1776, 1861, 1929. Any high-school student should know what these years
meant to American history. But wars and economic disasters are not our
only pivotal events, and other years have, in a quieter way, swayed the
course of our nation. 1831 was one of them, and in this striking new
work, Louis Masur shows us exactly how.
The year began with a solar eclipse, for many an omen of mighty changes
-- and for once, such predictions held true. Nat Turner's rebellion soon
followed, then ever-more violent congressional arguments over slavery
and tarrifs. Religious revivalism swept the North, and important
observers (including Tocqueville) traveled the land, forming the
opinions that would shape the world's view of America for generations to
come. New technologies, meanwhile, were dramatically changing Americans'
relationship with the land, and Andrew Jackson's harsh policies toward
the Cherokee erased most Indians' last hopes of autonomy. As Masur's
analysis makes clear, by 1831 it was becoming all too certain that
political rancor, the struggle over slavery, the pursuit of
individualism, and technological development might eclipse the glorious
potential of the early republic--and lead the nation to secession and
civil war. This is an innovative and challenging interpretation of a key
moment in antibellum America.
