Manifest Destinies: America's Westward Expansion and the Road to the Civil War

by Steven E. Woodworth

A sweeping history of the 1840s, Manifest Destinies captures the enormous sense of possibility that inspired America’s growth and shows how the acquisition of western territories forced the nation to come to grips with the deep fault line that would bring war in the near future.

Steven E. Woodworth gives us a portrait of America at its most vibrant and expansive. It was a decade in which the nation significantly enlarged its boundaries, taking Texas, New Mexico, California, and the Pacific Northwest; William Henry Harrison ran the first modern populist campaign, focusing on entertaining voters rather than on discussing issues; prospectors headed west to search for gold; Joseph Smith founded a new religion; railroads and telegraph lines connected the country’s disparate populations as never before.

When the 1840s dawned, Americans were feeling optimistic about the the population was growing, economic conditions were improving, and peace had reigned for nearly thirty years. A hopeful nation looked to the West, where vast areas of unsettled land seemed to promise prosperity to anyone resourceful enough to take advantage. And yet political tensions roiled below the surface; as the country took on new lands, slavery emerged as an irreconcilable source of disagreement between North and South, and secession reared its head for the first time.

Rich in detail and full of dramatic events and fascinating characters, Manifest Destinies is an absorbing and highly entertaining account of a crucial decade that forged a young nation’s character and destiny.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Military Fiction, Civil War, War, Westerns

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

From one of America's most prominent 19th century historians comes this haunting and beautiful narrative focused on westward expansion and settlement. The author explores early pioneering times in the US West and covers a broad range of its aspects, from the Gold Rush to the Mexican American War. The only criticism I have about the book is that it seemed overly focused on the Mexican War, but other than that I have no complaints. A very good effort and well worth the time spent reading it!!

[Lauren Hiebner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is surprisingly a good read for being an overview of the 1830s and 1840s. It's focus on the events that bring about the Civil War does a good job of involving the issue of slavery in territorial expansion, the development of new political parties, and the attempt at compromise. The politics of expansion related to Texas and California are well presented with interesting side stories that allows the story to go beyond an overview of those events. The Mexican-American War is broken into manageable parts that ties it well with the national political picture. Also, the conclusion that the failure of major political parties to effectively deal with territorial expansion and slavery which speeded up the coming of the Civil War is correct. The 1850 Compromise was really a truce between the North and the South. Well worth the read.

[Jack Caravella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very good but could have been shorter in my opinion. I think the most fascinating sections were on the political maneuvering behind expansion and by proxy keeping the issue of slavery at bay for as long as possible. I particularly liked the chapters on the election of William Henry Harrison, Abolitionism, The Mormons, and California Gold Rush. As an educator I found these chapters the most useful in terms of primary sources cited (especially for Abolitionism). However, I did not see the purpose of the Mexican American War section being as long as it was. Again, I think the book is at its most insightful when discussing the politics of expansion, and I didn’t quite see the purpose of including such a detailed military history right in the middle. That being said, I found this book to be extremely captivating. As someone who is relatively new to this topic, I found it very useful and I intend to make many lessons based on its content/citations.

[Dominic Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for anyone interested in US history, as it takes the reader through the numerous events of the 1840s displaying this period as a critical time for America’s development. Diving into the Mexican-American War, from the creation of Mormonism to the settling of the West, it explains the politics of the time in a way that is easy to understand. One of the best books I’ve ever read during math class.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read about western expansion and the acceleration towards the Civil War. The Donner Party and the Joseph Smith/Mormon chapters were fascinating; the section on the war with Mexico was the most tedious, but the look at the politics at the time definitely helps show the gigantic boiling volcano the US was in the twenty years before the Civil War.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

More specific in its outlines of military battles during the Mexican-American War than I originally estimated, it still provided details and history for the expansion West and the years leading to the Civil War.

[Jim Ramnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The section on the Mexican American War was fabulous. I never knew many of these details. In my opinion, that was the highlight of an overall excellent book. Highly recommended if you are interested in American history.

[Kevin Christiansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid historical survey of the 1840's.

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched book, fascinating read details history of America in the 1840's answering why's of what happened. Found it extremely informative.

[Jeff Breeding · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ambitious book that aims to connect geographic expansion (“Manifest Destiny”) with the growing sectional crisis of the mid 19th century. Overall, good and very clear - Woodworth is easy to read.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! I never heard about most of this in my limited History classed

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this several years ago. I remember really enjoying it and having it increase my interest in the role westward expansion played in the coming of the Civil War.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more readable books about US-Mexican War.

[Jay Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book on the 1840s. Much happened in this era that is little known of. Yet what happened in this decade is what set up the controversies of the 1850s culminating in the Civil War.

Woodworth covers the little known campaigns and presidencies of Harrison, Tyler, Polk, and Taylor. A section is devoted to the development and battles of the Mexican War as well as American's move west. Briefly covered is the California gold rush and the population explosion in that state.

All of this had to do with the main theme of what Americans saw as their Manifest Destiny, their right to spread freedom throughout the entire continent. But underlying this dream was the obvious contradiction of slavery, which brought this era to an end and lead to a bloody Civil War.

[Tomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing, very readable history of American expansion to the West Coast. There are separate chapters on the Mexican War, the Mormon movement west, the Compromise of 1850...full of anecdotes about the age and its people with a touch of snarky humor...my kind of book! I learned a lot and really enjoyed reading this book; Woodworth's style is easy to comprehend without sacrificing historical accuracy. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the time period or the Civil War; it helps show how we got to the point that we couldn't compromise any more. I also enjoyed picking up on the early careers of many famous Americans. Here's Sherman in California, Lincoln in Congress, Howell Cobb as a Georgia Democrat...very good book!

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great historical exploration of Manifest Destiny. Excessive details of Mexican War battle scenes and not enough explanation of macro-economic drivers and consequences of Manifest Destiny, but just the right amount describing the politics of the 1830s & 40s. Makes our current congress seem almost sane.

[Mickey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book turns out to be mostly a military history of the battle to annex
Texas and the southwest from Mexico. I'm not interested in reading battle details.
Some of the political stuff was interesting.

[Tim Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book yesterday (7-9-13) with its last chapter on the presidency of Zachary Taylor, who coincidentally died in office on that date in 1850. Woodworth presents detailed but lively portraits of leaders from the 1840s, even Millard Fillmore, a name you rarely hear or read.

[Shawn Minihan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a book about the westward movement of people across the U.S. This book is more about the annexation of Texas and California, with some Oregon and Californian Trail thrown in. But still a really interesting book.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very detailed overview of the period. A do not agree with all of his analysis, he doesn't like Henry Clay!.

[Eric Byrd]

This won't leap over DeVoto's 1846: Year of Decision on my to-read list, but Woodworth on the Mexican War will be amazing.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice survey of pre-civil war politics, religion and west-ward expansion.

[Ed Broyhill]

Captivating!

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woodworth seemed to go a bit overboard with military details, but nonetheless his work is a welcome addition to the growing field of Manifest Destiny studies.