Filibusters and Expansionists

This compelling narrative demonstrates the passionate interest the

Jeffersonian presidents had in wresting land from less powerful foes and

expanding Jefferson's "empire of liberty."

The first two decades of the 19th century found many Americans

eager to move away from the crowded eastern seaboard and into new areas

where their goals of landownership might be realized. Such movement was

encouraged by Presidents Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe- collectively known

as the Jeffersonians- who believed that the country's destiny was to have

total control over the entire North American continent. Migration patterns

during this time changed the country considerably and included the roots

of the slavery controversy that ultimately led to the Civil War. By the

end of the period, although expansionists had not succeeded in moving into

British Canada, they had obtained command of large areas from the Spanish

South and Southwest, including acreage previously controlled by Native

Americans.

Utilizing memoirs, diaries, biographies, newspapers, and vast amounts

of both foreign and domestic correspondence, Frank Lawrence Owsley, Jr.,

and Gene A. Smith reveal an insider's view of the filibusters and

expansionists, the colorful- if not sometimes nefarious- characters on

the front line of the United States's land grab. Owsley and Smith describe

in detail the actions and characters involving both the successful and

the unsuccessful efforts to expand the United States during this period-

as well as the outspoken opposition to expansion, found primarily among

the Federalists in the Northeast.