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This series includes accounts of historical events and movements by eye-witnesses and contemporaries, as well as landmark studies that assembled significant source materials or developed new historiographical methods. The works range from the writings of early U.S. presidents to journals of poor European settlers, from travellers' descriptions of bustling cities and vast landscapes to critiques of racial inequality and descriptions of Native American culture under threat of annihilation. The commercial, political and social aspirations and rivalries of the 'new world' are reflected in these fascinating eighteenth- and nineteenth-century publications.

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163 results in Cambridge Library Collection - North American History

Page 1 of 9

Narrative of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, in the Year 1842, and to Oregon and North California, in the Years 1843–44
  • John Charles Fremont
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    25 September 2014
    First published in:
    1846
  • Published together in 1846 for a British readership, these reports of two westward expeditions shed light on the challenges of exploration in nineteenth-century North America. Led by the army officer and future presidential candidate John Charles Frémont (1813–90), who became known as 'the Pathfinder', the first expedition ranged west of the Missouri River, while the second pushed beyond the Rocky Mountains, north to Fort Vancouver and then south into Mexican-held California. Frémont's detailed accounts are accessible to the non-specialist: this edition omits 'only the portions which are altogether astronomical, scientific, and philosophical, and, therefore, not adapted for general utility'. When originally published separately in 1843 and 1845, the narratives enthused a great many Americans, encouraging them to migrate west by providing stirring inspiration, valuable maps and practical information. Frémont's words and deeds remain of interest in the debate surrounding the 'manifest destiny' of the United States.

Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada
  • Volume 3
  • Anna Jameson
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1838
  • Anna Jameson (1794–1860) was an inspirational figure to a generation of young women writers and artists including Barbara Bodichon and Bessie Rayner Parkes. Her work was reviewed by leading figures such as Mary Shelley and Charles Kingsley, and even Thomas Carlyle, though less complimentary, referred to her as the 'celebrated Mrs Jamieson'. This book, first published in 1838, secured her already growing reputation as a writer of history, literary criticism and travel literature, and has been popular ever since. Inspired by a journey made to support the career of her estranged husband, one of its key themes is the condition of women, which recurs regularly in Jameson's writing. Volume 3 centres on a journey up Lake Huron and describes Native American settlements, languages, customs, and beliefs, revealing her ambivalent feelings of both curiosity and revulsion. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=jamean

Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada
  • Volume 1
  • Anna Jameson
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1838
  • Anna Jameson (1794–1860) was an inspirational figure to a generation of young women writers and artists including Barbara Bodichon and Bessie Rayner Parkes. Her work was reviewed by leading figures such as Mary Shelley and Charles Kingsley, and even Thomas Carlyle, though less complimentary, referred to her as the 'celebrated Mrs Jamieson'. This book, first published in 1838, secured her growing reputation as a writer of history, literary criticism and travel literature, and has been popular ever since. Inspired by a journey made to support the career of her estranged husband, one of its key themes is the condition of women, which recurs regularly in Jameson's writing. In Volume 1, Jameson describes her difficulty adapting to the winter cold, her impressions of Ontario's landscape, peoples, and political system, and her reflections on literature, especially Goethe. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=jamean

Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada
  • Volume 2
  • Anna Jameson
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1838
  • Anna Jameson (1794–1860) was an inspirational figure to a generation of young women writers and artists including Barbara Bodichon and Bessie Rayner Parkes. Her work was reviewed by leading figures such as Mary Shelley and Charles Kingsley, and even Carlyle, though less complimentary, referred to her as the 'celebrated Mrs Jamieson'. This book, first published in 1838, secured her growing reputation as a writer of history, literary criticism and travel literature, and has been popular ever since. Inspired by a journey made to support the career of her estranged husband, one of its key themes is the condition of women, which recurs regularly in Jameson's writing. Volume 2 describes the arrival of summer, and Jameson's experiences of landscapes, towns and people from Niagara to Detroit. It includes reflections on Schiller, emigration, and the Canadian infrastructure. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=jamean

Chronological History of the West Indies
  • Volume 3
  • Thomas Southey
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    06 September 2012
    First published in:
    1827
  • Thomas Southey (1777–1838) joined the navy at the age of twelve, saw action during the French Revolutionary Wars, and was first posted to the West Indies in early 1804. Promoted to captain in 1811 and later employed as a customs officer, he died on the voyage home from his last posting in Demerara. His only book, published in 1827, is dedicated to his older brother, Robert, a Romantic poet, who also wrote on historical subjects (his books on Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and Brazil are also available in the Cambridge Library Collection). Thomas's three-volume work draws on extensive reading, with substantial passages quoted verbatim from his sources. He concludes that the history of the West Indies presents 'little more than a melancholy series of calamities and crimes', but commends the British government's efforts to put an end to slavery. Volume 3 covers the period from 1784 to 1816.

Chronological History of the West Indies
  • Volume 1
  • Thomas Southey
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    06 September 2012
    First published in:
    1827
  • Thomas Southey (1777–1838) joined the navy at the age of twelve, saw action during the French Revolutionary Wars, and was first posted to the West Indies in early 1804. Promoted to captain in 1811 and later employed as a customs officer, he died on the voyage home from his last posting in Demerara. His only book, published in 1827, is dedicated to his older brother, Robert, a Romantic poet, who also wrote on historical subjects (his books on Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and Brazil are also available in the Cambridge Library Collection). Thomas' three-volume work draws on extensive reading, with substantial passages quoted verbatim from his sources. He concludes that the history of the West Indies presents 'little more than a melancholy series of calamities and crimes', but commends the British government's efforts to put an end to slavery. Volume 1 covers the period from 1492 to 1654.

New Light on the Early History of the Greater Northwest
  • The Manuscript Journals of Alexander Henry and of David Thompson, 1799–1814
  • Volume 2
  • Alexander Henry, David Thompson
  • Edited by Elliott Coues
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    02 April 2015
    First published in:
    1897
  • During the 1890s Elliott Coues (1842–1899), one of America's greatest ornithologists, edited several exploration narratives about the American Northwest, including Lewis and Clark's Travels. Coues tracked down the manuscript journals of two of Lewis and Clark's contemporaries, fur trader Alexander Henry (1765–1814) and geographer David Thompson (1770–1857), employees of the Northwest Company. Coues' abridged and edited version of Henry's text, accompanied by notes that draw heavily on Thompson's scientific records, appeared in 1897 in three volumes. Despite the deep prejudice evident in Henry's writing, Coues judged it a reliable account of his unscrupulous business dealings, and of the harsh realities he observed among many different First Nations peoples. Volume 2 covers 1808–14, when Henry travelled in Saskatchewan and Alberta, crossed the Great Divide, and traded along the Columbia River. This volume also contains Coues' original Volume 3, a comprehensive index of people and places.

Observations on the Inhabitants, Climate, Soil, Rivers, Productions, Animals, and Other Matters Worthy of Notice
  • Made by Mr John Bartram, in his Travels from Pensilvania to Onondago, Oswego and the Lake Ontario, in Canada
  • John Bartram
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    04 December 2014
    First published in:
    1751
  • The botanist and explorer John Bartram (1699–1777) is regarded as having created the first true botanical collection in North America. Alongside Benjamin Franklin, he was also in 1743 a founding member of the American Philosophical Society. In the summer of the same year, he set out from Philadelphia on an expedition through Iroquois lands. Published in London in 1751 through the efforts of Bartram's correspondent and fellow botanist Peter Collinson, this short work chronicles the six-week journey, offering an important early insight into the region's ecology. As well as providing observations on flora, fauna and geography, Bartram includes insightful descriptions of the activities of the Native American population. The expedition members were able to travel further than was previously possible owing to the participation of the agent and interpreter Conrad Weiser, who had earned the respect of the Iroquois. The work concludes with a brief description of Niagara Falls by the naturalist Peter Kalm.

New Light on the Early History of the Greater Northwest
  • The Manuscript Journals of Alexander Henry and of David Thompson, 1799–1814
  • Volume 1, The Red River of the North
  • Alexander Henry, David Thompson
  • Edited by Elliott Coues
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    02 April 2015
    First published in:
    1897
  • During the 1890s Elliott Coues (1842–1899), one of America's greatest ornithologists, edited several exploration narratives about the American Northwest, including Lewis and Clark's Travels. Coues tracked down the manuscript journals of two of Lewis and Clark's contemporaries, fur trader Alexander Henry (1765–1814) and geographer David Thompson (1770–1857), employees of the Northwest Company. Coues' abridged and edited version of Henry's text, accompanied by notes that draw heavily on Thompson's scientific records, appeared in 1897 in three volumes; in this reissue the index volume is included in Volume 2. Despite the deep prejudice evident in Henry's writing, Coues judged it a reliable account of his unscrupulous business dealings, and of the harsh realities he observed among many different First Nations peoples. Volume 1 covers the period from 1799 to 1808, when Henry travelled along the Red River and set up the Pembina River trading post.

American Scenery
  • Or, Land, Lake, and River Illustrations of Transatlantic Nature
  • Volume 2
  • Nathaniel Parker Willis
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    20 July 2009
    First published in:
    1840
  • Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806–67) came from a publishing family and began his writing career with contributions to magazines. He also wrote poetry and plays but is best remembered as a travel writer. In this two-volume work of 1840, his contribution (described on the title page as 'the literary department') was to provide a narrative for prints from the engravings of William Henry Bartlett (1809–54), the famous British landscape artist, who followed already established tourist routes in the United States to make his drawings. Each of Bartlett's 119 engravings is accompanied by a short essay by Willis, who states in the preface that it is his intention to bring to the reader at home 'at small cost' the sensations of travel which 'those whose lot is domestic and retired' would never be in a position to experience for themselves. The extremely popular work remained in print for thirty years.

Chronological History of the West Indies
  • Volume 2
  • Thomas Southey
  • Published online:
    05 May 2015
    Print publication:
    19 March 2015
    First published in:
    1827
  • Thomas Southey (1777–1838) joined the navy at the age of twelve, saw action during the French Revolutionary Wars, and was first posted to the West Indies in early 1804. Promoted to captain in 1811 and later employed as a customs officer, he died on the voyage home from his last posting in Demerara. His only book, published in 1827, is dedicated to his older brother, Robert, a Romantic poet, who also wrote on historical subjects (his books on Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and Brazil are also available in the Cambridge Library Collection). Thomas's three-volume work draws on extensive reading, with substantial passages quoted verbatim from his sources. He concludes that the history of the West Indies presents 'little more than a melancholy series of calamities and crimes', but commends the British government's efforts to put an end to slavery. Volume 2 covers the period from 1655 to 1783.

Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution
  • And the Means of Making it a Benefit to the World
  • Richard Price
  • Published online:
    05 February 2015
    Print publication:
    22 August 2013
    First published in:
    1785
  • Having urged political reforms in Britain, Richard Price (1723–91) turned to defending the cause of American independence. Born in Wales, Price became an influential moral philosopher, dissenting Protestant preacher, political pamphleteer, and economic theorist. Known for his trenchant defence of the freedom of the human will against philosophical sceptics, Price applied his justification of individual moral agency to political issues - particularly the American Revolution - during the latter part of his life. This tract on America first appeared in 1784. Defining the right of American colonists to oppose British corruption, it suggested that their independence would offer much 'benefit to the world'. But it also offered a relatively rare critique of the system of racial slavery that continued to develop in America. Reissued here is the 1785 publication that also contained translations from French of a letter to Price by the economist Turgot and a parody by Charles-Joseph Mathon de la Cour which had amused Benjamin Franklin.

The Prairie Traveller
  • A Hand-Book for Overland Expeditions
  • Randolph B. Marcy
  • Edited by Richard Francis Burton
  • Published online:
    05 January 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • This work by Randolph B. Marcy (1812–87), who retired from the US Army as a brigadier general in 1881, was first published in 1859. Reissued here is the 1863 edition, edited with notes by the British explorer Sir Richard Burton (1821–90). The subtitle of the original edition describes it as A Hand-Book for Overland Expeditions, with Maps, Illustrations, and Itineraries of the Principal Routes between the Mississippi and the Pacific, and it was hugely influential, as an official US Government publication, in encouraging the great overland migrations which took European settlers to the American west. The book, based on Marcy's own experience of western travel, covers the routes to Oregon and California, the equipment needed, the treatment of animals, and the possibility of encounters with Native American tribes. This is a fascinating account of the practical steps necessary to enable emigrants to be self-reliant and to survive.

A Century of Dishonour
  • A Sketch of the United States Government's Dealings with Some of the North American Tribes
  • Helen Hunt Jackson
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
    First published in:
    1881
  • Author and activist Helen Hunt Jackson (1830–85) is remembered for her work in support of Native American rights. She was also a friend and correspondent of the poet Emily Dickinson, and her own verse was praised by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Her highly popular novel Ramona (1884) addressed discrimination against Native Americans, raising public consciousness as Harriet Beecher Stowe had done for slavery in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852). Jackson's novel emerged out of her passionate seeking of justice for her country's indigenous peoples. She describes decades of government-sanctioned mistreatment of Native Americans in this 1881 publication. The work introduces seven major tribes, their claims to ancestral lands, and the history of broken treaties and massacres they had endured. Alongside this, Jackson also presents details of Native American culture, resilience and creativity. This remains a vital and substantial account of minority persecution in North American history.

Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857
  • And of the Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858
  • Volume 2
  • Henry Youle Hind
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    20 March 2014
    First published in:
    1860
  • Born in Nottingham, Henry Youle Hind (1823–1908) moved to Canada in 1846. He joined the newly formed Canadian Institute in 1849 and later taught chemistry and geology at Trinity College in Toronto. In 1857–8, he made a range of observations during two expeditions to investigate underexplored areas of Canada and their agricultural and mineral potential to support future settlement. Illustrated with a number of plates based on photographs, this two-volume work first appeared in 1860. Intended for a broad readership, the narrative is regarded as a classic of nineteenth-century exploration literature, noted especially for its descriptive use of language and eye for detail. Volume 2 contains the concluding chapters on the 1858 expedition through parts of the Assiniboine, Saskatchewan and other valleys. Following the expedition narrative, Hind considers the lives and culture of the region's indigenous people before closing the volume with geological and climatic observations.

Life amongst the Indians
  • A Book for Youth
  • George Catlin
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    20 March 2014
  • The American artist George Catlin (1796–1872) was fascinated by the indigenous peoples of North and South America. Spending many years travelling and living among different tribes, he felt compelled by a desire to rescue from destruction 'the looks and customs of the vanishing races of native man in America'. Famed for his paintings of Native Americans, he also wrote a number of books. In the present work, first published in 1861, Catlin recounts his childhood in Pennsylvania, where he witnessed hostilities between settlers and the indigenous people. He also covers his later travels through the Americas and his time in Europe, where he introduced visiting Native Americans to English and French royalty. Although intended for children, his illustrated stories make lively and compelling reading for all ages. Catlin's 1868 follow-up, Last Rambles Amongst the Indians of the Rocky Mountains and the Andes, is also reissued in this series.

Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857
  • And of the Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858
  • Volume 1
  • Henry Youle Hind
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    20 March 2014
    First published in:
    1860
  • Born in Nottingham, Henry Youle Hind (1823–1908) moved to Canada in 1846. He joined the newly formed Canadian Institute in 1849 and later taught chemistry and geology at Trinity College in Toronto. In 1857–8, he made a range of observations during two expeditions to investigate underexplored areas of Canada and their agricultural and mineral potential to support future settlement. Illustrated with a number of plates based on photographs, this two-volume work first appeared in 1860. Intended for a broad readership, the narrative is regarded as a classic of nineteenth-century exploration literature, noted especially for its descriptive use of language and eye for detail. Volume 1 covers the entire Red River expedition of 1857 and the first part of the 1858 expedition through parts of the Assiniboine, Saskatchewan and other valleys.

Catlin's Notes of Eight Years' Travels and Residence in Europe
  • With his North American Indian Collection
  • Volume 1
  • George Catlin
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    23 January 2014
  • The American artist George Catlin (1796–1872) was fascinated by the indigenous people of his homeland and spent many years living among them, painting them, and collecting their artefacts. In 1839 he took his vast collection to Europe to exhibit it, and he also toured with groups of visiting Native Americans. This illustrated two-volume account of his experiences was published in 1848. Volume 1 begins with Catlin's voyage to England across the Atlantic, for which he embarked with eight tons of freight. He goes on to discuss such events as introducing a group of Native Americans to Queen Victoria. He also includes, in the appendices, press reviews of the exhibition and a catalogue of his collection. Catlin's earlier account, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians (1841), is also reissued in this series, along with two later books for children about life among various tribes.

The History of the American Indians
  • Particularly those Nations Adjoining to the Mississippi, East and West Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia
  • James Adair
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    06 June 2013
    First published in:
    1775
  • A trader who lived and worked for four decades among Native Americans and became a keen observer of their languages, customs and politics, James Adair (fl.1735–75) studied the Catawba, Cherokee, Muscogee, Chickasaw and Choctaw, compiling extensive ethnographic information. Upon publication in 1775, this work was unique in its treatment of these peoples as well as their interaction with white traders and colonists. The book also propounds a theory, popular at the time, that the ancestors of Native Americans were the lost tribes of Israel; as such it remains a valuable source for the history of this idea. In part autobiographical, the work reflects Adair's involvement in trading, local politics and warfare with the British and French. His observations remain of great interest to scholars of American history and ethnography.

Catlin's Notes of Eight Years' Travels and Residence in Europe
  • With his North American Indian Collection
  • Volume 2
  • George Catlin
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    23 January 2014
  • The American artist George Catlin (1796–1872) was fascinated by the indigenous people of his homeland and spent many years living among them, painting them, and collecting their artefacts. In 1839 he took his vast collection to Europe to exhibit it, and he also toured with groups of visiting Native Americans. This illustrated two-volume account of his experiences was published in 1848. In Volume 2, Catlin discusses his travels with visiting Native Americans to Dublin, and later Paris, where he staged another exhibition and met King Louis Philippe. The final chapter recounts Catlin's attempt to sell his entire collection to the United States government to preserve 'all the records of this dying race'. His earlier account, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians (1841), is also reissued in this series, along with two later books for children about life among various tribes.

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