The Early American Republic: A Documentary Reader

Series Editors’ Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction: Traveling the Early American Republic.

Part I Building the United States:.

1. Origins.

1 First Inaugural Address of George Washington, 1789.

2 Tickagiska King Addresses President George Washington, 1789.

3 Western Pennsylvanians Petition Against Taxes, 1790.

2. The First American Party System.

1 A Federalist Appeal to Voters, 1792.

2 Abigail Adams on the Partisan Press, 1797.

3 Matthew Lyon Criticizes “Aristocratic” Politics, 1797.

4 A Massachusetts Farmer Attacks the Federalists, 1798.

3. Recasting the American Nation.

1 First Inaugural Address of Thomas Jefferson, 1801.

2 A New Name for the United States?, 1803.

3 Rules of Etiquette in Jefferson’s White House, 1803.

Part II Clashes East and West:.

4. Whose Land?.

1 Lewis and Clark Make American Claims in the “Great West,” 1805.

2 Tecumseh Speaks Out Against American Policy in the Old Northwest, 1810.

3 An Artist’s Depiction of Scalping during the War of 1812, 1812.

5 Conflict on Many Fronts.

1 James Madison Justifies War with the British, 1812.

2 The Hartford Convention Denounces the War, 1814.

3 An Eyewitness Account of the Battle of New Orleans, 1816.

Part III The Postwar Nation Looks Forward:.

6. The Year 1819 in Image and Verse.

1 A Poem about a Panic, 1819.

2 Americans on Their Way to a Camp Revival, 1819.

3 A Satirist Looks at the American Militia, 1819.

7. The Future Course of the Republic?.

1 John C. Calhoun Promotes Federal Internal Improvements, 1817.

2 The American Colonization Society Appeals to Congress, 1820.

3 Maine Answers the “Missouri Question,” 1820.

Part IV The Work of a New Republic:.

8. A Nation on the Move.

1 A Western Editor Endorses “Old Hickory,” 1824.

2 The Erie Canal Hits the American Stage, 1830.

3 An Englishwoman Remembers Her First Illinois Winter, 1848.

4 Charles Ball Describes Moving in the Slave Trade, 1837.

9. Work at Home, Factory, and Field.

1 Lydia Maria Child on the Family Economy and Soapmaking, 1830.

2 Two Views on the Morality of Capitalism in the Early Republic, 1834 and 1836.

3 Henry Bibb Describes Slave Labor in the Cotton Fields, 1849.

10. A New Urban America.

1 Frances Trollope Describes Cincinnati, 1832.

2 A Poem Composed to Cholera (1832).

3 A Raucous Omnibus Ride in New York City, 1839.

Part V Renewal and Reform:.

11. The Soul of the Republic.

1 Radical Quakers Appeal to Frances Wright, 1828.

2 Rev. Charles Finney on Changing One’s Own Heart, 1836.

3 Zilpha Elaw Remembers Preaching in the North and South, 1846.

12. Improvement of Body and Soul.

1 Boston Physicians on Temperance, 1832.

2 Mathew Carey Advocates Reform for Seamstresses, 1833.

3 Sylvester Graham Denounces “The Appetites,” 1837.

13. Anti-Slavery to Abolition.

1 African-American Leaders Reject Colonization Schemes, 1831.

2 Declaration of Sentiments of the American Anti-Slavery Society, 1833.

9. Maria Stewart Speaks at the African Masonic Hall (1833).

Part VI Jackson’s America:.

14. The Rise of the “Common Man”.

1 The Inauguration of Andrew Jackson, 1829.

2 David Walker Describes the Condition of Free African-Americans, 1829.

3 Sarah Grimké Defends the Rights of Women, 1837.

15. Native Americans and the Common Man.

1 Andrew Jackson Attempts to Justify Indian Removal to Congress, 1830.

2 John Ross Explains the Position of the Cherokee Nation, 1834.

3 A Description of Native American Removal in Tennessee, 1835.

16. The Second American Party System.

1 A Violent Election Season in New York City, 1834.

2 Henry Clay on Whig Strategy, 1838.

3 New Hampshire Papers Debate the “Log Cabin” Campaign, 1840.

Part VII The American Continent:.

17. The Mississippi and Beyond.

1 Narcissa Whitman Describes Missionary Life in Oregon, 1836.

2 George Catlin Describes the Mandan Buffalo Dance, 1841.

3 Notchininga’s Map of the Upper Mississippi, 1837.

18. The Era of Manifest Destiny.

1 Sam Houston’s Inaugural Address for the Republic of Texas, 1836.

2 An Editor Endorses the Idea of “Manifest Destiny,” 1845.

3 Walter Colton on the Discovery of Gold in California, 1850.

19. War with Mexico.

1 President Polk’s War Message, 1846.

2 An American Sergeant’s Perspective on the War with Mexico, 1847.

3 Guillermo Prieto Describes the Occupation of Mexico City, 1850.

Epilogue: The President and the Ex-Slave:.

1 Zachary Taylor’s Inaugural Address, 1849.

2 Frederick Douglass on “Morals and Men,” 1849.

Bibliography.

Index