New Book - Unexceptional Conquests: 1898 and the Construction of America's Imperial Identity

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Rezul -- The University Press of Kansas announces the publication of Unexceptional Conquests: 1898 and the Construction of America's Imperial Identity edited by Paul T. McCartney, a collection that reexamines the relationship between American empire and national identity at the close of the nineteenth century. Bringing together leading scholars of the Gilded Age, American political development, and imperial history, this volume offers a compelling exploration of how the events surrounding the War of 1898 transformed the nation's understanding of itself and its role in the world.

The Spanish–American War marked a decisive turning point in American history. Framed publicly as a humanitarian intervention against Spanish colonial rule, the conflict concluded with the United States in possession of a growing overseas empire, including territories and peoples it did not intend to incorporate fully into the constitutional order. The Philippine-American War that followed further exposed the contradictions between the nation's democratic ideals and its imperial ambitions. Unexceptional Conquests confronts these tensions directly, examining how empire became central to the development of American political culture, legal thought, and national identity.

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Through a series of original essays, the contributors acknowledge the importance of economic and strategic motivations by emphasizing the beliefs, narratives, and moral claims that both justified and emerged from imperial expansion. This approach challenges interpretations that treat empire as peripheral to American history and instead position it as fundamental to the development of modern American identity and power.

Featuring contributions from distinguished scholars including Sam Erman, Julian Go, Kristin L. Hoganson, Louis A. Pérez Jr., and others, Unexceptional Conquests advances ongoing scholarly and public conversations about American power, democracy, and global influence.

Key Features & News Angles:

• Reconsidering the War of 1898: Explores how the Spanish–American War and Philippine-American War reshaped American identity and accelerated its emergence as a global empire.
• Empire and National Identity: Argues that imperial expansion was central—not peripheral—to the development of American political culture and institutions.
• Leading Scholarly Voices: Features contributions from prominent historians and scholars of American empire, law, politics, and culture.
• Democracy and Contradiction: Examines the tension between American exceptionalist ideals and the realities of colonial domination and racial hierarchy.
• Timely Historical Perspective: Provides historical context for contemporary debates surrounding nationalism, interventionism, citizenship, and American global power.
• Law, Race, and Governance: Investigates how empire transformed debates over constitutional authority, self-government, citizenship, religion, and gender in the modern United States.

Learn more about the book here: https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700642960/

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