Background
Silbey, Joel Henry was born on August 16, 1933 in Brooklyn. Son of Sidney and Estelle (Mintzer) Silbey.
(In the spring of 1844, a fiery political conflict erupted...)
In the spring of 1844, a fiery political conflict erupted over the admission of Texas into the Union. This hard-fought and bitter controversy profoundly changed the course of American history. Indeed, as Joel Silbey argues in Storm Over Texas, it marked the crucial moment when partisan differences were transformed into a North-vs-South antagonism, and the momentum towards Civil War leaped into high gear. Silbey, one of America's most renowned political historians, offers a swiftly paced and compelling narrative of the Texas imbroglio, which included an exceptional cast of characters, from John C. Calhoun and John Quincy Adams, to James K. Polk and Martin Van Buren. We see how a series of unexpected moves, some planned, some inadvertent, sparked a crisis that intensified and crystallized the North-South divide. Sectionalism, Silbey shows, had often been intense, but rarely widespread and generally well contained by other forces. After Texas statehood, it became a driving force in national affairs, ultimately leading to Southern secession and Civil War. With subtlety, great care, and much imagination, Joel Silbey shows that this brief political struggle became, in the words of an Alabama congressman, "the greatest question of the age"--and a pivotal moment in American history.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195315928/?tag=2022091-20
(In this provocative reinterpretation of American politics...)
In this provocative reinterpretation of American politics before the Civil War, Joel Silbey argues that local issues, ethnic and religious considerations, and the power of the national political parties were even more important than slavery in animating the political life of the era. He traces the tensions that divided the nation in this critical period and offers intriguing explanations for how and why they developed. These essays significantly contribute to the existing perspectives on the Civil War and also pave the way for new approaches to understanding a vital time in American history.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195041577/?tag=2022091-20
(This is a detailed analysis and description of a unique e...)
This is a detailed analysis and description of a unique era in American political history, one in which political parties were the dominant dynamic force at work structuring and directing the political world.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804723389/?tag=2022091-20
( Martin Van Buren was a one-term president whose public ...)
Martin Van Buren was a one-term president whose public life has long been overshadowed by the more fiery personalities of his day—Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun. Nevertheless, Van Buren was a transforming political figure in American history, one of the first of the new republic's professional politicians. In the early part of the nineteenth century, America was skeptical of popular politics, distrustful of political parties, and disdainful of political management. However, as prominent historian Joel H. Silbey demonstrates, Martin Van Buren took the lead among his contemporaries in remolding the old political order as he captured the New York state governorship, a seat in the United States Senate, and ultimately the Presidency. Silbey argues that Van Buren recognized the need for effective national political organization and, in the process, helped remake America's political culture. Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics takes a fresh look at the life and political career of one of America's most often overlooked, yet most influential, public figures.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/074252244X/?tag=2022091-20
(Great for study or review, or as a replacement!)
Great for study or review, or as a replacement!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068419600X/?tag=2022091-20
(The presidential campaign of 1848 saw the first strong el...)
The presidential campaign of 1848 saw the first strong electoral challenge to the expansion of slavery in the United States; most historians consider the appearance of the Free Soil Party in that election a major turning point of the nineteenth century. The three-way race capped a decade of political turmoil that had raised the issue of slavery to unprecedented prominence on the national stage and brought about critical splits in the two major parties. In the first book in four decades devoted to the 1848 election, Joel Silbey clarifies our understanding of a pivotal moment in American history. The election of Whig Zachary Taylor, hero of the Mexican War, over Democrat Lewis Cass and Free Soiler Martin Van Buren followed a particularly bitter contest, a fierce political storm in an already tumultuous year marked by the first significant attempt by antislavery advocates to win the presidency. Silbey describes what occurred during that election and why it turned out as it did, offering a nuanced look at the interaction of the forces shaping the direction of politics in mid-nineteenth century America. He explains how the Free Soilers went about their reform movement and why they failed as they ran up against the tenacious grip that the existing two-party structure had on the political system and the behavior of the nation's voters. For Whigs and Democrats it was politics as usual as they stressed economic, cultural, and ideological issues that had divided the country for the previous twenty years. Silbey describes the new confrontation between the force of tradition and a new and different way of thinking about the political world. He shows that ultimately, when America went to the polls, northerners and southerners alike had more on their minds than slavery. Nevertheless, while Van Buren managed to attract only 10 percent of the vote, his party's presence foreshadowed a more successful challenge in the future. Emphasizing both persistent party commitments and the reformers' lack of political muscle, Silbey expertly delineates the central issues of an election framed by intense partisanship and increasing sectional anger. If 1848 did not yet mark the death rattle of traditional politics, this insightful book shows us its importance as a harbinger of change.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0700616403/?tag=2022091-20
Silbey, Joel Henry was born on August 16, 1933 in Brooklyn. Son of Sidney and Estelle (Mintzer) Silbey.
Bachelor, Brooklyn College, 1955. Master of Arts, University Iowa, 1956. Doctor of Philosophy, University Iowa, 1963.
Assistant professor, San Francisco State College, 1960-1964; assistant professor, U. Maryland., College Park, 1965-1966; assistant professor American History, Cornell Univercity, Ithaca, New York, 1966-1967; associate professor, Cornell Univercity, Ithaca, New York, 1967-1968; professor, Cornell Univercity, Ithaca, New York, 1968-1986; President White professor of history, Cornell Univercity, Ithaca, New York, since 1986. Visiting assistant professor of history U. Pittsburgh, 1964-1965.
(In this provocative reinterpretation of American politics...)
(The presidential campaign of 1848 saw the first strong el...)
(This is a detailed analysis and description of a unique e...)
( Martin Van Buren was a one-term president whose public ...)
(Was slavery really the most significant issue in American...)
(In the spring of 1844, a fiery political conflict erupted...)
(Great for study or review, or as a replacement!)
(Book by Silbey, Joel H.)
(1967 HARDCOVER. No dust jacket. Minimal wear. Dented top ...)
Member American History Association (program committee 1977), Organisation American Historians (Chairman.program committee 1983), Southern History Association, Social Science History Association (co-chairman membership committee, member executive com).
Married Rosemary Johnson, August 13, 1959. Children: Victoria, David.