A Country of Vast Designs

A Country of Vast Designs PDF Author: Robert W. Merry
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 074329744X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 592

Get Book Here

Book Description
ROBERT MERRY’S BRILLIANT AND HIGHLY ACCLAIMED HISTORY OF A CRUCIAL EPOCH IN U.S. HISTORY. In a one-term presidency, James K. Polk completed the story of America’s Manifest Destiny—extending its territory across the continent by threatening England with war and manufacturing a controversial and unpopular two-year war with Mexico.

A Country of Vast Designs

A Country of Vast Designs PDF Author: Robert W. Merry
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 074329744X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 592

Get Book Here

Book Description
ROBERT MERRY’S BRILLIANT AND HIGHLY ACCLAIMED HISTORY OF A CRUCIAL EPOCH IN U.S. HISTORY. In a one-term presidency, James K. Polk completed the story of America’s Manifest Destiny—extending its territory across the continent by threatening England with war and manufacturing a controversial and unpopular two-year war with Mexico.

A Wicked War

A Wicked War PDF Author: Amy S. Greenberg
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307475999
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 370

Get Book Here

Book Description
The definitive history of the often forgotten U.S.-Mexican War paints an intimate portrait of the major players and their world—from Indian fights and Manifest Destiny, to secret military maneuvers, gunshot wounds, and political spin. “If one can read only a single book about the Mexican-American War, this is the one to read.” —The New York Review of Books Often overlooked, the U.S.-Mexican War featured false starts, atrocities, and daring back-channel negotiations as it divided the nation, paved the way for the Civil War a generation later, and launched the career of Abraham Lincoln. Amy S. Greenberg’s skilled storytelling and rigorous scholarship bring this American war for empire to life with memorable characters, plotlines, and legacies. Along the way it captures a young Lincoln mismatching his clothes, the lasting influence of the Founding Fathers, the birth of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and America’s first national antiwar movement. A key chapter in the creation of the United States, it is the story of a burgeoning nation and an unforgettable conflict that has shaped American history.

Manifest Ambition

Manifest Ambition PDF Author: John C. Pinheiro
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313027285
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is not another chronological retelling of the Mexican War. Instead, it examines civil-military clashes during the war in light of Jacksonian politics and the American citizen-soldier tradition, looking at events that shed light on civilian authority over the military, as well as the far reaching impact of political ambition during this period (specifically, presidential power and the quest for the presidency). By 1848, Americans had come to realize that in their burgeoning democracy, generals and politicians could scarcely resist the temptation to use war for partisan gain. It was a lesson well learned and one that still resonates today. The Mexican War is known for the invaluable experience it provided to future Civil War officers and as an example of America's drive to fulfill her Manifest Destiny. Yet it was more than a training ground, more than a display of imperialism. Significantly, the Mexican War tested civilian control of the military and challenged traditional assumptions about the role of the army in American society. In so doing, it revealed the degree to which, by 1846, the harsh partisanships of the Jacksonian Era had impacted the American approach to war. This is not another chronological retelling of the Mexican War. Instead, it examines civil-military clashes during the war in light of Jacksonian politics and the American citizen-soldier tradition, looking both at events that shed light on civilian authority over the military and at the far reaching impact of political ambition during this period (specifically, presidential power and the quest for the presidency). In addition to politics, a host of others factors marred civil-military relations during the war, threatening U.S. victory. These included atrocities committed by Americans against Mexicans, disobedient officers, and inefficient U.S. military governors. In the end, as Manifest Ambition shows, Polk's ability to overcome his partisan leanings, his micro-management of the war effort, and his overall strategic vision, helped avoid both a prolonged occupation and the annexation of All Mexico. By 1848, Americans had come to realize that in their burgeoning democracy, generals and politicians could scarcely resist the temptation to use war for partisan gain. It was a lesson well learned and one that still resonates today.

The Diary of James K. Polk During His Presidency, 1845 to 1849

The Diary of James K. Polk During His Presidency, 1845 to 1849 PDF Author: James Knox Polk
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mexican War, 1846-1848
Languages : en
Pages : 542

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Diary of James K. Polk During His Presidency, 1845 to 1849

The Diary of James K. Polk During His Presidency, 1845 to 1849 PDF Author: James Knox Polk
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mexican War, 1846-1848
Languages : en
Pages : 520

Get Book Here

Book Description


James K. Polk and the Mexican War

James K. Polk and the Mexican War PDF Author: Rita Marie Brewer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mexican War, 1846-1848
Languages : en
Pages : 76

Get Book Here

Book Description


Polk

Polk PDF Author: Walter R. Borneman
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 158836772X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 466

Get Book Here

Book Description
In Polk, Walter R. Borneman gives us the first complete and authoritative biography of a president often overshadowed in image but seldom outdone in accomplishment. James K. Polk occupied the White House for only four years, from 1845 to 1849, but he plotted and attained a formidable agenda: He fought for and won tariff reductions, reestablished an independent Treasury, and, most notably, brought Texas into the Union, bluffed Great Britain out of the lion’s share of Oregon, and wrested California and much of the Southwest from Mexico. On reflection, these successes seem even more impressive, given the contentious political environment of the time. In this unprecedented, long-overdue warts-and-all look at Polk’s life and career, we have a portrait of an expansionist president and decisive statesman who redefined the country he led, and we are reminded anew of the true meaning of presidential accomplishment and resolve.

The Dead March

The Dead March PDF Author: Peter Guardino
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674981847
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 513

Get Book Here

Book Description
Winner of the Bolton-Johnson Prize Winner of the Utley Prize Winner of the Distinguished Book Award, Society for Military History “The Dead March incorporates the work of Mexican historians...in a story that involves far more than military strategy, diplomatic maneuvering, and American political intrigue...Studded with arresting insights and convincing observations.” —James Oakes, New York Review of Books “Superb...A remarkable achievement, by far the best general account of the war now available. It is critical, insightful, and rooted in a wealth of archival sources; it brings far more of the Mexican experience than any other work...and it clearly demonstrates the social and cultural dynamics that shaped Mexican and American politics and military force.” —Journal of American History It has long been held that the United States emerged victorious from the Mexican–American War because its democratic system was more stable and its citizens more loyal. But this award-winning history shows that Americans dramatically underestimated the strength of Mexican patriotism and failed to see how bitterly Mexicans resented their claims to national and racial superiority. Their fierce resistance surprised US leaders, who had expected a quick victory with few casualties. By focusing on how ordinary soldiers and civilians in both countries understood and experienced the conflict, The Dead March offers a clearer picture of the brief, bloody war that redrew the map of North America.

James K. Polk and the Mexican War

James K. Polk and the Mexican War PDF Author: Landon Keith Ailanjian
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mexican War, 1846-1848
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book Here

Book Description


Polk

Polk PDF Author: James Knox Polk
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mexican War, 1846-1848
Languages : en
Pages : 456

Get Book Here

Book Description
A selection of entries from the diary of President James K. Polk from 1845-1849.