What Hath God Wrought

The Transformation of America, 1815 - 1848

By: Daniel Walker Howe

Narrated by: Patrick Cullen

Length: 32 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

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 narrated and an excellent overview

the narration is excellent and well paced. the author provides an excellent overview while going into detail on specific characters of interest in later history. in essential book to study that provides an excellent understanding of modern American culture and where its foundations lie.

Enjoyable

I think that although it feels like it should around a lot, this book does an excellent job covering the time period it sets out to describe.

It's amazing the changes that occur during this time. I have not read extensively on this time period so it was great to learn more.

<br />Comprehensive in scope

comprehensive in scope and masterful overview of early US history. easy to listen to but with pragmatic insights.

Great book bad narration

title is a bit misleading. narrator was fine. editing was distractingly bad. clean that up and it's an easy five.

Long, in depth, illuminating

This period of history always gets the short stick. We go from revolution to civil war to WWI and 20th cetury without a pause into the largest technological, business, political, religous and social changes which enabled our 21st century ethics around the role of government, equal rights, the use of technology which seems so natural to us was quite different in 1812, but much closer to our current world in 1850. The discussion of women's rights, the revolutions of 1848, the great awakening, the war against Mexico, the development of the Whig's, and the anti-slavery movement are particualry engaging. Central is the change from the world of the horse to the technology of the railroad, telegraph, newspaper and strong federal government, complete with the central bank. This period of change rivals the change we feel has ocurred in the 20th century. Enjoy a great book.

Thorough and in-depth analysis

When writing a period survey, it is extremely difficult to be both comprehensive and cohesive. This book, however, succeeds marvelously at both. Howe has incorporated the breadth and inclusiveness of a period survey with in-depth critical analysis, and the result is a compelling story. Howe disclaims an attempt to present a thesis, yet he does identify several themes in his analysis, such as what he calls the revolutions in communications and transportation. He does a wonderful job maintaining his themes throughout the book, explaining how various events and trends influenced and were influenced by the themes. He also explains how many of these trends influenced the periods following 1815-1848, especially the lead-up to the Civil War, and continuing into the present.

History is not just for those who live in the past

I did not realize how interesting or nuanced American history was during this period of time. The author tells the history while never boring, but at times the players got more complex than any science book because the categories don't always neatly fit into today's way of thinking about things. There just too many good stories to be told and he tells them. The author gives the political top down story, but never forgetting the bottom up approach and looking at the individuals who make up the whole.

The country was not a monolithic beast able to only hold one thought in its mind at a time. Even when we did wrong (slavery, Native American removal and extermination, women discrimination, wars of expansion, and so on), there were large undercurrents who spoke up against it.

The real dichotomy throughout the book is the value of the individual as weighed against the good of the society as a whole. The characters and the stories being told never ceased to awe the listener. The author also really gave large sections on the history of religion at the time and why it was so important for the development of the country at that time. The Millennialism Movement was widely believed and contributed to the belief of American Exceptionalism and even helps pave the way for Abraham Lincoln. My only regret with the book, is he didn't take me all the way up to 1860.

I would definitely recommend this book. The more we understand where we came from the more we can understand where we are going. There is a reason why some politicians want to end Advanced Placement History from high schools and not let students read books like this one. History does not always tell our story such that we are always exceptional, always in the right, or that we have a manifest destiny. History is much more nuanced (and interesting) than cable news, talk radio or some blogs would have you believe.

A masterpiece of balanced history

First, the recording is fine. Yes, there are places where there has been a substitution of a cleaned up sentence during the editing process, but overall the quality of expression to convey meaning of very complex material is outstanding. Also, the pace is just right, moving briskly through a very long book but short of losing your ability to follow. An excellent narrator.

This is a truly outstanding book of history and is a perceptive analysis of the transformation of American politics, culture, technology, and social relations from 1812 to 1848. Howe covers every aspect of life in America, weaving the strands in and out of the changing fabric. He makes many complex political machinations at state and national levels comprehensible. Most valuable, Howe explains how so many of the substantive, regional, and interest group positions and blocs arose in early America and became embedded in the platforms of Democratica and Whig parties.

His deep analysis and no doubt his own background mean that Howe comes down clearly on the side of the Whigs, arguing that the Democrats commitment to defending slavery, via insistance on state's rights, as well as their opposition to federally coordinated internal improvements, a national bank, and similar programs aimed at strengthening the nation as a whole led to Civil War and caused much hardship. He makes strong cases for Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams as the true heroes of the age. But he does balance this with intermittant summings up of the narrowly-defined strengths of Democratic presidents and congressional leaders, as in Andrew Jackson's resistance to nullification.

The book does not just treat pure politics and traditional historical topics, but also gives thorough coverage to the rise of myriad religious groups, transcendentalism, abolitionist and early women's rights steps, the post office, telegraph and railroad, and other important topics. His treatment is nuanced, avoidng simplistic explanations of character, regions, or relationships.

The only shortcoming, in my opinion, is a historian's fall into exhaustive miliatary history in the chapters on the Mexican American War. There is no need for logistical and strategic detail at this level to move the overall narrative forward.

I wish many more Americans could read this book--more than a few would be surprised at events and opinions during that age

Informative but a bit dry.

When I first began listening to this book my knowledge of the period was limited and the amount of information overwhelmed me to the point of regretting having purchased this volume. The narrator did not help much as I found him to be too monotonic but I battled through it. After reading and listening to other works and familiarizing myself with the period I went back for a second listen and found the narrative much more enjoyable and the narrator did not bore me. It's a great book, almost encyclopedic in nature. If you are looking for a book that gives lot's of information but don't mind it given to you in a dry monotonic style then I highly recommend this book.

Very Interesting for History Buffs

I used this to study for a Social Studies teaching certification exam. I think it helped!