Notes

• "In 1816: America Rising, C. Edward Skeen offers a provocative look at this watershed year. Skeen argues that the seeds for great social and political reform were planted in 1816 - from the demise of the Federalist party and the resulting growth of nationalism to the increasingly contentious debates over slavery. Americans, optimistic after the War of 1812 about the survival of their great "experiment" in democracy, were in the process of defining themselves. In order to understand the multiple meanings of today’s national identity - our sense of what it means to be American - Skeen convincingly argues that we must comprehend our nation and its citizens in 1816."–BOOK JACKET