The key to Doniphan's prominence as a Missouri attorney, military leader, politician, and businessman from the 1830s to the 1880s lay in his persistent moderation on the critical issues of his day. Th
Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize of the Society of American Historians For the quarter-century before 1860 Stephen A. Douglas was a dominant figure on the American political sce
Historians consider James K. Polk one of America's most effective presidents, yet some speculate that given his chronic ill health and paranoid tendencies, he might not have made it through four years
The decades that followed independence from Spain in 1821 transformed Mexico from a strong, stable colony to a republic suffering from economic decline, political turmoil, regional divisions and class
Few events in the history of the American Far West from 1846 to 1849 did not involve the Mormon Battalion. The Battalion participated in the United States conquest of California and in the discovery
The most colorful member of Kentucky's most illustrious family, Cassius Marcellus Clay is a legendary figure in the Bluegrass. This lively biography records both the traditions surrounding Clay and th
Since its publication twenty-five years ago, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men has been recognized as a classic, an indispensable contribution to our understanding of the causes of the American Civil Wa
A favorite of President Andrew Jackson and the daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, Jessie Benton was acquainted with the famous from childhood. When the vivacious belle met John C. Fre
The War Between the United States and Mexico, Illustrated, originally published in 1851, was easily the most beautiful nineteenth-century publication relating to the early history of Texas. It was als
James McCaffrey examines America's first foreign war, the Mexican War, through the day-to-day experiences of the American soldier in battle, in camp, and on the march. With remarkable sympathy, humor,
Sam Chamberlain's Mexican War is an important book. . . . There is no other collection of such impressive dimension that reflects the experiences of a common volunteer soldier." --Robert W. Johannsen,
Considering the course his life took, one might wonder how Zachary Taylor ever came to be elected the twelfth president of the United States. According to K. Jack Bauer, Taylor "was and remains an eni
Winner of the Speech Communication's Winans-Wichelns Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address. Zarefsky examines the dynamics of the seven 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, placi
Signed in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war between the United States and Mexico and gave a large portion of Mexico’s northern territories to the United States. The language of the t
Describes the most important events of 1857, including the Panic of 1857, the Dred Scott decision, and William Walker's attempt to conquer Nicaragua, and discusses their influence on American history,
One of the most controversial and romantic figures in American history, John C. Fremont experienced a dizzying succession of public triumphs and humiliations. He made his name exploring the West, surv
Without Quarter is the story of the first major U.S. army expedition against the Comanches between the Mexican and Civil wars. Chalfant first sets the historical context, then traces events to the cli
