Table of Contents
| [General Introduction.] | 1-10 | ||
| [Bibliographies.] | 11-18 | ||
| [The Prince of Parthia.] | By Thomas Godfrey, Jr. | 1765 | 19-108 |
| [Ponteach; or, The Savages of America.] | By Robert Rogers. | 1766 | 109-208 |
| [The Group; A Farce.] | By Mrs. Mercy Warren. | 1775 | 209-232 |
| [The Battle of Bunkers-Hill.] | By Hugh Henry Brackenridge. | 1776 | 233-276 |
| [The Fall of British Tyranny; or, American Liberty.] | By John Leacock. | 1776 | 277-350 |
| [The Politician Out-witted.] | By Samuel Low. | 1789 | 351-429 |
| [The Contrast.] | By Royall Tyler. | 1790 | 431-498 |
| [André.] | By William Dunlap. | 1798 | 499-564 |
| [The Indian Princess; or, La Belle Sauvage.] | By J. N. Barker. | 1808 | 565-628 |
| [She Would Be a Soldier; or, The Plains of Chippewa.] | By M. M. Noah. | 1819 | 629-678 |
INTRODUCTION
The present collection of "Representative Plays by American Dramatists" is the first of its kind to be offered to the general reader. In its scope, it covers a period from 1765-1911, and in its plan of selection, it strives to show the advance in playwriting during successive periods of American history.
Because of this scheme, the choice of plays for the Colonial and Revolutionary sections necessarily includes several which, while written for the stage, are not authentically located as far as production is concerned. There is no indication that Robert Rogers's "Ponteach" was ever accepted by any of the theatrical companies of the time, and there is no positive proof that Mrs. Mercy Warren's "The Group" was ever done, although there are casual references to the fact that performances were given at Amboyne. Nor have we any right to believe that Samuel Low's "The Politician Out-witted" received other than scant treatment from the managers to whom it was submitted; it was published rather to please the readers of the closet drama. Nevertheless, it has been thought essential to include these plays because they are representative of the spirit of the times, and help to give a more comprehensive view of the subjects which were treated in dramatic form by the early American playwrights.
From the moment the American writer ceased to be an Englishman, and became fully aware of his national consciousness, American drama, following the trend of the development of American literature, began to feel its way for the proper expression of national characteristics.
And so, in the second and third volumes of this series, the reader will find plays which, while not wonderful in their literary value, are, nevertheless, very distinctive, as reflecting the theatrical tastes of the time, and the very crude, but none the less sincere, technical effort of the playwrights. All the dramas included in the second and third volumes have had their stage productions, and are thus representative of characteristics which mark the abilities of certain actors, whose claims to originality are found in the special types they created.
It has been the present editor's object so to arrange the successive order of these plays that the reader may not only be able to judge the change in stagecraft and technique, but, likewise, may note the change in social idea and in historical attitude toward certain subjects. For example, "The Contrast" contains the first American Stage Yankee—a model for a succession of Stage Yankees to follow. But, whereas Royall Tyler's Jonathan was not especially written to exploit the peculiar abilities of Mr. Wignell, the comedian, most of the Yankee plays of a later date were written to exploit the peculiar excellences of such actors as G. H. Hill and James H. Hackett.
In no way can the reader better sense the change in social customs and ideals than by reading a series of plays written in successive generations and reflecting the varying customs of the time. In some respects "The Contrast" may be considered our very earliest drama of social manners, even though Royall Tyler was not over-successful in stamping the small talk of his women as being distinctively American. Rather is it the direct imitation—without the brilliancy—of the small talk in "The School for Scandal." But, nevertheless, "The Contrast" does attempt to deal with society in New York before the nineteenth century, and in Mrs. Mowatt's "Fashion," in Mrs. Bateman's "Self," in Bronson Howard's "Saratoga" (which has been published), in Clyde Fitch's "The Moth and the Flame," and in Langdon Mitchell's "The New York Idea," we are given a very significant and sharply defined panoramic view of the variations in moral and social attitudes.