Nagel's classic work deals with nineteenth-century America's coming awareness as a nation and its agonizing struggle to turn itself into a model republic. He perceptively explores the growth of American nationalism in its political, social, religious, economic, and literary implications. The resulting book is a vivid portrait of how America viewed itself, what concerned it deeply, and ultimately, of those forces in society that led to a new spirit of militant nationalism.

Nagel's classic work deals with nineteenth-century America's coming awareness as a nation and its agonizing struggle to turn itself into a model republic. He perceptively explores the growth of American nationalism in its political, social, religious, economic, and literary implications. The resulting book is a vivid portrait of how America viewed itself, what concerned it deeply, and ultimately, of those forces in society that led to a new spirit of militant nationalism.