Ordeal of the Union, Vol 1 Quotes

“By 1846 no country in the world was so interesting to other nations as the United States; none attracted so many visitors with pen in hand and an observant gleam in the eye. Since Alexis de Tocqueville’s book had made such a noise on the continent of Europe and had been caught up by influential Liberals in England, the verdict had been more and more favorable.”
― Allan Nevins, Ordeal of the Union, Vol 1: Fruits of Manifest Destiny 1847-52

“Multitudes of Southerners believed that the North was trying to cheat them out of a fair share of lands which their sons had fought bravely to bring under the American flag. Multitudes of Northerners were vowing that this great new domain should never be cursed by an institution which paralyzed free enterprise, crippled cultural progress, and made America the scorn of Europe.”
― Allan Nevins, Ordeal of the Union, Vol 1: Fruits of Manifest Destiny 1847-52

“Often when a nation seems proudest and most prosperous its foot is on the descending path; often when adversity is hardening a people it begins its march upward.”
― Allan Nevins, Ordeal of the Union, Vol 1: Fruits of Manifest Destiny 1847-52

“The level attained by a nation in material well-being, education, public health, religion, morals, recreation, and literature may be high; and yet if disruptive tendencies are undermining the whole structure, it is in an unhappier position than some neighboring land whose culture and wealth may be inferior, but the trend of whose national life is upward.”
― Allan Nevins, Ordeal of the Union, Vol 1: Fruits of Manifest Destiny 1847-52

“Despite all its difficulties and errors, the country was steadily growing in economic power, cultural vigor, and social stability. In letters and science, the United States was already presenting the world with fruits in which it might take pride. In its economic development, a business enterprise of identifiably American type was beginning to emerge with technologies unlike those of Europe. In a hundred other fields, the initiative, self-reliance, and optimism of the people were writing a record of almost unexampled vigor and color. Energy, versatility, progressiveness — these were the traits of the young republic.”
― Allan Nevins, Ordeal of the Union, Vol 1: Fruits of Manifest Destiny 1847-52

“When the republic was founded at the close of the eighteenth century, its people hoped that, sundered from the passions, false ideas, and feudal vestiges of the Old World, and given a rich empty continent to exploit, it might escape serious disaster. Hardships and vicissitudes would be plentiful enough; they would be needed, indeed, to sharpen America’s mind and toughen its spirit. But such terrible calamities as had almost overwhelmed one older country after another — these it might totally escape. Those who took this view were too optimistic. Twice in a century and a half terrible calamities came; twice a failure of statesmanship if not of national character cost the country far more than it could afford to pay. The Civil War and the Second World War should have been avoidable. Because the people and leaders of the United States did not act with determination and sagacity in solving the problems of slavery, sectional irritation, and a right adjustment of races, part of the country was half ruined for generations, and all of it set back by decades. The subsequent failure to consolidate the victory won in the First World War — the refusal to help set up a system of collective security and to play a manly, farsighted part in the world community — imperilled the very existence of the republic. Only a colossal effort and the sacrifice of a vast part of the national wealth saved it. Such errors can in time be largely retrieved. But they cannot be forgotten or forgiven, and their lessons should be driven home.”
― Allan Nevins, Ordeal of the Union, Vol 1: Fruits of Manifest Destiny 1847-52