There is no general history of the Northwest covering the whole of the period dealt with in this book except Burke A. Hinsdale, The Old Northwest (1888). This is a volume of substantial scholarship, though it reflects but faintly the life and spirit of the people. The nearest approach to a moving narrative is James K. Hosmer, Short History of the Mississippi Valley (1901), which tells the story of the Middle West from the earliest explorations to the close of the nineteenth century, within a brief space, yet in a manner to arouse the reader's interest and sympathy. A fuller and very readable narrative to 1796 will be found in Charles Moore, The Northwest under Three Flags (1900). Still more detailed, and enlivened by many contemporary maps and plans, is Justin Winsor, The Westward Movement (1899), covering the period from the pacification of 1763 to the close of the eighteenth century. Frederick J. Turner, Rise of the New West (1906) contains several interesting and authoritative chapters on western development after the War of 1812; and John B. McMaster, History of the People of the United States (8 vols., 1883-1913), gives in the fourth and fifth volumes a very good account of westward migration.
An excellent detailed account of the settlement and development of a single section of the Northwest is G. N. Fuller, Economic and Social Beginnings of Michigan, Michigan Historical Publications, Univ. Series, No. 1 (1916). A very readable book is R. G. Thwaites, The Story of Wisconsin (rev. ed., 1899), containing a full account of the early relations of white men and red men, and of the Black Hawk War. Mention may be made, too, of H. E. Legler, Leading Events of Wisconsin History (1898).
Among the volumes dealing with the diplomatic history of the Northwest, mention should be made of two recent studies: C. W. Alvord, The Mississippi Valley in British Politics (2 vols., 1917), and E. S. Corwin, French Policy and the American Alliance (1916).
Aside from Lincoln, few men of the earlier Northwest have been made the subjects of well-written biographies. Curiously, there are no modern biographies, good or bad, of George Rogers Clark, General St. Clair, or William Henry Harrison. John R. Spears, Anthony Wayne (1903) is an interesting book; and Andrew C. McLaughlin, Lewis Cass (1891), and Allen Johnson, Stephen A. Douglas (1908) are excellent. Lives of Lincoln that have importance for their portrayal of western society include: John T. Morse, Jr., Abraham Lincoln (2 vols., 1893); John G. Nicolay and John Hay, Abraham Lincoln, a History (10 vols., 1890); and Ida M. Tarbell, Life of Abraham Lincoln (new ed., 2 vols., 1917).
The reader will do well, however, to turn early to some of the works within the field which, by reason of their literary quality as well as their scholarly worth, have attained the dignity of classics. Foremost are the writings of Francis Parkman. Most of these, it is true, deal with the history of the American interior prior to 1763. But Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV (Frontenac edition, 1915), and A Half-Century of Conflict (2 vols., same ed.) furnish the necessary background; and The Conspiracy of Pontiac (2 vols., same ed.) is indispensable. Parkman's work closes with the Indian war following the Treaty of 1763. Theodore Roosevelt's Winning of the West (4 vols., 1889-96) takes up the story at that point and carries it to the collapse of the Burr intrigues during the second administration of Thomas Jefferson. This work was a pioneer in the field. In the light of recent scholarship it is subject to criticism at some points; but it is based on careful study of the sources, and for vividness and interest it has perhaps not been surpassed in American historical writing. A third extensive work is Archer B. Hulbert, Historic Highways of America (16 vols., 1902-05). In writing the history of the great land and water routes of trade and travel between East and West the author found occasion to describe, in interesting fashion, most phases of western life. The volumes most closely related to the subject matter of the present book are: Military Roads of the Mississippi Valley (VIII); Waterways of Western Expansion (IX); The Cumberland Road (X); and Pioneer Roads and Experiences of Travellers (XI-XII). Mention should be made also of Mr. Hulbert's The Ohio River, a Course of Empire (1906).
Further references will be found appended to the articles on Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin in The Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition).
Opportunity to get the flavor of the period by reading contemporary literature is afforded by two principal kinds of books. One is reminiscences, letters, and histories written by the Westerners themselves. Timothy Flint's Recollections of the Last Ten Years (1826) will be found interesting; as also J. Hall, Letters from the West (1828), and T. Ford, History of Illinois (1854).
The second type of materials is books of travel written by visitors from the East or from Europe. Works of this nature are always subject to limitations. Even when the author tries to be accurate and fair, his information is likely to be hastily gathered and incomplete and his judgments unsound. Between 1800 and 1840 the Northwest was visited, however, by many educated and fair-minded persons who wrote readable and trustworthy descriptions of what they saw and heard. A complete list cannot be given here, but some of the best of these books are: John Melish, Travels in the United States of America in the Years 1806 & 1807 and 1809, 1810 & 1811 (2 vols., 1812); William Cobbett, A Year's Residence in the United States of America (1818); Henry B. Fearon, Sketches of America (1818); Morris Birkbeck, Letters from Illinois (1818); John Bradbury, Travels in the Interior of America in the Years 1809, 1810, and 1811 (1819); Thomas Hulme, Journal made during a Tour in the Western Countries of America, 1818-1819 (1828); and Michael Chevalier, Society, Manners, and Politics in the United States (1839). Copies of early editions of some of these works will be found in most large libraries. But the reader is happily not dependent on this resource. Almost all of the really important books of the kind are reprinted, with introductions and explanatory matter, in Reuben G. Thwaites, Early Western Travels, 1748-1846 (32 vols., 1904-07), which is one of our chief collections of historical materials.