In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the Barbary States captured and held for ransom nearly five hundred American sailors. The attacks on Americans abroad―and the government’s apparent inability to control the situation―deeply scarred the public. Captives and Countrymen examines the effect of these acts on early national culture and on the new republic's conception of itself and its position in the world. Lawrence A. Peskin uses newspaper and other contemporaneous accounts―including recently unearthed letters from some of the captive Americans―to show how information about the North African piracy traveled throughout the early republic. His dramatic account reveals early concepts of national identity; party politics; and the use of military power; including the lingering impact of the Barbary Wars on the national consciousness; the effects of white slavery in North Africa on the American abolitionist movement; and the debate over founding a national navy.This first systematic study of how the United States responded to "Barbary Captivity" shows how public reaction to international events shaped America domestically and its evolving place in the world during the early nineteenth century.
#1116627 in Books The Johns Hopkins University Press 2000-03-24Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .48 x 6.00l; .64 #File Name: 0801862507200 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. fun timesBy Jessica L. LawrenceI had to read this for my history of american technology class; and I have to say I did enjoy it. It goes into detail of how it really affected the lives of the people on the boat; especially like the letters sent from a man on the boat to his wife about the everyday life onboard. I specifically like how it points out the permanent change in battle; no longer do you see the men you kill; no more is the honor of hand-to-hand combat. You fight behind plates of steel; and don't look the man you fight with in the eye. It's not about the layout of the USS Monitor; it's about how it was a turning point in war technology. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn a bit about US history; without getting too technical for the common non-history guru person.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. booksBy spencer pittsI like to read about the civil war and any thing on ships. I love to read about the past history on town and cities. Of course the western days and the early days of the automobiles.21 of 23 people found the following review helpful. Superb war history; human history; literary historyBy A CustomerOne reviewer called this book; "a gem of a book... promises to be one of those small classics in the history of technology that sets a new standard for how the core questions of the field are framed and addressed." Right on! It's also a small classic in that it brings carefully documented history in the reach of the ordinary literate reader. This book is so well written that it reads like an adventure story rather than a dry history. It also debunks the myths about the Monitor that we learned as children; showing that the designer; the seamen; the politicians all contributed in their own ways to the myths. By referring to the diaries of one of the officers of the ship; the book brings every detail to rich and human life. We share the insights of the famous political and literary figures of the day; from Abraham Lincoln to Nathaniel Hawthorne to Herman Melville. We learn what really happened at Hampton Roads and what it all means for us today. And we learn about how "Smart weapons displace heroism from the field to the laboratory; from warriors to engineers; and from spectacle to secrecy." Everyone interested in the history of technology; the history of war; and the ways writers interpret events of the day will want to read this fine little book.
