... stimulating ... Many histories of this important interregnum period have been written, but none emphasizes the fragility of the American experiment as strongly as Taylor’s book does ... Taylor, acutely sensitive to such strains on the national fabric, traces the continuing conflict between competing visions of democracy ... Taylor’s special contribution in American Republics is his capacity for panning out to capture major historical trends. Not only does he cover about five decades in a relatively concise 384 pages of text, but he discusses events and people in various sections of the nation and in Canada and Mexico as well. The result of this broad-spectrum approach is, as Taylor’s subtitle indicates, a truly continental history ... he shows his skill in producing an expansive overview that synthesizes discoveries by historians, including himself ... Whether as a gloss of received historical wisdom or as an overview whose originality lies in its comprehensiveness, American Republics succeeds admirably.
... a refreshing survey of our country’s tumultuous early years ... For Americans used to the comforting myth of an exceptional union boldly leading humanity in a better direction, this account may sting. Taylor doesn’t seek to salve such pain, but neither has he written a polemic. Diligently researched, engagingly written and refreshingly framed, American Republics is an unflinching historical work that shows how far we’ve come toward achieving the ideals in the Declaration—and the deep roots of the opposition to those ideals.
Taylor augments his analysis of war politics, including the conflict’s impact on the slavery question, with an unvarnished look at the war as it was actually conducted and, even at the time, condemned—not only by its political opponents but by voices within the American military ... It’s plainly important to Taylor that his books stand as accounts of all the blood we’ve let seep through the cracks ... [The American] habit of self-deception can imbue the reading of work like Taylor’s with the thrill of accessing illicit knowledge. And one of the most subversive and challenging ideas all good works of history offer is a sense that history can also move backward ... The generalization that our predecessors couldn’t have known or done better is challenged by the examples of those who did ... One leaves Taylor’s work understanding this fully—this isn’t Great Man history, but Some Guys history. The political leaders and famous personages that tower over our imaginations are condensed to life-size. They make grubby, horrid choices; they bumble, fumble, and scheme their way through moments of import alongside the extraordinary supporting cast of madmen, buffoons, and grifters that Taylor brings to life.
... sweeping, beautifully written, prodigiously researched and myth-busting ... Taylor’s powerful overview explores this fierce struggle between groups and governments as settlers expanded the country westward ... Anyone interested in American history will appreciate this richly rewarding book.
... written in clear, readable prose designed for readers with little or no prior knowledge of the period, and the work has touches of wokeness, which helps to fit it nicely into this extraordinary moment in our history ... Although Mr. Taylor’s history of the period inevitably features the United States, he signals his divergence from a parochial and xenophobic account by including brief forays into the histories of the countries bordering the United States. These are left out of the usual histories of the United States, and Mr. Taylor’s use of them enriches his history ... He never fails to point out the discrepancies between the ideals of the white Americans and the sordid realities of their behavior ... He plays down the significance of that abolition movement, the first such movement by slaveholding states in the history of the world ... A more balanced account might have found room to make these points ... Mr. Taylor’s chapter on 'Democracy' is good, but doesn’t go far enough in accounting for the democratic chaos and confusion that emerged in the North ... Mr. Taylor more than makes clear that the perpetuation of slavery, racism and the dispossession of the native peoples were tragic flaws in the history of the early Republic. Fortunately, he never claims that the white racism was endemic and systemic; unfortunately, he never offsets his depressing story with an account of the exhilaration, enthusiasm and promise inherent in this flawed democratic country that attracted millions upon millions of European immigrants. The history of the United States can never be understood, even by the victims of slavery and racism, as merely a tragic tale. Its significance both transcends and thwarts much of the brutality, bigotry and injustice of its people.
... even as he insistently focuses on slavery in the U.S., Taylor places it in a broader social and geopolitical context. Readers thus see how the racial attitudes that sustain slavery shape policies that drive Native American tribes from their homes. But readers also see how those holding these attitudes become anxious over the emergence of the Republic of Haiti—created by slave revolt—to the south, and over Britain’s abolition of slavery in its dependency of Canada to the north, creating a new haven for fugitive slaves ... A history that speaks directly to the racial concerns of twenty-first-century Americans.
... a book that falls midway between narrative survey and classroom text ... With characteristically graceful prose, he relates the costs and limits, as well as gains and triumphs, of the nation’s sweep westward after the Revolution. His subjects—events, wars, laws, treaties—will be familiar to those who paid attention in their American history courses, but Taylor presents them in fresh, thought-provoking ways ... It’s not a pretty picture, but such warts-and-all history is now conventional among scholars and considered more congruent with historical realities than the drum-and-trumpet stories that used to be the standard approach of historical narratives and textbooks. Though the narrative lacks an overall argument and ends in an abrupt, somewhat jarring fashion, Taylor is always a consummate guide to the early republic ... A fine new look at a critical period of American history.
