The Year of Decision 1846

by DeVoto, Bernard; Ambrose, Stephen E.; DeVoto, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780312267940
• ISBN10: 0312267940
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-10-05
• Publisher: Griffin

Summary

Year of Decision 1846tells many fascinating stories of the U.S. explorers who began the western march from the Mississippi to the Pacific, from Canada to the annexation of Texas, California, and the southwest lands from Mexico. It is the penultimate book of a trilogy which includesAcross the Wide Missouri(for which DeVoto won both the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes) andThe Course of Empire. DeVoto's narrative covers the expanding Western frontier, the Mormons, the Donner party, Fremont's exploration, the Army of the West, and takes readers into Native American tribal life. Bernard DeVoto, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, was born in Ogden, Utah in 1897. He attended the University of Utah and Harvard, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1920. He became a noted novelist, historian, literary critic, and teacher. He died in 1955. Stephen E. Ambrosewas the author ofUndaunted CourageandD-Day June, 1944both critically-acclaimed bestsellers. Year of Decision 1846offers many fascinating stories of the U.S. explorers who began the western march from the Mississippi to the Pacific, from Canada to the annexation of Texas, California, and the southwest lands from Mexico. It is the penultimate book of a trilogy which includesAcross the Wide Missouri(for which DeVoto won both the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes) andThe Course of Empire. This middle volume of DeVoto's landmark historical narrative covers the expanding Western frontier, the Mormons, the Donner party, Freacute;mont's exploration, the Army of the West, and the character and design of Native American tribal life. "In the first volume of the trilogy, Devoto made 1846 the 'year of the decision.' The reason was that it was in 1846 that America began a war with Mexico that would lead to the annexation of New Mexico, Arizona, and California; and that America settled a long-smoldering dispute with Great Britain and became sovereign in Oregon, thus beginning the process of making the Southwest and West Coast into a part of the American Republic. It was also a peak year in the emigration across the plains and mountains."Stephen E. Ambrose, from the Introduction "Bernard DeVoto has woven a pattern of history more meaningful than any of its strands . . . This rare combination of the scholar's accuracy, the novelist's creative vision, and the historian's insight has won him a distinguished place among American historians."Garrett Mattingly, author ofThe Armada

Author Biography

Bernard DeVoto (1897-1955), winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, was a renowned scholar-historian. Stephen E. Ambrose is the author of Undaunted Courage and D-Day June, 1944 both critically-acclaimed bestsellers.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Preface	xi
New Preface to the Year 2000 Edition	xiii
Introduction to the Year 2000 Edition	xv
Calendar	xxiii
Map	xxviii
Invocation	xxxi
Build Thee More Stately Mansions	3	(48)
The Mountain Man	51	(18)
Pillar of Cloud	69	(33)
Equinox	102	(14)
Spring Freshet	116	(24)
Interlude: Doo-Dah Day	136	(4)
Oh Susanna!	140	(47)
``Cain, Where Are Thy Brothers?''	187	(35)
Interlude: World of Tomorrow	215	(7)
Solstice	222	(26)
The Image on the Sun	248	(31)
Sonorous Metal	279	(22)
Continental Divide	301	(39)
Interlude: Friday, October 16	338	(2)
Atomization	340	(19)
Trail's End	359	(29)
Anabasis in Homespun	388	(33)
Down from the Sierra	421	(24)
Whether It Be Fat or Lean: Canaan	445	(25)
Bill of Review---Dismissed	470	(31)
Notes	501	(22)
Statement of Bibliography	523	(6)
Index	529