Robert Walter Johannsen

Robert W. Johannsen, professor emeritus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is one of the leading Jacksonian- and Civil War-era historians of his generation. Works such as his Stephen A. Douglas and To the Halls of the Montezumas have cemented his place in period scholarship. He also has mentored literally dozens of professional historians. In his honor, eleven of his students have gathered to contribute new essays on the period's history. On display here are cutting-edge examinations of thought and culture in the late Jacksonian era, new considerations of Manifest Destiny, and fascinating interpretations of the lives of the two political giants of the period, Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. Democratic Party politics and Civil War-era religion also come into play.

Essays in Honor of Robert W. Johannsen

Politics and Culture of the Civil War Era

Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize of the Society of American Historians For the quarter-century before 1860 Stephen A. Douglas was a dominant figure on the American political scene, far outshadowing Abraham Lincoln. This first paperback printing of Robert Johannsen's authoritative biography features a new preface. "At once a work of enormous scholarship and of deep insight. Here, for the first time, is the full story of a great career, told with such skill that we can now understand why Abraham Lincoln found the 'Little Giant' the most formidable political rival he ever faced." -- David H. Donald, author of Lincoln and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize "Well-organized and marvelously detailed. . . . The book demonstrates the virtues of large-scale, straightforward narrative biography at its best. Its completeness and objectivity will make it the standard authority for many years to come." -- Richard N. Current, The New York Times Book Review "Superb. . . . Will doubtless stand as the definitive biography of Stephen A. Douglas for this generation." -- Hans L. Trefousse, The Journal of American History "An impressive work--impressive in scope, in research, and in maturity of understanding. . . . Johannsen has constructed a biography that is rich in detail and full of conviction." -- James Z. Rabun, The Journal of Southern History "Should take its place in the tradition of magisterial biographies . . . in which so much of the best writing on American history is to be found." -- Harry V. Jaffa, National Review "The research is amazingly exhaustive and the writing is unusually readable. . . . Outstanding biography of a quality not often matched." -- LeRoy H. Fischer, Manuscripta Supported by the Dickerson Fund of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Stephen A. Douglas

John M. Belohlavek

Thomas R. Hietala

Christopher M. Morris

Sam W. Haynes

Six scholars consider important aspects of American antebellum expansion in these studies based on talks originally prepared for the Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lectures. Robert W. Johannsen of the University of Illinois at Urbana offers fresh insight into the meaning of the term "manifest destiny," arguing for a broader definition. John M. Belohlavek of the University of South Florida takes a close look at the expansionist attitudes of Caleb Cushing, a Massachusetts politician, diplomat, reformer, and intellectual. Cushing's life and controversial career, Belohlavek argues, mirror a young republic as it began to transform itself from "union" to "nation." Thomas R. Hietala of Grinnell College examines the complicated clash of culturesthe result of Manifest Destinyand how it was viewed by observant individuals such as George Catlin, a painter who traveled and lived among Native Americans just prior to the expansionist surge of the 1840s and who opposed the destruction of Native Americans in the wake of the Anglo westward movement. Winner of the Webb essay competition for 1996, Samuel J. Watson of Rice University studies U.S. Army officers' responses to territorial expansionism between 1815 and 1846. He argues that officers' views on Manifest Destiny were far more nuanced than conventional models of romantic nationalism suggest. Sam W. Haynes uncovers the social and political complexities, including a widespread fear of Great Britain, that made Texas' annexation the most divisive issue of its day. Robert E. May of Purdue University offers a compelling examination of American filibustering during the Manifest Destiny era.

Robert Walter Johannsen

About

Books

Join the club