Desert Hawk Books

 

When The Eagle Screamed
The Romantic Horizon in American Expansionism, 1800-1860

William H. Goetzmann

 

 

176  pages
8 Maps
5.375" x 8.25"
Paperback

Quantity:   $11.95 & S/H

 

     Written in a lively style, When the Eagle Screamed argues that America's expansionism between 1800 and 1860 positioned it against some of the world's most powerful and aggressive nations. As the United States moved onto the world scene in this age of Manifest Destiny, it clashed with Britain, France, Russia, Spain, and Mexico. The struggle for Texas and Oregon, the war with Mexico, the postwar adventures and skirmishes in the Caribbean, the penetration of South American and the Far East, the competition for Antarctica and the South Sea Islands, and the drawing of the great Pacific border at Hawaii-all, William Goetzmann argues, arose from romantic ideals of grandeur and destiny. For this edition the author provides a new preface and updated bibliography.

"A graceful, highly informative narrative. Sprightly and sensitively written, the book stresses-convincingly-the romantic impulse in American diplomacy and expansion."-Journal of American History

"Throughout the book runs a strain of irony as our clear-eyed men of destiny moved steadfastly toward showdown after showdown. At times, one wonders how we escaped disaster."-Southwestern Historical Quarterly

"This is a lucid and rewarding little book. Both undergraduate and graduate students will find it a useful account of American territorial growth."-Allan G. Bogue, Wisconsin Magazine of History

William H. Goetzmann is the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Professor of History and American Studies at the University of Texas, Austin. Among his books are The West of the Imagination, New Lands, New Men: America and the Second Great Age of Discovery, Army Explorer in the American West, and Exploration and Empire: The Explorer and the Scientist in the Winning of the American West (awarded both the Pulitzer and Parkman prizes). He is also coauthor of The Atlas of North American Exploration.