LEADER 03945nam 2200637 a 450 001 9910777331203321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a0-8014-7471-X 024 7 $a10.7591/9780801474712 035 $a(CKB)1000000000002261 035 $a(OCoLC)70763792 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10001771 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000278836 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11223002 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000278836 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10246840 035 $a(PQKB)10044273 035 $a(OCoLC)1063813919 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse69496 035 $a(DE-B1597)515089 035 $a(OCoLC)1083583686 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780801474712 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3137908 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10001771 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3137908 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000002261 100 $a20000803d2001 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aDreams of a more perfect union$b[electronic resource] /$fRogan Kersh 210 $aIthaca $cCornell University Press$dc2001 215 $a1 online resource (372 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a0-8014-8980-6 311 $a0-8014-3812-8 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 311-349) and index. 327 $aThe 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. 330 $aIn 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. 606 $aNationalism$zUnited States$xHistory$y18th century 606 $aNationalism$zUnited States$xHistory$y19th century 607 $aUnited States$xPolitics and government$y18th century 607 $aUnited States$xPolitics and government$y19th century 615 0$aNationalism$xHistory 615 0$aNationalism$xHistory 676 $a320.54/0973/09033 700 $aKersh$b Rogan$01510254 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910777331203321 996 $aDreams of a more perfect union$93742762 997 $aUNINA