Seduced by the West: Jefferson's America and the Lure of the Land Beyond the Mississippi (Lewis & Clark Expedition) [Hardcover]

Laurie Winn Carlson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lewis & Clark Expedition | Publication Date: April 8, 2003

In her provocative new book, Laurie Winn Carlson questions the larger aims of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-1806 and sees it as part of a broad range of schemes to wrest the American West from the claims of established European powers. If American ships were already plying the waters off the Pacific Northwest coast, why, Ms. Carlson asks, was it necessary to send these two intrepid explorers overland-except as a demonstration of American reach, and perhaps as a ploy to tempt the Spanish to attack the expedition, thus provoking a war with Spain in Florida and the West. Ms. Carlson views the Lewis and Clark expedition as just one of several schemes to seize Western lands from foreign powers and extend the new United States to the Pacific. And behind the scenes in most all of them was the Virginian who actually knew little about the region but under whose presidency the Louisiana Purchase was completed, Thomas Jefferson. As Ms. Carlson notes, Jefferson never traveled west, but he was involved to varying degrees with men who did the exploring, organizing, and trekking at the Western frontiers-men who left few papers for historians to pursue and have been largely forgotten. Seduced by the West investigates the wide range of players in this drama of intrigue and possibilities. Russia, Spain, England, and France all tried to explore the West, and all for different reasons. Only one nation succeeded, but as Ms. Carlson shows, it was not always a simple task-or even an intended one.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Who can resist the story of Americans' covetous push westward, especially in this bicentennial year of the Louisiana Purchase and the start of the Lewis and Clark expedition? But in a break with current tub-thumping celebrations of men of undaunted courage and spotless intention, Carlson turns a subtly suspicious eye on the characters who sought to make the U.S. a continental power (although she credits some of them with vision, bravery and honesty). Most of her cast, however, are fueled by motives of disunion, power and riches. The most egregious scoundrel is James Wilkinson, whose intrigues with foreign powers and domestic figures are likely never to be surpassed, although Aaron Burr comes close behind. Carlson (A Fever in Salem) also doesn't miss the chance to scrutinize Thomas Jefferson's motives and actions, and she finds him involving himself in many questionable projects (although there's no hard evidence to prove him culpable of sordid acts). One comes away from her narrative with a greater appreciation of the normal, human dimensions of the nation's westward march, a process no less filled with imperial aspirations, cupidity, secrecy and conspiracy than the activities of European states of the time. These oft-told tales, nicely and uncynically retold, provide a solid counterweight to the unnuanced story of great, pure American figures propelling their nation toward its manifest destiny on the Pacific.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Although Thomas Jefferson never traveled further west than the Blue Ridge Mountains, he was fascinated, perhaps even obsessed, by the trans-Mississippi West. He envisioned the U.S. creating an "empire of liberty" extending to the Pacific Ocean, which would provide settlement opportunities for 20 generations. Carlson's book, for general readers, examines those explorers--French, Spanish, Russian, and British--who preceded Lewis and Clark in searching for the fabled Northwest Passage. Her descriptions of the fissures between government offices in the trans-Appalachian region and Washington, D.C., are both interesting and credible. Unfortunately, she lessens her effectiveness by suggesting a variety of conspiracies and "hidden motives" that are wildly speculative. For example, she suggests Jefferson hoped Spain would attack the Lewis and Clark expedition, which would justify an attempt to seize Texas, and she resurrects some of the supposed "mysteries" regarding the suicide of Lewis. Still, there is enough here to entertain readers and to hopefully encourage them to delve deeper into the topic. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (April 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566634903
• ISBN-13: 978-1566634908
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,236,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Skulduggery in the West, August 5, 2003

By 

Edward G. Keating (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seduced by the West: Jefferson's America and the Lure of the Land Beyond the Mississippi (Lewis & Clark Expedition) (Hardcover)

I enjoyed "Seduced by the West," though it's a quick read that is more of a lengthy magazine article than really a book.

The books focuses on various efforts to explore and claim the American West including, but not limited to, Lewis & Clark.

The most interesting aspect of the book is the description of various characters, e.g., General James Wilkinson. Wilkinson was supposed to be representing US interests in the ill-defined Louisiana Territories, but he was also apparently being paid by the Spanish. The Spanish, intriguingly, didn't recognize the Louisiana Purchase as their deal to turn Louisiana over to the French had a codicil that it wasn't to be sold to someone else.

I would have preferred the book if it had been more specifically focused on a character like Wilkinson and therefore would have been less of a historical review.

But, within the context of what "Seduced by the West" is, it's an enjoyable read.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jefferson--Hemings, November 13, 2003

By 

Ian Binnie (Des Moines, IA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seduced by the West: Jefferson's America and the Lure of the Land Beyond the Mississippi (Lewis & Clark Expedition) (Hardcover)

An excellent counterweight to the usual deification of Jefferson but factually incorrect when she says (p.72) "DNA testing in 1998 proved that Jefferson had indeed fathered at least one of Heming's children."

The testing proved only that "a" Jefferson did so as the authors of the study have labored to make clear. There are other more likely candidates.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Too Good, July 10, 2003

By 

Michael E. Fitzgerald (Kingwood, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seduced by the West: Jefferson's America and the Lure of the Land Beyond the Mississippi (Lewis & Clark Expedition) (Hardcover)

This is not as good a work as it had the potential of being. At 199 pages it is short, made shorter still by small pages with large type.

Bouncing from topic to topic, it is an uncoordinated effort. It appears to have been rushed. There are so many ibids and multiple referrals to the same source material in the bibliography that you begin to wonder just how much work went into the research behind it. I was sorry I purchased it.