<div><p><b>This compelling narrative demonstrates the passionate interest the<BR> Jeffersonian presidents had in wresting land from less powerful foes and<BR> expanding Jefferson's "empire of liberty."</b></p><p>The first two decades of the 19th century found many Americans<BR> eager to move away from the crowded eastern seaboard and into new areas<BR> where their goals of landownership might be realized. Such movement was<BR> encouraged by Presidents Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe- collectively known<BR> as the Jeffersonians- who believed that the country's destiny was to have<BR> total control over the entire North American continent. Migration patterns<BR> during this time changed the country considerably and included the roots<BR> of the slavery controversy that ultimately led to the Civil War. By the<BR> end of the period, although expansionists had not succeeded in moving into<BR> British Canada, they had obtained command of large areas from the Spanish<BR> South and Southwest, including acreage previously controlled by Native<BR> Americans.</p><p>Utilizing memoirs, diaries, biographies, newspapers, and vast amounts<BR> of both foreign and domestic correspondence, Frank Lawrence Owsley, Jr.,<BR> and Gene A. Smith reveal an insider's view of the filibusters and<BR> expansionists, the colorful- if not sometimes nefarious- characters on<BR> the front line of the United States's land grab. Owsley and Smith describe<BR> in detail the actions and characters involving both the successful and<BR> the unsuccessful efforts to expand the United States during this period-<BR> as well as the outspoken opposition to expansion, found primarily among<BR> the Federalists in the Northeast.</p><br><br>  </div>