Guide to the Materials for United States History in Canadian Archives. By David W. Parker. (Washington, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1913. Pp. 339.)
Of the Papers thus far issued by the Department of Historical Research of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, none can prove of greater service to American historical scholarship than the present volume. As stated by Professor Jameson in the Preface: "The constant relations between Canada and the English colonies, or the United States, during two centuries of conflict and a hundred years of peace, across the longest international line, save one, that the world has ever known, have made it inevitable that the archives of Canada should abound in documents useful, and sometimes highly important, to the history of the United States." Students of our own regional history will be astonished to find what a wealth of material is preserved in the Canadian archives, particularly in the archives of the Archbishopric of Quebec, that bears directly upon the history of Oregon and Washington. It will be particularly regretted, by students in these states, that the Archives of British Columbia located in the nearby city of Victoria could not have been adequately listed. It is stated, however, that "A complete annotated catalogue of the documents in the Provincial Archives [of British Columbia] will be issued as soon as the Department moves into the new quarters, now being built, and the material will then be available to the student."
An American History. By Nathaniel W. Stephenson, Professor of History in the College of Charleston. (New York, Ginn & Co. 1913. Pp. 604.)
American History and Government. By Willis M. West, Sometime Professor of History in the University of Minnesota. (New York, Allyn & Bacon, 1913. Pp. 801.)
A Short History of the United States. By John S. Bassett, Professor of History in Smith College. (New York, The Macmillan Co. 1913. Pp. 884. $2.50.)
These three new textbooks appearing within a few weeks of each other bear eloquent witness of the activity of the teaching and study of history. Prof. Stephenson's book is intended for use in the elementary schools, and is eminently fair and well balanced. Very great care has been exercised in the selection of illustrations and in some cases the author has very wisely chosen those of representative men not usually pictured in a textbook. A very large number of small maps are used to elucidate the text, and in this respect the author has set a new mark in efficient textbook making.
Bassett's Short History is a textbook for the use of college students and for readers who desire a reliable account of United States history in a single volume. In addition to these uses, it will no doubt have a wide sale as a reference book in schools whose library facilities are limited. Professor Bassett is always careful about his facts. The emphasis is well proportioned and the maps well selected. There are no illustrations. The subject matter of the volume is treated in a purely conventional way and differs very radically in this respect from Professor West's History and Government. If one could apply the terms of politics to history writing Bassett's book is conservative and West's progressive. Professor West is widely known as a textbook writer and is just as careful of his facts and proportion as Professor Bassett, but he has had a different purpose in mind. He views history not merely as political history. "The growth of our political democracy has been intertwined with the development of our economic and industrial conditions. I have tried to make this interaction the pervading principle in determining the arrangement and selection of material. * * * [and] I should not have cared to write the book at all, if I had not believed that a fair presentation of American history gives to American youth a robust and aggressive faith in democracy. At the same time, I have tried to correct the common delusion which looks back to Jefferson or John Winthrop for a golden age, and to show instead that democracy has as yet been tried only imperfectly among us."
West's selection of material has been well made with this end in view. The book is stimulating and suggestive and will meet with hearty approval from those who are disciples of the "new history" and will throw a flood of new light upon the subject for those who have studied and taught history in the conventional way. With the spread of democracy, such books as West's are bound to grow in number and use.
Edward McMahon.