The United States was made in Britain. For over a hundred years following independence, a diverse and lively crowd of emigrant Americans left the United States for Britain. From Liverpool and London, they produced Atlantic capitalism and managed transfers of goods, culture, and capital that were integral to US nation-building. In British social clubs, emigrants forged relationships with elite Britons that were essential not only to tranquil transatlantic connections, but also to fighting southern slavery. As the United States descended into Civil War, emigrant Americans decisively shaped the Atlantic-wide battle for public opinion. Equally revered as informal ambassadors and feared as anti-republican contagions, these emigrants raised troubling questions about the relationship between nationhood, nationality, and foreign connection.

Blending the histories of foreign relations, capitalism, nation-formation, and transnational connection, Stephen Tuffnell compellingly demonstrates that the United States' struggle toward independent nationhood was entangled at every step with the world's most powerful empire of the time. With deep research and vivid detail, Made in Britain uncovers this hidden story and presents a bold new perspective on nineteenth-century trans-Atlantic relations.

About the Author
Stephen Tuffnell is Associate Professor of Modern US History at St. Peter's College, Oxford University. He is coeditor, with Dr. Benjamin Mountford, of A Global History of Gold Rushes.

Reviews
"Stephen Tuffnell's Made in Britain is a thorough, original and engaging account of the part played by American expats in the creation of transatlantic diplomacy in post-independence 19th-century Britain. The book--peppered with specific case studies, useful statistics and factual analyses, as well as compelling anecdotes--is both an enjoyable and instructive read." * Cercles *

"Tuffnell's study is fascinating as it stands. It is no criticism to say that it is fertile soil for future work that could extend the coverage of the expatriate community into culture and society."

* Journal of Interdisciplinary History *

"By focusing on elite American migrant communities within Britain, Stephen Tuffnell's Made in Britain: Nation and Emigration in Nineteenth-Century America offers an innovative complement to the existing scholarship on the development of U.S. national identity."

* American Nineteenth Century History *
"Tuffnell has crafted a fantastic, well-researched, and highly readable volume on the interconnectedness of the Atlantic world in the nineteenth century. It highlights the ongoing postcolonial relationship between Britain and America and contributes to our understanding of the role of emigration and emigrant communities in shaping foreign relations." * H-Net *

"Accessible to non-specialists yet appealing to an academic audience, this text could prove suitable for coffee shops or classrooms."

* Toynbee Prize Foundation *

"Made in Britain valuably contributes to the historiography of American foreign relations, the Civil War, and capitalism. Concise and well organized, this book encourages the study of a more global emigrant history because, as Tuffnell correctly suggests, 'it took the world to produce the nation'."

* The Journal of American History *

"Made in Britain is a deeply researched, analytically rich, and highly original contribution to our understanding of economic, political, and social relationships cultivated by Americans in Great Britain during the nineteenth-century. . . . I cannot recommend it strongly enough."

* Diplomatic History *

"Not only will students and scholars of British history profit by reading this book, but readers with general intellectual interests will likely become fascinated with both the specific topics Stansky discusses and the workings of a distinguished historian's lively approach to his subject."

* Journal of British Studies *



Book Information
ISBN 9780520344709
Author Stephen Tuffnell
Format Hardback
Page Count 318
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 28mm