03945nam 2200637 a 450 991077733120332120200520144314.00-8014-7471-X10.7591/9780801474712(CKB)1000000000002261(OCoLC)70763792(CaPaEBR)ebrary10001771(SSID)ssj0000278836(PQKBManifestationID)11223002(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000278836(PQKBWorkID)10246840(PQKB)10044273(OCoLC)1063813919(MdBmJHUP)muse69496(DE-B1597)515089(OCoLC)1083583686(DE-B1597)9780801474712(Au-PeEL)EBL3137908(CaPaEBR)ebr10001771(MiAaPQ)EBC3137908(EXLCZ)99100000000000226120000803d2001 uy 0engurcn|||||||||txtccrDreams of a more perfect union[electronic resource] /Rogan KershIthaca Cornell University Pressc20011 online resource (372 p.)Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph0-8014-8980-6 0-8014-3812-8 Includes bibliographical references (p. 311-349) and index.The rhetorical genesis of American political union -- A theory of political union emerges, 1780s-1820s -- National unity and nation-building, 1820s-1850s -- Conceiving a more moral union, 1850s-1865 -- The terms of reunion -- The ends of union, 1877-1898.In a brilliantly conceived and elegantly written book, Rogan Kersh investigates the idea of national union in the United States. For much of the period between the colonial era and the late nineteenth century, he shows, "union" was the principal rhetorical means by which Americans expressed shared ideals and a common identity without invoking strong nationalism or centralized governance. Through his exploration of how Americans once succeeded in uniting a diverse and fragmented citizenry, Kersh revives a long-forgotten source of U.S. national identity. Why and how did Americans perceive themselves as one people from the early history of the republic? How did African Americans and others at the margins of U.S. civic culture apply this concept of union? Why did the term disappear from vernacular after the 1880's? In his search for answers, Kersh employs a wide range of methods, including political-theory analysis of writings by James Madison, Frederick Douglass, and Abraham Lincoln and empirical analysis drawing on his own extensive database of American newspapers. The author's findings are persuasive-and often surprising. One intriguing development, for instance, was a strong resurgence of union feelings among Southerners-including prominent former secessionists-after the Civil War. With its fascinating and novel approach, Dreams of a More Perfect Union offers valuable insights about American political history, especially the rise of nationalism and federalism. Equally important, the author's close retracing of the religious, institutional, and other themes coloring the development of unionist thought unveils new knowledge about the origination and transmittal of ideas in a polity.NationalismUnited StatesHistory18th centuryNationalismUnited StatesHistory19th centuryUnited StatesPolitics and government18th centuryUnited StatesPolitics and government19th centuryNationalismHistoryNationalismHistory320.54/0973/09033Kersh Rogan1510254MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910777331203321Dreams of a more perfect union3742762UNINA