1831: Year of Eclipse

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1831: Year of Eclipse
Louis Masur, a history lecturer published 1831: Year of Eclipse. This is an important text on a single year in the history of America. In this text, Louis P. Masur discusses why the year of 1831 was significant for the country. According to his arguments, this is the year America witnessed the so-called solar eclipse, the Nat Turner servant insurgence, the appearance of the Anti-Mason party, and a transformed religious revival movement (Masur 2). The author uses eclipse as a simile for the historical America, which had been anxious over the conflicting powers of oppression and liberty, environment and machineries, light and dark, as well as religion and politics. The use of eclipse as a simile is demonstrated when the author states that the year, 1831, started with a solar eclipse, which many people considered as a sign of huge changes. Funny enough, such prophecies became real. For instance, the country witnessed the first Nat Turner’s revolution, followed by more intense congressional fights concerning slavery and tariffs.
Moreover, religious conflict dominated the north and vital eyewitnesses like Tocqueville moved to that region coming up with beliefs that would change the world’s perception of United States for generations to come. As clearly stated by the author, by this year, people were assured that political hostility, the fight over slavery, the quest of independence, and technological advancements would eclipse the magnificent prospective of the early republic that would lead America into separation and civil war. Therefore, this was considered as a technological advancement and challenging analysis of the major moment in antebellum America (Masur 9). From the above discussions, it is clear that the main thesis of the book as brought out by the author is that in 1831, United States changed from post-revolutionary state into the current independent state.
Arguably, the author’s arguments are reasonable and logical since he has created an elaborately textured explanation of a significant year in the history of United States. For instance, Louis Masur states that 1831 presented the time that the Southern oligarchy abandoned the debate meant to eliminate slavery and William Garrison started his forceful request for the elimination of the strange institution. The author further stated that the abolishing dilemma and the Indian Removal Act worsened the differences between the two sections. Moreover, the separation of the political body between the Northern oligarchy and the Southern oligarchy also led to the fights between the National Republicans and the Democrats. Further, Masur proved his assertion that the year of 1831 was significant for America by stating that the Union feeling stayed strong, and all the United States citizens appeared to share a common determination towards material affluence despite all the challenges that the country faced at that time. He also stated that it was quite unfortunate that the fragmentation finally eclipsed national cohesions hence promoted the fraternal atrocity that came up 30 years later. It is the contradiction between unanimity and conflict that the author analyses using his extraordinary skills on academic libraries.
The manuscript is highly readable and the author has done a wonderful job by discussing numerous subjects from different viewpoints. Arguments of the participants themselves are heavily measured by Masur’s storyline. For instance, the author’s depiction of Turner and the reaction of white Virginians make use of these numerous viewpoints quite effectively. By holding, a debate on how the white Virginians narrated the violence to themselves readers become overwhelmed by numerous expressions. Arguably, the author presented the story in this manner because he wanted to the readers to recognize that the participants in the story did not know how to describe it. The manner in which the author has demonstrated and proved his arguments improves the value of this book. Moreover, it improves the understanding of readers towards the subject matter. For instance, they can easily understand that quest for the defining moments of history seems global when the author states that 1831 was the defining moment for United States.
He clearly brings out the sequential events as they occurred. For instance, the author states that the roots of future fights started when there was increased regional fights concerning slavery and the country’s rights. Next was the establishment of The Liberator by Garrison who was a renowned publisher. Therefore, readers would understand that The Liberator was formed specifically to liberate the blacks from slavery as the title suggests. Nat Turner’s uprising then started during the summer in the same year. To prepare for the future changes, serious decisions were made concerning how United States would handle the continent’s native individuals and with the country’s economy. By having a clear understanding of the sequences, it is easy for the readers to judge why certain things happened. For instance, it is evident that the transformation drive for the future years was caused by the renewal of religion in the North. It is also evident that changes in America were created by the fresh technologies that were introduced during this period. Such technologies include the introduction of railway transport and Cyrus McCormick’s reaper. The book does not challenge any previous beliefs because the information used by the author is based on documented facts and not imaginations. In addition, it is evident that the book does not challenge previous beliefs because Louis Masur has not made any references or acknowledgement to other authors
This book is important because the author has made a convincing case by clearly illustrating and defending his thesis. For instance, he demonstrates how United States changed from post-revolutionary state into the current independent state by discussing all the events that led to the above change. Some of the factors the author believes to have caused the changes include the Nat Turner servant insurgence, the appearance of the Anti-Mason party, and a transformed religious revival movement. Moreover, Louis Masur has told readers many things they might have not known. It was not easy to recognize that all the above events occurred in the same year, 1831. Most of the readers might have the idea activities, but not the exact time they occurred. Possibly, people study some events that occurred close to two hundred years ago because it explains how the world, countries, and individuals came to existence. History acknowledges that there are many things to know concerning the past than the current world. It helps in developing the range of human experience; how intensely they have differed in their viewpoints and cultural practices. The book has some relevance to the contemporary America because it explains how it started, the events and changes experienced (Masur 34). This can be inferred from the thesis, which states that United States changed from post-revolutionary state into the current independent state.
In conclusion, the solar eclipse that did happen in 1800s had significant impact on the study of astrology in America as highlighted by Masur. The book insinuates that people gained deeper understanding of the scientific event through studying previous events. The chronological arrangement of facts help in the harmonization of scientific information with historical happening on the publication. The vivid explanation also shed light to the occurrences of the eclipse as well as its significance on history on modern science.

Work Cited
Masur, Louis P. 1831, Year of Eclipse. New York: Hill and Wang, 2001. Print.