With the conclusion of the Mexican War in 1848, the United States seemed poised to fulfill the manifest destiny that was on the lips of journalists and politicians. Yet, even before the war was over, tensions over the issue of slavery erupted. Slavery symbolized the social, cultural, constitutional, and economic differences that were dividing the North and South. Through four years of bloody civil war and the loss of over 600,000 lives, the American republic decided the fate of slavery, asserted the supremacy of the federal government over state authority, and began to grapple with the difficult issues of reconstruction. This work provides substantial biographical entries of 20 individuals who shaped and defined the debates during the Civil War period. Political and military figures, such as Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee, writers such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, and abolitionist reformers, such as Frederick Douglass and George Fitzhugh, are included. With the conclusion of the Mexican War in 1848, the United States seemed poised to fulfill the manifest destiny that was on the lips of journalists and politicians. Yet, even before the war was over, tensions over the issue of slavery erupted. Slavery symbolized the social, cultural, constitutional, and economic differences that were dividing the North and South. Through four years of bloody civil war and the loss of over 600,000 lives, the American republic decided the fate of slavery, asserted the supremacy of the federal government over state authority, and began to grapple with the difficult issues of reconstruction. This work provides substantial biographical entries of 20 individuals who shaped and defined the debates during the Civil War period. Political and military figures, such as Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee, writers such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, and abolitionist reformers, such as Frederick Douglass and George Fitzhugh, are included. Each biography provides a concise account of the subject's life, followed by an analysis of the figure's role and contribution to the central issues of the day, and concludes with a bibliography of secondary and primary sources available to students. An appendix of over 180 additional biographies highlights the lives of others who played a role in the debates of the Civil War.

The three waves of feminism are explored through the lives of the women who made history in bringing women's issues to the forefront of American society. Many early feminists supported not only women's rights, but also rights of slaves and contributed to the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment, granting emancipation to slaves. They continued to work towards women's suffrage and were hopeful the Fourteenth Amendment would provide universal suffrage. However, women were not granted suffrage until the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment, nearly fifty years later. It was women's fundamental need for independence and an identity of their own, separate from that of men, which thrust the women's movement forward and continues to propel it today. Many notable women, such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Billie Jean King, Betty Friedan, Helen Gurley Brown, Jane Fonda, and Sandra Day O'Connor, are included in this history of the women's movement in America. The biographical entries cite works for further reading, and the volume closes with a bibliography. The Shapers of the Great Debate series takes a biographical approach to history, following the premise that people make history in the circumstances in which they find themselves. Each volume in this series examines the lives and experiences of the individuals involved in a particular debate through both major and minor biographies.

As the oldest still operational written constitution in the world, the U.S. Constitution—and the concepts it proclaims— have been under almost constant attack since its inception. At a convention in 1787, fifty-five delegates assembled in Philadelphia to revise and amend the Articles of Confederation, only to emerge sixteen weeks later with a new document: the U.S. Constitution. The convention was filled with constant debate over how much power should be given to government and how should this power be allocated, state rights v. nationalists, small states v. large states, political conservatives v. political liberals, and slave-owners v. non-slave-owners. Fifty-five biographies, one for each delegate, are presented. Biographies include such notable individuals as Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Luther Martin, and James Madison. An introductory essay, appendices including the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution, and an annotated bibliography are also included. The Shapers of the Great Debate series takes a biographical approach to history, following the premise that people make history in the circumstances in which they find themselves. Each volume in this series examines the lives and experiences of the individual's involved in a particular debate through major and minor biographies.

The First Amendment is categorical and concise on religion and the state: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Nevertheless, these few words have caused much confusion and controversy for successive generations. The debate over religious freedom has often come to the forefront during American history. Since colonial times, Americans have debated how to interpret and apply the First Amendment. Through biographical histories of individuals involved in the freedom of religion debates, readers will discover how individuals' thoughts, beliefs, and actions affected how the religion clauses are viewed today and throughout American history. Topics such as prayer in schools, religious symbols, exemption from military duty, and the pledge of allegience are addressed. Individuals such as Anne Hutchinson, Jerry Falwell, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and Roger Williams are included. An introductory essay, an appendix of shorter entries on additional figures, and a bibliography are also included.

The successful conclusion of the War of 1812 ushered in a new age of American history: the Jacksonian era. This book explores the background, motives, and goals of political and social leaders who dominated this era. Divided into three categories—Whigs, Democrats, and Writers and Reformers—biographies of Henry Clay, Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Knox Polk, Andrew Jackson, and others are included. Debates over such issues as westward expansion, the Second Bank of the United States, Indian policies, and slavery are discussed from opposing viewpoints. Americans of the Jacksonian era upheld traditions and values of their forefathers, while also embracing the unlimited opportunity of the future. During this era, profound political divisions emerged within the nation, with the core debate focused on the extent of the federal government's power. Americans debated such issues as the degree to which the federal government could compel states to implement federal legislation, administer expansion policy, regulate trade, and manage the economy. Interwoven within these debates were questions about the legitimacy of slavery. This book explores the background, motives, and goals of political and social leaders who dominated this era. Debates over such issues as westward expansion, the Second Bank of the United States, Indian policies, and slavery are discussed from opposing viewpoints. Students and general readers will find this reference tool useful in describing the lives and views of individuals who directed the course of the nation during the Jacksonian era.

Through biographical examinations of some of the key figures in the debate on conservation, this book seeks to explore a range of subjects, such as the evolution of the conservation movement, its implications for policy-makers, and how it impacts the daily lives of people everywhere. The varying approaches taken by these individuals will serve to emphasize that there are many definitions of conservation, and that many viewpoints are valid. Detailed observations of important figures on both sides of the debate, including some of the most famous and familiar and some less so, provide readers with the knowledge they need to form their own opinions on this topic. Major biographies include individuals such as Rachel Carson, Dixy Lee Ray, John Muir, and James Watt. An introductory essay, an appendix of shorter entries on additional figures, and a bibliography are also included.

In May 1865, the final month of the Civil War, the U.S. Army arrested and prosecuted a sitting congressman in a military trial in the border state of Maryland, though the federal criminal courts in the state were functioning. Convicted of aiding and abetting paroled Confederate soldiers, Benjamin Gwinn Harris of Maryland's Fifth Congressional District was imprisoned and barred from holding public office. Harris was a firebrand--effectively a Confederate serving in Congress--and had long advocated the constitutionality of slavery and the right of states to secede from the Union. This first-ever book-length analysis of the unusual trial examines the prevailing opinions in Southern Maryland and in the War Department regarding slavery, treason and the Constitution's guarantee of property rights and freedom of speech.

On April 12, 1864, a small Union force occupying Fort Pillow, Tennessee, a fortress located on the Mississippi River just north of Memphis, was overwhelmed by a larger Confederate force under the command of Nathan Bedford Forrest. While the battle was insignificant from a strategic standpoint, the indiscriminate massacre of Union soldiers, particularly African-American soldiers, made the Fort Pillow Massacre one of the most gruesome slaughters of the American Civil War, rivaling other instances of Civil War brutality. The Fort Pillow Massacre outlines the events of the massacre while placing them within the racial and social context of the Civil War. Bruce Tap combines a succinct history with a selection of primary documents, including government reports, eyewitness testimony, and newspaper articles, to introduce the topic to undergraduates.

This lively book traces the development of American conservatism from Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Daniel Webster, through Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Herbert Hoover, to William F. Buckley, Jr., Ronald Reagan, and William Kristol. Conservatism has assumed a variety of forms, historian Patrick Allitt argues, because it has been chiefly reactive, responding to perceived threats and challenges at different moments in the nation's history. While few Americans described themselves as conservatives before the 1930s, certain groups, beginning with the Federalists in the 1790s, can reasonably be thought of in that way. The book discusses changing ideas about what ought to be conserved, and why. Conservatives sometimes favored but at other times opposed a strong central government, sometimes criticized free-market capitalism but at other times supported it. Some denigrated democracy while others championed it. Core elements, however, have connected thinkers in a specifically American conservative tradition, in particular a skepticism about human equality and fears for the survival of civilization. Allitt brings the story of that tradition to the end of the twentieth century, examining how conservatives rose to dominance during the Cold War. Throughout the book he offers original insights into the connections between the development of conservatism and the larger history of the nation.

An excellent starting point for both reference librarians and for library users seeking information about family history and the lives of others, this resource is drawn from the authoritative database of Guide to Reference, voted Best Professional Resource Database by Library Journal readers in 2012. Biographical resources have long been of interest to researchers and general readers, and this title directs readers to the best biographical sources for all regions of the world. For interest in the lives of those not found in biographical resources, this title also serves as a guide to the most useful genealogical resources. Profiling more than 1400 print and electronic sources, this book helps connect librarians and researchers to the most relevant sources of information in genealogy and biography.