America as a Military Power From the American Revolution to the Civil War

Subjects:

• Military Studies » Military History
• History » American History (General)
• History » American Diplomatic History

Reviews:

• [O]ne of the leading military historians of this generation....[a] thoughtful, readable, and generally persuasive study that will be useful to general readers and serious scholars alike. America As a Military Power will also make an appropriate text for undergraduate and graduate courses.
  —Military History of the West Vol. 33 2003
• An unorthodox look at the early development of American military policy and practice. Black addreese the various factors that are alleged to have shaped the "American way of war."
  —The NYMAS Review Autumn 2003
• Black demonstrates that American exceptionalism in military developments is less exceptional than Americans believe. Moreover, the correct paradigm is not simply to contrast European and American warfare, but to discern "a myriad of exceptionalisms" that emerged from the varied military organizations and wars within Europe and the Americas.
  —The Journal of Military History April 2003

• Endorsement From Dennis Showalter
  Colorado College: Black demonstrates impressive command of the literature in this well-crafted survey demonstrating the central role of conflict in the first century of America's history as an independent country. He establishes the similarities between U.S. ways of war and general developments in the Western World, while simultaneously demonstrating the exceptionalism that reflected America's distinctive political and social character.
• Endorsement From Williamson Murray
  Professor Emeritus
  Ohio State University: Jeremy Black, one of the giants of European military history, has brought his incisive mind to the subject of American military history from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War. In so doing he has brought a European perspective to military events in North America that is both refreshing and insightful. This is more than a summary of events; it is a deep and penetrating examination of what made the American experience unique and what put it firmly in the Western tradition.

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Introduction
• War of Independence
• War of 1812
• American-Native Warfare
• Mexican-American Wars
• Civil War
• Political and Social Contexts
• Conclusions
• Selected Further Reading
• Index