Daniel Walker Howe (1937–2025)

This is an outstanding history of the US between 1815 and 1848. Before I started this book, I had thought of this period as a tedious time when too little of interest occurred. As a result of Howe's book, I found this period to be full of exciting and important events. Although the book is 900 pages long (i.e. 300 pages per decade), I found the book to be such an appetizer that I now have a long list of other books I want to read. Howe's coverage is broad with discussions on the political, show more economic, military and cultural histories of the period as well as good overviews on slavery, native Americans, and Mexican Americans. The book was a pleasure to read. show less

In WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT, Daniel Howe has managed to create an animated verbal film depicting a still-new nation writhing in the throes of its growing pains, still undecided as to its political structure, the extent of its religious toleration, its attitude toward currency and banking, or even its desire for a standing army.

As immature boys reacting to growing testosterone levels, various national leaders, supported by a goodly (though never unanimous) part of the country, charged blindly show more ahead toward their various egocentric goals of driving earlier inhabitants from their lands to make way for the "superior" white, male-dominated culture and to take what lands they wished from inhabitants who could not defend them from avaricious greed. Similarly, as with youth who have not yet lived long enough to have learned from life's lessons the meanings of "equality," "freedom," and "humanity," the young nation felt few pangs of guilt over human slavery or the belittling subjugation of women.

Perhaps the most beneficial result of reading about the country as it was only about 180 years ago (not long at all in terms of human civilization) is the realization that the nation that most of us readers were born in was not as we see it today and that our public school history books may not have been adequate to teach us all that we should know about our collective younger self. Howe is very adept at showing us truths about our historical selves, and he is equally adept at using the English language effectively and, at times, entertainingly, to do so. With this book, the author has created a motion picture in words--shall we call it a documentary film in print?--to explain a three-decade period in the "growth spurt" of the United States (which, as one comes to realize, were not all that much united at the time).

Some reviewers criticize Howe's work as drawing unflattering parallels between old presidents such as Andrew Jackson and James Polk and modern heads of state such as George W. Bush. First, let's dispense with this specious criticism by noting that Howe draws no parallels. Nowhere in the entire book is there any comparison with contemporary figures. On the other hand, if unilateral, ill-defined, and inadequately-justified acts characterize presidential administrations that are 180 years apart, the reader is perfectly free to infer whatever comparisons may come to mind. And this does bring up another thought: whether to be reassured that the nation has endured despite the selfish and bullying acts of former presidents and weak congresses, or whether to be dismayed that more than a century-and-a-half of progress has not freed the country from self-serving leaders. Howe's historical recitation may well leave the reader very conscious of this ambiguity as well as with a better understanding of the rocky roads traversed (jerkily and painfully at times) by the nation in the decades preceding the Civil War.

Another thought that Howe has left with me is the high irony of having Andrew Jackson pictured on the $20 bill. Sandwiched in with his racist imperialism is the fact that Jackson steadfastly opposed "soft" money or allowing the Federal government to issue currency of any sort! This militarist, who needlessly picked a battle with British forces near New Orleans in 1815 after peace had been declared (okay, admittedly he wasn't aware that the U.S. and Britain were no longer at war), would find today's system of currency and of national banks and of the FDIC itself abhorrent and would most likely disavow any connection with them. I shall probably never look again at a $20 bill without thinking of Howe's book.

WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT is a heavy tome of 855 pages not counting the bibliographical essay and index, at least in terms of physical weight. However, it is far from heavy in terms of readability. The little irony of Andrew Jackson and the $20 bill is but a small sample of the fascinating "factoids" that the reader gleans from this book. Is it a totally objective picture of the nation during the first half of the 19th century? No indeed. How utterly boring that would be! Besides, what artist even pretends at total objectivity? I believe that most artists will tell us that the true artistry of their creations lies in their interpretation of the subject matter. In this instance, Howe applies the artistry of his expertise as a professional writer and historian to bring what, in other hands, might have been dreary facts to vibrant life and to help the 21st century reader see, understand and appreciate the 19th century picture he is viewing. When I was a student, I generally found history a boring subject. Not so now with books such as this one, and I heartily recommend WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT as a fascinating and instructive read for anyone who cares at all about how this nation came to be as it is today and who just might care to help it avoid some of the pitfalls that befell it in its youth. show less

Thorough & well written history of the period: As other reviewers have mentioned, the book is necessarily heavy on political history, though this book is not the tale of the rise and fall of political parties or politicians. Instead, Howe has chosen to evaluate American society largely through a political lens - in fact, he has chosen six major actors to play leading roles in his story: Andrew Jackson, J.Q. Adams, Henry Clay, James K. Polk, John Calhoun, & Daniel Webster.

Although he show more focuses largely on the achievements (or, in some cases the failures) of these men, he does not ignore society as a whole, nor does he ignore military endeavors, such as the Mexican War and the participants in that conflict.

All told, this is an excellent synthesis of the period. Professor Howe has demonstrated an extraordinary command of the secondary literature of the period, while incorporating many works of recent scholarship (especially the last 10 years). I was very impressed as I read the book with Howe's skillful weaving of a narrative loosely coupled by the theme of a communications revolution, which is much different than many other works pertaining to this period, which focus almost exclusively on the economic transformation that took place in this period.

I was equally impressed with Howe's command of the entire nation; unlike many books about this period, he did not sectionalize the book; by not focusing on just the Southern US, or just the Eastern seaboard, he allows the reader to understand the whole picture.

This is a worthy addition to any library of one who is intrigued by US History, even if that reader is not a 19th century specialist. I would even encourage professors to consider assigning this as a basic text (despite the fact that it is a rather lenghty tome at 860 pages) for an upper level survey of Jacksonian America. It is a much appreciated addition to the Oxford History of the United States series. show less

A well written, comprehensive history of America between the War of 1812 and just before the Civil War. The book maintains a general chronological narrative, but chapters are organized thematically, alternating between politics, religion, and education/culture/technology. The chapter on literature was quite interesting; apparently, the United States only recognized U.S. copyright laws, so literature from Britain was printed en masse royalty free and almost pushed American authors out of the show more business entirely. This was cited as one of the reasons so many authors who are famous today (Poe, Melville, etc) died dirt-poor.

What I learned: everything old is new again. All of the outrages committed today, especially under the Bush administration, were perfected during this period of American history. If you think the Iraq War is a sham, just read the excuses James K. Polk used to declare war against Mexico and grab two-thirds of its territory. Then, as now, politicians and citizens were alarmed at these excesses in the use of executive power, but just as in today, these concerns didn't prevent anything.

I would have given this book a 4.5 if it was possible. It is definitely deserving of winning the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for history. show less