The End of the Myth
By Greg Grandin
From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America. Metropolitan Books, 2019.
Summary of The End of the Myth book by Greg Grandin
A startling investigation into the myth of American exceptionalism and its idyllic frontier, proposing that U.S. politicians have consistently used expansion to distract people from larger issues of inequality while intensifying racial prejudice.
Chapters in The End of the Myth book summary
What do you get from this book? How a mythological view of America’s frontier has enabled widespread exploitation and corruption
The idyllic vision of America’s frontier is a myth that has paved the way to inequality, expansionism, and violence
America’s founding fathers propelled the idea of expansionism, igniting wars against Britain and violence against Native Americans
The Louisiana Purchase extended America’s borders, but this only intensified the racism already prevalent throughout the colonies
Andrew Jackson began exterminating Native Americans while planning to seize Mexico for the U.S.
The Mexican-American War painted Mexicans as the enemy, drew up new boundary lines, and created civil unrest
The Civil War threatened Jacksonian myths but did not destroy them; Instead, it blurred the view of America’s Frontier
Reconstruction and the Spanish-American War unified the South and North as U.S. soldiers fought for control of overseas land
Extreme prejudice against Mexicans drove new debates on border patrol and safety—all propelled by the KKK
The Frontier became synonymous with social reforms encouraged by FDR, who utilized Turner’s Frontier Thesis when crafting his new deal
America became divided as the government sought to expand foreign diplomatic power while slaughtering the Vietnamese
The twentieth century saw a revival of America’s frontier myth through Reagan’s leadership and NAFTA’s economic expansion
The U.S. Border Patrol used disturbing methods to capture illegal immigrants, spurring civil strife that Obama could not ease
America’s border zones and Trump’s wall extended the country’s power while simultaneously limiting its citizens’ rights
Summary of the key insights
Selected critiques in brief
Final word
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The End of the Myth — Book Summary Snapshot
Who should read The End of the Myth book
- Politicians
- sociologists
- teachers and students
- those concerned with American expansionism
- anyone with an interest in U.S. politics
About the author of The End of the Myth
Greg Grandin
Greg Grandin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and the recipient of both the Bancroft and Beveridge Prizes in American history. He has served as a history professor at Yale University and earned fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation as well as the New York Public Library. His work has appeared in The Nation magazine and the New York Times.
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