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Eulogy On King Philip, William Apess, Paul Royster (Ed.)

Electronic Texts in American Studies

In the heart of New England, on the virtual doorstep of the Pilgrim founding fathers, William Apess delivered this eulogy honoring their greatest enemy, Metacomet of the Wampanoags, known as King Philip, who led a coalition of Native peoples that came close to destroying the whole English colonial enterprise in 1675–76. In 1836, one hundred sixty years later, Apess chose to re-examine the circumstances of King Philip’s life and death, and pronounced him equal to or even greater than Washington in love for his country, military skill, and personal honor. While redeeming the memory of Philip as a martyr for …

A Synopsis Of The Indian Tribes Within The United States East Of The Rocky Mountains, And In The British And Russian Possessions In North America, Albert Gallatin

Zea E-Books in American Studies

Published in the American Antiquarian Society's Archaeologia Americana, vol. 2, (1836), pp. 1-422.

A 208-page geographical, historical, and cultural introduction is followed by 214 pages of appendices of linguistic materials.

Sect. I. Indian Tribes north of the United States

Eskimaux.

Kinai, Koluschen, &c., on the Pacific Ocean

Athapascas, (Northern, Cheppeyans, Copper Mine, &c., Sussees, Tacullies)

Sect. II. Algonkin-Lenape and Iroquois,

Algonkin-Lenape

Northern (Knistinaux, Algonkins, Chippeways, Ottowas, Potowotamies, Mississagues)

Northeastern (Labrador, Micmacs, Etchemins, Abenakis)

Eastern (New England, Mohicans, Manhattans, Long Island, Delawares and Minsi, Nanticokes, Susquehannocks, Conoys, Powhatans, Mannahoks, Pamlicoes)

Western, (Menomonies, Sauks, Foxes, Kickapoos and Mascoutins, Miamis and …

An Appeal In Favor Of That Class Of Americans Called Africans, Lydia Maria Child, Paul Royster (Editor)

Electronic Texts in American Studies

The roots of white supremacy lie in the institution of negro slavery. From the 15th through the 19th century, white Europeans trafficked in abducted and enslaved Africans and justified the practice with excuses that seemed somehow to reconcile the injustice with their professed Christianity. The United States was neither the first nor the last nation to abolish slavery, but its proclaimed principles of freedom and equality were made ironic by the nation’s reluctance to extend recognition to all Americans.

“Americans” is what Mrs. Child calls those fellow countrymen of African ancestry; citizenship and equality are what she proposed beyond simple …

Appeal To The Wealthy Of The Land, Ladies As Well As Gentlemen, On The Character, Conduct, Situation, And Prospects Of Those Whose Sole Dependence For Subsistence Is On The Labour Of Their Hands (1833), Mathew Carey, Paul Royster (Transcriber & Depositor)

Electronic Texts in American Studies

Mathew Carey’s 1833 pamphlet pleads the case of the paupers, the unemployed, and the working poor in Philadelphia and other Eastern-seaboard cities. He finds it a national disgrace that hard-working seamstresses, spoolers, hod-carriers, canal-diggers, and other manual trades cannot earn enough to support their families and that they live on the edge of economic ruin threatened by temporary unemployment, accident, or illness. He discusses the “welfare system” in both America and England (with a long discussion of the history and abuses of the English poor laws), the price of labor, the cost of living, and the numbers and condition of …

David Cusick's Sketches Of Ancient History Of The Six Nations, David Cusick

Zea E-Books in American Studies

This very early (if not the first) account of Native American history and myth, written and published in English by an Indian, is valuable on that score alone. This online electronic edition (in pdf format) was transcribed from digital images of the 1828 edition in the Library of Congress. No attempt has been made to correct or regularize spelling and punctuation or to standardize the language of the original; some typographical errors have been corrected, and these are listed in the notes.

The history begins at the Creation, with the twin brothers Enigorio and Enigonhahetgea (the good spirit and evil …

David Cusick’S Sketches Of Ancient History Of The Six Nations (1828), David Cusick, Paul Royster (Editor & Depositor)

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

This very early (if not the first) account of Native American history and myth, written and published in English by an Indian, is valuable on that score alone. This online electronic edition (in pdf format) was transcribed from digital images of the 1828 edition in the Library of Congress. No attempt has been made to correct or regularize spelling and punctuation or to standardize the language of the original; some typographical errors have been corrected, and these are listed in the notes.

The history begins at the Creation, with the twin brothers Enigorio and Enigonhahetgea (the good spirit and evil …

Notes Geographical And Historical, Relating To The Town Of Brooklyn, In Kings County On Long-Island, Gabriel Furman

Zea E-Books in American Studies

Furman’s work is one of the earliest compilations of historical documents (with commentary) about an American city, in this case his native Brooklyn. It is an invaluable source of information on the early Dutch and English settlements of Brooklyn, Flatbush, Bushwick, New Lotts, Canarsie, Bedford, New Utrecht, Jamaica, and New Amsterdam, and their controversies with one another and with the Governors of New York and the crown of England. Included are original documents relative to the Indian purchases, original boundaries, water rights, ferry rights, wood rights, and forms of town government. Sections include: Situation of the Town of Brooklyn, Ancient …

Notes Geographical And Historical, Relating To The Town Of Brooklyn, In Kings County On Long-Island. (1824) An Online Electronic Text Edition., Gabriel Furman, Paul Royster (Transcriber & Depositor)

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Furman’s work is one of the earliest compilations of historical documents (with commentary) about an American city, in this case his native Brooklyn. It is an invaluable source of information on the early Dutch and English settlements of Brooklyn, Flatbush, Bushwick, New Lotts, Canarsie, Bedford, New Utrecht, Jamaica, and New Amsterdam, and their controversies with one another and with the Governors of New York and the crown of England. Included are original documents relative to the Indian purchases, original boundaries, water rights, ferry rights, wood rights, and forms of town government. Sections include: Situation of the Town of Brooklyn, Ancient …

A Knickerbocker Tour Of New York State, 1822: "Our Travels, Statistical, Geographical, Mineorological, Geological, Historical, Political And Quizzical"; Written By Myself Xyz Etc., Johnston Verplanck, Louis Leonard Tucker , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

In late August 1822, at the height of a yellow fever epidemic in New York City, an alarmed resident of the lower city resettled his family in the Bedford section of Brooklyn Village. With two male companions, he then boarded the steamboat Chancellor Livingston on August 28 and sailed up the Hudson River to Newburgh. There they boarded a stage and travelled across New York State to Niagara Falls and the adjoining area. They returned along the "psychic highway" of western and central New York to Albany, thence down the Hudson to New York City by steamboat. In the course …

Narrative Of The Most Extraordinary And Distressing Shipwreck Of The Whale-Ship Essex, Of Nantucket : Which Was Attacked And Finally Destroyed By A Large Spermaceti-Whale, In The Pacific Ocean : With An Account Of The Unparalleled Sufferings Of The Captain And Crew During A Space Of Ninety-Three Days At Sea, In Open Boats, In The Years 1819 & 1820, Owen Chase, Paul Royster, Ed.

Electronic Texts in American Studies

On November 20, 1820, the whale-ship Essex, out of Nantucket, was twice rammed by a sperm whale and sank in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The crew of twenty took refuge in three open whale-boats, and attempted to sail east toward the coasts of South America. The boats were eventually separated by storms and darkness, and after more than 90 days two of them, holding five survivors, were picked up by other ships; the third boat was never found.

First mate Owen Chase dictated this account of the fateful voyage, published in New York four months after his return to Nantucket. …

A Discourse, Delivered At Plymouth, December 22, 1820. In Commemoration Of The First Settlement Of New-England., Daniel Webster, Paul Royster , Ed.

Electronic Texts in American Studies

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Mayflower Pilgrims’ Landing at Plymouth Rock, Daniel Webster (1782–1852), former congressman and future senator and secretary of state, delivered this long discourse to the assembled members of the Pilgrim Society. Always the consummate New Englander, Webster sketched 200 years of American history, surveyed the present era, and projected grand future prospects for a nation barely 40 years old, but with deep roots in Reformed Protestant values and English constitutionalism. Underlying all was his belief that “The character of their political institutions was determined by the fundamental laws respecting property.” Webster’s stories highlight the …

Particulars Of The Capture Of The Spanish Ship Tryal, At The Island Of St. Maria; With The Documents Relating To That Affair., Amasa Delano, Paul Royster, Ed.

Electronic Texts in American Studies

Herman Melville used the incident narrated in Amasa Delano’s 1817 memoir A Narrative of Voyages and Travels as the basis for the story “Benito Cereno,” published in 3 installments in Putnam’s Monthly Magazine (October-December 1855). Melville’s story changed some names and details, and added rich descriptions and moral reflections, while dramatizing Captain Delano’s experience of offering aid to a ship in distress before discovering the situation was not what was first apprehended. Melville had similarly fictionalized a “found” document in writing the novel Israel Potter earlier that same year, but “Benito Cereno” gives a much darker picture of human relations, …

Memoir Of Joshua Scottow (1816), "Sigma" (Pseudonym), Paul Royster (Transcribed And Deposited By)

Joshua Scottow Papers

The earliest known account of Scottow's life and writings. Length = 1500 words.

The Life And Surprising Adventures Of Mary Ann Talbot, In The Name Of John Taylor (1809), Mary Ann Talbot, Paul Royster (Transcribed And Edited By)

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

"Comprehending an Account of her extraordinary Adventures in the Character of Foot-Boy, Drummer, Cabin-Boy, and Sailor. Also of her many very narrow Escapes in different Engagements, while in the Land and Sea Services, and of the Hardships which she suffered while under cure of the Wounds received in the Engagement under Lord Howe, June 1, 1794, &c. &c. &c."

An important document in the history of cross-dressing, transvestism, male impersonators, and women soldiers, this autobiographical narrative tells the life story of an orphan girl who was trapped into service in the British army and …

An Oration On The Abolition Of The Slave Trade; Delivered In The African Church In The City Of New-York, January 1, 1808, Peter Williams Jr., Paul Royster (Editor)

Electronic Texts in American Studies

The United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, prohibited Congress from banning the importation of slaves until the year 1808. A bill to do this was first introduced in Congress by Senator Stephen Roe Bradley of Vermont in December 1805, and its passage was recommended by President Jefferson in his annual message to Congress in December 1806. In March 1807, Congress passed the legislation, and President Thomas Jefferson signed it into law on March 3, 1807. Subsequently, on March 25, 1807, the British Parliament also passed an act banning the slave trade aboard British ships.

The effective date of the …

The Nature And Importance Of True Republicanism With A Few Suggestions Favorable To Independence: A Discourse, Delivered At Rutland, (Vermont,) The Fourth Of July, 1801. — It Being The 25th Anniversary Of American Independence., Lemuel Haynes, Paul Royster , Ed.

Electronic Texts in American Studies

This intriguing document is a political 4th of July “discourse” by an African American New England Congregational ordained minister and Revolutionary War veteran from the very early years of the Republic. Lemuel Haynes’ personal history is an interesting story, as is his assessment of the progress, needs, and future prospects of the new nation. Ostensibly and formally, the discourse is about selecting leadership dedicated to serving the public welfare and avoiding men who seek office for personal preferment, power, or fame. Taking a text from the gospel of Luke, Haynes applies the advice of Jesus to his disciples to the …

The Remarkable Adventures Of Jackson Johonnet, Of Massachusetts (1793), Jackson Johonnet, Paul Royster , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

“Who served as a Soldier in the Western Army, in the Massachusetts Line, in the Expedition under General HARMAR, and the unfortunate General St. CLAIR. Containing An Account of his CAPTIVITY, SUFFERINGS, and ESCAPE from the KICKAPOO INDIANS. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF, And published at the earnest Importunity of his Friends, for the benefit of AMERICAN YOUTH.”

This is a spurious captivity narrative that enjoyed much popularity in the mid-1790s and was thereafter incorporated into the “canonical” body of accounts of white imprisonments, tortures, sufferings, and escapes from the Native Americans.

The narrative tells the story of “Jackson Johonnet,” a young …

The Conspiracy Of Kings; A Poem: Addressed To The Inhabitants Of Europe, From Another Quarter Of The World., Joel Barlow, John D. Baird

Electronic Texts in American Studies

The Conspiracy of Kings, published in February 1792, is very much a work of its time, the first months of the constitional monarchy in France. Louis XVI and the new Legislative Assembly began their uneasy relationship in October 1792. Outside France, exiled members of the nobility campaigned to persuade the sovereigns of Europe to intervene and restore them to their privileges. On the other side, friends of the French Revolution sought to discourage intervention and to discredit the principles of legitimacy and social hierarchy that supported the old order.

Joel Barlow had arrived in France in 1788 to act …

The United States Elevated To Glory And Honor (1783), Ezra Stiles D.D., Reiner Smolinski , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

Stiles' best-known work is this 1783 election sermon, which was delivered at Hartford, Connecticut, at the annual election of the governor, state representatives, and senators. True to the spirit of his Puritan ancestors, Stiles sounds a number of time-honored American themes newly adapted to the rising prospects of the young United States of America. What was once a tribal Errand into the Wilderness of New England Stiles now translates into God’s federal covenant with all citizens of the United States—no matter what their parochial creed or particular denomination: “The political welfare of God’s American Israel” is “allusively prophetic of the …

God Arising And Pleading His People’S Cause ; Or The American War In Favor Of Liberty, Against The Measures And Arms Of Great Britain, Shewn To Be The Cause Of God (1777), Abraham Keteltas, Reiner Smolinski , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

ABRAHAM KETELTAS (1732-98) was raised by Protestant parents in New York and New Rochelle, where he spent much of his time among the communities of Huguenots in the area. Becoming fluent in French early on, he later studied theology at Yale, where he earned his degree in 1752, followed by his preacher’s license in 1756. From 1757 until his dismissal in 1760, Keteltas supplied the pulpit of the Presbyterian church in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. He then served as an itinerant preacher to the Dutch and Huguenot parishes in Jamaica and Long Island, New York, where he gained much popular support. …

The Church’S Flight Into The Wilderness: An Address On The Times, Containing Some Very Interesting And Important Observations On Scripture Prophecies (1776), Samuel Sherwood A. M., Reiner Smolinski , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

Sherwood’s most popular sermon is his much cited The Church’s Flight into the Wilderness: An Address on the Times, containing Some very interesting and important Observations on Scripture Prophecies (1776)—here republished courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society. Delivering his oration in January 1776 in the presence of Gov. John Hancock, Sherwood freely mixes millenarian metaphors and political ideology to incite his listeners to action. Like many of his predecessors, Sherwood readily adapts the mythology of New England’s Puritan past to fit the new situation. The apocalyptic flight of the Woman into the howling wilderness of America a century and a …

A Charge On The Rise Of The American Empire (1776), William Henry Drayton, Reiner Smolinski , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON (1742–79), chief justice of South Carolina, Revolutionary leader, and wealthy plantation owner, was born near Charlestown. His family on both sides were wealthy planters and prominent politicians, enabling young William Henry to study in London and Oxford. Upon his return he married a South Carolina heiress, turned to politics, and was elected to the Assembly. Drayton championed the cause of British interest in the colonies and opposed such popular measures as the non-importation movement while defending the rights of the individual. Upon loosing his seat in the Assembly, Drayton left for England and returned shortly thereafter to …

Liberty Further Extended: Or Free Thoughts On The Illegality Of Slave-Keeping; Wherein Those Arguments That Are Used In Its Vindication Are Plainly Confuted. Together With An Humble Address To Such As Are Concerned In The Practice., Lemuel Haynes, Paul Royster , Ed.

Electronic Texts in American Studies

This is a regularized text of a private sermon or pamphlet manuscript, authored by a 23-year-old African American who had served in the “minuteman” militia and the Continental Army, and who became an ordained minister and was pastor to white Congregational churches for more than 50 years.

Haynes’ tract is an important and revelatory addition to the early anti-slavery literature in the American colonies. Only identified and published in 1983, it is uniquely situated at the crossroads of independence, anti-­slavery, Congregationalism, and African-American identity. Brought to light by Ruth Bogin, the work is testimony to the diversity of thought and …

Some Strictures Upon The Sacred Story Recorded In The Book Of Esther (1775), Oliver Noble M.A., Reiner Smolinski , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

Oliver Noble (1733/4–92) was born in Hebron, Connecticut, and graduated from Yale in 1757, but stayed on as a tutor until he received his second degree in 1759. Later that same year, he was ordained a minister in South Coventry, Connecticut, but disagreements with his congregation led to his dismissal in 1761. Noble’s abilities as a preacher must have been well known, for his next installment occurred in 1762 at a church in Newburyport, Massachusetts, where he preached from the pulpit of the fifth parish until 1784. Again dismissed, Noble moved to Newcastle, New Hampshire, six months later, and there …

The Life And Spiritual Sufferings Of That Faithful Servant Of Christ Jane Hoskens, A Public Preacher Among The People Called Quakers, Jane Fenn Hoskens

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In 1712, nineteen-year-old Jane Fenn left her home, family, and friends in London to obey an inner voice that said ——“Go to Pennsylvania! ” Arrived in Philadelphia, she was soon cast into debtors’ prison for refusing to sign an indenture dictated by the man who had arranged her passage. Redeemed by a group of Quakers from Plymouth County who wished to employ her as a schoolteacher, she spent three years in their community and began to absorb their teachings and their ways.

Her narrative chronicles her inward struggles with her own sense of unworthiness, the temptations of Satan, her distaste …

The Life And Spiritual Sufferings Of That Faithful Servant Of Christ Jane Hoskens, A Public Preacher Among The People Called Quakers (1771), Jane Fenn Hoskens, Paul Royster , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

In 1712, nineteen-year-old Jane Fenn left her home, family, and friends in London to obey an inner voice that said ——“Go to Pennsylvania! ” Arrived in Philadelphia, she was soon cast into debtors’ prison for refusing to sign an indenture dictated by the man who had arranged her passage. Redeemed by a group of Quakers from Plymouth County who wished to employ her as a schoolteacher, she spent three years in their community and began to absorb their teachings and their ways.

Her narrative chronicles her inward struggles with her own sense of unworthiness, the temptations of Satan, her distaste …

A Short Account Of That Part Of Africa Inhabited By The Negroes, Anthony Benezet, Paul Royster , Ed.

Electronic Texts in American Studies

Anthony Benezet scoured the available English literature of colonial exploitation for evidence of the humanity of the trafficked Africans and the inhumanity of the European traders in human beings. He compiled and published this Short Account in 1762 to present the case for termination of the trans-Atlantic transportation of kidnapped Africans, for abolition of slavery and the slave trade, and for emancipation of the enslaved persons held in bondage in North America and elsewhere. Drawing on Scottish moral philosophy, British Whig ideology, and, most importantly, on New Testament gospel teachings, Benezet presented both reasoned and impassioned appeals for the recognition …

The Journal Of Major George Washington (1754), George Washington, Paul Royster , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

The Journal of Major George Washington, Sent by the Hon. Robert Dinwiddie, Esq; His Majesty’s Lieutenant-Governor, and Commander In Chief Of Virginia, to the Commandant of the French Forces on Ohio. To Which Are Added, the Governor’s Letter, and a Translation of the French Officer’s Answer.

In October of 1753, George Washington, a 21-year-old major in the Virginia militia, volunteered to carry a letter from the governor of Virginia to the French commander of the forts recently built on the headwaters of the Ohio River in northwestern Pennsylvania. The French had recently expanded their military operations from the Great Lakes …

The Journal Of Major George Washington, George Washington

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In October of 1753, George Washington, a 21-year-old major in the Virginia militia, volunteered to carry a letter from the governor of Virginia to the French commander of the forts recently built on the headwaters of the Ohio River in northwestern Pennsylvania. The French had recently expanded their military operations from the Great Lakes into the Ohio country, and had spent the summer of 1753 building forts and roads along the Allegheny River, with the design of linking their trade routes and sphere of influence down the Ohio to the Mississippi. Virginia governor Robert Dinwiddie believed them to be in …

De Bestiis Marinis Or, The Beasts Of The Sea, Georg Wilhelm Steller

Zea E-Books in American Studies

Steller’s classic work, published in Latin in 1751 and in German in 1753, contains the only scientific description from life of the Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), as well as the first scientific descriptions of the fur seal or “sea bear” (Callorhinus ursinus), Steller’s sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), and the sea otter (Enhydra lutris).

Steller’s sea cow was a sirenian, or manatee, inhabiting the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. It was first discovered by Europeans in 1741 and rendered extinct by 1768. It was a 30-foot long, plant-eating aquatic mammal, weighing …