A Contest Of Civilizations

Most mid-nineteenth-century Americans regarded the United States as an exceptional democratic republic that stood apart from a world seemingly riddled with revolutionary turmoil and aristocratic consolidation. Viewing themselves as distinct from and even superior to other societies, Americans considered their nation an unprecedented experiment in political moderation and constitutional democracy. But as abolitionism in England, economic unrest in Europe, and upheaval in the Caribbean and Latin America began to influence domestic affairs, the foundational ideas of national identity also faced new questions. And with the outbreak of civil war, as two rival governments each claimed the mantle of civilized democracy, the United States' claim to unique standing in the community of nations dissolved into crisis. Could the Union chart a distinct course in human affairs when slaveholders, abolitionists, free people of color, and enslaved African Americans all possessed irreconcilable definitions of nationhood? In this sweeping history of political ideas, Andrew F. Lang reappraises the Civil War era as a crisis of American exceptionalism. Through this lens, Lang shows how the intellectual, political, and social ramifications of the war and its meaning rippled through the decades that followed, not only for the nation's own people but also in the ways the nation sought to redefine its place on the world stage.

A compelling amalgam of new writing and published essays by Minhaz Merchant, The New Clash of Civilizations offers deep and stimulating insights into how the contest between four major civilizational forces-the United States, China, India and Islam-will shape our century. The historic shift in the economic and geopolitical balance of power from the West to the East, Merchant writes, will determine the ideas and principles that govern this unfolding century. Divided into six distinct sections-History, Nation, World, Leaders, Science & Society, and Vintage-the book provides an original perspective on a dynamic nation coming to terms with itself and the world. In politics and science, history and economics, India's place in an increasingly competitive global order-and its interaction with the other three major civilizational strands-forms a cornerstone of the book's narrative. Broad in sweep and range, The New Clash of Civilizations is a lucid and brilliant account of the ebb and flow of power in the twenty-first century.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This is a 19th century history of Texas, focusing on its Spanish and Mexican past, as well as the war for independence. From the preface: "The reader will please remember that this book is not intended for a history of Texas. It is rather, to use the words of the lamented Dr. Scudder, the original editor of the Series, "A study based on [that] history" My aim has been to give a picture of what Texas is, and of the process by which it has become such. With this in view I have, for the most part, neglected details, and have dwelt mainly upon the salient features of the experience of the people under consideration. My special object has been to reveal the significance and the effect of this experience. My judgment has been that the purposes of the work would be best served by avoiding a systematic citation of authorities by means of footnotes. It has, however, been written under a keen sense of responsibility for every statement and every reasonable implication. However short of absolute accuracy it may have fallen, that has nevertheless been the standard aimed at in the writing. But there is yet a vast store of unworked material for Texas history, and many periods in the life of the Province, the Republic, and the State are still obscure. Through some of these it is necessary, until now, for those even who know most of the subject to feel their way. The authorities and sources used are to be found in the various collections accessible in Austin, and the fairly trained investigator wishing a check on the correctness of the narrative can easily locate the passages on which any part of it may rest. If errors have crept into the book, - and there are doubtless enough of them, - I shall be glad to have them pointed out; but I trust it will not become necessary to change extensively, in essential points, the presentation here attempted."

Civilization and Beyond is a history book by Scott Nearing. Nearing was an American radical economist, educator and writer. Excerpt: "Thousands of years before the city of Rome was ringed with its six miles of stone wall, other peoples in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa were building civilizations. New techniques of excavation, identification and preservation, subsidized by an increasingly affluent human society, and developed during the past two centuries of archeological research have provided the needed means and manpower. The result is an imposing number of long buried building sites with their accompanying artifacts. Still more important are the records written in long forgotten languages on stone, clay tablets, metal, wood and paper. These remnants and records, left by extinguished civilizations, do not tell us all we wish to know, but they do provide the materials which enable us to reconstruct, at least in part, the lives of our civilized predecessors."