Jeffrey Rogers Hummel has 4 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 2 narrators. The most-rated is The Mexican-American War.
The Civil War
Summary
This volume is a two-part history of the Civil War. Part I From 1861 to 1865 America was caught in the convulsions of war—the Civil War. No historical event, short of the American Revolution itself, has so deeply affected the United States. The Civil War is often called the War between the States by Southern historians, aptly illustrating the political question underpinning the war: Was the United States one nation, or were the United States a group of sovereign entities that could choose to disassociate? Both sides honored the same constitution, spoke the same language, and worshipped the same God. But the two could not agree on whether America was a union or a compact of states. Part II With the advent of war, the Confederate States of America faced serious problems. The Confederate population was 9.1 million compared to the Union’s 19.1 million. The South controlled only one quarter of America’s wealth. Its railroad mileage was only half that of the Union, and its navy was badly outnumbered. But the South was fighting a defensive war on its own soil, and military theorists agree that such a war requires a three-to-one superiority for an aggressor to win. Many believed the South could prevail. Nevertheless, on April 9, 1865, General Lee surrendered what remained of his army. But what had the North won? The United States of America was now one nation under God. But that nation was crippled by the economic costs of the war—wholesale destruction, inflation, poverty. The political costs were no less. Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated; Southern leaders were in jail; the federal government had swollen in size and power. Northern politicians then began to “reconstruct” the South, building state governments that would be loyal to the union. But the conquered South simmered with resentments that could not be legislated out of existence. Jeffrey Rogers Hummel is the author of Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War. He teaches economics and history at San José State University. Before joining the SJSU economics faculty, he lectured as an adjunct at Golden Gate University and Santa Clara University. Hummel served as a tank platoon leader in the US Army during the early seventies; was publications director for the Independent Institute in Oakland, California, in the late eighties; and was a National Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution for the 2001/02 academic year.
©1989 Carmichael & Carmichael / Knowledge Products (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Bill of Rights and Additional Amendments
Summary
The Constitution of the United States created a nation with a strong centralized government. In 1791, the Constitution was adjusted to include 10 amendments, commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights. These were guarantees of individual liberty upon which critics of the Constitution had insisted. Changing times raise changing questions. What of black rights, the right of former slaves to vote? And do women not share in that privilege? How many terms should a president serve? These and other issues were resolved through additional amendments to the Constitution. Throughout America's history, the Constitution has remained a living document. Here, each of the 26 amendments is presented in the unique historical context that gave it birth.
Public Domain (P)1987 Carmichael & Carmichael, Inc. / Knowledge Products
The War of 1812
Summary
The United States emerged from the American Revolution still engaged in Old World politics. In particular, America faced all the trade restrictions of the British Navigation Acts. As a result, The United States declared war on Great Britain in 1812 and proceeded to invade Canada, one of Britain's possessions, an invasion which failed. At a cost of $80 million in national debt and of a single party assuming almost unchallenged power, the War of 1812 has been called "America's most unpopular war". America, born from a commitment to liberty and equality, seemed to betray its heritage for the sake of control. The United States at War is a collection of audio presentations that review the political, economic, and social forces that have erupted in military conflict, and examine how that conflict resolved, or failed to resolve, the forces that caused it.
(P)1989 Carmichael and Carmichael, Inc. / Knowledge Products
The Mexican-American War
Summary
On May 13, 1846, the United States Congress declared war on Mexico. Although the Mexican-American War lasted only 18 months, its consequences were profound. Mexico lost nearly half of its territory to the United States: Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. Some historians have described this conflict as America's first step toward empire. More ominously, this war first raised the issue of whether slavery should be permitted in the newly acquired territories, an issue that would help speed America toward the Civil War.
©1989 Carmichael and Carmichael, Inc. and Knowledge Products (P)1989 Carmichael and Carmichael, Inc. and Knowledge Products