Waking Giant: America in the Years of Jackson A lively look at
1815-1848, America's coming-of-age era. If you check the history
books, you’ll find that the United States broadened its
boundaries in the first half of the 19th century. Fair enough.
But there’s more to the story of American growth than lines on a
map. Subscribe Today to the Monitor As an engaging new book
reveals, during that same period the brash young country blew
past limits in all areas of society, managing to redefine
democracy, journalism, art, literature, and religion. At the
same time, it was also the age of P.T. Barnum, a period when
sensationalism ran amok and millions of Americans dabbled in
spiritualism, trying to reach beyond the confines of earth to
those in the next world. In other words, it was a wild, roller-
coaster ride of an era. “The years from 1815 through 1848 were
arguably the richest in American life,” writes historian David
S. Reynolds in Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson. That
may be a bit of a stretch. But as