The Age of the Borderlands

“[Isenberg] moves expansively across the continent to illuminate the role of the borderlands in key historical themes of the period from slavery and science to religion.”—William and Mary Quarterly

“In The Age of the Borderlands, Andrew C. Isenberg provides a thoughtful overview of various borderlands regions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. . . . One of the most intriguing and classroom-ready components of the book is Isenberg’s dissection of Manifest Destiny. . . . The Age of the Borderlands provides a useful critique of prevailing nationalist narratives at a time when such a lesson could hardly be more important.”—H-Early-America

“[Isenberg] pulls off a remarkable balancing act . . . focusing on people who, at first glance, seem so far removed from power. . . . Native Americans occupy center stage in this book, not only as people living in particular spaces but also as governing authorities. . . . Isenberg shows [how] political and diplomatic outcomes were as much the work of Native chiefs and villagers or the enslaved and free people of color as they were the work of presidents." —Missouri Historical Review

“There is much to admire in The Age of the Borderlands. Isenberg is a fine writer, and each chapter delivers sharp insights.”—Journal of Arizona History

“[Isenberg’s] concept of experimentation in the borderlands is fresh.”—Journal of African American History

“[The Age of the Borderlands] offers deeply researched glimpses into the myriad potentialities emanating from the early US borderlands, making it indispensable reading for scholars of US borderlands history and the history of the early American republic.”—American Historical Review

“Andrew Isenberg’s Age of the Borderlands should be required reading for anyone interested in the territorial expansion of the United States.”—Jotwell

“When the textbook writers who installed the study of manifest destiny as a required unit in American history courses read this book, the next thing we hear will be a chorus of 'Oops!' As Isenberg reminds us, the people of the past are sure to defy us when we think we have them figured out.” –Patricia Limerick, faculty director of the Applied History Initiative, University of Colorado

“Foregrounding neglected episodes and marginalized actors, Isenberg brilliantly dismantles the persistent myth of U.S. manifest destiny. This is borderlands history that speaks to our own age of volatility and U.S. weakness.” –Jay Sexton, author of A Nation Forged by Crisis: A New American History

“Read this terrific book, which could be titled Unmanifest Destiny. Then be prepared to dispense with what you thought you knew about the territorial expansion of the United States.” –Stephen Aron, president and CEO of the Autry Museum of the American West and professor emeritus, UCLA