Book Title: A History of the United State (Copyright 1912; this is the 1913 revision)
Authors: Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D. (Superintendent of Wisconsin Historical Society, Author of "The Colonies," "France in America," "Daniel Boone," "Rocky Mountain Exploration," etc.; and Calvin Noyes Kendall, LL.D., Commissioner of Education for the State of New Jersey, Formerly Superintendent of Schools, Indianapolis, Indiana, New Haven, Connecticut, etc.
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, through The Riverside Press of Cambridge
Book Condition: Very Good. The spine is in great shape, and while there's a little staining on the front cover the interior pages are absolutely pristine. There's a signature on the inside front cover from a previous owner, but that's a big part of the reason that I fucking love old text books--it gives something like this a bit of character.
Representative Sentences:
John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, then the Vice-President of the United States, was the leader of this Southern opposition to the new tariff law. He now startled the nation by reviving the doctrine of "nullification." The tariff, he declared, was for the sole benefit of the North and greatly injured the South; it was, therefore, unconstitutional, and he said that his State would be justified in disobeying it.
The assassination of the President, which so quickly followed the victory which he had helped to bring about, was felt as a cruel blow by the entire North. His splendid ability, his lofty character, the purity of his heart and mind, and his many other lovable qualities, had made him, while living, the idol of the loyal States. He had now fallen as a martyr to the Union cause; and at his death, the South realized that she, too, had lost her best friend. Lincoln will ever be regarded in history as the savior of his country--one of the greatest Americans. Stanton, his Secretary of War, said that he was "the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever seen."
The most violent outbreak of this kind occurred in Chicago, where 40,000 men suddenly stopped work and crowded the streets of the city, to denounce their "bosses" for apparently having no sympathy with laborers. A band of violent anarchists took advantage of this uprising to make speeches to the excited mobs. They advised their hearers to abolish all forms of government and to kill those soldiers and policemen who attempted to interfere with them. One of these anarchist meetings was held in Haymarket Square, but the police broke it up. In the turmoil an anarchist threw at the officers a bomb filled with dynamite. It's explosion killed several and wounded others. The leaders in the terrible assault were caught and four of them were hanged after a fair trial in court. Since then anarchists have been severely dealt with in this country.
There is a real joy in reading histories written in the moment they record. This particular textbook covers everything from Columbus up to the election of William Howard Taft in 1912, which is a fortuitous break point given that World War I began two years later and changed the global dynamic dramatically. There's also a sense of optimism and American potential in this book that I'd suggest you wouldn't see in a similar book written at the height of the Depression.
The primary author, Reuben Gold Thwaites, was a past president of the American Library Association and passed in 1913, making this the last book that he had authorship of. His co-author, Calvin Noyes Kendall, was an educator of some note in the early part of the 20th century, including leadership positions in the National Education Association back in the days when it still included administrators. He passed in 1921 at the age of 63. The "LL.D." included in their titles indicates that they had received honorary degrees, though the granting institutions are not listed. This is a fun read, educational, that I'm happy to have in my library!
