In 1971, Californian congressman Thomas M. Rees told the US House of Representatives that ‘very little has been written of what the Welsh have contributed in all walks of life in the shaping of American history’. This book is the first systematic attempt to recount and evaluate the considerable yet underacknowledged contribution made by Welsh immigrants and their immediate descendants to the development of the United States. Highlighting the beneficial impact of immigration at a time when there is yet to be completed a systematic study of the impact of Welsh immigrants throughout the formative years of the American republic, the book synthesises and connects US history and development with interesting biographies of individuals of
Welsh ancestry. The lives and achievements of these individuals are recounted within a narrative outline of America’s history, emphasising the Welsh influence upon the colonists’ rejection of British rule, and upon the establishment, expansion and industrialisation of the new American nation.
This book is written for the general reader with an interest in the history of Wales, Welsh emigrants and their descendants, and the growth and development of the United States. It will also appeal more broadly in light of the significant contribution Wales has had in the making of America.
Vivienne Sanders is a prolific author on American history.
If you would like to arrange an interview with Vivienne Sanders, or would like to receive a PDF review copy of the book, please contact: Bronwen.Swain@press.wales.ac.uk
Contents:
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Wales, the Welsh and the Making of America 1 Madoc: Explorer and Discoverer of North America?
- The Welsh and the Colonisation of North America
- Richard Price and the American Revolution
- The Welsh American Military Contribution to the American War of Independence
- The Welsh American Political Contribution to the American Revolution
- Meriwether Lewis, James Monroe and the American West
- The Welsh Go West
- Welsh Americans and the American Civil War
- The Welsh and the Industrialisation of America
- Assimilation and the Vanishing Welsh
- Wales, the Welsh and the Making of America – Conclusions
Bibliographical Essay
Bibliography of Works Referred to in the Text
Index
Wales, the Welsh and the Making of America – Vivienne Sanders – PB – 9781786837905 – £11.99
Wales, the Welsh and the Making of America – Vivienne Sanders – eBook format – 9781786837912 – £11.99
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