The Year of Decision 1846

This is the greatest book ever written about the American West. The Year of Decision 1846 is the most defining portrayal of America's character. It is my favorite history book. I read this book every five years to gain a better perspective about this brilliant masterpiece. To paraphrase Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (all quotations are his) in a foreword edition (1984), no other historical work about the westward movement comes closer in describing "the colors, sounds, smells of the Great Plains and of the Rockies beyond," and of Manifest Destiny than this literary achievement. Devoto's wry wit and sagebrush humor pushes the reader even deeper into his story. This great novel closely portrays the ambition, the arrogance, the excitement, and the alienation of not only the greatest emerging country the world has even known, but reveals clear reflections of Devoto's persona himself. His conscience "continues to move us with tales splendidly and exactly told of our ancestors as they struggled in their valor and frailty against nature, the wilderness, and their own weaker selves." "Devoto saw America as 'a system of social energies' at once pulled asunder by the 'centrifugal expansion of the frontier and the equal explosiveness of the developing industry' between the period of 1840's through the end of the Civil War, 'a terrible war that would redefine the American Republic.'" Devoto wrote exuberantly about the conquest of Mexico, but he was adroit about quoting Emerson: "The United States will conquer Mexico but it will be as the man swallows the arsenic which brings him down in turn. Mexico will poison us." An excellent summation of Devoto's life is provided by Ann W. Engar who reasons that Devoto did not receive the critical attention he deserves, perhaps because he was so multitalented and often polemical. "Devoto was the unsparing critic when Americans failed to live up to the best standards of the Republic." Many current historians note the remarkable parallels today in his writings. 'Pessimism is only the name that men of weak nerves give to wisdom.' Born in Utah in 1897 and one of Harvard's greatest, Devoto died in 1955 at the age of 58. "He knew the bitterness and triumph of life." I always get a refreshing perspective in my life about the stress of current events when compared to the readiness and eagerness of earlier legends, when they faced extreme dangers. Engar reasonably concludes that Devoto's importance lies in his attempts in both fiction and historical writing to intepret the importance of the West in the development of American culture. Take your time reading this book and get rid of all distractions.

DeVoto said "this book tells the story of some people who went west in 1846." He weaves together the story of those people: the Mormons, the Donner party, Fremont and Kit Carson in California, historian Francis Parkman, "Old Rough and Ready" Zack Taylor, and others. The theme of the book is in the invocation, a quote from Henry Thoreau. "I must walk toward Oregon, and not towards Europe." America in 1846 became a continental and not just an Atlantic power. U.S. President James Polk crafted a deal with England for Oregon and Washington and launched a war with Mexico for California and the Southwest. The largest part of the book deals with the war with Mexico -- but the best book on this subject is "So Far From God" by John S.D. Eisenhower. Rather than a historian of war, DeVoto is a sort of Homer of the West, extolling the feats of his company of heros. He's opinionated, arrogant, sometimes obnoxious, sometimes too clever to be tolerated, but he's turned out an epic of American empire here. It's not a balanced book. DeVoto doesn't waste many kind words on Mexicans, Indians, or Eastern intellectuals. The good guys are the mountain men, the uncouth, unlettered men who led the American charge across the great plains into the western mountains. Example: while Thoreau was extolling the virtues of self reliance on Walden Pond, about a mile from Concord, Massachusetts, Kit Carson rode a horse from California to Washington, D.C. -- and then turned around and rode back again. The mountain men are formidable. This is not an easy book to read as DeVoto makes demands on the reader to remember a great number of characters participating in the complex threads of multiple movements. But its possibly the best book I've ever read about Americans going west.

Bernard De Voto is one of our most eminent American historians and 1846 is considered to be one of his best works. He does what few historians are able to do and that is to capture the pulse of American expansionist desire. He does so by using a variety of novelistic devices to give added emotional weight to the events that transpired in this very decisive year in American history. Underscoring the narrative is De Voto's razor-sharp wit, which deflates most of the grand ambitions of the leading figures in 1846. De Voto develops several paralleling stories: that of the great Mormon migration, the ill-fated Donner Party, Fremont's attempt to establish the Bear Flag Republic in California, the attempts to secure Texas and the New Mexico and Oregon territories, all during a time in which President Polk fought for America's Manifest Destiny against Britain and Mexico. De Voto develops a great number of characters, some well known, some lesser known, and weaves them together in an American quilt. He sets up the events that would lead to the Mexican War and briefly describes some of the battles, taking aim mostly at the ineptitude of both armies and the political posturing of the various Whig generals. It is an unbridled view of historical events. At times, De Voto can be unmerciful in his attacks on the heroic postures that some of these leading figures took, and at other times quite sympathetic as he tries to make sense of the conflicting reports that were written.He uses terms that may be offensive to some readers but these were the terms often employed by the figures of this era. He provides a wealth of information from journals and diaries that were kept, often giving his account a "first-hand" quality. De Voto sustains his incredible driving force throughout this narrative, capping it off with a pithy epilogue regarding the events that would grow out of the decisions made in 1846.

In 1846-7, the United States finished much of its geographical expansion. The dispute with Great Britain was ended covering the northwestern parts of the contiguous continental United States, and war with Mexico brought California and the southwest under U.S. sovereignty.This book was written during the late 1930s and early 1940s, and is of interest, as well, for the backdrop of events against which it was written. A new preface by DeVoto's son and a new introduction by Stephen Ambrose nicely explain this point. A helpful timeline and many wonderful maps will also help increase your understanding. Bernard DeVoto is our greatest historian of the western mirgration that helped build the modern United States. Before this book was written, there was no comprehensive work on this subject. Born in Ogden, Utah, he brings the perspective of a westerner to his writing, and scrupulously builds on many eye witness accounts to give us an in-person sense of this part of nation building. The western accounts are nicely put into the context of the gradual slide toward Civil War and the practical politics of the nation as a whole.DeVoto is an entertaining writer who employs many of the techniques of novels and movie scripts to keep the action moving for us. He uses a comet splitting into two, for example, as an omen of the political cleavage that slavery is bringing. He also has strong opinions about the people involved and shares those opinions candidly. So this is very much of a personal view of history, although done by an eminent historian. The book has many continuing story lines such as those about Fremont, the Mormon migration, the Donner party, and interactions with Native Americans (as seen through the eyes of the western migrants) that provide a lot of appeal for any reader of the book. Although it was written first, this is the final book in a trilogy that DeVoto wrote. If you like this book, you should go back and read the other two books as well.Truman Talley deserves a vote of thanks for bringing this important work back into print, and improving it!After you have finished reading and enjoying this great book, I suggest that you consider where an improved understanding of American history could add to your life. A good starting point could be understanding more about the history of the place where you live. Then you could expand that to understanding more about places you plan to visit. Enjoy your new learning and treks!