Fighting for America : the struggle for mastery in North America, 1519-1871 / Jeremy Black.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Black, Jeremy, 1955-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Manifest Destiny.

Geopolitics--North America--History.

Geopolitics.

Geopolitics--United States--History.

United States--Territorial expansion.

United States.

North America--History, Military.

North America.

Great Britain--Colonies--America--History.

Great Britain.

France--Colonies--America--History.

France.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (492 p.)

Place of Publication:

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"Fascinating... [a] 300-plus year history of North America" from the award-winning historian and author of The Holocaust: History & Memory ( Military Heritage ). Prize-winning author Jeremy Black traces the competition for control of North America from the landing of Spanish troops under Hernán Cortés in modern Mexico in 1519 to 1871 when, with the Treaty of Washington and the withdrawal of most British garrisons, Britain accepted American mastery in North America. In this wide-ranging narrative, Black makes clear that the process by which America gained supremacy was far from inevitable. The story Black tells is one of conflict, diplomacy, geopolitics, and politics. The eventual result was the creation of a United States of America that stretched from Atlantic to Pacific and dominated North America. The gradual withdrawal of France and Spain, the British accommodation to the expanding U.S. reality, the impact of the American Civil War, and the subjugation of Native peoples, are all carefully drawn out. Black emphasizes contingency not Manifest Destiny, and reconceptualizes American exceptionalism to take note of the pressures and impact of international competition. "A refreshing take on Manifest Destiny... American (and Canadian) readers will learn a lot of new things and be led into new ways of viewing old ones. An important contribution."-Walter Nugent, author of Into the West: The Story of Its People

Contents:

Sixteenth-century background

Creating new frontiers, 1600-74

Britain, France, and the natives, 1674-1715

Multiple currents, 1715-53

War for dominance, 1754-64

Britain triumphant to America independent, 1765-76

Britain defeated, 1775-83

Flexing muscles, 1783-1811

Florida, but not Canada : from the War of 1812 to the Monroe Doctrine, 1812-23

Expansionism and its problems, 1823-43

From the Oregon question to the Gadsden Purchase, 1844-53

A great power in the making? : America, 1853-61

America divided, 1861-63

Winning the war, 1863-65

Settling the North American question, 1865-71

Postscript, 1871-2010.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613235954

9781283235952

1283235951

9780253005618

0253005612

OCLC:

753560070