An 800 page doorstop, one of many 800 page doorstops that have been sitting in my garage for far too long and causing the shelves to bow. An incredibly detailed overview of a pivotal time in American history, when a few colonies clinging to the eastern seaboard expanded to cover a continent. One thing that will stick with me is the map of James Polk's plan for US expansion, which included most of Mexico and Cuba, a huge southward expansion. The book covers the incorporation of Texas, the war with Mexico which doubled the territory of the US and the expansion into the Oregon territory too. It's undeniable that the USA has done more than any other nation to spread democracy, liberty and prosperity throughout the world, but at the same time this has been done by exploitation, slavery, aggressive militarism, dishonesty and double-dealing. a very complicated dual inheritance which makes american history so fascinating.
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