Despite a handful of dramatic events-such as the burning of Washington, D.C., or the defeat of the British at Baltimore (a battle which inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner")-the War of 1812 is often not foremost in America's cultural memory. So two hundred years later, why commemorate America's "second war of independence"? Moreover, why does the bicentennial anniversary seem more popular north of the 49th parallel?
This month, our Book Club will discuss the war's legacy through our featured title, The War of 1812: Conflict for a Continent (on sale April 24) by historian J. C. A. (John) Stagg-a definitive account of the political, military, diplomatic, and social dimensions of the conflict. The general editor of the James Madison papers, Stagg demonstrates not only why the war played a pivotal role in both Canada and America's burgeoning national identity, but also why the U.S. experienced such difficulty in prosecuting its first war. At the same time, he weaves together the parallel strands of all the other actors involved-Canadians, the British, and Native Americans-to show how the war impacted the development of North America.
Traces of the war are still evident today-from Fort McHenry in Baltimore to Fort George in Canada, and many more. View our slideshow; read our Q&A with John; and download our playlist. Also, check out our calendar of John’s upcoming book readings and signings.
As always, join the discussion on Facebook, or chime in on Twitter using the hashtag #cambridgeideas.
Features book listing
There are 5 titles for this feature
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Freedom Bound
- Paperback (ISBN-13: 9780521137775)
- Publication date: August 2010
- Subject: Colonial American history
Freedom Bound is about the origins of modern America. It tells how English colonies were planted in occupied territories, how migrants – free and unfree – were brought to do the work of colonizing, and how the newcomers secured possession. It tells of the new freedoms that seemed possible in new commonwealths, and of the constraints that kept many from enjoying them. It follows the story long past the end of the eighteenth century until the American Civil War, that extraordinary moment in American history when it seemed that freedom might finally become unbound.
- In stock
- $41.00 (Z)
Radicals in their Own Time
- Paperback (ISBN-13: 9780521187039)
- Publication date: November 2010
- Subject: American history: general interest
This book explores the lives of five Americans who agitated for greater freedom in America. It discusses the lives of Roger Williams, Thomas Paine, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Vine Deloria, Jr., and argues that part of what makes these figures compelling is their willingness to pay the price for their convictions.
- In stock
- $30.99 (X)
The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Jefferson
- Paperback (ISBN-13: 9780521686976)
- Publication date: February 2009
- Subject: American literature
- In stock
- $25.99 (Z)
The Mind of the Master Class
- Paperback (ISBN-13: 9780521615624)
- Publication date: October 2005
- Subject: Early republic and antebellum history
The Mind of the Master Class tells of America's greatest historical tragedy. A great many of the slaveholding men and women were intelligent, honorable, and pious; yet, these very people, admirable in so many ways, presided over a social system that proved itself an enormity and inflicted horrors on their slaves. Even now, there is much to be learned from their moral and political reflections on their times--and ours.
- In stock
- $35.99 (Z)
The War of 1812
- Paperback (ISBN-13: 9780521726863)
- Publication date: March 2012
- Subject: Early republic and antebellum history
This book is a narrative history of the many dimensions of the War of 1812 – social, diplomatic, military, and political – which places the war's origins and conduct in transatlantic perspective. The book introduces the war to students and general readers, concluding that it resulted in many ways from an emerging nation-state trying to contend with the effects of rival European nationalisms, both in Europe itself and in the Atlantic world.
- In stock
- $24.99 (G)