Walter Johnson is Winthrop Professor of History and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. A Missouri native and author of the critically acclaimed Soul by Soul, which won numerous prestigious awards,and River of Dark Dreams, he lives in Arlington, MA.
~~tag-text~~
When Jefferson acquired the Louisiana Territory, he envisioned an 'empire for liberty' populated by self-sufficient white farmers. Cleared of Native Americans and the remnants of European empires by Andrew Jackson, the Mississippi Valley was transformed i... SEE MORE