, 1874-12-12
LITERATURE.
f3nuoroEtss I1tstory oil tho Jtnltcd
&tStfry.

Stntcs.
RrsTony or THE LIMITED RTArEs FROM TlIIi
D1HCOvlnr or THE Aatlss1oAN toNriNEN'r.
TN: IIttie, l1rown \ t'c. 1874.
Tho publication Of tho tontll volume Of Ian
troft's History Of tho Unitcd Htaics, which lap
billy concludes tho undertaking. iu tho OCCASION
pf sult-congratulaton to avery earncHt stufent
Ut AuorIcan hietory. It ia forty years since the
first vo,u mo appeared; nnl ln tho meantime.
moro than whole goncrnttun Of morta!s has
pussod away. During those years. historical III
vcBtiEatlun haa statl q t9ood Of light upon tho
questions discussed III tho onrly yolnmeH. pnroF
ssy1o and moro exact methods OF hlstoF1cal s,'s'
cussion, hhve como into uso; md there aro ~
day hundred gaulotta and critical injurious
into tho facts OF our national history, "heto
tl1ero WAS ono In 188i when tho Initial 7o'u'no
Of Bancroft appeared. Tile occasloh LUZ eot-
graduation, in tho completion ol tuo "of"' 10 III
tho fact that the fold is HOW open fof bomooooy
to writo standard history of our country, "n'eh
rcon,cd to DO inlpractfcablu While tna 'neern'h-
hblo effort Of Bancroft wae III pfosFesa.
Nlr. Bancroft commenced tho work when n
roanr man. and with ycry Btort1or preparation
for no co,pprol,onsiyo m undertaking. He had
local aud brilliant 1lsorary reputation. He wnn
graduated ut 1Iuryard Collage Mt the ago of II.
Ind. "a nil Naw-Eng!and scholars do. or should
t1o. won't 10 Germany to pursue Ills general
studics Among his instructors woro tho colo
bratef historians, 1lceren and Hchlosser. 1t
wns doubtless hero That ho conceived tho idcn
Of doing for Ills own country What Ills eminent
Instructors Lntl done for Continental Europe.
Rotnrning homo. l,o published, at tho ngo Of 20.
volume or poems. Of which ho was
noon ashamcd. Iu did all he could
10 suppress It, but without succcss. Tic
volume WIN caught up by tho collectors, md
Treasured as fitorary curiosity. It occasionally
appears in the ealos Of private libraries, and
brings prico altogothcr ont Of proportion to its
intrinsic yaluo. 11o studied for tho ministry,
md proached a fow Rcr1nons. He wns tutor of
nrook for short timo at Harvard College, and
then got up boarding g~scool at Round Hill, III
Northampton. lie delivered aud printed occa-
aionally Fourth-of-July oration, for which kind
OF writing lis tioril md redundant stylo waa es-
pccially adapted. Hc translated mud published
tho historical works Of Hccrcn. 1s former in
str,ctor; contributed twelve articles for tic
NORTH A,l,erican Rcuie,p and accomplished other
literary Ia.,ogs, before ho wea 90 seara Of ago.
About this tinlo he VIA seized with MI ambition
to engage In politics. and these lcsultory efforts
consumed fur mauy years largo portion Of l,is
unpopular party In alaesachusosts; wont into
tho hold as al active partisan attended
cancuscs; eauysseed tue State aud "a ran : the t
eqrofn opnor Of III assacasets ut wien tho porr e
bellion broke out in Rlodo Island. bn spoke aud
wrote tn dafonBu of tito cause Of tho insurgents.
Nar this fully ho isas loug since teponted, aud
laa ehangoa the plates Of his printed s,ssaa morAs
Fl M 3sn 1sns puren ne Collector Hes s0hs q the ro
Of Boston i'll 1a45, llo was n'at1o Secretary Of
tho Mary; and. i. lSie. Minister poTipotontiary
taking removed turn at diplomacy, ny United
States Minister at tho Court OF ficrnany. His
taate through 1ifc has been in the direction OF
politics, which necessarily untit1ed him for tint
patient aud judicial investigation which charac-
tcrizcs tho tirat-claaa historian.
In tho midst Of his political and fragnonsary
Iabors, tho curly volumes Of tlfa History Of the
United states appeared> Thelr atylo was fresh
fsr In advauca OF thnt OF my previous
writer OF American history. They were
we'll received and favorabls criticised, both
in this country md in Europe. From tho first
tho work has boon \ financial gucceAs. No hts
torical writer in Our county has eSor received no
largo m iucono fresn Ills copyright as has Mr..
]}ailcroft. From tho first, tho work was aasnmed
to be tho standard History Of tho United Statos.
nl public Libraries. mud largely into private col
Icctious, uud tho 6aio Of succeeding volumes was
assured. The subjects trcased III tho carly vol
umes related to n remote period. There were
or to challenge tho authors opinions. Since that
date, Historical soeiutics-Stato, cotnty. and
town-nnyo sprung UP III all parts OF the
la,ld. Cobwobbcd attics ansl fausty records
aud contemporary statements. haye boom brought
to light; and, from THU nnss OF htstoriuaa mn
torals, former Judgments l,ayo beeu resaraed,
now actors have lcer brought into tic 1itll, and
Tho order Of syenss has hsen sed IL now as
:lminod with tho naost nntiring industry, and
from fresh materials. ulnEle avonts or separate
portions Of our national history and their ru-
searches hnve been embodied in scattered noua-
ographs, or in tho collections and archives Of
Historical Soclos1cH. 10 will ho the future
standard historian af our country, who
will entler IN tho best and latost inyos-
tiEatiouB Of others, bringing 10 tho work y 1'Nre
taste aud tho highest intolligcnco aud criticai
Acuuon. It waB not Mr. 1}aucroft'a fault that he
had not the uso of materials and spocial re-
searches which have hiuca beon ruado available.
n detsacta, however, frotu ta va!uo of his work
rs standard history. that many Of lis assumed
facts aud historical Judgments hays lJcoa shown
to bo orronoons. Alr. 1Mneroft+ conscious Of
errorn. has yaihly attempted to keep pace with
tho progress Of historical rcseasels, hy ateriMts
his TIates. changing q date hers, correcting 3
page. In comparing tho curly with the later edi-
tions, ono might suspect lie MAJ not reading
tho same work, Such ehunGcB, however, do not
tneet the cxigauces Of legitimate l,iBtory. A
~
ca1npaign upon tho neglect or incompeteney OF n
Heuoraf. it is Inter, shown that the General
did hin iuty. and that tho misfortune hsose from
sa,,hes ovor which he had no control. 4 fow
eerbal changes, or tho Interpolation OF T. .Iow
paragraph, viii not amend tho record. Tle
whole narrative Of tho campaign must 10 rccoll-
rtmcted. alr. BancroftB history, notwithHtu,ti-
inE tho eorrections ho has made Is still full Of
errors and naisstatements. II space SLOWED, NC
could illustrate this assertion in exsonso.
3Ir. Bancroft's most notable errors oro moi
tho minor and casual lapscs which appear o1
almost every pogo; but they are tho radical nnt
fundamental errors Which run through tho war;
nA'd weof Of lis narrative. Hls treatment nt thf
error. lIo has idoalizcd the subject on faIst
theory, aud has ,narshalcd his racts to sustain
this dramatic hypothesis. His theory is, TIM
eysyys hing great aud good In tho war was done
by Washington and that every misfortune aud
hiunder was the work OF ono or moro o.
1lt8 associate GoueratH. Greene, and GatcB. a'lG
schuyler, upl Sullivan, and. In short, ever,
general oAleor who had sepnrato coinmnntl
wero the scapegoats on which he has laid all tl.t
dfot %15>tx