New-York tribune., 1903-01-10

with Portraits. Maps. plans. Facsimies. Rare
Prints SenepoTary xie%s 6 xix xix ssa XVI s3s
Ky. S4S; xii sSs Harper & Bros.
Six years ago at the meeting OF the American
ifsistorical Association in New-York. President
Wilson declared that the true history of the
American people would have TO be written by
Scotch -Irishraan. To the Northerner the South
was foreign land. The Southerner of the older
stock is characterized by q strong family and
local pride which disinclines him TO talk about
himself in public. The Scotch-Irishman on the
other hand is equally at home in the South and
West To most of those who heard this utter
snce il seemed mere 5eu d'esp1sf. thrown out
10 enliven the discussions of learned body, but
nc one Will rise from the reading Of these vol
umes without being ready to acknowledge that
the dictum has been given substantial justnca-
tio1.
For the first time we have general history
Of the United States which portrays with equally
sympathetic appreciation New-Englander and
Virginian. the staid conservatism of the old
communities of the Atlantic coast and the rough
and ready democracy of the settlements beyond
the mountains. comprehensive discerning
and appreciative presentation of these sharply
diverse elements in history is perhaps the
greatest merit Of the work. and is significant
indication of that fusing Of the elements of our
national character and life which owe TO
q mans life and President Wilson's life has IL
Illustrated and been enriched by the new oneness
Of the United States compared with the olo
sectionalisrn A half a century ago such career
would hardly have been possible, embracing as
Il does Southern birth and breeding, education
a. Princeton. the University Of Virginia, and at
Johns Hopkins the practice OF law in the Far
South. the teaching of politics and history IN
Pennsylvania, Connecticut and at Princeton
rT-r hex-
and what measure of culture the iast two gem
srations of life have brought to this country
may be seen by comparing this work with the
only other general history Of the United states
produced by q Southerner, the scholarly but arid
and colorless summary Of public transactions
which Professor George Tucker. Of Virginia,
published not quite half a century ago.
OF these five volumes the first two cover the
period of settlement growth and separation from
English control: the third and fourth depict the
formation Of the Union. the growth westward
the tenser strain imposed by this westward
Growth upon the ties that bound the two sec
sfons uneQually yoked together, and then the
armed conflict which cemented the Union with
blood and iron; and the fifth reviews the recon
struction Of the South, the return TO normal
Conditions and the Spanish war The amount
OF space that has been allotted to the respective
divisions is well proportioned. save in the case
Intentional Yet, whatever the reason for SO
brief 2 survey the fact of disproportion re
mains for as time goes this great catastrophe
must loom larger rather than smaller than lhe
Revolution. which receives twice the space al
,otted 10 the later conflict. The reader who
turns TO this work repository OF precisely
recorded events in American history viii not
find what he seeks. 1t does not epitomize the
annals Of the American people. 1t belongs
of
represented in the eighteenth century by Mon
sesouie,l's grandeur ct Decadence des Ro-
mains" and by voltaire's "Essai sur les Moeurs'
and in the nineteenth by Green's Short History
OF The English People," than to the school OF
1Iildreth and George Tucker. It is large dis
course on American history, containing sum-
cient body OF fact to give substance LOT inter
r1retation and commentary. The great conJuhct-
ures. the critical issues. the eliminating move
.neuts. are set forth with lucidity and historical
accuracy. The essential has been seized and
rnr7nrehended and the non-essential ignored
n5r Wilson'S strength lies IN giving broad
view Of the whole in the Interpretation OF ten
dencies and in sharply etched characterizations
Of men His misconceptions and errors IN the
total are few and relatively unimportant The
epeciac fact rather than the general situation is
occasionally misapprehended
THAT the author has bestowed great pains
S. evident, sometimes. perhaps, little too
s1ident If ones heart is set on the simplicity OF
,,e-fect raturalness It's studied liters riness. If
sye may venture the expression, savors little
400 much Of the artistic prose translation OF
Greek poetry. Echoes Of the Bible, OF Shake
speare. and of Burke contribute to this sense of
nTtifce. Nor is il diminished by the antique
sone impaired to the style by the appearance in
she pages of Mr.. Swift CDean Swift. m
&c Montesquieu," Mr.. Franklin Mr. Burke,
etc Quite in harmony with these characteristics
fs the sustained dignity Of the narrative and its
sobriety Of manner. Once only in the entire
work does Mr Wilson suffer his Wit to sparkle,
and once only does he desert the Kings English
for veruac1lar American South end toughs"
OF. 1850 is this single lapse. which we should
rot think of noticing but that It stands alone.
OF Ethan Allen and Ticonderoga he quietly re-
sharks he took possession OF the stout place in
Ybe name CT the Great Jehovah and the Cont
,,entsl Congress- though he held a commission
from neither" GL 226)
We have adverted upon the authors syTnpa-
<,etic apureciation Of the North and the South.
tbe East and the West Quite as notable is his
sust appreciation Of the English policy and of
ste ioyal;sts IN the Revolutionary struggle His
naraeraphs on the English navigation system
q. PIG: II, 1920 are admirable examples Of
1ncid exposition We believe it within bounds
40 say that in no previous general history OF the
limited States Qeaving out of account the more
recent textbooks) has the system been so clearly
.ns so fairly considered. Unfortunately. in this
.aoon6 massage while the general system is so
,veu described the specific provisions of the
,caxsgation law OF 1868 are greatly exaggerated,
although they were given correctly in the first
volume. Another instance Of over statement is
she description Of the serious consequences to