Expansion Books

Don E. Fehrenbacher, a preeminent historian of Antebellum America, offers a survey of the United States in its Jeffersonian and Jacksonian periods - from the "Revolution of 1800" In which Thomas Jefferson defeated Federalist incumbent John Adams and became the third president of the United States, and until the aftermath of the American-Mexican War, and the sectional crises that emerged from it.

For Fehrenbacher, who has written some of the most reverting books of American history, including a brilliant monograph on the rise of Abraham Lincoln, a Pulitzer prize winning study o the Dred Scot Case, and a study of the U.S. government's relations with slavery, "The Era of Expansion" is a surprisingly mundane affair - it's a by the numbers historical book, the kind you will read for a high school or a not particularly advanced college course (indeed, based on the underlines in my used copy, I'm fairly certain mine was so used).

"The Era of Expansion" covers virtually all aspects of American Life at the time, from Art and Architecture to Economics, Science and Religion, but the main thread is the national level politics. This is Fehrenbacher's forte, and even though I've read much of his stuff before, he will, as always, offer some new insights. Here Fehrenbacher observes how in both the Missouri crisis and in the crisis of 1850 the presidential campaign had nothing to do with the real agenda that was a sectional struggle about slavery.

The main thesis here is that the era of expansion saw the birth of several issues that would play a spectacular part in later American history, but that at the moment remained relatively dormant. The period saw the beginning of the industrial revolution and of Garrisonian abolitionism, of sectional conflict and of the rise of independent American intellectual, economic and artistic traditions. It was all the time of mass immigration and the beginning of Nativist politics - all trends that would intensify in the 1850s, and particularly during and after the Civil War.

By far the best chapter of the book is the final one, which explores the historiography of the "Era of Expansion", dealing especially Frederick Jackson Turner's "Frontier Thesis" (that the Frontier was "safety valve" guaranteeing America's equality and democratic tendencies), Charles Beard's economic determination (which saw the changes in America as primarily the result of struggles between various economic interest groups), and their various successors, who attempt to forge a more subtle, yet sufficiently "grand", narrative.

While "The Era of Expansion" is an adequate narrative of the United States in the first half century of its existence, and is enlivened by Fehrenbacher's literary skills and historical perception, it is ultimately a fairly standard and unsatisfactory account. It'll give the facts, but there's little spirit in it.

Firstly, allow me to state that this book is rich in wisdom and spirituality. But, I would strongly recommend the prospective buyer to purchase Metaphysical Meditations: Universal Prayers, Affirmations, and Visualizations by Paramahansa Yogananda instead. The contents of this book is taken from Metaphysical Meditations. It will be much cheaper to buy that book, instead of this book by Kessinger Publishing. Moreover, not ALL of the contents is included in this book. Only one chapter is included. Thus, if the reader wants purchase this book, he/she would be wise to purchase Metaphysical Meditations: Universal Prayers, Affirmations, and Visualizations instead. It will be much cheaper as well.

Between the Louisiana Purchase in 1806 and the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861, the one event which most influenced Americans was the California Gold Rush, which began in 1848. This wasn't the first time in history when gold had been discovered in the nation. There was a gold rush when ore was found in North Carolina in the 1820s and Georgia in the 1830s.

The first gold nuggets at John Sutter's flour mill in California was discovered in January, 1848, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, creating the Gold Rush later that year. On December 31, 1850, gold sold on the world market for $20.67 per ounce. On December 31, 2004, (154 years later) the price of gold had skyrocketed to $455.75 per ounce, more than twenty times as much. With that kind of money involved, it was no wonder that the Gold Rush was a history-changing event.

This book explores the political activities of that time from New York, Ohio, Missouri, and on to Coloma, outside Sacramento City. By January 27, when James Marshall discovered the gold at Sutter's Fort, President James K. Polk was negoiating a treaty with Mexico to make California a state. The treaty was signed on February 2, 1848. There were two treaties which led to California's independence from Mexico and its surrender to America. The first was signed in Los Angeles on January 13, 1847.

When, on December 5, 1848, "the most trusted man in the Union, the president ... had finally proclaimed the discovery of gold in California real," the American character changed. "It looked like Polk's treaty was a bargain. In St. Louis, an invisible gate stood at the boundaries of civilization was opened." Regardless of the president's policies, what no one in the world of the 1850s disagreed with was that "the president told the truth." President Polk's statement assured the rest of the world that gold had been discovered in California, "and neither [Zachary] Taylor nor his successor [Millard] Fillmore said anything to the contrary.

People left their homes and families behind for the California Gold Rush. One in four never made it back. "From 1848 to 1850, ninety thousand people trekked across the continent to the mining camps. Between 1848 and 1852, the population of that state was two hundred thousand with more arriving every day, some from other countries. By 1868, the country had recovered its collective breath and was ready to move forward. "Once again, the seed of the new American Dream, planted by Marshall and Sutter, was about to blossom. There was an expectation now that prosperity was just around the corner."

Meanwhile, most of the nation's attention was focused on Washington, where President Andrew Johnson was being impeached by a reactionary Congress, in 1868 following the diastrous end to the Civil War. Johnson had succeeded Lincoln on April 14, 1865. The war had ended on April 9 when General Lee presented his sword to General Grant at Virginia's Appomattox Courthouse. The man who "turned the tide, who cut the Confederacy in half and thus ended the war, was a survivor of the Gold Rush, William Sherman."

It was President James K. Polk's State of the Union Address in December 1848, the one historical document that set the Gold Rush in motion by confirming for the world James Marshall's discovery there at Sutter's Mill which was destroyed by the multitude of prospectors.

Frontier historians have been especially influential interpreters of the American past. A generation embraced Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis, regardless of its sweeping and not always appropriate generalities, as an explanation for American uniqueness. "Historians of the American Frontier," therefore, is an important attempt to come to grips with the people who made the frontier the most significant field of historical study in the first decades of the twentieth century and of those who have carried on the torch.

John R. Wunder, Director of the Great Plains Center at the University of Nebraska, presents an impressive set of essays on the lives and works of 57 frontier historians. Each chapter, written by a different specialist, includes a brief biography and a complete summary and analysis of publications. Wunder used four criteria to select the people included in this collection: they (1) had to be dead, (2) had to be recognized as leaders in frontier studies, (3) had to produce broadly-defined frontier history, and (4) did not have to be either academically-oriented or even historians in any strict sense.

Any collected work's quality is uneven and this book is no exception. Some of the essays are more successful than others. I found particularly rewarding Robert P. Swierenga's entry on James C. Malin. There are, however, two built-in difficulties with collections of this type. First, although "Historians of the American Frontier" is an important attempt to assess frontier historians and their literature, it views the subject from the perspective of individuals only. There remains, unfortunately, no synthesis of the overall field of study. Each historians' work stands essentially alone.

Second, historians are unevenly represented. Angie Debo, LeRoy Hafen, Reuben Gold Thwaites, Dale L. Morgan, and even Francis Parkman are not found here while less worthy entries abound. The editor anticipated this criticism by suggesting that no historians were "left out by design or accident" (xii) and that a second bio-bibliographical volume would resolve the omissions but that has yet to be published.

In spite of these criticisms, Wunder has produced a fine book that will be permanently useful to scholars, making readily available in a single volume the personalities and core themes of American frontier historiography. An important addition to the scholarship of the American frontier, it will be a standard reference for years.

Most of the pieces are very slow and more reflective. Some also have a wide range that the average soprano might not be comfortable singing. In general, my copy of this books sits around and does not get used.

The Accelerated Reading designation for this book is 5.0. This means that as far as the verbiage is concerned this book is deemed suitable for children reading at the beginning Fifth Grade level.

However, appropriateness of reading level aside, I have to say that the actual narrative is pretty bland, and I can't imagine a child falling in love with this book. The principle problem is Quiri's "Top-Down" approach to history. It leaves the narrative sounding as if it was legislated and not lived: dull dates are left in, while nearly every bit of drama and adventure has been squeezed out. Which is not exactly the sort of thing children prefer.

A good example of this misplaced emphasis is the book's description of the incident where Lewis is almost killed by a bear:

"The group often came across wild animals. A brown bear once chased Lewis for 80 yards (73m). Lewis finally ran into the river and the bear decided not to follow him."

To me it's odd to place so much emphasis on the distance the frightened man had to run, rather than on the extreme danger he was in. But in general that is exactly what you find in this book: a rather cold approach. You get dry facts like 'the expedition members ate their first buffalo on August 23rd', without the more interesting observation that Clark was so fond of little Pomp, that he paid for Pomp's and his sister Lizette's education and upbringing. Go figure.

In summary, I guess I'd say that there are some nice features to this book --the prints, sketches, and artwork -- but ultimately this is a traditional presentation of history that's not all that engaging.

Pam T.

Isaac Coates was Asst. Surgeon attached to the 7th Cavalry during the beginning of hostilities with the Plains Indians. Coates' recently discovered diary notes form the basis of this book. Two major problems with the volume are obvious. First, the diary covers only a short period of time (and that only partially) and thus Kennedy, the modern writing collaborator, must fill in large gaps. This is not wholly successful, as the narrative changes tone drastically and even jumps back and forth in time. Second, Coates is not an impartial observer, being a pal of Custer at times and an ashamed accomplice in genocide of the Indians at others. The horror of the conflict is manifest nonetheless, and is the strongest reason to read this book. Did the Civil War so morally anesthetize these Generals (Custer, Hancock, and Sheridan in particular) that they felt nothing wrong as they butchered Indian women and children and callously treated their troops? This sure isn't the 7th Cav that I saw on movie screens as a kid.

I purchased this book because my greatgrandfather was a colleague of Coates, serving in the Medical Department at various frontier posts at the same time. I hoped to see some insight into the duties of an Army surgeon on the Plains, but I was very disappointed that there were almost no references to his medical work.

The legend of the unknown Celia Sanchez

Haney, Richard 2005 Celia Sanchez: The Legend of Cuba's Revolutionary Heart. Algora Publishers. ISBN-10 0875863957 ISBN-13 978-0875863955. Despite the circumstance that almost all the data cited is inaccurate or even false it seems this is the only book length English language biography of Celia Sanchez Manduley, and thus of interest.

Very little is know of Ms. Sanchez; however, it seems true that Celia was trying to rescue Castro when his late 1956 landing essentially failed. The idea that Celia was a rebel in the mountains from about 1954 is interesting and novel. It she was there Celia Sanchez may well have been in contact with the Bandit Crecencio Perez. And yet Crecencio Perez is not mentioned as far as I could see in this book.

As far as my old memory recalls, I never heard of her in those mountains that early, and I spent the summers there quite to the east of her alleged stomping grounds. And I did not recall seeing her until about October, 1958 when Column 1 was heading to the finally battles on the Cauto Plains; then she served us rebels a drink of orange juice and milk, mixed on the spot.

Still Juan Vives, supposedly her god-son, writes in "Los Amos de Cuba" that Fabio Grobart, the senior Stalinist Agent in Cuba was in Santiago in July 1953, which if true would have been a secret that only a high level rebel communist such as Celia could have known. Thus in all probability Vives who was too young then must have heard it from her or some similar privileged source.

The strange "thing" about this book is that while in other respects it follows the falsities of present Cuban government propaganda. Non-communist rebels, e.g. Huber Matos, later imprisoned for long years by Castro even though he was a colleague of hers, are never mentioned. Frank Pais who lead the urban resistance is mention perhaps only once, and yet Pais was sending men, money and supplies to her. Alicia Alonzo's ballet group is far older than she alleges here, and certainly was not founded with Fidel Castro's support. And the true cruelties of the Batista repression are enhanced beyond belief. This "work" portrays a role for Celia far beyond that commonly perceived. It diverges from common Castro mythology by giving her the major leadership role, greater than any other rebel, including the Castro brothers, and Guevara in the rural anti-Batista struggle.

Which leaves one wondering if Celia Sanchez, the devoted self effacing, almost silent, old communist (this denied in the book but seems true from other sources), was Fidel Castro's minder in the Sierra, charged by perhaps Grobart, with his protection and acting as contact with the sleeper communist cells in the Sierra Maestra. If this is so the gentle kind reputation of Celia Sanchez is certainly up for revision.

Thus for this reason, and this reason only, I evaluate what is essentially a propaganda piece, a hagiography, as worth reading.


Larry Daley

The Russian Empire and the World provides an overview of Russia's interactions between the years of 1700-1917. It assesses the impact of everything from the Great Northern War to the Russo Japanese War and how these impacted Russia's foreign relations. The book is divided up into relations between the Russians and central Europe/Scandinavia, the southern frontier, the Asiatic frontier, coastland European powers and then finally the rivalry with Great Britain. It is recommended that the reader have a basic understanding of Russian domestic policy and situations as the authors only focus here is on the international side and it is assumed that the domestic economic and political realities of Russia are known.
There are two drawbacks to the book which lead to the three star rating. The first is that when reading this the author tries to espouse a theory of why international relations occurred the way they did between Russia and these areas. At times he gets so wrapped up in trying to convey his idea of the Russian core and the border lands that he leaves the history for long periods of time. The second drawback occurs in the structure of the book. By dividing it by region as he does the reader must have a very strong knowledge of chronology to understand why things are happening in one region without reference to another.
Overall though this is a good start to understanding Russian foreign relations in this time period and if you have read several books on the various regions this is a great way to tie them together.

I bought this book hoping to get some help with my new SoundBlaster card. The words "making waves" in the subtitle led me to believe that these authors were going to explain wavetable sound synthesis that current SoundBlaster 32/64 cards employ. Don't be misled by the title the way I was! This is probably a good book for owners of old SoundBlaster 16 cards that use FM synthesis, but it will not help you figure out your new soundtoy.