000			02304nam a22002417a 4500
008			201202b2020 ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9781250214850
082			_a973 GRA-G
100			_aGrandin, Greg
245			_aEnd of the myth : _bfrom the frontier to the border wall in the mind of America / _cGreg Grandin
260			_aNew York _bMetro Politian Books _c2020
300			_a369 p.
365			_aINR _b750.00.
500			_aA new and eye-opening interpretation of the meaning of the frontier, from early westward expansion to Trump’s border wall. Ever since this nation’s inception, the idea of an open and ever-expanding frontier has been central to American identity. Symbolizing a future of endless promise, it was the foundation of the United States’ belief in itself as an exceptional nation – democratic, individualistic, forward-looking. Today, though, America hasa new symbol: the border wall. In The End of the Myth, acclaimed historian Greg Grandin explores the meaning of the frontier throughout the full sweep of U.S. history – from the American Revolution to the War of 1898, the New Deal to the election of 2016. For centuries, he shows, America’s constant expansion – fighting wars and opening markets – served as a “gate of escape,” helping to deflect domestic political and economic conflicts outward. But this deflection meant that the country’s problems, from racism to inequality, were never confronted directly. And now, the combined catastrophe of the 2008 financial meltdown and our unwinnable wars in the Middle East have slammed this gate shut, bringing political passions that had long been directed elsewhere back home. It is this new reality, Grandin says, that explains the rise of reactionary populism and racist nationalism, the extreme anger and polarization that catapulted Trump to the presidency. The border wall may or may not be built, but it will survive as a rallying point, an allegorical tombstone marking the end of American exceptionalism.
650			_aNational characteristics, American
650			_aNationalism
650			_aUnited States
650			_aBorderlands
650			_aExceptionalism
650			_aFrontier thesis
650			_aTurner, Frederick Jackson, 1861-1932
650			_aPublic opinion
999			_c65979 _d65979