What Hath God Wrought, Daniel Walker Howe
What Hath God Wrought, Daniel Walker Howe
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What Hath God Wrought
The Transformation of America, 1815–1848

Author: Daniel Walker Howe

Narrator: John Lescault

Unabridged: 29 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Published: 01/05/2009

Synopsis

In this addition to the esteemed Oxford history 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 the extension of the American empire. He examines the era’s politics but contends that John Quincy Adams and other advocates of public education and economic integration, defenders of the rights of Indians, women, and African Americans were the true prophets of America’s future. He reveals the power of religion to shape many aspects of American life during this period, including slavery and antislavery, women’s rights, and other reform movements. Howe’s panoramic narrative—weaving social, economic, and cultural history together with political and military events—culminates in the bitterly controversial but brilliantly executed war against Mexico that gained California and Texas for the United States.

About Daniel Walker Howe

Daniel Walker Howe is Rhodes Professor of American History Emeritus at Oxford University in England and Professor of History Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 2008 he received the Pulitzer Prize for History for What Hath God Wrought. He was president of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic in 2001 and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He is the author of The Political Culture of the American Whigs and Making the American Self: Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln. .

About John Lescault

Patrick Cullen (a.k.a. John Lescault), a native of Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works in theater.

Reviews

Goodreads review by robin on May 23, 2024

Daniel Walker Howe On The Transformation Of America In "What Hath God Wrought" historian Daniel Walker Howe offers a learned and judicious overview of the political and cultural history of the United States between 1815 -- 1848 which he aptly describes as "The Transformation of America". The book cov......more

Goodreads review by Anthony on December 10, 2024

Uncomfortable Times. Author Daniel Walker Howe’s ‘What Hath God Wrought’ focuses on America in its transformative years between 1815 and 1848. The book is an expansive and richly detailed exploration of one of the most dynamic periods in American history. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2......more

Goodreads review by Christopher on August 10, 2022

Even by the Oxford History of the United States’ standards, What Hath God Wrought is an impressive work of history. Daniel Walker Howe covers the period between the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, thirty-three years in which America experienced its most pronounced growing pains. During this time, t......more

Goodreads review by CoachJim on June 30, 2020

What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 by Daniel Walker Howe The invention of electric telegraphy, coming near the close of the period treated here, represented a climactic moment in the widespread revolution of communications. Other features of this revolution included improv......more

Quotes

“Howe brings an impressive array of strengths to the daunting task of encapsulating these busy, complicated three-plus decades…he is a genuine rarity: an English intellectual who not merely writes about the United States but actually understands it.” Washington Post

“Howe has written a stunning synthesis of work in economic, political, demographic, social and cultural history, and he gives a fascinating, richly detailed portrait of the US as its very boundaries so dramatically and often violently shiftedit is a rare thing to encounter a book so magisterial and judicious and also so compelling; it is a great achievement and deserves many readers beyond the academy.” Chicago Tribune

“Lauded by other historians as an important yet accessible landmark, Mr. Howe’s study promises odd new angles on America in an election year.” New York Sun

“A sweeping, sparkling, sophisticated synthesis.” Baltimore Sun

“A masterpiece.” Atlantic

“The book is a sweeping and monumental achievement…Attentive to historiography yet writing accessible and engaging prose, Howe has produced the perfect introduction or reintroduction to an enormously important period in American national development.” American Heritage

“Both academics and lay readers praised What Hath God Wrought, but they appreciated it for different reasons…American historians admired its elegant synthesis but also understood that Howe is attempting to lead his readers and colleagues away from the strictly economic explanations that have often dominated writing on this period.” Bookmarks magazine

“Stylishly narrates a crucial period in US history…Supported by engaging prose, Howe’s achievement will surely be seen as one of the most outstanding syntheses of US history published this decade.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Patrick Cullen ably narrates this extensive audiobook. His unadorned reading style mirrors author Howe’s thesis that the historian’s task is to explain the past, not to judge it. While the institution of slavery hangs over this era like a toxic cloud, the listener is reminded that the antebellum arguments for state rights versus a powerful national government resonate today.” AudioFile

“A worthy addition to public and academic institutions…Highly recommended.” Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Library of Congress, Library Journal

Awards

  • Pulitzer Prize
  • American History Book Prize
  • National Book Critics Circle Award
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