Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era 1829-1877 | 
| Author: Walter A. Mcdougall
Publisher: Harper
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 60127
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 816
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.4 x 2.1
ISBN: 0060567511
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.7
EAN: 9780060567514
ASIN: 0060567511
Publication Date: March 1, 2008
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Product Description
"And then there came a day of fire!" From its shocking curtain-raiser—the conflagration that consumed Lower Manhattan in 1835—to the climactic centennial year of 1876, when Americans staged a corrupt, deadlocked presidential campaign (fought out in Florida), Walter A. McDougall's Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era, 1829-1877 throws off sparks like a flywheel. This eagerly awaited sequel to Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History, 1585-1828 carries the saga of the American people's continuous self-reinvention from the inauguration of President Andrew Jackson through the eras of Manifest Destiny, Civil War, and Reconstruction, America's first failed crusade to put "freedom on the march" through regime change and nation building. But Throes of Democracy is much more than a political history. Here, for the first time, is the American epic as lived by Germans and Irish, Catholics and Jews, as well as people of British Protestant and African American stock; an epic defined as much by folks in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Texas as by those in Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia; an epic in which Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, showman P. T. Barnum, and circus clown Dan Rice figure as prominently as Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Henry Ward Beecher; an epic in which railroad management and land speculation prove as gripping as Indian wars. Walter A. McDougall's zesty, irreverent narrative says something new, shrewd, ironic, or funny about almost everything as it reveals our national penchant for pretense—a predilection that explains both the periodic throes of democracy and the perennial resilience of the United States.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Lively, entertaining but broader theme does not work August 3, 2008
This is a history of the Civil War period, which McDougall rather oddly defines as 1829 to 1877. (I follow why it ends with 1877, but why does it begin with 1829?) In most ways, this is a very good book. It is lively. It is entertaining. It reads well. McDougall is very learned, but he writes in an informal, rather slangy style, that I enjoyed. Not all academics are stuffed shirts apparently.
In a sense, the book does not have a theme. It just tells stories, with the basic structure being chronological. Its focus is on mainstream political history. A very nice feature of it is that he includes a little insert on each of the new states, at the time of its admission to the Union. McDougall is quite shrewd and acute in his insights.
In another sense, however, the book does have a theme, and it does not work. His theme is that America in the 19th century was defined by pretense and dishonesty. The Republic, in his view, had great ideals, ad it did not live up to them. It then dealt with the contradiction between ideals and reality by cultivating self-deception.
There is truth to this perspective. In this sense, McDougall's voice, and general perspective, reminds me of Mark Twain. They both have the same fascination with the hustlers and trickers of America, and the same joy in puncturing the pretences of the hypocritical preachers. But there is a thinness to this point of view. What society does not betray its ideals? Why society does not practice self-deception? This theme does not really get to the heart of what American history is about.
McDougall seems to be straining after philosophy. He is often asking what is America "for," what is the purpose of the Republic in a larger sense. He criticizes American thinkers for not being able to answer this question. But then he does not answer it himself. Perhaps his most extended try at an answer in his 20 page ending, focusing on the obscure figure of Orestes Brownson, a 19th century Puritan-turned-Universalist-turned Catholic who I had never heard of before. I found that discussion to be quite interesting, as a portrait of a little known thinker. McDougall, however, clearly meant it as more than that. He meant it as some kind of summation of his own alternative view of American history. And, as that, it just did not work.
 does democracy or the reader suffer throes? July 11, 2008
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
My dictionary defines "throe" as "violent pang, anguish, calamity." In the title of this book the author or the publisher takes poetic license. To understand this criticism we need to consider the periods of our history between 1829 and 1877 that suffered the greatest pangs, "as in childbirth."
We begin with Chapter Two entitled "Old Hickory, Bankers, Indians and Whigs". Having read this you have gotten about what you will get from reading the chapter so why bother. The author very considerately outlines his view of history:
"There was no ante-bellum era in the 19th century American history. Granted the phrase is useful -- too useful -- as a catchall for decades prior to 1860. Granted that numerous warnings and threats of civil war were voiced in the era. But in as much as secession had not yet happened and was desired by a very few, it is unhistorical to speak of an ante-bellum.... By 1829 the drama defining their Union's a character moved rehearsal. Would it to unfold as tragedy or comedy? Wise patriots hoped the answer was neither, for one ends in ruin, the other in farce. Alas, the first act opened with a series of scenes decidedly tragicomic."
Clearly the author is going to present his history from a different view. Consider where he lays his emphasis and you will see this is not a run-of-the-mill introductory volume. Oh, that it were! One of the first things you notice is the author's reluctance to search out primary sources. Perhaps he fears confusing his readers or maybe himself with too many conflicting views. That is not to say that he doesn't use writers or works from the 19th century America. Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Harriet Martineau, Frances Trollope, all of these involved Americans are cited over and over. As for works dealing with the actual history, politics, geography, all the boring things, the author goes back to sources as old as the 1930s but he seems to prefer the 21st century. One quick question for professor McDougall, if we study the throes of American democracy in this era that is not antebellum how is it that the clown Dan Rice warrants three pages, P. T. Barnum has three pages and the theater gets three pages, while the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 to four pages. Of course, the importance is in the eye of the beholder. The Free-Soil Party is mentioned on ten pages. The professor maintains political correctness by mentioning four Union armies and only one Confederate. The Lincoln Douglas debates have two pages of text while education has about twenty-four pages. The readers of course would be familiar with Orestes A. Brownson. He and his works are cited throughout the book with great emphasis on his Roman Catholicism. The Transcendentalists have finally reached their proper pinnacle; Margaret Fuller gets more attention than all the fire eaters combined. In fact, our historian makes no mention of Edmund Ruffin, but Charles Bent has his place here. Henry Ward Beecher's scandal covers four pages of text and four end notes. Let's see, was he important in any other way? Apparently not. Henry David Thoreau and Charles Sumner are each honored with two pages of text. To go on like this is fruitless. If the reader is interested in the Romantic era in American history you will learn something of the deep throes of American culture.
Walter McDougall we are told is a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania. In going through this work it would appear that the professor might want to change his discipline. How about Literature of the Non-Antebellum Era?
When I got this book I thought it would be a substantive work on the period. I didn't expect to agree with everything said and that would be good. The trouble is there is not enough to this book to find anything with which to disagree. If the book is to be sold as history, it should be rated in some way. Let's say Fluff, Pablum, and Meat. How many stars does this book deserve? The dust jacket is very attractive. It is made to look as if it is bound with signatures, but I fear this permanence is only in the appearance. The print is very readable, in the end notes that the print is hard to read but that won't bother anyone, no one will feel a need to go there. The book is thick so if your shelves are empty will fill space nicely. For these reasons I will give it two stars.
Another excellent effort in this intriguing series July 6, 2008
The author of the acclaimed "Freedom Just Around the Corner" is back with volume two of his "New American History." After tracing the theme of "hustling" in the initial volume, McDougall changes his tune a mite, choosing this time to focus on the idea of "pretense." To wit, antebellum American politics and social structures had a consistent tendency to sidestep urgent national issues (slavery above all) until both sides got tired of telling lies to one another. We still meet a fair number of "hustlers," though, especially in McDougall's enjoyable series of miniature histories of the various states, written in the order in which the states entered the Union. It's a fairly quick read that repays repeat visits. I just hope that McDougall doesn't try to cover the rest of the territory in the third volume.
I would recommend another book first. May 14, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I much preferred The Impending Crisis by David Potter. That is a real classic.
Maybe read that first and compare it to McDougall.
There is some misinformation regarding the Crittened Compromise in McDougall's book. The South Supported it and the Republicans fought it. McDougall has it backwards on that account.
 Fascinating American Tour in Mid-1800s April 30, 2008
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
I was enthralled by this tour around America during such a critical period of development. McDougall is a respected, decorated academic historian and brings this professional authority to the pages. However, this book is fabulous for amateurs like me, interested in history but not in pursuit of a Ph.D. The myriad of social and cultural elements are what make this a fascinating study. Most history tomes focus on political aspects, as this certainly addresses. But I like reading about things that are less well-known--people, domestic habits, inventions, social things. To name a few in McDougall's book: the invention of photography, women desiring fine china starting in the 1820s, saloons in Chicago, Lincoln wondering what to do with the freed slaves, the age of steel, railroads, pioneer trails to the West, water supply, all the stuff that typical political history books miss.
While "Throes of Democracy" is 600 pages with terrific maps, it's a rapid trip, easy to read with lots of juicy stories and details. There are 144 pages of footnotes which I'm sure the academics require, and some of them are enlightening, but I didn't need them. I have read a few of the author's previous books and this is the best one yet.
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