Home › Civil War Period (1850-1877) › Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era, 1829-1877
  • Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era, 1829-1877 by Walter a. McDougall book cover
1 1

Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era, 1829-1877

by Walter a. McDougall

Be the first to review this book

A broad social and political history of America’s Civil War era

$21.83 USD
$34.11 USD $21.83 USD
Save 36%

Paperback New English

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.
Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

A broad social and political history of America’s Civil War era

Covering 1829 to 1877, this history places the Civil War within a longer period of upheaval, from Andrew Jackson’s inauguration through Manifest Destiny, Reconstruction, and the contested presidential politics of 1876. McDougall’s scope extends beyond presidents and battlefields to include religious figures, entertainers, writers, and public personalities, presenting national change as a cultural as well as political process. The book frames these decades around recurring reinvention and examines the gap between American public ideals and the forms of spectacle, conflict, and pretense that accompanied them.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers seeking a wide-angle history of the United States from the Jackson era through Reconstruction
  • Those interested in the Civil War alongside political, cultural, religious, and literary history
  • Readers who want historical figures beyond presidents and military leaders included in the period’s story

Themes

Civil War eraAmerican democracyManifest DestinyReconstructionPolitical and cultural change

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

From its shocking curtain-raiser--the conflagration that consumed Lower Manhattan in 1835--to the climactic centennial year of 1876, when Americans staged a corrupt, deadlocked presidential campaign (fought out in Florida), Walter A. McDougall's Throes of Democracy carries the saga of the American people's continuous self-reinvention across five tumultuous decades. From the inauguration of President Andrew Jackson through the eras of Manifest Destiny, Civil War, and Reconstruction, it is an epic in which Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, showman P. T. Barnum, and circus clown Dan Rice figure as prominently as Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Henry Ward Beecher--a zesty, irreverent narrative that brazenly reveals our national penchant for pretense.

Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

You may also like

View all