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About the Book
Every nation’s past is prologue to its present, and every nation’s story unfolds in its own way. In this book, a native Englishman and long-time resident of the United States, proposes four defining narratives that have helped fashion the nation’s progression toward “becoming America.”
- westward expansion, and a fascination for the moving frontier;
- hunger for land, reflected in national expansion through nineteenth-century geopolitical acquisitions, and the desire of individual Americans to grab their own piece of territory, leading to the iconic Homestead Act of 1862;
- the land-grant college movement, culminating in Justin Morrill’s 1862 landmark legislation, representing a shift away from higher education dominated by religious imperatives to a more secular model, with significant state sponsorship;
- the GI Bill of Rights, enacted in 1944 for servicemen and women returning from WW II, and which provided (among other benefits) a free college education for millions of veterans.
These four themes are brought together through the uniquely American phenomenon of college football.
Overview
★
About the Book
Every nation’s past is prologue to its present, and every nation’s story unfolds in its own way. In this book, a native Englishman and long-time resident of the United States, proposes four defining narratives that have helped fashion the nation’s progression toward “becoming America.”
These four themes are brought together through the uniquely American phenomenon of college football.
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