Early American Republic

Sean Patrick Adams is Associate Professor of History at the University of Florida, where he teaches courses in Nineteenth-Century U.S. History. He is the author of numerous publications, most notably Old Dominion, Industrial Commonwealth: Coal, Politics, and Economy in Antebellum America (2004).

"Selected with imagination and wisdom, these incisive and wide-ranging texts will indeed ... provide a 'road map' for students of the first sixty years of American independence." —Daniel Walker Howe, author of What hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 (winner, 2008 Pulitzer Prize for History) "[A] nice blend of comprehensiveness and coherence. The selections are individually interesting, they relate well to each other, and ... provide a wide-ranging, imaginative, and disciplined conversation about the Early Republic." —Paul E. Johnson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of South Carolina, author of A Shopkeeper's Millennium and Sam Patch, the famous jumper; and coauthor (with Sean Wilentz) of The Kingdom of Matthias "This handy collection of speeches, documents, private letters, and pieces of literature, complete with context-setting prefaces, will be invaluable in any course covering major themes in the history of early national America." —Joanne Freeman, Yale University "Expertly edited [and] chock-full of enlightening and telling primary documents, this reader conveys a beautifully textured sense of the past and attends to all of the key issues during the formative years of the United States." —Mark M. Smith, Carolina Distinguished Professor of History, University of South Carolina “Finally, a primary sources reader that includes the full breadth of voices (both familiar and lesser known) that characterized the early American republic. Sean Adams’s informative introduction ties these voices together well, making this book a helpful teaching tool for conveying the rich variety of social and political issues that the young nation faced.” —Steven Deyle, University of Houston "Provides an exciting variety of primary sources and perspectives on the nation’s first sixty years. Adams has drawn together voices from across the early American republic to illuminate the complexities of the era." —Craig Friend, North Carolina State University "Students will marvel at the fifty-year struggle to forge a nation in the decades following the American Revolution." —Seth Rockman, Brown University

• List of Figures ixSeries Editors’ Preface xAcknowledgments xiiIntroduction: Traveling the Early American Republic 1Part I Building The United States 11Chapter 1 Origins 131 First Inaugural Address of George Washington, 1789 132 Tickagiska King Addresses President George Washington, 1789 163 Western Pennsylvanians Petition Against Taxes, 1790 17Chapter 2 The First American Party System 211 A Federalist Appeal to Voters, 1792 212 Abigail Adams on the Partisan Press, 1797 243 Matthew Lyon Criticizes ‘‘Aristocratic’’ Politics, 1797 254 A Massachusetts Farmer Attacks the Federalists, 1798 27Chapter 3 Recasting the American Nation 291 First Inaugural Address of Thomas Jefferson, 1801 292 A New Name for the United States? 1803 333 Rules of Etiquette in Jefferson’s White House, 1803 37Part II Clashes East And West 39Chapter 4 Whose Land? 411 Lewis and Clark Make American Claims in the ‘‘Great West,’’ 1805 412 Tecumseh Speaks Out Against American Policy in the Old Northwest, 1810 433 An Artist’s Depiction of Scalping during the War of 1812, 1812 45Chapter 5 Conflict on Many Fronts 471 James Madison Justifies War with the British, 1812 472 The Hartford Convention Denounces the War, 1814 503 An Eyewitness Account of the Battle of New Orleans, 1816 54Part III The Postwar Nation Looks Forward 59Chapter 6 The Year 1819 in Image and Verse 611 A Poem about a Panic, 1819 612 Americans on Their Way to a Camp Revival, 1819 633 A Satirist Looks at the American Militia, 1819 64Chapter 7 The Future Course of the Republic? 671 John C. Calhoun Promotes Federal Internal Improvements, 1817 672 The American Colonization Society Appeals to Congress, 1820 703 Maine Answers the ‘‘Missouri Question,’’ 1820 72Part IV The Work Of A New Republic 75Chapter 8 A Nation on the Move 771 A Western Editor Endorses ‘‘Old Hickory,’’ 1824 772 The Erie Canal Hits the American Stage, 1830 793 An Englishwoman Remembers Her First Illinois Winter, 1848 834 Charles Ball Describes Moving in the Slave Trade, 1837 86Chapter 9 Work at Home, Factory, and Field 911 Lydia Maria Child on the Family Economy and Soapmaking, 1830 912 Two Views on the Morality of Capitalism in the Early Republic, 1834 and 1836 963 Henry Bibb Describes Slave Labor in the Cotton Fields, 1849 99Chapter 10 A New Urban America 1021 Frances Trollope Describes Cincinnati, 1832 1022 A Poem Composed to Cholera, 1832 1053 A Raucous Omnibus Ride in New York City, 1839 107Part V Renewal And Reform 113Chapter 11 The Soul of the Republic 1151 Radical Quakers Appeal to Frances Wright, 1828 1152 Rev. Charles Finney on Changing One’s Own Heart, 1836 1173 Zilpha Elaw Remembers Preaching in the North and South, 1846 119Chapter 12 Improvement of Body and Soul 1221 Boston Physicians on Temperance, 1832 1222 Mathew Carey Advocates Reform for Seamstresses, 1833 1243 Sylvester Graham Denounces ‘‘The Appetites,’’ 1837 127Chapter 13 Anti-Slavery to Abolition 1311 African-American Leaders Reject Colonization Schemes, 1831 1312 Declaration of Sentiments of the American Anti-Slavery Society, 1833 1333 Maria Stewart Speaks at the African Masonic Hall, 1833 137Part VI Jackson’s America 145Chapter 14 The Rise of the ‘‘Common Man’’ 1471 The Inauguration of Andrew Jackson, 1829 1472 David Walker Describes the Condition of Free African-Americans, 1829 1523 Sarah Grimke´ Defends the Rights of Women, 1837 155Chapter 15 Native Americans and the Common Man 1591 Andrew Jackson Attempts to Justify Indian Removal to Congress, 1830 1592 John Ross Explains the Position of the Cherokee Nation, 1834 1623 A Description of Native American Removal in Tennessee, 1835 165Chapter 16 The Second American Party System 1671 A Violent Election Season in New York City, 1834 1672 Henry Clay on Whig Strategy, 1838 1693 New Hampshire Papers Debate the ‘‘Log Cabin’’Campaign, 1840 171Part VII The American Continent 175Chapter 17 The Mississippi and Beyond 1771 Narcissa Whitman Describes Missionary Life in Oregon, 1836 1772 George Catlin Describes the Mandan Buffalo Dance, 1841 1803 Notchininga’s Map of the Upper Mississippi, 1837 183Chapter 18 The Era of Manifest Destiny 1851 Sam Houston’s Inaugural Address for the Republic of Texas, 1836 1852 An Editor Endorses the Idea of ‘‘Manifest Destiny,’’ 1845 1883 Walter Colton on the Discovery of Gold in California, 1850 191Chapter 19 War with Mexico 1951 President Polk’s War Message, 1846 1952 An American Sergeant’s Perspective on the War with Mexico, 1847 1993 Guillermo Prieto Describes the Occupation of Mexico City, 1850 204Epilogue: The President and the Ex-Slave 2081 Zachary Taylor’s Inaugural Address, 1849 2092 Frederick Douglass on ‘‘Morals and Men,’’ 1849 211Bibliography 214Index 219