DOCSLIB.ORG

Book Reviews Purdue University, Lafayette the Canadian Frontier

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Book Reviews Purdue University, Lafayette the Canadian Frontier Book Reviews 181 records great tragedy. His father was assassinated ; his mother was mentally ill for years; his own son died as he approached manhood; and rumors persisted for years that his marriage to Mary Harlan was subject to more than the usual difficulties. Generally historians have all but ignored Robert in dealing with Abraham Lincoln. Many have found it impossible to reconcile a mil- lionaire lawyer and businessman of decidedly conservative views with his father’s humanity in the emancipation of the slaves. Thus arises Goff‘s claim that only now has Robert Todd Lincoln found a biog- rapher of his own. This reviewer shares the author’s doubts that in spite of the chosen title “Rubert T. Lincoln could never be clearly and freely a man in his own right” (p. 265). Purdue University, Lafayette Paul E. Million, Jr. The Canadian Frontier, 1534-1760. By W. J. Eccles. Histories of the American Frontier. Edited by Ray Allen Billington. (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969. Pp. xv, 234. Maps, illus- trations, notes, bibliographical notes, index. Paperbound, $4.95.) This is a superb history, one written by a historian for historians. It is seldom colorful reading, nor is it exciting; but these are not euphemisms by which a reviewer attempts to avoid damning a book as dull, for it is scarcely that either. Rather, Professor Eccles’ work will prove to be heavy going for the less rigorous minded cowboys and Indians set which inhabits the fringes (happily, less frequently each day) of the general field of the history of the North American West. The old heroes are vanquished, the old values are set aside, the dramatic but cosy conclusions of Francis Parkman are succemf ully challenged, and the reader is left with a story, and with conclusions, which run counter to much that remains stated in textbooks with the certitude of which only such books are capable. Not that Eccles’ conclusions here are new to the historian of Canada, or of New France; for Eccles has stated them before, in his earlier study, just ten years ago, of Louis Count de Frontenac, and more recently in his volume in the Canadian Centenary Series, Canada under Louis XIV. Western buffs are unlikely to have read these two books, however, as convincing and important as they were; and it is now, with this concise, closely argued, contribution to Ray Billington’s Histories of the American Frontier series that Eccles will reach the wider audience. Of the seven books which have appeared to date in this series, this is the only one relating to Canada directly (although Jack Sosin’s Revolutionary Frontier contains much of Canadian sig- nificance), and it is the only one to offer widely significant new con- 182 Indiana Magazine of Histor@ clusions, in the sense that the historiography of two nations rather than just one must now change. The author is concerned primarily with the social and economic realities of the fur trade, with the effect of those realities on both the colony and France, and with the ways in which French and British adaptations to an alien environment differed from adaptations to the south. The nature of the tra& itself, the role played by Indians and by misconceived “Indian Diplomacy” in the European capitals, and the pasition of the church are among the subjects examined in the light of extensive original research in archives, largely French and Canadian. Eccles is not afraid to put value judgments of his own in the place of those of Parkman, but he documents them with care, and in an enlightening bibliographical essay he cites reasons for dismiss- ing conclusions held by others. The buffs will not be happy; but, if they stay to the end, they will join with the professionals in an im- portant reassessment of the making of the North American continent. American Embassg, London Robin W. Winks Pastmasters: Some Essays on American Historians. Edited by Mar- cus Cunliffe and Robin W. Winks. (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1969. Pp. xv, 492. Appendix (notes and selected publications), index. $10.00.) Pastmasters is a mixture of the quick and the dead. The volume contains separate esusays on thirteen American historians, six of whom are no longer living, one retired but active, and six now in the prime as producing scholars. To each had been assigned a separate critic, although two of the critics-Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. and David Potter-are also among those selected by editors Marcus Cunliffe and Robin W. Winks as subjects for essays. Selections have been rather arbitrary although none will doubt the distinguished character of each. The list of the deceased contains Francis Parkman, Henry Adams, Frederick Jackson Turner, Charles A. Beard, Vernon Louis Parrington, and Perry Miller. The fact that the last two on this list were practicing scholars in the fields of Amer- ican literature does not belie the fact that they were as much con- cerned with history as with literature, and it shows good judgment on the part of the editors to have included them-even at the cost of not including such illustrious American historians as George Ban- croft, James Ford Rhodes, John B. MacMaster, William E. Dodd, and Walter Prescott Webb. Mae glaring is the failure to include essays on such living his- torians as Samuel Eliot Morison, Allan Nevins, and Mwle Curti .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Proceedings 207
    1939.] Proceedings 207 PROCEEDINGS ANNUAL MEETING OP THE SOCIETY, OCTOBER 18, 1939, AT THE LIBEARY OF THE SOCIETY, WORCESTER Annual Meeting of the Anierican Antiquarian -1 Society was held at the Library of the Society, Worcester, Massachusetts, October 18, 1939, at 10.45 a.m. The meeting was called to order by the first Vice-president, Charles Henry Taylor. The following members of the Society were present : George Henry Haynes, George Parker Winship, Clar- ence Saunders Brigham, Samuel Bayard Woodward, George Hubbard Blakeslee, William Vail Kellen, Shepherd Knapp, Albert Carlos Bates, Charles Henry Taylor, Herbert Edwin Lombard, Lawrence Waters Jenkins, John Woodbury, Robert Kendall Shaw, Fred Norris Robinson, Chandler BuUockj Charles Eliot Goodspeed, Gardner Weld Allen, George Ichabod Rockwood, Wallace Walter Atwood, Matt Bushneil Jones, Daniel Waldo Lincoln, Charles Alpheus Place, George Francis Booth, Paul Beagary Morgan, Russell Sturgis Paine, Thomas James Holmes, James Melville Hunnewell, Abraham S. Wolf Rosenbach, George Crompton, Stephen Willard Phillips, Edward Tucker- man Esty, Reginald Washburn, Wilbur Macey Stone, Robert William Glenroie Vail, Glenn Tilley Morse, Charles Taylor Tatman, Samuel Flagg Bemis, Thomas Winthrop Streeter, William Irving Clark, Frederick Edward Brasch, George Gregerson Wolkins, Howard Corning, Henry Wilder Foote, Allyn Bailey Forbes, Philip Ainsworth Means, Hermann Frederick Clarke, Francis Henshaw Dewey, Lathrop Colgate Harper, 208 American Antiquarian Society [Oct., Augustus Peabody Loring, Jr., James Duncan Phillips, Clifford Kenyon Shipton, Alexander Hamilton Bullock, Theron Johnson Damon, Albert White Rice, Fred- erick Lewis Weis, Donald McKay Frost, Harry- Andrew Wright. It was voted to dispense with the reading of the records of the last meeting. The report of the Council of the Society was presented by the Director, Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • University Microfilms Copyright 1984 by Mitchell, Reavis Lee, Jr. All
    8404787 Mitchell, Reavis Lee, Jr. BLACKS IN AMERICAN HISTORY TEXTBOOKS: A STUDY OF SELECTED THEMES IN POST-1900 COLLEGE LEVEL SURVEYS Middle Tennessee State University D.A. 1983 University Microfilms Internet ion elæ o N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Copyright 1984 by Mitchell, Reavis Lee, Jr. All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified here with a check mark V 1. Glossy photographs or pages. 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print_____ 3. Photographs with dark background_____ 4. Illustrations are poor copy______ 5. Pages with black marks, not original copy_ 6. Print shows through as there is text on both sides of page. 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several pages______ 8. Print exceeds margin requirements______ 9. Tightly bound copy with print lost in spine______ 10. Computer printout pages with indistinct print. 11. Page(s)____________ lacking when material received, and not available from school or author. 12. Page(s) 18 seem to be missing in numbering only as text follows. 13. Two pages numbered _______iq . Text follows. 14. Curling and wrinkled pages______ 15. Other ________ University Microfilms International Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. BLACKS IN AMERICAN HISTORY TEXTBOOKS: A STUDY OF SELECTED THEMES IN POST-190 0 COLLEGE LEVEL SURVEYS Reavis Lee Mitchell, Jr. A dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of Middle Tennessee State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Arts December, 1983 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Oklahoma Libraries Western History Collections Ralph
    University of Oklahoma Libraries Western History Collections Ralph H. Records Collection Records, Ralph Hayden. Papers, 1871–1968. 2 feet. Professor. Magazine and journal articles (1946–1968) regarding historiography, along with a typewritten manuscript (1871–1899) by L. S. Records, entitled “The Recollections of a Cowboy of the Seventies and Eighties,” regarding the lives of cowboys and ranchers in frontier-era Kansas and in the Cherokee Strip of Oklahoma Territory, including a detailed account of Records’s participation in the land run of 1893. ___________________ Box 1 Folder 1: Beyond The American Revolutionary War, articles and excerpts from the following: Wilbur C. Abbott, Charles Francis Adams, Randolph Greenfields Adams, Charles M. Andrews, T. Jefferson Coolidge, Jr., Thomas Anburey, Clarence Walroth Alvord, C.E. Ayres, Robert E. Brown, Fred C. Bruhns, Charles A. Beard and Mary R. Beard, Benjamin Franklin, Carl Lotus Belcher, Henry Belcher, Adolph B. Benson, S.L. Blake, Charles Knowles Bolton, Catherine Drinker Bowen, Julian P. Boyd, Carl and Jessica Bridenbaugh, Sanborn C. Brown, William Hand Browne, Jane Bryce, Edmund C. Burnett, Alice M. Baldwin, Viola F. Barnes, Jacques Barzun, Carl Lotus Becker, Ruth Benedict, Charles Borgeaud, Crane Brinton, Roger Butterfield, Edwin L. Bynner, Carl Bridenbaugh Folder 2: Douglas Campbell, A.F. Pollard, G.G. Coulton, Clarence Edwin Carter, Harry J. Armen and Rexford G. Tugwell, Edward S. Corwin, R. Coupland, Earl of Cromer, Harr Alonzo Cushing, Marquis De Shastelluz, Zechariah Chafee, Jr. Mellen Chamberlain, Dora Mae Clark, Felix S. Cohen, Verner W. Crane, Thomas Carlyle, Thomas Cromwell, Arthur yon Cross, Nellis M. Crouso, Russell Davenport Wallace Evan Daview, Katherine B.
    [Show full text]
  • 20 American Antiquarian Society Lications of American Writers. One
    20 American Antiquarian Society lications of American writers. One of his earliest catalogues was devoted to these early efforts and this has been followed at intervals by others in the same vein. This was, however, only one facet of his interests and the scholarly catalogues he published covering fiction, poetry, drama, and bibliographical works provide a valuable commentary on the history and the changing fashions of American book buying over four de- cades. The shop established on the premises at S West Forty- sixth Street in New York by Kohn and Papantonio shortly after the end of the war has become a mecca for bibliophiles from all over the United States and from foreign countries. It is not overstating the case to say that Kohn became the leading authority on first and important editions of American literature. He was an interested and active member of the American Antiquarian Society. The Society's incomparable holdings in American literature have been enriched by his counsel and his gifts. He will be sorely missed as a member, a friend, and a benefactor. C. Waller Barrett SAMUEL ELIOT MORISON Samuel Eliot Morison was born in Boston on July 9, 1887, and died there nearly eighty-nine years later on May 15, 1976. He lived most of his life at 44 Brimmer Street in Bos- ton. He graduated from Harvard in 1908, sharing a family tradition with, among others, several Samuel Eliots, Presi- dent Charles W. Eliot, Charles Eliot Norton, and Eking E. Morison. During his junior year he decided on teaching and writing history as an objective after graduation and in his twenty-fifth Harvard class report, he wrote: 'History is a hu- mane discipline that sharpens the intellect and broadens the mind, offers contacts with people, nations, and civilizations.
    [Show full text]
  • Suicide Facts Oladeinde Is a Staff Writerall for Hands Suicide Is on the Rise Nationwide
    A L p AN Stephen Murphy (left),of Boston, AMSAN Kevin Sitterson (center), of Roper, N.C., and AN Rick Martell,of Bronx, N.Y., await the launch of an F-14 Tomcat on the flight deckof USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). e 4 24 e 6 e e Hidden secrets Operation Deliberate Force e e The holidays are a time for giving. USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) e e proves what it is made of during one of e e Make time for your shipmates- it e e could be the gift of life. the biggest military operations in Europe e e since World War 11. e e e e 6 e e 28 e e Grab those Gifts e e Merchants say thanks to those in This duty’s notso tough e e uniform. Your ID card is worth more Nine-section duty is off to a great start e e e e than you may think. and gets rave reviews aboardUSS e e Anchorage (LSD 36). e e PAGE 17 e e 10 e e The right combination 30 e e e e Norfolk hospital corpsman does studio Sailors care,do their fair share e e time at night. Seabees from CBU420 build a Habitat e e e e for Humanity house in Jacksonville, Fla. e e 12 e e e e Rhyme tyme 36 e e Nautical rhymes bring the past to Smart ideas start here e e e e everyday life. See how many you Sailors learn the ropes and get off to a e e remember.
    [Show full text]
  • American Historical Association
    ANNUAL REPORT Of THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION fOR THE YEAR 1914 IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I :'\ !j' J !\T .1'__ ,,:::;0 '" WASHINGTON 1916 LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Washington, D.O., February 135, 1916. To the Oongress of the United States: In accordance with the act of incorporation of the American Historical Association, approved January 4, 1889, I have the honor to submit to Congress the annual report of the association for the year 1914. I have the honor to be, Very respectfully, your obedient servant, CHAru.Es D. WALCOTI', Searetary. 3 ACT OF INCORPORATION. Be it enacted by the Senate UJTUi House of Representatives of the United States of America in Oongress assembled, That Andrew D. White, of Ithaca, in the State of New York; George Bancroft, of Washington, in the District of Columbia; Justin Winsor, of Cam­ bridge, in the State of Massachusetts; William F. Poole, of Chicago, in the State of Dlinois; Herbert B. Adams, of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland; Clarence W. Bowen, of Brooklyn, in the State of New York, their associates and successors, are hereby created, in the Dis­ trict of Columbia, a body corporate and politic by the name of the American Historical Association, for the promotion of historical studies, the collection and preservation of historical manuscripts, and for kindred purposes in the interest of American history and of history in America. Said association is authorized to hold real and personal estate. in the District of Columbia so far only as may be nesessary to its lawful ends to an amount not exceeding five hundred thousand dollars, to adopt a constitution, and make by-laws not inconsistent with law.
    [Show full text]
  • The American West: from Frontier to Region
    New Mexico Historical Review Volume 64 Number 2 Article 2 4-1-1989 The American West: From Frontier to Region Martin Ridge Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr Recommended Citation Ridge, Martin. "The American West: From Frontier to Region." New Mexico Historical Review 64, 2 (1989). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr/vol64/iss2/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in New Mexico Historical Review by an authorized editor of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The American West: From Frontier to Region MARTIN RIDGE We are fast approaching the centennial of the Bureau of the Census' 1890 declaration of the closing of the frontier. It would seem appro­ priate to mark that centennial by asking why and how American his­ torians became interested in the history of the American frontier, and why and how, in recent years, there has been increasing attention paid to the West as a region. And why studying the West as a region poses special problems. The history of the frontier and the regional West are not the same, but there is a significant intellectual overlay that warrants examination. A little more than a century ago the scholarly discipline of Amer­ ican history was in its formative stages. The tradition of gifted au­ thors-men like Francis Parkman, Brooks Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, Martin Ridge, Senior Research Associate and Director of Research at the Huntington Library, San Marino, California, and professor of history at the California Institute of Technology, served as editor of the Journal of American History for eleven years.
    [Show full text]
  • Jefferson's Failed Anti-Slavery Priviso of 1784 and the Nascence of Free Soil Constitutionalism
    MERKEL_FINAL 4/3/2008 9:41:47 AM Jefferson’s Failed Anti-Slavery Proviso of 1784 and the Nascence of Free Soil Constitutionalism William G. Merkel∗ ABSTRACT Despite his severe racism and inextricable personal commit- ments to slavery, Thomas Jefferson made profoundly significant con- tributions to the rise of anti-slavery constitutionalism. This Article examines the narrowly defeated anti-slavery plank in the Territorial Governance Act drafted by Jefferson and ratified by Congress in 1784. The provision would have prohibited slavery in all new states carved out of the western territories ceded to the national government estab- lished under the Articles of Confederation. The Act set out the prin- ciple that new states would be admitted to the Union on equal terms with existing members, and provided the blueprint for the Republi- can Guarantee Clause and prohibitions against titles of nobility in the United States Constitution of 1788. The defeated anti-slavery plank inspired the anti-slavery proviso successfully passed into law with the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Unlike that Ordinance’s famous anti- slavery clause, Jefferson’s defeated provision would have applied south as well as north of the Ohio River. ∗ Associate Professor of Law, Washburn University; D. Phil., University of Ox- ford, (History); J.D., Columbia University. Thanks to Sarah Barringer Gordon, Thomas Grey, and Larry Kramer for insightful comment and critique at the Yale/Stanford Junior Faculty Forum in June 2006. The paper benefited greatly from probing questions by members of the University of Kansas and Washburn Law facul- ties at faculty lunches. Colin Bonwick, Richard Carwardine, Michael Dorf, Daniel W.
    [Show full text]
  • Above the World: William Jennings Bryan's View of the American
    Nebraska History posts materials online for your personal use. Please remember that the contents of Nebraska History are copyrighted by the Nebraska State Historical Society (except for materials credited to other institutions). The NSHS retains its copyrights even to materials it posts on the web. For permission to re-use materials or for photo ordering information, please see: http://www.nebraskahistory.org/magazine/permission.htm Nebraska State Historical Society members receive four issues of Nebraska History and four issues of Nebraska History News annually. For membership information, see: http://nebraskahistory.org/admin/members/index.htm Article Title: Above the World: William Jennings Bryan’s View of the American Nation in International Affairs Full Citation: Arthur Bud Ogle, “Above the World: William Jennings Bryan’s View of the American Nation in International Affairs,” Nebraska History 61 (1980): 153-171. URL of article: http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/history/full-text/1980-2-Bryan_Intl_Affairs.pdf Date: 2/17/2010 Article Summary: One of the major elements in Bryan’s intellectual and political life has been largely ignored by both critics and admirers of William Jennings Bryan: his vital patriotism and nationalism. By clarifying Bryan’s Americanism, the author illuminates an essential element in his political philosophy and the consistent reason behind his foreign policy. Domestically Bryan thought the United States could be a unified monolithic community. Internationally he thought America still dominated her hemisphere and could, by sheer energy and purity of commitment, re-order the world. Bryan failed to understand that his vision of the American national was unrealizable. The America he believed in was totally vulnerable to domestic intolerance and international arrogance.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of U.S. Military Policy from the Constitution to the Present
    C O R P O R A T I O N The Evolution of U.S. Military Policy from the Constitution to the Present Gian Gentile, Michael E. Linick, Michael Shurkin For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR1759 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-0-8330-9786-6 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2017 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface Since the earliest days of the Republic, American political and military leaders have debated and refined the national approach to providing an Army to win the nation’s independence and provide for its defense against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
    [Show full text]
  • The Social Impact of the Revolution
    THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE REVOLUTION AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE'S DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES Robert Nisbet, historical sociologist and intellectual historian, is Albert Schweitzer professor-elect o[ the humanities at Columbia University. ROBERTA. NISBET THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE REVOLUTION Distinguished Lecture Series on the Bicentennial This lecture is one in a series sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute in celebration of the Bicentennial of the United States. The views expressed are those of the lecturers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff,officers or trustees of AEI. All of the lectures in this series will be collected later in a single volume. revolution · continuity · promise ROBERTA. NISBET THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE REVOLUTION Delivered in Gaston Hall, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. on December 13, 1973 American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Washington, D.C. © 1974 by American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C. ISBN 0-8447-1303-1 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number L.C. 74-77313 Printed in the United States of America as there in fact an American Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century? I mean a revolu­ tion involving sudden, decisive, and irreversible changes in social institutions, groups, and traditions, in addition to the war of libera­ tion from England that we are more likely to celebrate. Clearly, this is a question that generates much controversy. There are scholars whose answer to the question is strongly nega­ tive, and others whose affirmativeanswer is equally strong. Indeed, ever since Edmund Burke's time there have been students to de­ clare that revolution in any precise sense of the word did not take place-that in substance the American Revolution was no more than a group of Englishmen fighting on distant shores for tradi­ tionally English political rights against a government that had sought to exploit and tyrannize.
    [Show full text]
  • ~Tntritau~I~Tgtital Ituitur
    VolumeXXIv] [Number 3 ~tntritau~i~tgtital Ituitur THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, I9I9 EMBERS of the American Historical Association expect to M find at the beginning of the April number of this journal an account of the transactions of the annual meeting of the Associa­ tion, customarily held in the last days of December preceding, and with it certain items of formal matter relating to the meeting, such as the text of important votes passed by the Association or the Executive Council, a summary of the treasur~r's report, an exhibit of the budget or estimated receipts and expenditures or appropria­ tions, and a list of the officers of the Association and of the various committees appointed by the Executive Council. The thirty-fourth annual meeting, which was to have taken place at Cleveland on December 27 and 28, was indefinitely postponed on' account of a strong recommendation, received from the health officer of that city a few days before the date on which the meeting should have taken place, that it should be omitted because of the epidemic of influenza then prevailing in Cleveland. Yet, though there is no annual meeting to chronicle in these pages, it will be convenient to members that the formal matter spoken of above should be found in its customary place. Moreover, though no meeting of the Asso­ ciation has taken place, there was a meeting of the Executive Council held in New York on January 31 and February I, 1919, some of the transactions of which, analogous to those of the Asso­ ciation in its annual business meeting, may here for convenience be described.
    [Show full text]