Turning Points-Actual and Alternate Histories: Manifest Destiny and the Expansion of America

What if Texas had remained independent? What if the Mexican War had turned out differently and the question of slavery had remained dormant? What if the Lincoln-Douglas debates had not propelled Abraham Lincoln into the national spotlight? What if the United States had peacefully divided into two nations instead of engaging in civil war? These scenarios represent the road not taken in American history. But what if we\'d chosen differently?

This volume poses "what if" questions about ten crucial "tipping points" in the history of U.S. expansionism between 1800 and the Civil War. It not only describes what happened -- in the case of Lewis and Clark, the War of 1812, the Monroe Doctrine, railroads and telegraphs, the Mexican War, the gold rush, the Compromise of 1850 -- it also offers alternative scenarios, essays on what could have happened.

In this exciting and imaginative approach to history, students not only develop analytical skills by tracing the causes and effects of crucial events; they are empowered by the knowledge that at moments when history hangs in the balance, many paths are possible, and that they, as citizens, can tip the scale.