Suggests that 1816 was the pivotal year in the political life of the US.... Recommended.
~Choice
The benefits of a focused approach are most notable in the massive detail of Skeen's discussion.
~Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
Skeen has done prodigious research in a wealth of primary materials and his entire book benefits greatly as a result.
~American Historical Review
Reveals a sense of the fragility of the American experiment following the sobering experience of invasion-in the War of 1812-heightened by the bizarre weather of this 'year without a summer.'
~Boston Globe
1816 is certainly a crucial year in the too-often-neglected decade or so before the emergence of the second party system.
~Journal of American History
Skeen makes the case for 1816 as an important year in the development of the American nation. This well-written and -researched work is recommended.
~Library Journal
An impressive exposition of political culture in the early republic.
~McCormick (SC) Messenger
Skeen narrates the major events of [the era's] opening 12 months with great skill...with clarity and verve.
~Publisher's Weekly
A very impressive exposition of political culture in the early republic.
~Andrew Burstein
Few texts successfully correlate nationalism, state authority and market economy as powerfully as Skeen's 1816. Skeen provides readers of American history with an in-depth study of why 1816 is the definitive year in United States culture.
~Cercles
Well conceived and well executed.
~Donald Hickey
Readers will discover a delightful rendering of at least some of what worried American people at the dawn of the nation's second generation.
~Indiana Magazine of History
Serves as a reminder that the history of consensus should not be entirely buried as scholars pursue their well-honed impulses to dramatize social, cultural, and political conflict.
~Journal of Southern History
Skeen deftly considers a broad range of changes looming for the American republic, which either took root or flowered in this year.... Indispensable for teachers of American history hoping to lead their own students through this period of transition.
~Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
