American Imperialism in the Long Nineteenth Century: A Documentary History, 1775–1919

Dr Alys Beverton is a senior lecturer in History at Oxford Brookes University. She holds an undergraduate degree and MPhil, both from the University of Sussex, and completed her PhD at University College London. Her research focuses on the nineteenth-century United States and the role of foreign policy in shaping U.S. nationalism and political culture during this time. She is especially interested in how these themes interacted in the context of U.S. relations with the nations of Latin America during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods. Among her published works is her monograph, American Exceptionalism in Crisis: Faction, Anarchy, and Mexico in the U.S. Imagination during the Civil War Era, which was published by UNC Press in 2025.

• Volume 1: ImperialismEdited by Alys BevertonGeneral IntroductionVolume 1: IntroductionPart 1: The Revolutionary War1. Treaty of Paris, 1763, Articles IV, VII2. “William Trent’s Journal at Fort Pitt”, May 30, 1763, A. T. Volwiler (ed.), Journal of American History 11, no. 3 (December 1924), pp. 393 – 396.3. King George III, “Proclamation of 1763”,4. Benjamin Franklin, A Narrative of the Late Massacres, in Lancaster County, of a Number of Indians, Friends of this Province, By Persons Unknown. With Some Observations on the same, January 30, 17645. James Otis, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved (Boston and London: J. Almon, 1764), pp. 35 – 38.6. “George Washington to William Crawford, September 17, 1767”7. Declaration of Independence, 17768. “Plan of the Treaties with France of 1778,” Articles II, III, IX, XI, XII, Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1779 9. Major General John Sullivan to George Washington, 28 September 1779,” Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, October 9, 177910. “Benjamin Franklin to James Hutton, July 7, 1782”Part 2: The Treaty of Paris and the Building of a New Nation11. “Motion Regarding the Western Lands, September 6, 1780”12. Treaty of Paris, 1783, Article II13. Treaty of Fort Stanwix, 178414. United States Continental Congress, “An Ordinance for Ascertaining the Mode of Disposing of Lands in the Western Territory,” May 18, 1785 15. United States Continental Congress, “An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio,” July 13, 178716. John May, Journal of Letters of Col. John May, of Boston, Relative to Two Journeys to the Ohio Country in 1788 and ’89 (Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co., 1873), pp. 76 – 81.17. H. H. Brackenridge, “For the National Gazette. Thoughts on the Present Indian War”, National Gazette, February 2, 1792.18. Militia Act of 1792, Section 119. Letter from Anthony Wayne to Henry Knox, Grand Glaize, August 28, 179420. Treaty of Fort Greenville, 1795Part 3: Jefferson’s Empire of Liberty21. Virginia Land Law 1779, Section I, Kentucky Secretary of State: Virginia and Old Kentucky Patents22. “Petition No. 8”, in James Rood Robertson, Petitions of the Early Inhabitants of Kentucky to the General Assembly of Virginia 1769 to 1792 (Louisville, KY: John P. Morton & Company, 1914), pp. 45 – 4723. J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur, Letters from an American Farmer; Describing Certain Provincial Situations, Manners, and Customs, Not Generally Known, and Conveying Some Idea of the Late and Present Interior Circumstances of the British Colonies in North America. Written for the Information of a Friend in England (London: Davies & Davis, 1782), pp. 45-4924. Publius (pseud.), “The Federalist No. 10: The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection”, New York Packet, November 27, 178725. Thomas Jefferson to George Rogers Clark, 25 December 178026. Harry Toulmin, The Western Country in 1793. Reports on Kentucky and Virginia by Harry Toulmin (Pasadena, CA: The Castle Press, 1948), pp. 130 – 136. 27. Alexander M’Whorter, The Blessedness of the Liberal: A Sermon, Preached in the Middle Dutch Church, Before the New York Missionary Society, at their first Institution, November 1, 1796 (New York: T. and J. Swords, 1796), pp. 20 – 23.28. Solomon Sibley, “Extract from an Oration, Delivered at Mendon (Mass.) at the Celebration of the 19th Anniversary of American Independence, by Mr. S. Sibley, A.B.”, Federal Galaxy (Vermont), October 30, 1797.29. Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe, November 24, 1801Part 4: The Louisiana Purchase30. Treaty of San Ildefonso, 1800, Articles I, II, III31. “Thomas Jefferson to Robert Livingston, April 18, 1802”32. “Declaration of the Independence of the Blacks of St. Domingo” 33. Treaty Between the United States of America and the French Republic, April 30, 1803, Preamble, Articles I, III, VI, and A Convention Between the United States of America and the French Republic, Article I34. Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe to James Madison, May 13, 180335. “The Merits of the Public Conduct of the Republicans”, Aurora General Advertiser, September 15, 1803.36. William C. C. Clairborne, “Proclamation to the People of New Orleans, December 20, 1803”,37. Aaron Arrowsmith. Louisiana. [S.l, 1805] Map.38. David Ramsay, An Oration on the Cession of Louisiana, to the United States, Delivered on the 12th May, 1804, in St. Michael’s Church, Charleston, South Carolina, at the Request of a Number of the Inhabitants, and Published by their Desire (Charleston: W. P. Young, Franklin’s Head: 1804), pp. 17 – 22.39. Pierre Debigney, “Memorial Presented by the Inhabitants of Louisiana to the Congress of the United States”, 1804Part 5: Women and Empire40. Jean Charles Levasseur (after a drawing by Antoine Borel), L’Amérique Indépendante, engraving, 1778.41. “Petition No. 37”, in James Rood Robertson, Petitions of the Early Inhabitants of Kentucky to the General Assembly of Virginia 1769 to 1792 (Louisville, KY: John P. Morton & Company, 1914), pp. 95 – 96. 42. “Mrs. Mary Dewees’s Journal from Philadelphia to Kentucky, 1787-1788”, Early Journal Content, Internet Archive, pp. 182 – 187.43. Mary Lewis Kinnan, A True Narrative of the Sufferings of Mary Kinnan, who was Taken Prisoner by the Shawnee Nation of Indians on the Thirteenth Day of May, 1791, and Remained with them till the Sixteenth of August, 1794 (Elizabethtown, NJ: Shepard Kollock, 1795), pp. 3 – 9.44. “Knoxville, Nov. 29”, The North American, December 20, 1794. Part 6: Indigenous Perspectives45. Pontiac, “Advice from the Master of Life,” 1763, Digital History.46. “Cruzat to Miro, August 23, 1784,” in Spain in the Mississippi Valley v. 3, pt. 2, Lawrence Kinnaird (ed.), (Washington DC: United States Printing Office, 1946), pp. 117 – 119.47. Treaty of New York, 179048. “The Seneca Chiefs to George Washington, December 1, 1790”Part 7: Anti-Imperial Voices49. “George Washington to James Duane, September 7, 1783”50. Alexander Hamilton, “Purchase of Louisiana,” New York Evening Post,July 5, 1803.51. Correspondence of Timothy Pickering and Rufus King, 1804, in The Life and Correspondence of Rufus King Comprising his Letters, Private and Official, His Public Documents and His Speeches, v. IV (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1897), pp. 364 – 366.Part 8: Through an Environmental Lens52. “The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boon; Containing a Narrative of the Wars of Kentucke,” in John Filson, The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke: and an Essay towards the Topography, and Natural History of that Important Country (Wilmington, NC: James Adams, 1784), pp. 39 – 43.53. “Thomas Jefferson to Buffon, October 1, 1787”54. Ed. Danial Webb, A General History of the Americans, of their Customs, Manners, and Colours: An History of the Patagonians, of the Blafards, and White Negroes. History of Perus. An History of the Manners, Customs, &c. of the Chinese and Egyptians, Selected from M. Pauw (Rochdale: T. Wood, 1806), pp. 15 – 20.55. William Bartram, Travels through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida, the Cherokee Country, the Extensive Territories of the Muscogulges, or Creek Confederacy, and the Country of the CHactaws; Containing an Account of the Soil and Natural Productions of Those Regions, Together with Observations on the Manners of Indians (Philadelphia: James & Johnson, 1791), pp. 333 – 338.56. Daily Record, January 1, 1791 – April 9, 1794, p. 1, Thomas Jefferson Account Book 1791 – 1803, The Jefferson Weather & Climate Records.Index