U.S. Military Expansion under the Empire of Slavery

This Vast Southern Empire: Slaveholders at the Helm of American Foreign Policy BY MATTHEW KARP HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 368 PAGES, $26.95 – The Antebellum South has traditionally been portrayed as regressive and sectional, defensively focused on preserving slavery in the… Continue Reading

The Newburgh Conspiracy of 1783

“I have ever considered that the United States are indebted for their republican form of government solely to the firm and determined republicanism of George Washington at this time.” – David Cobb, member of Washington’s staff   On a chilly… Continue Reading

The State and the Frontier: America Inherits the Imperial Burden 1787-1800

The State and the Frontier

It’s popular today to picture the American Indians tribes as though they were all 19th century, nomadic Plains Indians. However, at the time of 17th and 18th century colonial settlement the native inhabitants, particularly east of the Mississippi, were far from… Continue Reading

American Imperialism and Shays’s Rebellion of 1786

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure. Our Convention has been too much impressed by the insurrection of Massachusets: and in the spur of… Continue Reading