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book jacket
BOOK
Title The end of the myth : from the frontier to the border wall in the mind of America / Greg Grandin
Imprint New York : Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2020
©2019

Edition First paperback edition
Descript 369 sidor maps 21 cm
Note Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-352) and index
Ever since this nation's founding, the idea of an open and ever-expanding frontier has been central to American identity. Symbolizing a future of endless promise, the frontier made possible the United States' belief in itself as an exceptional nation -- democratic, individualistic, forward-looking. Today, though, the country has a new symbol: the border wall. In this book, historian Greg Grandin explores the effect that constant, relentless expansion had on America's domestic politics, examining the full sweep of U.S. history -- from the American Revolution to the Spanish-American War, the New Deal to the election of 2016. For centuries, he shows, the ability to move outward -- fighting wars and opening markets -- provided America with a "gate of escape," helping to deflect domestic political and economic conflicts. But this deflection meant that the country's problems, from racism to inequality, were never confronted directly. And now, the combined catastrophes of the 2008 financial meltdown, our unwinnable wars in the Middle East, and a deepening ecological crisis have slammed this gate shut, bringing political passions that had long been directed elsewhere back home. It is this new reality, Grandin says, that explains the rise of reactionary populism and racist nationalism, the extreme anger and polarization that catapulted Trump to the presidency. The border wall may or may not be built, but it will survive as a rallying point, an allegorical tombstone marking the end of American exceptionalism
Subject Turner, Frederick Jackson, 1861-1932 -- Criticism and interpretation
Turner, Frederick Jackson, 1861-1932.
1900-talet
1900-1999
Gränser
Frontier thesis
National characteristics, American
Borderlands -- United States
Exceptionalism -- United States
Nationalism -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Borderlands.
Exceptionalism.
Frontier thesis.
National characteristics, American.
Nationalism.
Förenta staterna
United States.
Dawit Isaak-biblioteket
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
History.
Classmark 973
Kqa
Add Title From the frontier to the border wall in the mind of America
ISBN/ISSN 1250214858
9781250214850 Häftad
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