1831: Year of Eclipse Louis P. Masur,
Publisher: Hill and Wang
ISBN: 0809041197
Edition: Paperback; 2002-02-09
Summary:
1776, 1861, 1929. Any high-school student should know what these
years meant to American history. But wars and economic disasters are
not our only pivotal events, and other years have, in a quieter way,
swayed the course of our nation. 1831 was one of them, and in this
striking new work, Louis Masur shows us exactly how.The year began
with a solar eclipse, for many an omen of mighty changes -- and for
once, such predictions held true. Nat Turner's rebellion soon
followed, then ever-more violent congressional arguments over slavery
and tarrifs. Religious revivalism swept the North, and important
observers (including Tocqueville) traveled the land, forming the
opinions that would shape the world's view of America for generations
to come. New technologies, meanwhile, were dramatically changing
Americans' relationship with the land, and Andrew Jackson's harsh
policies toward the Cherokee erased most Indians' last hopes of
autonomy. As Masur's analysis makes clear, by 1831 it was becoming
all too certain that political rancor, the struggle over slavery, the
pursuit of individualism, and technological development might eclipse
the glorious potential of the early republic--and lead the nation to
secession and civil war. This is an innovative and challenging
interpretation of a key moment in antibellum America.
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