Manifest Destiny's Underworld: Filibustering in Antebellum America

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About Manifest Destiny's Underworld: Filibustering In

Product Description This fascinating study sheds new light on antebellum America's notorious "filibusters--the freebooters and adventurers who organized or participated in armed invasions of nations with whom the United States was formally at peace. Offering the first full-scale analysis of the filibustering movement, Robert May relates the often-tragic stories of illegal expeditions into Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and other Latin American countries and details surprising numbers of aborted plots, as well. May investigates why thousands of men joined filibustering expeditions, how they were financed, and why the U.S. government had little success in curtailing them. Surveying antebellum popular media, he shows how the filibustering phenomenon infiltrated the American psyche in newspapers, theater, music, advertising, and literature. Condemned abroad as pirates, frequently in language strikingly similar to modern American denunciations of foreign terrorists, the filibusters were often celebrated at home as heroes who epitomized the spirit of Manifest Destiny. May concludes by exploring the national consequences of filibustering, arguing that the practice inflicted lasting damage on U.S. relations with foreign countries and contributed to the North-South division over slavery that culminated in the Civil War. Review "May has produced his magnum opus. . . . Unquestionably the finest volume yet written on the subject of filibustering." -- "Civil War History" "[This book] uncovers issues largely ignored by previous scholars and connects filibusterism with the war with Mexico and the Civil War. ("Hispanic American Historical Review")" "This is one of those rare books that [combines] an interesting topic and excellent writing. ("Choice")" ""Manifest Destiny's Underworld" is a well-researched and thoughtful analysis of a neglected yet important topic of American history. ("North Carolina Historical Review")" "ÝThis book¨ uncovers issues largely ignored by previous scholars and connects filibusterism with the war with Mexico and the Civil War. ("Hispanic American Historical Review")" "This is one of those rare books that Ýcombines¨ an interesting topic and excellent writing. ("Choice")" Review Manifest Destiny's Underworld is the fullest, most detailed, most thoroughly researched book ever written on the antebellum filibuster movement. Robert May has conclusively demonstrated the importance of the drive for slavery's expansion in driving the filibusters. This book will become an essential reference work on its subject.--James M. McPherson, Princeton University From the Inside Flap In the first full history of 19th-century American filibusters, illegal invasions of foreign countries with whom the US was formally at peace, May explores what drew thousands of men to join these mercenary expeditions and considers the relationship between filibustering and broader issues of American imperialism. From the Back Cover In the first full history of 19th-century American filibusters, illegal invasions of foreign countries with whom the US was formally at peace, May explores what drew thousands of men to join these mercenary expeditions and considers the relationship between filibustering and broader issues of American imperialism. About the Author Robert E. May is professor of history at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. His previous books include The Union, the Confederacy, and the Atlantic Rim and the prize-winning John A. Quitman: Old South Crusader.