Manifest Destiny: American Expansion and the Empire of Right (Critical Issue Book) (Paperback)

by Anders Stephanson (Author) "British North America was colonized through conquest and subsequent implantation of replicas of British society, with the significant addition of black slavery..." (more)
Key Phrases: territorial expansionism, United States, New England, Soviet Union (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Stephanson (Kennan and the Art of Foreign Policy, Harvard Univ. Pr., 1989) turns his attention to an era not adequately covered in monographic form since Frederick Merk's Manifest Destiny and Mission in American History (1963). He traces the roots of manifest destiny from the British settlement of North America and the rise of Puritanism through Woodrow Wilson's efforts to "make the world safe for democracy" and Ronald Reagan's struggle against the "evil empire" of the Soviet Union. While earlier titles focus on the antebellum period of this misunderstood era of American history, Stephanson's work assumes a comprehensive perspective in a relatively slim volume. Unlike previous works, it emphasizes the role of Christianity as a principal ideological driving point. No footnotes are included, but there is a useful bibliographic essay. Overall, this is a good, innovative treatment of the topic. Highly recommended.?Daniel Liestman, Seattle Pacific Univ. Lib.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
In this concise essay, Stephanson explores the religious antecedents to America's quest to control a continent and then an empire. He interprets the two competing definitions of destiny that sprang from the Puritans' millenarian view toward the wilderness they settled (and natives they expelled). Here was the God-given chance to redeem the Christian world, and that sense of a special world-historical role and opportunity has never deserted the American national self-regard. But would that role be realized in an exemplary fashion, with America a model for liberty, or through expansionist means to create what Jefferson called "the empire of liberty" ? The antagonism bubbles in two periods Stephanson examines closely, the 1840s and 1890s. In those times, the journalists, intellectuals, and presidents he quotes wrestled with America's purpose in fighting each decade's war, which added territory and peoples that somehow had to be reconciled with the predestined future. A sophisticated analysis of American exceptionalism, for ruminators on the country's purpose in the world. Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Hill and Wang (January 31, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809015846
• ISBN-13: 978-0809015849
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #194,524 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Read, May 7, 2007

By	Steven Cytryn "SldgFctry77" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Stephanson was a professor of mine at Columbia University. His book is a concise tracing of the notion of Manifest Destiny from the inception of the British colonies in North America through the Cold War. He is a fabulous and engaging writer. In a post-9/11 world, Stephanson's book rings a crucial chord that has long been a part of the foundations of the United States, but oft remains to be neglected and forgotten.

8 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not a good bedtime story, January 17, 2000

By	David Orr "civix" (Boston, United States (Example shows city and country)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The interesting point of the book is demonstrating how religious righteousness has manifested itself into the very core of American politics and self identity since its inception. An eye opener to see how racist our country has always been. However, the author's arrogance and pomposity makes for dense difficult reading and tends to distract from the message.