| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 89.1

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| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 89.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Dueling Eagles: Reinterpreting the U.S.-Mexican War, 1846–1848. Ed. by Richard V. Francaviglia and Douglas W. Richmond. (Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 2000. xiv, 191 pp. Paper, $16.95, ISBN 0-87565-232-8.)

This collection of essays was taken from the papers presented at a 1996 symposium on the Mexican War held at the University of Texas at Arlington. 1

Robert W. Johannsen sets the stage for the war in "Young America and the War with Mexico" by discussing various developments of the American character during the 1840s. He shows how a sense of romantic nationalism went along with technical breakthroughs such as the telegraph and the railroad to fuel the concept of Manifest Destiny. "For Young Americans," he writes, "the war with Mexico marked the advance of the United States from youth into manhood." Richard V. Francaviglia, in "The Geographic and Cartographic Legacy of the U.S.-Mexican War," also describes how "the spectre [sic] of railroad development actually helped to precipitate the war, albeit indirectly." 2

Sam Haynes's "'But What Will England Say?'" details much of the diplomatic activity that preceded actual hostilities and demonstrates that, quite often, the perception of reality became more important than the reality itself. Great Britain's misperceived intentions with regard to Mexico, Texas, and California formed a large part of the basis for diplomatic decisions made in Washington. . . .

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