American History told by VOL. IV. Welding of the Nation, 1845-1900 The Source-Book is independent of the four volumes of Contempo- Contemporaries VOLUME I ERA OF COLONIZATION 1492-1689. EDITED BY ALBERT BUSHNELL HART PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY AUTHOR OF "FORMATION OF THE UNION,' "EPOCH MAPS," Preface A GENIAL reviewer has said of a book intended to aid students to a convenient use of the material of American history: "they hausmannize the wilderness that their students may sip coffee in an ample boulevard." This work likewise aims to make broad the highways for those who would visit their forefathers. It is an attempt to combine two objects not easily harmonized: first, to put within convenient reach of schools, libraries, and scholars authoritative texts of rare or quaint writings in American history, contemporary with the events which they describe; and, in the second place, to give, in a succession of scenes, a notion of the movement and connection of the history of America, so that from this work by itself may be had an impression of the forces which have shaped our history, and the problems upon which they have worked. The limitations of space, however, make it imperative to clip and gouge most of the pieces selected; and explanations and connections must be omitted. Nevertheless the author believes sincerely that a half-loaf baked in the oven of the times, is better than all the spiced buns of modern writers, for carrying to the mind a flavor of the life which our ancestors lived, and the motives which. guided them; he hopes that the reader may find in these lively, human, brief extracts, the real spirit of his countrymen. A few words should be said on the principles of selection and arrangement. First of all, pains have been taken to use the first authoritative edition of each work in English; and a faithful translation of pieces in foreign languages. Next, the copy is meant to be exact. A mighty historian like Sparks may correct the spelling and grammar of his ancestors; lesser men had better leave the corrections to the reader. |