Description
Book SynopsisUsing Michigan as a case study, this book explains how settlers employed both legal tactics and moral suasion to impose their vision of a civilized society. It sheds light on how settlers transplanted eastern culture not just to the Midwest, but to the entire American frontier.
Trade ReviewWell-written. Advances a novel thesis: that Michigan leaders sought to combat "wilderness" on the frontier by establishing legal and cultural barriers, and in the process ended up transforming the culture they had hoped to transplant from the eastern states.
-- Amy Greenberg, Pennsylvania State University
It is informed by recent scholarship, is engagingly written, and makes a significant contribution to a number of historical literatures. Schwartz does a marvelous job of achieving his goal and making a forceful case for his main thesis.
-- Martin Hershock, University of Michigan
Table of ContentsTable of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One: The Rise of Michigan's New Constitutional Order
Chapter Two: Ohio and the Battle for Michigan's Southern Border
Chapter Three: Economic Development and the Panic of 1837
Chapter Four: Taming the "Savagery" of Michigan Indians
Chapter Five: Civilizing White Settlers
Chapter Six: Cholera and the Conflict over Cultural Boundaries in Early Michigan
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
