"Against Self-Reliance is a remarkably original book and an impassioned critique of liberalism. Howell makes a compelling argument that imitation and emulation occupied a central place in the emergence of the United States. This alternative story has, he suggests, important implications for the way we view our world. His analysis crackles with urgency." (Catherine Kelly, University of Oklahoma) "Modern Americans often describe their nation as founded on principles of political and economic individualism: a democratic culture of self-made men and women.Against Self-Reliance revisits the founding period to tell a different story. Focusing on the overlapping domains of politics, religion, science, education, and literature, Howell reveals the priorities of imitation, emulation, and cultural dependence on the eve and in the wake of American Independence. In this fine literary and cultural history, both historians and critics will find something new." (Eric Slauter, University of Chicago)