America as a Military Power: From the American Revolution to the Civil War

by Jeremy Black

How have military actions shaped the history of the United States and the country's role in world history? Noted military historian Jeremy Black examines American military exceptionalism with the critical eye of a foreign scholar. The British fought two wars with the Americans and followed American developments with keen interest. Black marshals contemporary British commentary to contextualize American military actions within a global perspective.

Several major conflicts are covered:

·The War for Independence

·The War of 1812

·The Mexican War

·War with Native Americans

·The Civil War

Throughout this phase of America military action, one sees a shift from a state in conflict with neighboring states to a nation divided, fighting for its very survival. This study clarifies the unique combination of political, social, intellectual, and physical factors-including potential threats-that shaped, and were shaped, by the general American culture during this period.

Genres: History

248 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

Jeremy Black is an English historian, who was formerly a professor of history at the University of Exeter. He is a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
Black is the author of over 180 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described by one commentator as "the most prolific historical scholar of our age". He has published on military and political history, including Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2001) and The World in the Twentieth Century (2002).