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(The following are chapter summaries from the just-released
book, "The Destination of American History," by Tony Molinaro.)
FIRST DESTINATION: NATIONAL FREEDOM
“A
nation of people has a right to unite and govern itself freely.”
Part 2 - The ‘New Side’ Awakening -
(1726 to 1743)
The Great Awakening succeeded in reviving spiritual life for the common man in the British colonies.
At the same time, it helped to influence a generation of idealists, began a process of weakening central authority and power,
and set in motion the first movement toward uniting the population across each colony’s borderlines.
Part
3 - Rising Self-Interest and Unraveling Forces - (1744 to 1772)
New, idealist beliefs begin to redefine and erode the
old centralized civic order and the importance of individualism strengthens. A number of unraveling components such as Mercantilist
policies, frontier expansion, economic competition, and ongoing conflicts with the French, Spanish and Indians propels colonial
society down an unsettling and undefined path.
Part 4 - Revolutionary Crisis and Climax - (1773 to 1787)
American
Colonial political leadership and a large segment of the general population react to crisis events with a valiant civic vision
for unity and national freedom. The crisis of the War of Independence is followed by another crisis as the new nation searches
for economic and political stability.
Part 5 - Constitution, Resolution and Civic
Strengthening - (1788 to
1820)
After the historic crisis has been resolved, society visualizes a future of planning, doing and building. The
new nation creates institutions based on a new civic order and the new initiatives are large and lasting. They include the
Constitution, the Bank of the United States, the turnpike and steamboat systems, the creation of Washington DC, the Library
of Congress, and the Louisiana Purchase.
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