Wow! eBook
Joel Barlow, American Diplomat and Nation Builder
Author(s): Peter P. Hill (Author)
- Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
- Publication Date: 15 April 2012
- Language: English
- Print length: 280 pages
- ISBN-10: 1597976822
- ISBN-13: 9781597976824
Book Description
Young Barlow wrote his epic poem The Vision of Columbus while serving as an army chaplain fresh out of Yale University. He later sold Western lands to French émigrés, ran for a seat in the French National Assembly, escaped the Terror, and ultimately made his fortune as a cargo broker. His ties with the Jeffersonian elite and longtime familiarity with the Paris political scene made him Madison’s logical choice to keep the peace by trying to win enough concessions from France to demand the same of Britain.
Peter P. Hill’s fast-paced biography, while closing in on the intricacies of Barlow’s diplomatic career, also portrays his subject as a conscious nation builder, a visionary who foresaw his country’s worldwide role in spreading democratic institutions, committing itself to free trade, and involving its federal government in the cause of public education. Hill brings to life a true Enlightenment man whose love of country, democracy, and learning reveals the soul of an age.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Peter P. Hill is one of the great American diplomatic historians. This book demonstrates his continuing superb scholarship, making a critical and fascinating contribution to our understanding of the diplomatic minefield faced by Americans of the early Republic, and the important role played by the remarkable Joel Barlow.”–Melanie Randolph Miller, author of
Envoy to the Terror: Gouverneur Morris and the French Revolution“This is the definitive biography of the poet-diplomat Joel Barlow. Peter P. Hill has written a graceful as well as authoritative account of a neglected but important figure in Jeffersonian America. Barlow’s poetic contributions to the growing national spirit in the early Republic were matched by his diplomatic activities in France.”–Lawrence S. Kaplan, professor emeritus of history, Kent State University, and author of
Thomas Jefferson: Westward the Course of Empire and Alexander Hamilton: Ambivalent AnglophileAbout the Author
,”datePublished”:”15 April 2012″,”isbn”:”9781597976824″,”numberOfPages”:280,”inLanguage”:”English”,”description”:”Joel Barlow was the early Republic’s most tenacious diplomat, a cheerful volunteer for difficult missions. His hard-won treaties with Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli ended, at least briefly, the attacks of Barbary pirates on American shipping in the Mediterranean. And on the eve of the War of 1812, President Madison sent him to France, where he subsequently won important wartime concessions from Napoleon.Young Barlow wrote his epic poem The Vision of Columbus while serving as an army chaplain fresh out of Yale University. He later sold Western lands to French émigrés, ran for a seat in the French National Assembly, escaped the Terror, and ultimately made his fortune as a cargo broker. His ties with the Jeffersonian elite and longtime familiarity with the Paris political scene made him Madison’s logical choice to keep the peace by trying to win enough concessions from France to demand the same of Britain.Peter P. Hill’s fast-paced biography, while closing in on the intricacies of Barlow’s diplomatic career, also portrays his subject as a conscious nation builder, a visionary who foresaw his country’s worldwide role in spreading democratic institutions, committing itself to free trade, and involving its federal government in the cause of public education. Hill brings to life a true Enlightenment man whose love of country, democracy, and learning reveals the soul of an age.”,”url”:”https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1597976822/”,”bookFormat”:”http://schema.org/EBook”,”additionalType”:”http://schema.org/PDF”,”fileSize”:”22 MB”,”accessibilityFeature”:[“login required”,”member access only”],”accessibilitySummary”:”PDF version available to authenticated members only. File size: 22 MB.”}
