This collection of primary sources includes both classic and lesser-known documents describing the rich mosaic of American life from the pre-contact era to the present day. The sources, both public and private documents—ranging from letters, diary excerpts, stories, novels, to speeches, court cases, and government reports—tell the story of American history in the words of those who lived it.

Preface vii

Prologue–Beginnings 1

• Pima Creation Story (Traditional–Ancient) 2

• Dekanawida Myth and the Achievement of Iroquois Unity (ca. 1500s) 4

• Duarte Barbosa, A Description of the Coast of East Africa (1518) 7

Chapter 1–Alien Encounters: Europe in the Americas 13

• Christopher Columbus, Letter to Luis de Sant’ Angel (1493) 15

• Bartholomé de Las Casas, “Of the Island of Hispaniola” (1542) 19

• Jacques Marquette, from The Mississippi Voyage of

Joliet and Marquette (1673) 21

• Thomas Mun, from England’s Treasure by Foreign Trade (1664) 24

• John Smith, “The Starving Time” (1624) 27

• John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity” (1630) 29

• Excerpt from the Trial of Anne Hutchinson (1637) 32

Chapter 2–American Society in the Making 37

• Bacon’s Rebellion: The Declaration (1676) 39

• William Bull, Report on the Stono Rebellion (1739) 42

• Gottlieb Mittelberger, The Passage of Indentured Servants (1750) 44

• Elizabeth Sprigs, Letter to Her Father (1756) 47

• Olaudah Equiano, The Middle Passage (1788) 49

• Alexander Falconbridge, The African Slave Trade (1788) 52

• James Oglethorpe, Establishing the Colony of Georgia (1733) 55

Chapter 3–America in the British Empire 59

• Michel-Guillaume-Jean de Crèvecouer, from Letters from

an American Farmer (1782) 61

• Benjamin Franklin, “Upon Hearing George Whitefield Preach” (1771) 63

• Jonathan Edwards, from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (1741) 65

• John Dickinson, from Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania (1768) 67

• Address of the Inhabitants of Anson County to Governor Martin (1774) 69

Chapter 4–The American Revolution 73

• Patrick Henry, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” (1775) 75

• Joseph Warren, “Account of the Battle of Lexington” (1775) 78

• Letter from a Revolutionary War Soldier (1776) 81

• George Washington, The Newburg Address (1783) 84

• Judith Sargent Murray, “On the Equality of the Sexes” (1790) 87

• Molly Wallace, Valedictory Oration (1792) 89

• Slave Petition to the General Assembly in Connecticut (1779) 91

Chapter 5–The Federalist Era: Nationalism Triumphant 95

• Publius (James Madison), Federalist Paper #10 (1788) 97

• George Mason, “Objections to This Constitution of Government” (1787) 100

• Benjamin Banneker, Letter to Thomas Jefferson (1791) 102

• “Petition for Access to Education” (1787) 104

• George Washington, Farewell Address (1796) 106

• The Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) 109

Chapter 6–Jeffersonian Democracy 113

• Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address (1801) 114

• Marbury v. Madison (1803) 117

• Meriwether Lewis, Journal (1805) 119

Chapter 7–National Growing Pains 123

• Tecumseh, Letter to Governor William Henry Harrison (1810) 125

• Missouri Enabling Act (1820) 127

• The Monroe Doctrine (1823) 129

Chapter 8–Toward a National Economy 133

• Albany Daily Advertiser on the Erie Canal (1819) 134

• The Harbinger, Female Workers of Lowell (1836) 136

• Mary Paul, Letters Home (1845, 1846) 139

Chapter 9–Jacksonian Democracy 143

• Andrew Jackson, First Annual Message to Congress (1829) 145

• “Memorial of the Cherokee Nation” (1830) 147

• Henry Clay, Speech Opposing President Jackson’s Veto

of the Bank Bill (1832) 149

• Davy Crockett, Advice to Politicians (1833) 152

Chapter 10–The Making of Middle-Class America 155

• Charles Finney, “Religious Revival” (1835) 158

• Dorothea Dix, Appeal on Behalf of the Insane (1843) 161

• William Lloyd Garrison, from The Liberator (1831) 163

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Declaration of Sentiments (1848) 165

• Henry David Thoreau, from “Civil Disobedience” (1849) 168

• Walt Whitman, Preface to Leaves of Grass (1855) 171

Chapter 11–Westward Expansion 175

• John L. O’Sullivan, “The Great Nation of Futurity” (1845) 177

• José María Sánchez, from “A Trip to Texas” (1828) 180

• Thomas Corwin, Against the Mexican War (1847) 182

• Elizabeth Dixon Smith Greer, Journal (1847—1850) 185

• Chief Seattle, Oration (1854) 187

Chapter 12–The Sections Go Their Ways 191

• Nat Turner, Confession (1831) 192

• Benjamin Drew, Narratives of Escaped Slaves (1855) 194

• George Fitzhugh, “The Blessings of Slavery” (1857) 197

Chapter 13–The Coming of the Civil War 203

• Harriet Beecher Stowe, from Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) 205

• The Ostend Manifesto (1854) 207

• Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) 210

• Frederick Douglass, Independence Day Speech (1852) 212

• John Brown, Address to the Virginia Court (1859) 215

Chapter 14–The War to Save the Union 219

• James Henry Gooding, Letter to President Lincoln (1863) 221

• Jefferson Davis, Second Inaugural Address as President of

the Confederate States of America (1862) 223

• Clara Barton, Medical Life at the Battlefield (1862) 226

• Theodore A. Dodge, from Civil War Diary (1863) 229

• Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (1863) 232

Chapter 15–Reconstruction and the South 235

• Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1865) 237

• Mississippi Black Codes (1865) 239

• A Sharecrop Contract (1882) 242

• Congressional Testimony on the Actions of the Ku Klux Klan (1872) 245

• Civil Rights Cases (1883) 249

Credits 253

• Pedagogical aids and apparatus are designed to help students read and interpret primary sources and use the documents in the collection to gain a broader understanding of the nation’s past and the diverse people who created it.
• Chapter introductions present the broad outlines of the historical era addressed by the documents. Each selection begins with an introductory headnote that identifies the author of the piece and places the document within its historical context.
• Questions at the end of each excerpt test students’ comprehension of the selection.
• Questions at the end of each chapter invite comparisons, contrasts, analysis, and reflection as they probe students’ deeper understanding of the documents and the period of American history that they illuminate.
• Split between two volumes, this chronological text is conveniently tailored to match the split volumes of the survey text it accompanies.
• Selections in this volume include both classic and unusual documents which give life and detail to a specific section of American history.