The Jacksonian Promise: America, 1815 to 1840

by Daniel Feller

In Jacksonian Promise historian Daniel Feller offers a fresh look at the United States in the tumultuous Age of Jackson. Viewing the era through the eyes of people who lived in it, Feller's account captures the optimism and energy that filled America after the War of 1812. His emphasis on Americans' confidence in the future and faith in improvement challenges historians who depict the Jacksonian temperament in terms of anxiety and foreboding. Jacksonian Promise opens with the Jubilee anniversary of Independence in 1826, when Americans celebrated their national birthright of liberty and opportunity. Blessed with abundant resources and what they held to be the best government on earth, citizens believed they could accomplish nearly anything. They felt it in their power to remake themselves, their country, and the world. Feller traces the influence of this enterprising spirit across a broad range of Jacksonian activity. Experiment and innovation flourished as Americans built canals and factories, founded unions and utopias, staged religious revivals and moral crusades, and campaigned to eradicate social ills and to purify law and politics. Yet despite their common source, competing programs of progress soon clashed with each other. As citizens organized to pursue their hopes for America's future, divisions arose among that pointed ultimately toward civil war.

Genres: History, American History

248 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1995

Reviews

[Cathy Bown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting history book, but in typical fashion, parts of it were very dry and hard to digest.

[Stefanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read for a class

[Jeni Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a non-fiction piece that gives political, social, cultural, and military accounts during the Jacksonian years of 1815-1840. Through several movements, revolutions, and illustrating the differences between liberalism and reformation, Daniel Feller explains how these objectives influenced America during this period, and how it built a foundation that we still utilize to this day. This book is meant for general audiences, but for the ones who just started this study, I recommend a more detailed book.

[Sue Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to learn more about this time frame in our history and the book offered the facts that I was interested in.

[Peg - The History Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text for my next class...