The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-06-01

It is with peculiar pleasure that
The Constitution announces the
publication, beginning July I, as a
serial, OF the latest and most i'm
portant contribution to history by
Hon. Thomas E. Watson.
Beginning the first week in
July, Mr.. Watson's The Life and
Times OF Thomas Jefferson will
appear in regular installments in
the columns of this newspaper.
AS is explained by Mr.. Watson
elsewhere on this page, The Life
and Times OF Thomas Jefferson
is written as the first portion-the
opening chapter, in a sense-of a
history OF the United States de
signed to do justice to the south
i he need for such work is recog-
nized by all fair-minded men; the
demand for it is not limited to the
southern states, for even beyond
their borders has the suspicion
grown to conviction that these
states, and their sons who have
played such conspicuous parts in
the making Of national history,
have not been given, by other his
fory-makers, the place they de
serve.
Justice Should Be Done.
It is time that full justice should
be done and the high purpose and
the splendid attainments in his
tOrical writing of Mr.. Watson
mark him as preeminent1y the
man for the task.
1t is no light task. Mr.. Wat
son 5 history is to be in no sense
sectional His aim is thorough
" national work in which all sec
tons, all states and all men shall
be given full justice. There will
be no rancor toward the men OF
the northern states who contrib
uted splendidly their part in the
upbuilding OF this great country
in retaliation for obvious misrcp-
resentations by their writers Of
ihe men OF the south; there will
be no distortion OF the facts to the
disparagement OF anybody.
Around Lives of Leaders.
Following the plan of his high
y valuable and highly popular
"Napoleon,' Mr.. Watson's his
tory of the United States will be
written around the lives OF the
men who were the dominant fig
ures in the epoch in which they
lived. The part played by the
south in the struggle for national
independence and in the stirring
times which marked the birth and
the early days OF the republic is
written about the life OF the man
who did most TO influence and
mold American sentiment. Thorn
as Jefferson.
1t is most natural that he, of all
men of his time, should have been
selected Many volumes have
been written about Jefferson
Some have been gross, malicious,
malignant misrepresentation OF
the man, his works, his purposes +;
some have been eulOgistic Of the
man TO a degree. but not broad in
their scope OF contemporary his
tory: some have been merely in
ADEQUATE. Mr.. Wats0n's life is
far broader than a mere biogra-
yhv or historical sketch Of the
man, for it is the history of an
epoch; it is frank in its chroni-
cling OF the petty foibles which
have furnished malignant amusc-
ment to Jefferson's critics; it is a
broad, comprehensive, impartial
presentation OF the facts about
The man himself and his influence
upon American thought and
American action, of the master
part re played in shaping the dcs-
tiny Of his people, of the true re
lationship Of his actions TO Amer
lean history
Inception of the Work
The work has its birth in a
popular demand.
Last winter when Mr. Watson,