John M. Belohlavek – författare

In Patriots, Prostitutes, and Spies, John M. Belohlavek tells the story of women on both sides of the Mexican-American War (1846-48) as they were propelled by the bloody conflict to adopt new roles and expand traditional ones.

American women "back home" functioned as anti-war activists, pro-war supporters, and pioneering female journalists. Others moved west and established their own reputations for courage and determination in dusty border towns or bordellos.

Women formed a critical component of the popular culture of the period, as trendy theatrical and musical performances drew audiences eager to witness tales of derring-do, while contemporary novels, in tales resplendent with heroism and the promise of love fulfilled, painted a romanticized picture of encounters between Yankee soldiers and fair Mexican senoritas.

Belohlavek juxtaposes these romantic dreams with the reality in Mexico, which included sexual assault, women soldaderas marching with men to provide critical supportive services, and the challenges and courage of working women off the battlefield. In all, Belohlavek shows the critical roles played by women, real and imagined, on both sides of this controversial war of American imperial expansion.

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. Known as "Old Hickory," he was the first President who championed the rights of the ''common man''. Originally from the frontier, he was known for being rough in speech and mannerisms and his fierce temper. After making his name as a general fighting the Creek Indians in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and the British in the Battle of New Orleans, he entered politics, resulting in the creation of the modern Democratic party. However, Jackson is best known today for the harsh stand he took on Indian Removal.

In this concise account, John Belohlavek recounts what made Jackson such a magnetic and controversial figure in his own time. Separating truth from legend, Andrew Jackson: Principle and Prejudice shows how deeply Andrew Jackson''s actions and policies as president have affected the modern United States.

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. Known as "Old Hickory," he was the first President who championed the rights of the ''common man''. Originally from the frontier, he was known for being rough in speech and mannerisms and his fierce temper. After making his name as a general fighting the Creek Indians in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and the British in the Battle of New Orleans, he entered politics, resulting in the creation of the modern Democratic party. However, Jackson is best known today for the harsh stand he took on Indian Removal.

In this concise account, John Belohlavek recounts what made Jackson such a magnetic and controversial figure in his own time. Separating truth from legend, Andrew Jackson: Principle and Prejudice shows how deeply Andrew Jackson''s actions and policies as president have affected the modern United States.

One of the most colorful, controversial, and misunderstood public figures of the 19th century

“The most hated man in New England,”as critics dubbed him on the eve of the Civil War, Caleb Cushing, brash and controversial, was perhaps the last of 19th-century America’s renaissance figures. Poet and politician, essayist and diplomat, general and lawyer, this multidimensional scion of a Newburyport, Massachusetts, mercantile family moved in and out of positions of power and influence for more than fifty years.

First as a spokesman for the Whig and then the Democratic Parties, Cushing served in Congress, as the minister to China, as a general in the Mexican War, as U.S. attorney general, and as a legal adviser and diplomatic operative for Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant. With an unharnessed mind and probing intellect, Cushing inspired and infuriated contemporaries with his strident views on such topics as race relations and gender roles, national expansion and the legitimacy of secession. While his positions generated arguments and garnered enemies, his views often mirrored those of many Americans. His abilities and talents sustained him in public service and made him one of the most outstanding and fascinating figures of the era.

Biographer John Belohlavek delivers a work of importance and originality to specialists in the areas of mid-nineteenth-century political, legal, and diplomatic history as well as to those interested in New England history, antebellum gender relations, civil-military relations, and Mexican War studies.