The Human Tradition in Antebellum America / Edition 1

by Michael A. Morrison, Stephen R. Grossbart, Ruth Alden Doan, Craig Thompson Friend University of Central Florida, Gary J. Kornblith

Overview

This new book consists of mini-biographies of 15 Americans who lived during the Antebellum period in American history. Part of The Human Tradition in America series, the anthology paints vivid portraits of the lives of lesser-known Americans. Raising new questions from fresh perspectives, this volume contributes to a broader understanding of the dynamic forces that shaped the political, economic, social, and institutional changes that characterized the antebellum period.

Moving beyond the older, outdated historical narratives of political institutions and the great men who shaped them, these biographies offer revealing insights on gender roles and relations, working-class experiences, race, and local economic change and its effect on society and politics. The voices of these ordinary individuals-African Americans, women, ethnic groups, and workers-have until recently often been silent in history texts. At the same time, these biographies also reveal the major themes that were part of the history of the early republic and antebellum era, including the politics of the Jacksonian era, the democratization of politics and society, party formation, market revolution, territorial expansion, the removal of Indians from their territory, religious freedom, and slavery.

Accessible and fascinating, these biographies present a vivid picture of the richly varied character of American life in the first half of the nineteenth century. This book is ideal for courses on the Early National period, U.S. history survey, and American social and cultural history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780842028356
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/2000
Series:	The Human Tradition in America , #7
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	251
Product dimensions:	5.66(w) x 8.74(h) x 0.66(d)

About the Author

Michael A. Morrison teaches antebellum and U.S. political history at Purdue University. He is coeditor of the Journal of the Early Republic.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: Shuttles of a New Nation: The Private Lives and Public Actions of Ordinary Americans Chapter 2 Abraham Bishop: Teacher, Lawyer, Orator, and Politician Chapter 3 John Wesley Young: Identity and Community among 'the People Called Methodist' Chapter 4 Trotter & Sons: Merchants in the Early West Chapter 5 Hiram Hill: House Carpenter, Lumber Dealer, Self-Made Man Chapter 6 Senator John Smith: The Rise and Fall of a Frontier Entrepreneur Chapter 7 ArsÈne LacarriÈre Latour: Immigrant, Patriot-Historian, and Foreign Agent Chapter 8 Thomas Sidney Jesup: Soldier, Bureaucrat, Gentleman Democrat Chapter 9 John Ross: Cherokee Chief and Defender of the Nation Chapter 10 Peter P. Pitchlynn: Race and Identity in Nineteenth-Century America Chapter 11 Hosea Easton: Forgotten Abolitionist 'Giant' Chapter 12 Laura Wirt Randall: A Woman's Life, 1803-1833 Chapter 13 Rebecca Reed: Anti-Catholic Agitator Chapter 14 Margaret Eaton: The Politics of Gender in Jacksonian America Chapter 15 Benjamin Tappan: Democrat, Scientist, Iconoclast Chapter 16 George Washington Harris: The Fool from the Hills

Editorial Reviews

Brings the world of antebellum America alive.

CHOICE

Brings the world of antebellum America alive.

Choice

A superb anthology, brimming with talent and insight. Professor Morrison has assembled an outstanding collection which deepens our understanding of the early republic. The Human Tradition in Antebellum America will attract a wide audience.

Laura McCall

By giving voice to those Americans who have seldom been heard, this book reveals in unusual depth the democratization and expansion of American life in the early republic. Its focus on the rich diversity of the age reminds us all of the wide range of human experience in antebellum America at the same time as it strikingly portrays the fundamental contradictions between the promise and the reality of this crucial, formative period in U.S. history.

Stephen Maizlish

These interesting and well-written essays on some of the lesser-known figures of the antebellum period provide unique and valuable insights into American society. Teachers as well as students will find them useful in developing their understanding and appreciation of the past.

Kenneth R. Steven

Brings the world of antebellum America alive.

Choice Reviews

This collection of essays introduces three white women and twelve white, African American, Native American, or mixed-race men. In accessible prose, each author portrays one or more of these individuals who, in their private lives and public actions, represent life in the freewheeling world of their time. Each illuminates some of the tensions and possibilities of life in the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Peter Wallenstein