A Companion to 19th-Century America [Hardcover]

A Companion to 19th-Century America is an authoritative overview of current historiographical developments and major themes in the history of nineteenth-century America. Twenty-seven scholars, all specialists in their own thematic areas, examine the key debates and historiography. A thematic and chronological organization brings together the major time periods, politics, the Civil War, economy, and social and cultural history of the nineteenth century. Written with the general reader in mind, each essay surveys the historical research, the emerging concerns, and assesses the future direction of scholarship.

• 
  
• Complete coverage of all the major themes and current debates in nineteenth-century US history assessing the state of the scholarship and future concerns.
  
• 24 original essays by leading experts in nineteenth-century American history complete with up-to-date bibliographies.
  
• Chronological and thematic organization covers both traditional and contemporary fields of research - politics, periods, economy, class formation, ethnicity, gender roles, regions, culture and ideas.

Contributors vii

Introduction 1
William L. Barney

PART I: POLITICS AND PUBLIC LIFE

1 Early National Politics and Power, 1800±1824 5
Robert M. S. McDonald

2 The Jacksonian Era, 1825±1844 19
Jonathan Atkins

3 The Sectionalization of Politics, 1845±1860 33
John Ashworth

4 Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861±1877 47
Vernon Burton

5 The Gilded Age, 1878&l£J