In this addition to the esteemed Oxford history series, historian Daniel Walker Howe illuminates the period from the battle of New Orleans to the end of the Mexican-American War, an era of revolutionary improvements in transportation and communications that accelerated the extension of the American empire. He examines the era's politics but contends that John Quincy Adams and other advocates of public education and economic integration, defenders of the rights of Indians, women, and African Americans were the true prophets of America's future. He reveals the power of religion to shape many aspects of American life during this period, including slavery and antislavery, women's rights, and other reform movements. Howe's panoramic narrative-weaving social, economic, and cultural history together with political and military events-culminates in the bitterly controversial but brilliantly executed war against Mexico that gained California and Texas for the United States.
"Howe brings an impressive array of strengths to the daunting task of encapsulating these busy, complicated three-plus decades…he is a genuine rarity: an English intellectual who not merely writes about the United States but actually understands it."
"Howe has written a stunning synthesis of work in economic, political, demographic, social and cultural history, and he gives a fascinating, richly detailed portrait of the US as its very boundaries so dramatically and often violently shiftedit is a rare thing to encounter a book so magisterial and judicious and also so compelling; it is a great achievement and deserves many readers beyond the academy."
"Lauded by other historians as an important yet accessible landmark, Mr. Howe's study promises odd new angles on America in an election year."
"A sweeping, sparkling, sophisticated synthesis."
"A masterpiece."
"The book is a sweeping and monumental achievement…Attentive to historiography yet writing accessible and engaging prose, Howe has produced the perfect introduction or reintroduction to an enormously important period in American national development."
"Both academics and lay readers praised What Hath God Wrought, but they appreciated it for different reasons…American historians admired its elegant synthesis but also understood that Howe is attempting to lead his readers and colleagues away from the strictly economic explanations that have often dominated writing on this period."
"Stylishly narrates a crucial period in US history…Supported by engaging prose, Howe's achievement will surely be seen as one of the most outstanding syntheses of US history published this decade."
"Patrick Cullen ably narrates this extensive audiobook. His unadorned reading style mirrors author Howe's thesis that the historian's task is to explain the past, not to judge it. While the institution of slavery hangs over this era like a toxic cloud, the listener is reminded that the antebellum arguments for state rights versus a powerful national government resonate today."
"A worthy addition to public and academic institutions…Highly recommended."
