On Wide Seas

The US Navy in the Jacksonian Era

by Claude Berube

Series: Maritime Currents: History and Archaeology

248 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 x 1.20 in, 25 B&W figures

Hardcover
9780817321079
Published: December 2021

$54.95

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eBook
9780817393779
Published: December 2021

$54.95

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A meticulously researched account of how the US Navy evolved between the War of 1812 and the Civil War

The 1830s is an overlooked period in American naval history and is usually overshadowed by the more dramatic War of 1812 and the Civil War. Nevertheless, the personnel, operations, technologies, policies, and vision of the Navy of that era, which was emerging from the “Age of Sail,” are important components of its evolution, setting it on the long path to its status as a global maritime power. On Wide Seas: The US Navy in the Jacksonian Era details the ways in which the US Navy transformed from an antiquated arm of the nation’s military infrastructure into a more dynamic and effective force that was soon to play a pivotal role in a number of national and international conflicts.

By Andrew Jackson’s inauguration in 1829, the Navy had engaged with two major powers, defended American shipping, conducted antipiracy operations, and provided a substantive, long-term overseas presence. The Navy began to transform during Jackson’s administration due in part to the policies of the administration and to the emerging officer corps, which sought to professionalize its own ranks, modernize the platforms on which it sailed, and define its own role within national affairs and in the broader global maritime commons. Jackson had built his reputation as a soldier, but he quickly recognized as president the necessity for a navy that could foster his policies. To expand American commerce, he needed a navy that could defend shipping as well as conduct punitive raids or deterrence missions.

Jackson developed a clear, concise naval strategy that policymakers and officers alike could seize and execute. He also provided a vision for the Navy, interceded to resolve naval disciplinary challenges, and directed naval operations. Also, given Jackson’s own politics, junior officers were emboldened by the populist era to challenge traditional, conservative thinking. They carried out a collective vision that coincided with the national literary movement that recognized America’s future would rely upon the Navy.

“While Andrew Jackson and the Jacksonian era have long been subjects of scholarly fascination and debate, Old Hickory’s relationship with the U.S. Navy has received relatively scant attention. On Wide Seas addresses this much-neglected topic. . . . [and] makes a convincing case for the 1830s as a revolutionary decade for the U.S. Navy. . . . An engaging, persuasive, and significant contribution to the scholarly literature on early U.S. naval policy.”
—Journal of Military History

“On Wide Seas: The US Navy in the Jacksonian Era is a must-read for those interested in the early Republic of the United States and the development of the US Navy in the decades before the Civil War. Berube’s use of primary sources and an extremely well-laid-out format provides the reader with a wealth of information, supplemented by charts and photographs. Many of the issues facing the Navy in the early 19th century still resonate in the Navy of the early 21st century.”
—Sea History

“Claude Berube has rendered a major contribution to the history of the United States Navy in this examination of the Navy in the period of Andrew Jackson’s presidency. It is a fascinating and well-written story of the Navy’s real birth.”
—Williamson Murray, author of A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War and A Savage War: A Military History of the Civil War

“This is a necessary book, which fills a gap in the knowledge of the early US Navy and raises the bar high. Berube familiarizes the reader with the context of the naval innovations of Andrew Jackson’s eight-year presidency with an easy, agreeable style that neither patronizes nor swamps with complexities. His scholarly analyses draw from a wide horizon of knowledge, and he is a master of all facets of his subject, from the strategic through the financial and doctrinal to the technical and human. My guess is that this will become a classic.”
—Andrew Gordon, author of Admiral of the Narrow Seas: The Life of Bertram Ramsay and The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command

“On Wide Seas is a carefully articulated and argued book, and advocates clearly for the key role Jackson played during the Navy’s transformation, and more broadly to a naval revitalization. Berube makes innovative use of complex primary source material such as court martial records to show Jackson’s perspective on organizational discipline, yet also manages a wide survey of naval and executive branch documents and secondary sources throughout the work.”
—Chris Costello LCDR, USN; Associate Department Chair; Instructor, Colonial and Early Republic (U.S.), Global and Maritime History

“Berube’s fine history shows the value of looking back to a neglected period on its own terms while pointing avenues for future research. Scholars and enthusiasts alike will find it a rewarding study that develops larger themes in naval history. Questions about readiness, force structure, and fostering an effective naval professional culture during Jackson’s era also resonate today.”
—Law Liberty“

“On Wide Seas is a broadly researched book that provides extensive detail about a critical phase in the development of the U.S. Navy and the president who shepherded its development during the period.”
—Maritime Archaeology and Historical Society News

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The US Navy in the Jacksonian Era