The chapter explores the level of democracy in the Jacksonian era, noting the expansion of the electorate but the exclusion of African Americans and women from voting rights. It delves into the consequences of American expansion into the West, the inevitability of the Civil War due to conflicting ideologies, the French occupation of Mexico, and the ongoing instability in Haiti. The discussion also includes the economic success and political challenges faced by Mexico in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Alan Taylor is Tyler’s pick for one of the greatest living historians. His many books cover the early American Republic, American westward expansion, the War of 1812, Virginian slavery, Thomas Jefferson, the revolutionary settlements in Maine, and more. He’s currently the Thomas Jefferson Chair of History at the University of Virginia.
Tyler and Taylor take a walking tour of early history through North America covering the decisions, and ripples of those decisions, that shaped revolution and independence, including why Canada didn’t join the American revolution, why America in turn never conquered Canada, American’s early obsession with the collapse of the Republic, how democratic the Jacksonians were, Texas/Mexico tensions over escaped African American slaves, America’s refusal to recognize Cuban independence, how many American Tories went north post-revolution, Napoleon III’s war with Mexico, why the US Government considered attacking Canada after the Civil War, and much more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.
Recorded May 9th, 2024.
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Photo Credit: (c) Dan Addison UVA University Communications