Robert Leckie.
From Sea to Shining Sea: From the War of 1812 to the Mexican War, the Saga of America's Expansion.
New York: HarperCollins, 1993 (HarperPerrenial, 1994).

(Book information at Amazon.com.)

This books is a popular (i.e., non-academic: no footnotes, limited bibliography) military history of the United States for the period from after the American Revolution through the Mexican-American War; that is, for the years from the 1780s through 1848. (The author has written separate books on the American Revolution and the Civil War.) The book focuses on four conflicts:

1. War with the "Barbary Pirates" (1801-1805); this involved a series of conflicts with the North African states that egaged in priacy: Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Tripoli. This War was the source of the quote "Millions for Defense but Not One Cent for Tribute." For several centuries the major European trading nations had paid off these states to protect their trade from attack.


2. War of 1812 (1812-1815)


3. Texas Revolution (1835-1836)


4. Mexican-American War (1845-1848)

I found the book an excellent introduction to these subjects.

Some Links:

• First Barbary War (aka: the Barbary Coast War; the Tripolitan War)


• Louisiana Purchase


• The War of 1812


• Battle of New Orleans


• Andrew Jackson


• Monroe Doctrine


• Texas Revolution


• Texas Revolution (The Handbook of Texas Online)


• Santa Anna


• Republic of Texas


• Texas, a State in the United States of America


• Manifest Destiny


• The Mexican-American War


• The U.S.-Mexican War by The Descendants of Mexican War Veterans


• James Knox Polk


• Zachary Taylor


• History of the United States Navy


• United States Marine Corps


• United States Marine Corps History and Museums Division


• Military History of the United States

Dangerfield, The Era of Good Feelings (1952)

George Dangerfield.
The Era of Good Feelings.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1952.

A paperback edition is in print: Ivan R. Dee Publisher, 1989. [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

This book focuses on United States history during the administrations of James Monroe (1817-1825) and John Quincy Adams (1825-1829).

The author describes James Monroe's presidential administration as an interlude, at least during the years 1817-1819, a period when the political rivalries of the past had burnt themselves out; the moderate Republicans quenched the passions of the agrarian Republicans on one side (perhaps this has more to do with the sudden re-opening of the Western frontier, following the cessation of western Indiana hostilities, which formed one of the major fronts in the War of 1812). The Republicans had also - beginning even with Thomas Jefferson's first administration - gradually adopted the policies of the Federalists: government funded Internal Improvements - roads, canals, etc.; a permanent federal Army and Navy; a national Bank; support for commerce and industry. By the beginning of Monroe's first Administration this process had finished. Meanwhile, the Federalists as a separate, viable political party was seriously discredited by their sponsorship of the Hartford Convention of 1814, which resolved to threaten secession if President Madison's war against Britain were not ceased. But suddenly the war ended! and these last embers of New England Federalism, now appearing traitorous, faded away. Thus James Monroe inherited a political environment of unusually low party rivalry, all having been subsumed under one political Party. Thus the "Era of Good Feeling" referred to by the title. This "Era of Good Feeling" was quite brief.

Over the time horizon lay Andrew Jackson, the birth and growth of "Jacksonian Democracy", and the rise of the Whig Party in opposition. The Jacksonians would inherit the Jeffersonian Republican Party, the party morphing into the Jacksonian Democratic party and later the Democratic-Republican Party, and later (by the year 18??) known simply as the Democratic Party, which we see staggering today.

The "Era of Good Feelings" dissipated with the Panic of 1819, the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The bitter defeat of Jackson by John Quincy Adams in the House of Representatives in the election of 1824 tainted Adams' administration. Jackson won the 1828 election with the electoral votes of all states from Pennsylvania westward and from the Potomic southward. A new political era began from 1824-1828 with the rise of the Jacksonians. Notably, the election of 1828 was conducted with a broader pool of voters than the election of 1824.

Some Wikipedia Articles:

• Federalist Party
• Thomas Jefferson
• James Madison
• War of 1812
• James Monroe
• Panic of 1819
• Missouri Compromise of 1820
• National Republican Party
• U.S. Presidential Election of 1824
• John Quincy Adams
• Henry Clay
• John Calhoun
• Democratic Republican Party
• Presidential Election of 1828
• Andrew Jackson
• Whig Party
• Democratic Party

Chrys Dougherty.
Asking the Right Questions About Schools: A Parents' Guide.
Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2002.
ISBN: 0-8108-4179-7

(Book information at Amazon.com, the Publisher.)

Chrys Dougherty is Director of Research at the National Center for Educational Accountability, affiliated with The University of Texas at Austin. One of the NCEA's major efforts is the Just for the Kids web site, which displays very detailed student achievement data for public primary and secondary schools around the USA. The design of the data presentations is primarially due to Dr. Dougherty. Within its field, the Just for the Kids web site may be the most comprehensive data source available. I encourage any parent considering a public school for their child to examine that data.

Dr. Dougherty's book is a practical guide for parents of children attending any type of school, public or private. He is relentlessly focused on encouraging parents, students, and educators to persue the highest standards in education. His book shows, in very practical terms, how to direct and motivate schools, parents, and students to obtain the best education possible for students.

Some recommended books on education policy issues:

• The Schools We Need: And Why We Don't Have Them, by E. D. Hirsch, Jr.


• We Must Take Charge: Our Schools and Our Future, by Chester E. Finn

Marcus Aurelius (121-180).
The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations.
Translated by C. Scot Hicks and David V. Hicks.
New York: Scribner (Simon & Schuster), 2002.

(Book information at Amazon.com.)

This is not the kind of book one reads only once.

David Brooks.
On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.

(Book information at Amazon.com.)

For an interesting commentary on David Brooks' work see: "The Limits of the American Utopian Imagination: Reflections on David Brooks, Poet of Our Middle Class" by Peter Augustine Lawler here.

David Brooks.
Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.

(Book information at Amazon.com.)

Henry Adams (1838 - 1918).
History of the United States of America During the Administrations of James Madison (1809-1817).
New York: The Library of America, 1986.
Volume 32 in the Series.

Publisher's web page for this book; Amazon.com.

Claremont Review of Books, Volume IV, Number 4, Fall 2004.

David Frum.
The Right Man: The Suprise Presidency of George W. Bush.
New York: Random House, 2003.

A highly readable portrait of George Bush as President. Discusses events until Summer 2002, so although the book contains behind-the-scenes insight into decision making related to 9/11, Afghanistan and the policy that led to Iraq, for a full picture of the Iraq decisions you'll have to look elsewhere.

Claremont Review of Books, Volume IV, Number 2, Spring 2004.