wall Street Journal Washington's rise constitutes one of the greatest self-reinventions in history. In his mid-twenties, this third son of a modest Virginia planter had ruined his own military career thanks to an outrageous ego. But by his mid-forties, that headstrong, unwise young man had evolved into an unassailable leader chosen as the commander in chief of the fledgling Continental Army. By his mid-fifties, he was unanimously elected the nation's first president. How did Washington emerge from the wilderness to become the central founder of the United States of America? In this remarkable new portrait, award-winning historian David O. Stewart unveils the political education that made Washington a master politician—and America's most essential leader. From Virginia's House of Burgesses, where Washington mastered the craft and timing of a practicing politician, to his management of local government as a justice of the Fairfax County Court to his eventual role in the Second Continental Congress and his grueling generalship in the American Revolution, Washington perfected the art of governing and service, earned trust, and built bridges. The lessons in leadership he absorbed along the way would be invaluable during the early years of the republic as he fought to unify the new nation.

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576

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Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

0451488997

ISBN 13

9780451488992

New Perspectives on Civil War-Era Kentucky

By: John David Smith

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New Perspectives on Civil War-Era Kentucky

By: John David Smith

As a Unionist but also proslavery state during the American Civil War, Kentucky occupied a contentious space both politically and geographically. In many ways, its pragmatic attitude toward compromise left it in a cultural no-man's-land. The constant negotiation between the state's nationalistic and Southern identities left many Kentuckians alienated and conflicted. Lincoln referred to Kentucky as the crown jewel of the Union slave states due to its sizable population, agricultural resources, and geographic position, and these advantages, coupled with the state's difficult relationship to both the Union and slavery, ultimately impacted the outcome of the war. Despite Kentucky's central role, relatively little has been written about the aftermath of the Civil War in the state and how the conflict shaped the commonwealth we know today. New Perspectives on Civil War–Era Kentucky offers readers ten essays that paint a rich and complex image of Kentucky during the Civil War. First appearing in the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, these essays cover topics ranging from women in wartime to Black legislators in the postwar period. From diverse perspectives, both inside and outside the state, the contributors shine a light on the complicated identities of Kentucky and its citizens in a defining moment of American history.

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359

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University Press of Kentucky

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ISBN 10

0813197813

ISBN 13

9780813197814

The Rise of Andrew Jackson

Myth, Manipulation, and the Making of Modern Politics

By: David S Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

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The Rise of Andrew Jackson

Myth, Manipulation, and the Making of Modern Politics

By: David S Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

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435

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Basic Books

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ISBN 10

046509757X

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9780465097579

Chief of Staff, Vol. 1

The Principal Officers Behind History's Great Commanders, Napoleonic Wars to World War I

By: David T Zabecki

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Chief of Staff, Vol. 1

The Principal Officers Behind History's Great Commanders, Napoleonic Wars to World War I

By: David T Zabecki

The two-volume Chief of Staff examines the history, development, and role of the military duty position of the chief of staff. Many books have studied history's great commanders and the art of command. None have focused exclusively on the chief of staff -—that key staff officer responsible for translating the ideas of the commander into practical plans that common soldiers can execute successfully on the battlefield. In some cases, it is almost impossible to think of certain great commanders without also thinking of their chief of staff. Napoleon's chief of staff Berthier and Eisenhower's chief of staff Bedell Smith are two examples that are profiled in this work. Zabecki and his collaborators examine the history, development, and role of the chief of staff primarily through profiles of the most important practitioners of the art. These books are published in cooperation with the Association of the United States Army.

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256

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Naval Institute Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1612515584

ISBN 13

9781612515588

Between Freedom and Progress

The Lost World of Reconstruction Politics

By: David Prior

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Between Freedom and Progress

The Lost World of Reconstruction Politics

By: David Prior

Between Freedom and Progress recovers and analyzes the global imaginings of Reconstruction’s partisans—those who struggled over and with Reconstruction—as they vied with one another to define the nature of their country after the Civil War. The remarkable technological and commercial transformations of the mid-nineteenth century—in particular, steam engines, telegraphs, and an expanded commercial printing capacity—created a constant stream of news, description, and storytelling from across and beyond the nation. Reconstruction’s partisans contended with each other to make sense of this information, motivated by intense political antagonism combined with a shared but contested set of ideas about freedom and progress. As writers, lecturers, editors, travelers, moral reformers, racists, abolitionists, politicians, suffragists, soldiers, and diplomats, Reconstruction’s partisans made competing claims about their place in the world. Understanding how, why, and when they did so helps ground our understanding of Reconstruction—itself a mysterious, transatlantic term—in its own intellectual context. Three factors proved pivotal to the making of Reconstruction’s world. First, from 1865 to the early 1870s, the interconnected issues of how to remake the Union and how to remake the South exerted a powerful hold on federal politics, defining the partisan landscape and inspiring rival arguments about what was possible and what was good. The daunting nature of these issues created a sense of crisis across the political spectrum, with political discourse ranging in tone from combative to euphoric to apocalyptic. Second, though domestic in nature, these issues were refracted through two broadly held beliefs: that the causes of freedom and progress defined history and that distinctive peoples with their own characters composed the world’s population. These beliefs produced a disposition to think of developments from across and beyond the United States as essentially relatable to each other, encouraging an intellectual style that favored wide-ranging comparisons. Third, far from being confined to the elite, this mode of thinking and arguing about the world lived and breathed in public texts that were produced and consumed on a weekly and daily basis. This commercialized and politicized world of mass publishing was highly unequal in structure and content, but it was also impressively vibrant and popular. Together, these three factors made the world of Reconstruction a global landscape of information, argumentation, and imagination that derived much of its vigor from domestic political battles.

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273

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LSU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

080717243X

ISBN 13

9780807172438

I Freed Myself

African American Self-Emancipation in the Civil War Era

By: David Williams

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I Freed Myself

African American Self-Emancipation in the Civil War Era

By: David Williams

This book examines the many ways in which African Americans made the Civil War about ending slavery. Abraham Lincoln's primary goal was to save the Union rather than to absolve the institution of slavery, yet slaves who escaped to Union lines refused to fight for the Union while remaining enslaved, ultimately forcing Lincoln to disband the institution.

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277

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Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1107016495

ISBN 13

9781107016491

The Chickamauga Campaign

Barren Victory: The Retreat into Chattanooga, the Confederate Pursuit, and the Aftermath of the Battle, September 21 to October 20, 1863

By: David A. Powell

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The Chickamauga Campaign

Barren Victory: The Retreat into Chattanooga, the Confederate Pursuit, and the Aftermath of the Battle, September 21 to October 20, 1863

By: David A. Powell

Winner of the Laney Book Prize from the Austin Civil War Round Table: “The post-battle coverage is simply unprecedented among prior Chickamauga studies.” —James A. Hessler, award-winning author of Sickles at Gettysburg This third and concluding volume of the magisterial Chickamauga Campaign trilogy, a comprehensive examination of one of the most important and complex military operations of the Civil War, examines the immediate aftermath of the battle with unprecedented clarity and detail. The narrative opens at dawn on Monday, September 21, 1863, with Union commander William S. Rosecrans in Chattanooga and most of the rest of his Federal army in Rossville, Georgia. Confederate commander Braxton Bragg has won the signal victory of his career, but has yet to fully grasp that fact or the fruits of his success. Unfortunately for the South, the three grueling days of combat broke down the Army of Tennessee and a vigorous pursuit was nearly impossible. In addition to carefully examining the decisions made by each army commander and the consequences, Powell sets forth the dreadful costs of the fighting in terms of the human suffering involved. Barren Victory concludes with the most detailed Chickamauga orders of battle (including unit strengths and losses) ever compiled, and a comprehensive bibliography more than a decade in the making. Includes illustrations

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393

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Savas Beatie

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ISBN 10

1611213290

ISBN 13

9781611213294

Voices in the Drum

Narratives from the Native American Past

By: R. David Edmunds

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Voices in the Drum

Narratives from the Native American Past

By: R. David Edmunds

The history of indigenous peoples in North America is long and complex. Many scholarly accounts now rely on statistical data to reconstruct this past, but amid all the facts and figures, it is easy to lose sight of the human side of the story. How did Native people express their thoughts and feelings, and what sources of strength did they rely on to persevere through centuries of change? In this engaging narrative, acclaimed historian R. David Edmunds combines careful research with creative storytelling to give voice to indigenous individuals and families and to illustrate the impact of pivotal events on their lives. A nonfiction account accompanies each narrative to provide necessary historical and cultural context. Voices in the Drum features nine stories, each of which focuses on a fictional character who is a composite, or representation, of historical people. This series of portrayals takes the reader on an epic journey through time, beginning in the early 1400s with the Mound Builder cultures and ending with the modern-day urbanization of Native people. Along the way, we observe fictional characters interacting with real historical figures, such as Anthony Wayne, Tecumseh, and John Sutter, and taking part in actual events, such as the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the Trail of Tears, the California gold rush, and the forced removal of Native children to off-reservation boarding schools. The people portrayed in these pages belong to various tribes, including Potawatomis, Lakotas, Oneidas, and Cherokees. Their individual stories, ranging from humorous to tragic, give readers a palpable sense of how tribal peoples reacted to the disruptive changes forced on them by European colonizers and U.S. government policies. Both entertaining and insightful, the stories in this volume traverse a range of time periods, events, themes, and genres. As such, they reverberate like voices in the drum, inviting readers of all backgrounds to engage anew with the rich history and cultures of indigenous peoples.

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349

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University of Oklahoma Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0806193360

ISBN 13

9780806193366

The Imprint of Congress

By: David R. Mayhew

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The Imprint of Congress

By: David R. Mayhew

What kind of job has America's routinely disparaged legislative body actually done? In The Imprint of Congress, the distinguished congressional scholar David R. Mayhew gives us an insightful historical analysis of the U.S. Congress’s performance from the late eighteenth century to today, exploring what its lasting imprint has been on American politics and society. Mayhew suggests that Congress has balanced the presidency in a surprising variety of ways, and in doing so, it has contributed to the legitimacy of a governing system faced by an often fractious public.

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176

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Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300227949

ISBN 13

9780300227949

Indian Removal

A Norton Casebook

By: David Stephen Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

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Indian Removal

A Norton Casebook

By: David Stephen Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

This casebook traces the evolution of U.S. Indian policy from its British Colonial origins to the implementation of removal after 1830. Placing Indian removal in political and social contexts, the editors have selected contemporary primary-source documents that reveal the motives and perspectives of both whites and Indians and cover the complicated influences of Jacksonian Democracy and the early stirrings of what would later be called Manifest Destiny. Letters, treaties, and journal entries give readers a sense of the ordeal of removal for American Indians. About the series: The Norton Casebooks in History provide students with everything they need for in-depth study of select topics in major periods studied in American and world history. Each volume consists of an introductory essay by the editor on the topic, primary sources, and recent essays by historians that explore different interpretations. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with contextual and critical materials that bring the topic to life for students.

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255

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W. W. Norton

Published Date

ISBN 10

0393927253

ISBN 13

9780393927252

Benjamin Lincoln and the American Revolution

By: David B. Mattern

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Benjamin Lincoln and the American Revolution

By: David B. Mattern

The first modern biography of an American Revolutionary War hero In this definitive biography of one of America's most important but least known Revolutionary War generals, David B. Mattern tells the life story of Benjamin Lincoln, a prosperous farmer who left the comfort of his Massachusetts home to become a national hero in America's struggle for independence. Mattern's account of the citizen-soldier who served as George Washington's second-in-command at Yorktown and as secretary at war from 1781 to 1783 revisits the challenges, sacrifices, triumphs, and defeats that shaped Lincoln's evolution from affluent middle-aged family man to pillar of a dynamic republic. In addition to offering new insights into leadership during the Revolutionary period, Lincoln's life so mirrored his times that it provides an opportunity to tell the tale of the American Revolution in a fresh, compelling way.

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331

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Univ of South Carolina Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1643364324

ISBN 13

9781643364322

Old Hickory's War

Andrew Jackson and the Quest for Empire

By: David Heidler,Jeanne Heidler

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Old Hickory's War

Andrew Jackson and the Quest for Empire

By: David Heidler,Jeanne Heidler

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332

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LSU Press

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ISBN 10

0807128678

ISBN 13

9780807128671

Sons of Garibaldi in Blue and Gray

Italians in the American Civil War

By: Frank W. Alduino,David J. Coles

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Sons of Garibaldi in Blue and Gray

Italians in the American Civil War

By: Frank W. Alduino,David J. Coles

Not much has been written about the Italian immigrant experience prior to 1880. This book, through careful analysis of primary and archival sources, brings to life the Civil War-time trials and tribulations of several notable Italian Americans--Bancroft Gherardi, Luigi Palma di Cesnola, Francis B. Spinola, Decimus et Ultimus Barziza, and Edward Ferrero, among others. Though their numbers were few, Italian Americans played central roles in the bloodiest war in our country's history. Included in this book are samples of John Garibaldi's wartime correspondence to his wife, lists of Italian Americans who served as officers and noncommissioned sailors in the Union Navy, and first-hand correspondence of William Howell Reed (Virginia hospitals overseer under President Grant) and the brother of a young Italian who died in the hospital during the war. Sons of Garibaldi in Blue and Gray fills a critical gap in studies of Italian American life in the United States in the late 1800s.

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452

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Cambria Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

193404380X

ISBN 13

9781934043806

Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops

By: John David Smith

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Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops

By: John David Smith

When Abraham Lincoln issued his final Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, he not only freed the slaves in the Confederate states but also invited freed slaves and free persons of color to join the U.S. Army as part of the U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), the first systematic, large-scale effort by the U.S. government to arm African Americans to aid in the nation’s defense. By the end of the war in 1865, nearly 180,000 black soldiers had fought for the Union. Lincoln’s role in the arming of African Americans remains a central but unfortunately obscure part of one of the most compelling periods in American history. In Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops John David Smith offers a concise, enlightening exploration of the development of Lincoln’s military emancipation project, its implementation, and the recruitment and deployment of black troops. Though scholars have written much on emancipation and the USCT, Smith’s work frames the evolution of Lincoln’s ideas on emancipation and arming blacks within congressional actions, explaining how, when, and why the president seemed to be so halting in his progression to military emancipation. After tracing Lincoln’s evolution from opposing to supporting emancipation as a necessary war measure and to championing the recruitment of black troops for the Union Army, Smith details the creation, mobilization, and diverse military service of the USCT. He assesses the hardships under which the men of the USCT served, including the multiple forms of discrimination from so-called friends and foes alike, and examines the broad meaning of Lincoln’s military emancipation project and its place in African American historical memory.

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171

Publisher

SIU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0809332914

ISBN 13

9780809332915

The War of 1812

By: David Stephen Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

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The War of 1812

By: David Stephen Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

Provides an introduction to the historical events of the War of 1812, including major historical interpretations of the war's causes, progress, and consequences.

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264

Publisher

Greenwood Publishing Group

Published Date

ISBN 10

0313316872

ISBN 13

9780313316876

Henry Clay

The Essential American

By: David S. Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

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Henry Clay

The Essential American

By: David S. Heidler,Jeanne T. Heidler

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656

Publisher

Random House Trade Paperbacks

Published Date

ISBN 10

0812978951

ISBN 13

9780812978957

Book's by David Stephen Heidler

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