What Hath God Wrought

The Transformation of America, 1815 - 1848

By: Daniel Walker Howe

Narrated by: Patrick Cullen

Pulitzer Prize, History, 2008

In this addition to the esteemed Oxford History of the United States series, historian Daniel Walker Howe illuminates the period from the Battle of New Orleans to the end of the Mexican-American War, an era of revolutionary improvements in transportation and communications that accelerated America's expansion and prompted the rise of mass political parties.

He examines the rise of Andrew Jackson and his Democratic party but contends that John Quincy Adams and other advocates of public education, economic integration, and the rights of blacks, women, and Indians were the true prophets of America's future.

Howe's panoramic narrative - weaving together social, economic, and cultural history with political and military events - culminates in the controversial but brilliantly executed war against Mexico that gained California and Texas for America.

Please note: The individual volumes of the series have not been published in historical order. What Hath God Wrought is number V in The Oxford History of the United States.

Listen to more of the definitive Oxford History of the United States.©2007 Oxford University Press, Inc. (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"One of the most outstanding syntheses of U.S. history published this decade." ( Publishers Weekly)
"He is a genuine rarity: an English intellectual who not merely writes about the United States but actually understands it." ( Washington Post)
"A stunning synthesis....it is a rare thing to encounter a book so magisterial and judicious and also so compelling." ( Chicago Tribune)

Well worth listening to.

I am a political conservative who likes honest, even critical history. If you are partial toward historians that are apologists for and who white wash past mistakes and wrongs, I would not recommend this book.

Though in many ways the American experiment may be exceptional, America's history of conquest, expropriation and displacement of natives, of chattel slavery, etc., is in no way exceptional nor remarkable. It is the history of the world.

Good overview, with awkward thesis

Although the author claims to present no thesis, the overarching thesis of this work is that the history of the United States in this era was driven by the development of communication and transportation. This thesis is reflected in the title of the book, which is the text of the first telegraphic message ever sent. The author threads this thesis through his discussion of almost every major event - the War of 1812, the Second Great Awakening, the Oregon dispute and the Mexican War, the development of the abolitionist and women's suffrage movements, along with myriad other reform movements, etc. The thesis comes across as somewhat heavy-handed and forced at times, but is at least different from other presentations of the material I've seen before. The presentation gives the impression that the author felt the need to have an original thesis, and forced it into the narrative at every available point.

One other thesis that the author explicitly states towards the end of the book is that white supremacy was the single greatest factor in the development of the United States in this period. The author contrasts this with the Marxist view of class struggle as the driving force in history, but gives remarkably short shrift to this entire discussion. Apparently, one can reject one major historiographical theory and assert another with just a few short sentences. The author justifies the brevity of this discussion by stating that the book is a recounting of events, rather than a work that presents a thesis. Nevertheless, throughout the book, the thesis emphasizing communication and transportation is expounded.

Despite these overall interpretational weaknesses in the book, it provides a good introduction to the period. One gets a sense of the shift in political culture during the period, and the major political issues (internal improvements, the Bank of the United States, sales of western land, tariffs, immigration, expansion of suffrage, the slavery question, etc.) and personalities (Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Clay, Calhoun, Webster, Jackson, Biddle, Van Buren, Polk, etc.).

A Necessary Book about a Neglected Period

When I went to school I learned about the French and Indian War, the Revolution, the War of 1812, then the Civil War. Somehow, in between the country got bigger and a lot of other stuff happened, but it was all kind of fuzzy. This book filled the gap.

My main take away is that the political debates we have today about the power of the central government vs those of the state vs individual rights are not new. We've been having the same debates, along the exact same sectional fault lines, for over 200 years.

Plenty of detail

The book is well written and provides a huge amount of detail without crushing the reader with unnecessary dates, names, and figure, which makes it much more readable than many history books. I found it to be a page-turner.

It isn't the most even-handed history book you will ever read, but it isn't horribly biased either. If Andrew Jackson is a hero in your eyes you won't like the book.

As many others have noted, the audio production is horrible, but you still hear the whole book.

Very fascinating, entertaining maybe.

I enjoyed this book a lot but it's definitely a history book. The author does a great job of giving the listener all the information but its not a "great read". I highly recommend it if you are interested in American history.