America's Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise That Preserved the Union

The "stimulating, richly informed" (The Wall Street Journal) story behind the Compromise of 1850, which preserved the Union on the eve of the Civil War-"original in concept, stylish in execution...provides everything history readers want....The characters seem as vivid, human, and understandable as those who walk the halls of Congress today" (The Washington Post).

The Mexican War introduced vast new territories into the United States, including California and the present-day Southwest. When ...