A felicitous and fresh retelling of the story of the emergence of American nationalism! By any criteria the years following the Peace of Ghent, a period inaugurated by what has been superficially called "the era of good feelings," must be considered a time of exceptional growth and development in the United States. Above all, it may be considered a time of the evolution and ripening of American nationalism. It is the special virtue of Dangerfield's brilliant synthesis of the period that he manages to keep the focus on this central theme—the contest between the economic nationalism expounded by Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams and the democratic nationalism exemplified by the partisans of Andrew Jackson. That he does so without neglecting America's role in world affairs and particularly the growing economic rivalry with Great Britain, nor without minimizing the parts played by the leading actors on the national stage, attests the balanced judgment and sense of proportion that are evident throughout the volume. It is the confrontation of American economic nationalism with the Liberal Toryism of Lord Liverpool and William Huskisson that this book delineates with exceptional brilliance and depth. Dangerfield, a master craftsman, skillfully weaves many different threads into one magnificent tapestry.
Title of related interest from Waveland Press: Smelser, The Democratic Republic, 1801–1815 (ISBN 9780881336689).
