Fighting for America: The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519–1871
“Fascinating . . . [a] 300-plus year history of North America” from the award-winning historian and author of The Holocaust: History & Memory (Military Heritage).
Prize-winning author Jeremy Black traces the competition for control of North America from the landing of Spanish troops under Hernán Cortés in modern Mexico in 1519 to 1871 when, with the Treaty of Washington and the withdrawal of most British garrisons, Britain accepted American mastery in North America. In this wide-ranging narrative, Black makes clear that the process by which America gained supremacy was far from inevitable. The story Black tells is one of conflict, diplomacy, geopolitics, and politics. The eventual result was the creation of a United States of America that stretched from Atlantic to Pacific and dominated North America. The gradual withdrawal of France and Spain, the British accommodation to the expanding U.S. reality, the impact of the American Civil War, and the subjugation of Native peoples, are all carefully drawn out. Black emphasizes contingency not Manifest Destiny, and reconceptualizes American exceptionalism to take note of the pressures and impact of international competition. “A refreshing take on Manifest Destiny . . . American (and Canadian) readers will learn a lot of new things and be led into new ways of viewing old ones. An important contribution.”—Walter Nugent, author of Into the West: The Story of Its People |
Contents
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Introduction
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1 |
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1 SixteenthCentury Background
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20 |
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2 Creating New Frontiers 160074
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37 |
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3 Britain France and the Natives 16741715
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49 |
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4 Multiple Currents 171553
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59 |
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5 War for Dominance 175464
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74 |
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6 Britain Triumphant to America Independent 176576
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91 |
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7 Britain Defeated 177583
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101 |
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11 From the Oregon Question to the Gadsden Purchase 184453
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230 |
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12 A Great Power in the Making? America 185361
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264 |
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13 America Divided 186163
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293 |
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14 Winning the War 186365
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321 |
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15 Settling the North American Question 186571
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350 |
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16 Postscript 18712010
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381 |
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Conclusions
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387 |
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Notes
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397 |
Other editions - View all
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Fighting for America: The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519-1871 Jeremy Black No preview available - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
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