PREFACE. THE aim of this work is to give the main facts of the history of the United States clearly, accurately, and impartially. In the belief that the importance of the events which have occurred since the adoption of the Constitution is becoming more and more recognized, much the greater part of the book is devoted to the era beginning with 1789. The period of discovery and colonization, however, is treated with sufficient fulness to show clearly the origins of the people and of their institutions. Throughout, special attention is given to the political, social, and economic development of the nation. While the details of battles are omitted, the importance of war periods. is not underestimated, but the stress is laid upon causes and results. The portraits are taken from authentic sources, and the other illustrations are nearly all reproductions from contemporary prints. The courtesy of F. D. Stone of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, of Henry T. Coates, and of The Magazine of American History Company, has permitted the reproduction of some of these. To the kindness of Townsend MacCoun the author is indebted for two of the maps. Grateful acknowledgments for valuable assistance are due to a number of teachers and others, among them Watson W. Dewees of Westtown School, Pennsylvania, and Sidney S. Rider of Providence, Rhode Island. To L. H. Jones, Superintendent of Schools of Indianapolis, Indiana, and W. A. Mowry, Superintendent of Schools, Salem, Massachusetts, who read the work in manuscript, special acknowledgments should be made. HAVERFORD, PENNSYLVANIA, December, 1893. |
