{"id":98,"date":"2022-06-04T21:34:41","date_gmt":"2022-06-05T01:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/empire\/?page_id=98"},"modified":"2026-05-01T16:04:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T20:04:43","slug":"readings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/empire\/readings\/","title":{"rendered":"Readings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This website specializes in providing short selections from historical primary sources, edited and annotated for readability. Teaching from primary sources allows students to engage directly with voices from the past. It can also provide opportunities for students to think critically about whose<\/em> voices are preserved in the historical record and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Except as otherwise indicated, these edited readings are made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license<\/a>. This means that you have permission to download and copy these readings for classroom use. You can even further adapt or edit the readings as long as (a)<\/strong> you credit the creator(s) named at the end of each reading, and (b)<\/strong> you allow others to use and adapt your adaptation as freely as you’re being allowed to use and adapt this material. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This website is a work in progress. More readings are coming!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special upload<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Nican Mopohua<\/em><\/span>

A complete, heavily annotated translation of the 1649 narrative of the Guadalupan apparitions<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Photo:<\/strong> Ramon FVelasquez, “Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Makinabang Church in Baliuag, Bulacan.” Wikimedia Commons.<\/a> Used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported License<\/a>. Cropped from the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introducing key concepts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
YEAR<\/th>TITLE<\/th>AUTHOR<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
c. 539 BCE<\/td>Religion supporting empire: The Cyrus Cylinder<\/a><\/td>Cyrus II<\/td><\/tr>
500s BCE<\/td>Religion resisting empire: Oracles against Babylon<\/a><\/td>Isaiah (attr.); Jeremiah<\/td><\/tr>
331-167 BCE<\/td>Religion resisting empire: The Maccabean Revolt<\/a><\/td>anonymous chronicle (1 Maccabees)<\/td><\/tr>
2002-2006<\/td>Is the United States an empire? Competing views<\/a><\/td>Bernard Porter; Dinesh D’Souza<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Image:<\/strong> William H. Powell, Discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto <\/em>(1853). Wikimedia Commons<\/a>. Public domain. Cropped from the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1400-1763: Colonial beginnings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
YEAR<\/th>TITLE<\/th>AUTHOR<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
1400s-1500s<\/td>“Legend of the Founding of the Iroquois League”<\/a><\/td>John Buck and J. N. B. Hewitt<\/td><\/tr>
1444<\/td>The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea<\/a><\/em><\/td>Gomes Eanes de Zurara<\/td><\/tr>
1455<\/td>Romanus pontifex<\/a><\/em><\/td>Nicholas V<\/td><\/tr>
1492-1493<\/td>Journal of Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas<\/a><\/td>Christopher Columbus; Bartolom\u00e9 de Las Casas<\/td><\/tr>
1493<\/td>Inter caetera<\/a><\/em><\/td>Alexander VI<\/td><\/tr>
1510s<\/td>How the slave trade from Africa to the Americas began<\/a><\/td>Bartolom\u00e9 de las Casas<\/td><\/tr>
1510 or 1511<\/td>The Cry of Montesinos<\/a><\/td>Bartolom\u00e9 de las Casas<\/td><\/tr>
1513<\/td>Requerimiento<\/a><\/td>government document<\/td><\/tr>
1514<\/td>Letter from Afonso I to Manuel I<\/a><\/td>Afonso I<\/td><\/tr>
1528-1536<\/td>The Journey of Alvar Nu\u00f1ez Cabeza de Vaca<\/a><\/em><\/td>Alvar Nu\u00f1ez Cabeza de Vaca<\/td><\/tr>
1531<\/td>“La Guadalupana<\/em>” \/ “The Lady of Guadalupe”<\/a><\/td>folk song<\/td><\/tr>
1537<\/td>Sublimis Deus<\/a><\/em><\/td>Paul III<\/td><\/tr>
c. 1545<\/td>On the Just Causes for War against the Indians<\/a><\/em><\/td>Juan Gin\u00e9s de Sep\u00falveda<\/td><\/tr>
1576<\/td>On the concealing of idolatry<\/a><\/td>Bernardino de Sahag\u00fan<\/td><\/tr>
1576<\/td>On the church’s travels across the world<\/a><\/td>Bernardino de Sahag\u00fan<\/td><\/tr>
1584<\/td>A Discourse Concerning Western Planting<\/a><\/em><\/td>Richard Hakluyt<\/td><\/tr>
1606, 1620<\/td>Charters of Virginia and New England<\/a><\/td>James I<\/td><\/tr>
1609<\/td>A Good Speed to Virginia<\/a><\/em><\/td>Robert Gray<\/td><\/tr>
1614<\/td>How Pocahontas became a Christian<\/a><\/td>Thomas Dale<\/td><\/tr>
1620s<\/td>Mar\u00eda de Jes\u00fas de \u00c1greda and the Jumanos<\/a><\/td>Joseph Xim\u00e9nez Samaniego; Alonso de Benavides<\/td><\/tr>
c. 1628<\/td>Reasons […] for Justifying the […] Plantation in New England<\/a><\/em><\/td>anonymous manuscript<\/td><\/tr>
1630<\/td>A Model of Christian Charity<\/a><\/em><\/td>John Winthrop<\/td><\/tr>
1633<\/td>Objections Answered Touching Maryland<\/a><\/em><\/td>anonymous tract<\/td><\/tr>
1637-1643<\/td>Accounts of Anne Hutchinson<\/a><\/td>court record; Thomas Welde; George E. Ellis<\/td><\/tr>
1640s-1650s<\/td>Dorcas the Blackamoor<\/a><\/td>church records<\/td><\/tr>
1640s-1670s<\/td>Accounts of “praying Indian” women<\/a><\/td>John Eliot; Daniel Gookin<\/td><\/tr>
1642<\/td>“A Dialogue between Old England and New, Concerning Their Present Troubles”<\/a><\/td>Anne Bradstreet<\/td><\/tr>
1648<\/td>The Clear Sunshine of the Gospel Breaking Forth upon the Indians in New England<\/a><\/em><\/td>Thomas Shepard; John Eliot<\/td><\/tr>
1649<\/td>Nican mopohua<\/a> <\/em>(complete and heavily annotated)<\/td>Luis Laso de la Vega (contested)<\/td><\/tr>
1650s<\/td>Conversion narratives of “praying Indian” men<\/a><\/td>John Eliot<\/td><\/tr>
1650<\/td>Jews in America<\/a><\/em><\/td>Thomas Thorowgood<\/td><\/tr>
1654-1655<\/td>Correspondence about Jewish immigration to New Netherland<\/a><\/td>Johannes Megapolensis; Peter Stuyvesant; petition; Dutch West India Company<\/td><\/tr>
1659<\/td>God\u2019s Providence toward Israel<\/a><\/em><\/td>Saul Levi Morteira<\/td><\/tr>
1671<\/td>Indian Dialogues<\/a><\/em><\/td>John Eliot<\/td><\/tr>
1671-1672<\/td>“Of the Mission of St. Jean Baptiste at Onnontagu\u00e9”<\/a><\/td>Jesuit Relations<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
1676<\/td>Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson<\/a><\/em><\/td>Mary Rowlandson<\/td><\/tr>
1676<\/td>Report on King Philip’s War<\/a><\/td>Edward Randolph<\/td><\/tr>
1681<\/td>Declaration of Pedro Naranjo<\/a><\/td>court record<\/td><\/tr>
1682<\/td>A Description of the Coasts of North and South Guinea<\/a><\/em><\/td>Jean Barbot<\/td><\/tr>
1688<\/td>Declaration of Reasons<\/a><\/td>William of Orange<\/td><\/tr>
1688<\/td>Germantown Protest<\/a><\/td>petition<\/td><\/tr>
1692<\/td>Enslaved Africans and the Salem witch trials<\/a><\/td>Cotton Mather; court records<\/td><\/tr>
1692<\/td>Indigenous Americans and the Salem witch trials<\/a><\/td>Cotton Mather; John Hale; court records<\/td><\/tr>
1694<\/td>A Brief Narrative of the Success [\u2026] among the Indians of Martha\u2019s Vineyard<\/a><\/em><\/td>Matthew Mayhew<\/td><\/tr>
1695<\/td>The Life of the Good Catherine Tekakwitha<\/a><\/em><\/td>Claude Chaucheti\u00e8re<\/td><\/tr>
1698<\/td>A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America<\/a><\/em><\/td>Louis Hennepin<\/td><\/tr>
1700<\/td>An Act against Jesuits and Popish Priests<\/a><\/td>government document<\/td><\/tr>
1700<\/td>The Selling of Joseph<\/a><\/em><\/td>Samuel Sewall<\/td><\/tr>
1701<\/td>A Brief and Candid Answer to [\u2026] \u201cThe Selling of Joseph\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/td>John Saffin<\/td><\/tr>
1706<\/td>The Negro Christianized<\/a><\/em><\/td>Cotton Mather (attr.)<\/td><\/tr>
1706-1716<\/td>Christianity and indigenous people in colonial South Carolina<\/a><\/td>Francis Le Jau<\/td><\/tr>
1707<\/td>A New Description of That Fertile and Pleasant Province of Carolina<\/a><\/em><\/td>John Archdale<\/td><\/tr>
1708-1716<\/td>Indigenous Americans interpreted as Israelites<\/a><\/td>Francis Le Jau<\/td><\/tr>
1709-1714<\/td>Christianity and enslaved Africans in colonial South Carolina<\/a><\/td>Francis Le Jau<\/td><\/tr>
1711<\/td>Sermon for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel<\/a><\/td>William Fleetwood<\/td><\/tr>
1734<\/td>Some Memoirs of the Life of Job, the Son of Solomon<\/a><\/em><\/td>Thomas Bluett<\/td><\/tr>
1734<\/td>The Yamacraw embassy to England<\/a><\/td>John Percival (earl of Egmont)<\/td><\/tr>
1738<\/td>An Historical Discourse on the Civil and Religious<\/em> Affairs of the Colony of Rhode Island<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/td>John Callender<\/td><\/tr>
1739<\/td>An Account of the Negro Insurrection in South Carolina<\/a><\/em><\/td>anonymous report<\/td><\/tr>
1739<\/td>A History of the Work of Redemption<\/a><\/em><\/td>Jonathan Edwards<\/td><\/tr>
1740<\/td>A Letter to the Inhabitants of Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina<\/a><\/em><\/td>George Whitefield<\/td><\/tr>
1741<\/td>The New York Conspiracy: \u201cThese black seed of Cain\u201d<\/a><\/td>court records<\/td><\/tr>
1741<\/td>The New York Conspiracy: The trial of John Ury<\/a><\/td>court records<\/td><\/tr>
1742<\/td>Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion in New England<\/a><\/em><\/td>Jonathan Edwards<\/td><\/tr>
1746<\/td>Mirabilia Dei inter Indicos<\/a><\/em><\/td>David Brainerd<\/td><\/tr>
1748<\/td>Travels into North America<\/a><\/em><\/td>Peter Kalm<\/td><\/tr>
1749<\/td>The Royal African<\/a><\/em><\/td>anonymous tract<\/td><\/tr>
1751<\/td>John Brainerd visits a Lenape community<\/a><\/td>John Brainerd<\/td><\/tr>
1755<\/td>Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, Etc.<\/a><\/em><\/td>Benjamin Franklin<\/td><\/tr>
1758<\/td>An Account of the Remarkable Occurrences in the Life and Travels of Colonel James Smith<\/a><\/em><\/td>James Smith<\/td><\/tr>
1762<\/td>Report on a voyage in the Aleutian Islands<\/a><\/td>Stepan Cherepanov<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Portrait<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Image: <\/strong>Edward Savage, The Washington Family<\/em> (1789-96). National Gallery of Art.<\/a> This object\u2019s media is free and in the public domain. Cropped from the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1763-1830: Inaugurating the “empire of liberty”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
YEAR<\/th>TITLE<\/th>AUTHOR<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
1763<\/td>Journal of Pontiac\u2019s Conspiracy<\/a><\/em><\/td>anonymous report<\/td><\/tr>
1764<\/td>A Narrative of the Late Massacres in Lancaster County<\/a><\/em><\/td>Benjamin Franklin<\/td><\/tr>
1767<\/td>Considerations on Slavery, in a Letter to a Friend<\/a><\/em><\/td>Nathaniel Appleton<\/td><\/tr>
1773<\/td>Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral<\/a><\/em><\/td>Phillis Wheatley<\/td><\/tr>
1775<\/td>“African Slavery in America”<\/a><\/td>Thomas Paine (attr.)<\/td><\/tr>
1775<\/td>“On Civil Liberty, Passive Obedience, and Non-Resistance”<\/a><\/td>Jonathan Boucher<\/td><\/tr>
1776<\/td>The Church’s Flight into the Wilderness<\/a><\/em><\/td>Samuel Sherwood<\/td><\/tr>
1776<\/td>Common Sense<\/a><\/em><\/td>Thomas Paine<\/td><\/tr>
1776<\/td>Declaration of Independence<\/a><\/td>government document<\/td><\/tr>
1776-1782<\/td>Designs for the Great Seal of the United States<\/a><\/td>government documents<\/td><\/tr>
1777<\/td>God Arising and Pleading His People\u2019s Cause<\/a><\/em><\/td>Abraham Keteltas<\/td><\/tr>
1777<\/td>Speech of Onitossitah<\/a><\/td>William Tatham<\/td><\/tr>
1783<\/td>Order for proclaiming the cessation of hostilities<\/a><\/td>George Washington<\/td><\/tr>
1783<\/td>The United States Elevated to Glory and Honor<\/a><\/em><\/td>Ezra Stiles<\/td><\/tr>
1783<\/td>“A new enlargement of Japheth”<\/a><\/td>Ezra Stiles<\/td><\/tr>
1786-1793<\/td>The Life, Experience, and Gospel Labors of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen<\/a><\/em><\/td>Richard Allen<\/td><\/tr>
1787<\/td>An Address to the Negroes in the State of New York<\/a><\/em><\/td>Jupiter Hammon<\/td><\/tr>
1787<\/td>Federalist No. 2<\/a><\/td>John Jay (attr.)<\/td><\/tr>
1789<\/td>Epistle of the African Union Society<\/a><\/td>African Union Society (Newport, RI); Free African Society (Philadelphia, PA)<\/td><\/tr>
1790<\/td>Congressional debate over an anti-slavery petition<\/a><\/td>government record<\/td><\/tr>
1791<\/td>Boukman’s Prayer<\/a><\/td>H\u00e9rard Dumesle<\/td><\/tr>
1791<\/td>Early accounts of the Bois Ca\u00efman ceremony<\/a><\/td>Antoine Dalmas; C\u00e9ligny Ardouin<\/td><\/tr>
1791<\/td>Letter from George Liele to John Rippon<\/a><\/td>George Liele<\/td><\/tr>
1794<\/td>Two addresses on slavery<\/a><\/td>Absalom Jones and Richard Allen<\/td><\/tr>
1796<\/td>Treaty of Tripoli<\/a><\/td>government document<\/td><\/tr>
c. 1800<\/td>Handsome Lake speaks with Jesus<\/a><\/td>Edward Cornplanter<\/td><\/tr>
c. 1800<\/td>“How the White Race Came to America and Why the Gaiwiio Became a Necessity”<\/a><\/td>Handsome Lake; Edward Cornplanter<\/td><\/tr>
1801<\/td>The Nature and Importance of True Republicanism<\/a><\/em><\/td>Lemuel Haynes<\/td><\/tr>
1805<\/td>Speech of Red Jacket<\/a><\/td>anonymous report<\/td><\/tr>
1805-1806<\/td>Diary of the Moravian White River Mission<\/a><\/td>mission record<\/td><\/tr>
1807<\/td>Message of Tenskwatawa<\/a><\/td>Le Maigouis<\/td><\/tr>
1808<\/td>An Oration on the Abolition of the Slave Trade<\/a><\/em><\/td>Peter Williams Jr.<\/td><\/tr>
1809<\/td>The Life of Washington<\/a><\/em><\/td>Mason Locke Weems<\/td><\/tr>
1810s-1820s<\/td>Seminole accounts of the creation of races<\/a><\/td>anonymous travel narrative; Neamathla<\/td><\/tr>
1810<\/td>Excommunication of Miguel Hidalgo<\/a><\/td>Manuel Abad y Queipo<\/td><\/tr>
1810<\/td>William Henry Harrison on the prophet Tenskwatawa<\/a><\/td>William Henry Harrison<\/td><\/tr>
1811-1812<\/td>Autobiography of the Rev. Joseph Travis<\/a><\/em><\/td>Joseph Travis<\/td><\/tr>
1811-1812<\/td>Tsali (\u201cCharlie\u201d), a Cherokee prophet<\/a><\/td>Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall<\/td><\/tr>
1814<\/td>Catechism or Instruction for the People<\/a><\/em><\/td>Juan Fern\u00e1ndez de Sotomayor<\/td><\/tr>
1814<\/td>“The Star-Spangled Banner”<\/a><\/td>Francis Scott Key<\/td><\/tr>
1816<\/td>The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain<\/a><\/em><\/td>Gilbert J. Hunt<\/td><\/tr>
1817<\/td>A Dictionary of All Religions and Religious Denominations<\/a><\/em><\/td>Hannah Adams<\/td><\/tr>
1819<\/td>The Banner of Christ Set Up<\/a><\/em><\/td>Joseph Harvey<\/td><\/tr>
1819<\/td>Memoir of Henry Obookiah<\/a><\/em><\/td>Edwin D. Dwight<\/td><\/tr>
1820-1870<\/td>Missions in the Sandwich Islands<\/a><\/em><\/td>Samuel Colcord Bartlett<\/td><\/tr>
1820<\/td>Letters from Africa<\/a><\/td>Daniel Coker<\/td><\/tr>
1822<\/td>An Official Report of [\u2026] an Attempt to Raise an Insurrection in the State of South Carolina<\/a><\/em><\/td>Lionel H. Kennedy and Thomas Parker<\/td><\/tr>
1825-1827<\/td>Letters from Liberia<\/a><\/td>Lott Cary<\/td><\/tr>
1825<\/td>Memoir of Catharine Brown<\/a><\/em><\/td>Rufus Anderson<\/td><\/tr>
1825<\/td>View of the Hebrews<\/a><\/em><\/td>Ethan Smith<\/td><\/tr>
1826<\/td>An Address to the Whites<\/a><\/em><\/td>Elias Boudinot<\/td><\/tr>
1826<\/td>Independence Day address<\/a><\/td>Ova P. Hoyt<\/td><\/tr>
1827 (and prior to 1808)<\/td>Narrative of Sojourner Truth<\/a><\/em><\/td>Olive Gilbert<\/td><\/tr>
1829-1830<\/td>Walker’s Appeal<\/a><\/em><\/td>David Walker<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Mural<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Image: <\/strong>John Steuart Curry, Tragic Prelude<\/em> (1942). Photograph<\/a> from the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress. No known restrictions on publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1830-1865: From Indian Removal to emancipation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
YEAR<\/th>TITLE<\/th>AUTHOR<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
1830s<\/td>Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl<\/a><\/em><\/td>Harriet Jacobs<\/td><\/tr>
1830s-1840s<\/td>Sketches of Slave Life<\/a><\/em><\/td>Peter Randolph<\/td><\/tr>
1830<\/td>The Book of Mormon<\/a><\/em><\/td>Joseph Smith Jr.<\/td><\/tr>
1830<\/td>Report on Indian Removal<\/a><\/td>Andrew Jackson<\/td><\/tr>
1831<\/td>Account of Choctaw removal<\/a><\/td>Alexis de Tocqueville<\/td><\/tr>
1831<\/td>Address to Phi Beta Kappa<\/a><\/td>James Kent<\/td><\/tr>
1831<\/td>Autobiography of Omar ibn Said<\/a><\/td>Omar ibn Said<\/td><\/tr>
1831<\/td>The Confessions of Nat Turner<\/a><\/em><\/td>Thomas Gray<\/td><\/tr>
1831<\/td>Religion and the Pure Principles of Morality<\/a><\/em><\/td>Maria W. Stewart<\/td><\/tr>
1833<\/td>Apologia of Worcester and Butler<\/a><\/td>Samuel Worcester and Elizur Butler<\/td><\/tr>
1833<\/td>“An Indian\u2019s Looking-Glass for the White Man”<\/a><\/td>William Apess<\/td><\/tr>
1834<\/td>Religious Ceremonies and Customs<\/a><\/em><\/td>Charles A. Goodrich<\/td><\/tr>
1835<\/td>Democracy in America<\/a><\/em><\/td>Alexis de Tocqueville<\/td><\/tr>
1835<\/td>Imminent Dangers to the Free Institutions of the United States through Foreign Immigration<\/a><\/em><\/td>Samuel Morse<\/td><\/tr>
1835<\/td>A Plea for the West<\/a><\/em><\/td>Lyman Beecher<\/td><\/tr>
1836<\/td>Appeal to the Christian Women of the South<\/a><\/em><\/td>Angelina Grimk\u00e9<\/td><\/tr>
1836<\/td>The Duty of American Christians to Send the Gospel to the Heathen<\/a><\/em><\/td>John Codman<\/td><\/tr>
1836<\/td>Eulogy on King Philip<\/a><\/em><\/td>William Apess<\/td><\/tr>
1838<\/td>A Voyage Round the World<\/a><\/em><\/td>W.S.W. Ruschenberger<\/td><\/tr>
1838<\/td>Wedding of Angelina Grimk\u00e9 and Theodore Weld<\/a><\/td>Patrick Reason; Angelina Grimk\u00e9; Sarah Grimk\u00e9<\/td><\/tr>
1839, 1845<\/td>Editorials on manifest destiny<\/a><\/td>John L. O’Sullivan<\/td><\/tr>
1840<\/td>“The practical character of Hindooism”<\/a><\/td>Joseph Tracy<\/td><\/tr>
1841<\/td>A Brief Examination of Scripture Testimony on the Institution of Slavery<\/a><\/em><\/td>Thornton Stringfellow<\/td><\/tr>
1841<\/td>“The Church and Prejudice”<\/a><\/td>Frederick Douglass<\/td><\/tr>
1841<\/td>Report of the Committee on Indian Missions<\/a><\/td>Triennial Convention<\/td><\/tr>
1843<\/td>An Address to the Slaves of the United States of America<\/a><\/em><\/td>Henry Highland Garnet<\/td><\/tr>
1845<\/td>Appendix to Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass<\/em><\/a><\/td>Frederick Douglass<\/td><\/tr>
1845<\/td>Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a><\/em><\/td>tract<\/td><\/tr>
1846<\/td>The Early Jesuit Missions in North America<\/a><\/em><\/td>William Ingraham Kip<\/td><\/tr>
1846<\/td>Editorial on the Mexican-American War<\/a><\/td>Catholic Telegraph<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
1846<\/td>Senate speech on the “Oregon Question”<\/a><\/td>Thomas Benton<\/td><\/tr>
1846<\/td>Typee<\/a><\/em><\/td>Herman Melville<\/td><\/tr>
1847<\/td>American Catholic defection during the Mexican-American War<\/a><\/td>government publications; George Wilkins Kendall<\/td><\/tr>
1847<\/td>Barbarism the First Danger<\/a><\/em><\/td>Horace Bushnell<\/td><\/tr>
1847<\/td>Dispatch to the New York Tribune<\/em><\/a><\/td>Margaret Fuller<\/td><\/tr>
1848<\/td>Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo<\/a><\/td>government document<\/td><\/tr>
1848<\/td>“The True Greatness of Our Country”<\/a><\/td>William H. Seward<\/td><\/tr>
1849<\/td>Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave<\/a><\/em><\/td>Henry Bibb<\/td><\/tr>
1850s-1860s<\/td>Reform Judaism and Western imperialism<\/a><\/td>Isaac Mayer Wise<\/td><\/tr>
1850<\/td>The Rights and the Duties of Masters<\/a><\/em><\/td>James Henley Thornwell<\/td><\/tr>
1851<\/td>“African Colonization”<\/a><\/td>Augustus Washington<\/td><\/tr>
1851<\/td>Bible Defence of Slavery <\/em>– Origin of races<\/a><\/td>Josiah Priest<\/td><\/tr>
1851<\/td>Bible Defence of Slavery <\/em>– Curse of Ham<\/a><\/td>Josiah Priest<\/td><\/tr>
1852<\/td>Fourth of July oration<\/a><\/td>Frederick Douglass<\/td><\/tr>
1852<\/td>Uncle Tom’s Cabin<\/em>, concluding remarks<\/a><\/td>Harriet Beecher Stowe<\/td><\/tr>
1854<\/td>No Compromise with Slavery<\/a><\/em><\/td>William Lloyd Garrison<\/td><\/tr>
1855<\/td>St. Domingo: Its Revolutions and Its Patriots<\/a><\/em><\/td>William Wells Brown<\/td><\/tr>
c. 1856-1857<\/td>A Remonstrance from the Chinese in California to the Congress of the United States<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/td>Pun Chi<\/td><\/tr>
1857<\/td>The Great Question Answered; Or, Is Slavery a Sin in Itself (Per Se)?<\/a><\/em><\/td>James A. Sloan<\/td><\/tr>
1857<\/td>Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects<\/a><\/em><\/td>Frances Ellen Watkins Harper<\/td><\/tr>
1859<\/td>Religion and violence at Harpers Ferry<\/a><\/td>Osborne P. Anderson; Henry Thoreau; John Brown; Charles H. Langston; anonymous letters, editorials, and newspaper reports<\/td><\/tr>
1859<\/td>“To the Mexican Inhabitants of the State of Texas”<\/a><\/td>Juan N. Cortina<\/td><\/tr>
1860<\/td>Thanksgiving sermon<\/a><\/td>Benjamin Morgan Palmer<\/td><\/tr>
1860<\/td>Review of Rev. Henry J. Van Dyke\u2019s Discourse on \u201cThe Character and Influence of Abolitionism\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/td>James R. W. Sloane<\/td><\/tr>
1861<\/td>Address […] to All the Churches of Jesus Christ throughout the Earth<\/a><\/em><\/td>Presbyterian Church in the CSA<\/td><\/tr>
1861<\/td>Christian Nurture<\/a><\/em><\/td>Horace Bushnell<\/td><\/tr>
1861<\/td>Cornerstone speech<\/a><\/td>Alexander H. Stephens<\/td><\/tr>
1861<\/td>“God Save the South”<\/a><\/td>George H. Miles<\/td><\/tr>
1861<\/td>“The Southern Cross”<\/a><\/td>St. George Tucker<\/td><\/tr>
1861<\/td>“Washington’s Vision”<\/a><\/td>Charles Wesley Alexander (as Wesley Bradshaw)<\/td><\/tr>
1862<\/td>“Battle Hymn of the Republic”<\/a><\/td>Julia Ward Howe<\/td><\/tr>
1865<\/td>Sermon in the House of Representatives<\/a><\/td>Henry Highland Garnet<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"19th-century<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Image:<\/strong> John Gast, American Progress <\/em>(1872), remastered color. Wikimedia Commons<\/a>. Public domain. Cropped and slightly rotated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1865-1914: The era of the “new imperialism”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
YEAR<\/th>TITLE<\/th>AUTHOR<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
1865<\/td>“The Regeneration of Africa”<\/a><\/td>Alexander Crummell<\/td><\/tr>
1865-1871<\/td>The Religious Development of the Negro in Virginia<\/a><\/em><\/td>Joseph B. Earnest Jr.<\/td><\/tr>
1868<\/td>Report of the Freedmen’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church<\/a><\/em><\/td>denominational report<\/td><\/tr>
1869<\/td>The Innocents Abroad<\/a><\/em><\/td>Mark Twain<\/td><\/tr>
1869<\/td>“Our Composite Nationality”<\/a><\/td>Frederick Douglass<\/td><\/tr>
1869<\/td>Tah-koo Wah-kan; Or, The Gospel among the Dakotas<\/a><\/em><\/td>Stephen R. Riggs<\/td><\/tr>
1870<\/td>The Oldest and the Newest Empire<\/a><\/em><\/td>William Speer<\/td><\/tr>
1870<\/td>“Sketches in Color”<\/a><\/td>Elizabeth Kilham<\/td><\/tr>
1871<\/td>\u201cRecollections of an Interview with Cochise, Chief of the Apaches\u201d<\/a><\/td>Anderson Nelson Ellis<\/td><\/tr>
1872<\/td>The Black Man of the South and the Rebels<\/a><\/em><\/td>Charles Stearns<\/td><\/tr>
1873<\/td>From the Deep Woods to Civilization<\/a><\/em><\/td>Charles A. Eastman<\/td><\/tr>
1877<\/td>“Chinese Immigration, Its Influence on Our Moral and Religious Interests”<\/a><\/td>Samuel V. Blakeslee<\/td><\/tr>
1878-1884; 1904<\/td>“The Queer People” and “The Worst Savages”<\/a><\/td>S. Hall Young<\/td><\/tr>
1878<\/td>“Victory”<\/a><\/td>S. Hall Young<\/td><\/tr>
1879<\/td>Reynolds v. United States<\/a><\/em><\/td>court decision<\/td><\/tr>
1879<\/td>Senate speech in favor of Chinese exclusion<\/a><\/td>James G. Blaine<\/td><\/tr>
1881<\/td>A Century of Dishonor<\/em>, preface<\/a><\/td>Henry B. Whipple<\/td><\/tr>
1881<\/td>The Church and the Moral World<\/a><\/em><\/td>Augustus J. Th\u00e9baud   <\/td><\/tr>
1882<\/td>The Women of Mormonism<\/em>, introduction<\/a><\/td>Frances Willard<\/td><\/tr>
1883<\/td>The Baptist Home Mission Monthly <\/em>on the “Negro problem”<\/a><\/td>editorials and newspaper reports<\/td><\/tr>
1883<\/td>Directive to create Courts of Indian Offenses<\/a><\/td>Henry M. Teller<\/td><\/tr>
1884<\/td>Pastoral letter on the Civil Rights Cases<\/a><\/td>Henry McNeal Turner<\/td><\/tr>
1884<\/td>Ramona<\/a><\/em><\/td>Helen Hunt Jackson<\/td><\/tr>
1886<\/td>Report on the World’s WCTU<\/a><\/td>Frances Willard<\/td><\/tr>
1889-1890<\/td>“The Ghost Dance among the Sioux”<\/a><\/td>George Sword<\/td><\/tr>
1891<\/td>Our Country <\/em>– Immigration<\/a><\/td>Josiah Strong<\/td><\/tr>
1891<\/td>Our Country <\/em>– Romanism and Mormonism<\/a><\/td>Josiah Strong<\/td><\/tr>
1891<\/td>Our Country<\/em> – The Anglo-Saxon and the World’s Future<\/a><\/td>Josiah Strong<\/td><\/tr>
1892; c. 1917<\/td>Presbyterian Pioneers in Congo<\/a><\/em><\/td>William H. Sheppard<\/td><\/tr>
1893<\/td>The Red Man’s Rebuke<\/a><\/em><\/td>Simon Pokagon<\/td><\/tr>
1893<\/td>The World’s Parliament of Religions<\/a><\/em><\/td>John Henry Barrows<\/td><\/tr>
1893<\/td>Asian critics of Western missionaries<\/a> (World’s Parliament of Religions)<\/td>Anagarika Dharmapala; Narasimhacharya; Kozaki Hiromichi; Robert A. Hume; Barnabas C. Haworth<\/td><\/tr>
1893<\/td>“The Hawaiian Islands”<\/a> (World’s Parliament of Religions)<\/td>Edward P. Baker<\/td><\/tr>
1893<\/td>“On Hinduism”<\/a> (World’s Parliament of Religions)<\/td>Swami Vivekananda<\/td><\/tr>
1893<\/td>“The Influence of Islam on Social Conditions”<\/a> (World’s Parliament of Religions)<\/td>Alexander Russell Webb<\/td><\/tr>
1893<\/td>“The Real Position of Japan toward Christianity”<\/a> (World’s Parliament of Religions)<\/td>Hirai Kinz\u014d<\/td><\/tr>
1893<\/td>“The Religion of the North American Indians”<\/a> (World’s Parliament of Religions)<\/td>Alice C. Fletcher<\/td><\/tr>
1893<\/td>“The Religious Mission of the English-Speaking Nations”<\/a> (World’s Parliament of Religions)<\/td>Henry H. Jessup<\/td><\/tr>
1893<\/td>“What Can Religion Further Do to Advance the Condition of the American Negro?”<\/a> (World’s Parliament of Religions)<\/td>Fannie Barrier Williams<\/td><\/tr>
1894<\/td>Report from Bristol and Newcastle upon Tyne<\/a><\/td>Ida B. Wells<\/td><\/tr>
1895<\/td>A Red Record<\/a><\/em><\/td>Ida B. Wells<\/td><\/tr>
1895<\/td>Platform of the Lake Mohonk Conference of Friends of the Indian<\/a><\/td>Lyman Abbott<\/td><\/tr>
1895<\/td>Remarks at the Lake Mohonk Conference of Friends of the Indian<\/a><\/td>Edward Marsden<\/td><\/tr>
1895, 1911<\/td>“America, the Beautiful”<\/a><\/td>Katharine Lee Bates<\/td><\/tr>
1898<\/td>“God Is a Negro”<\/a><\/td>Henry McNeal Turner<\/td><\/tr>
1898<\/td>“Hawaiian Autonomy”<\/a><\/td>Lili’uokalani<\/td><\/tr>
1898<\/td>“March of the Flag”<\/a><\/td>Albert J. Beveridge<\/td><\/tr>
1899<\/td>“The Acquisition of the Spanish Colonies from a Missionary Standpoint”<\/a><\/td>Frank F. Ellinwood<\/td><\/tr>
1899<\/td>The Future of the American Negro<\/a><\/em><\/td>Booker T. Washington<\/td><\/tr>
1899<\/td>“Interview with President McKinley”<\/a><\/td>James F. Rusling<\/td><\/tr>
1899<\/td>“Little Brown Brother”<\/a><\/td>Annie L. Diggs<\/td><\/tr>
1899<\/td>“Republic or Empire”<\/a><\/td>John L. Spalding<\/td><\/tr>
1900<\/td>Address on “The Negro in Relation to Religion”<\/a><\/td>William A. Guerry<\/td><\/tr>
1900<\/td>The Evangelization of the World in This Generation<\/a><\/em><\/td>John R. Mott<\/td><\/tr>
1900<\/td>Senate speeches on US rule in the Philippines<\/a><\/td>Albert J. Beveridge; George F. Hoar<\/td><\/tr>
1900<\/td>“To the Nations of the World”<\/a><\/td>Pan-African Conference<\/td><\/tr>
1901<\/td>“Africa Waiting”<\/a><\/td>Charles Satchell Morris<\/td><\/tr>
1901<\/td>“To the Person Sitting in Darkness”<\/a><\/td>Mark Twain<\/td><\/tr>
1902<\/td>“Why I Am a Pagan”<\/a><\/td>Zitkala-\u0160a<\/td><\/tr>
1903<\/td>“Remarks from Uncle Sam”<\/a><\/td>Katharine Lee Bates (as James Lincoln)<\/td><\/tr>
1903<\/td>The Souls of Black Folk<\/a><\/em><\/td>W.E.B. Du Bois<\/td><\/tr>
1908<\/td>The Buddhist Catechism<\/a><\/em><\/td>Henry S. Olcott<\/td><\/tr>
1908<\/td>Confederate Catechism for Young Children<\/a><\/em><\/td>Annie Craige Allison; with boxout from Cornelia Branch Stone<\/td><\/tr>
1908<\/td>“From the Bakuba Country”<\/a><\/td>William H. Sheppard<\/td><\/tr>
1908<\/td>The Melting Pot<\/a><\/em><\/td>Israel Zangwill<\/td><\/tr>
1911<\/td>“The Heathen Invasion”<\/a><\/td>Mabel Potter Daggett<\/td><\/tr>
1914<\/td>The American and Canadian Students in Relation to the Worldwide Expansion of Christianity<\/a><\/em><\/td>Student Volunteer Movement<\/td><\/tr>
1914<\/td>United States Colonies and Dependencies<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/td>William D. Boyce<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"1930s-era<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Image:<\/strong> Diego Rivera, Man, Controller of the Universe <\/em>(1934). Photograph<\/a> by Flickr user Steven Zucker. Used under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Generic License<\/a>. Cropped from the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1914-1945: Birth of a superpower<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
YEAR<\/th>TITLE<\/th>AUTHOR<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
1915<\/td>“The New Internationalism”<\/a><\/td>Charles S. Macfarland<\/td><\/tr>
1916<\/td>Ku Klux Klan initiation rite<\/a><\/td>KKK handbook<\/td><\/tr>
1917<\/td>“God’s Call to America”<\/a><\/td>Randolph H. McKim<\/td><\/tr>
1917<\/td>A Statement to My People on the Eve of War<\/a><\/em><\/td>John Haynes Holmes<\/td><\/tr>
1918<\/td>The Band of Gideon and Other Lyrics<\/a><\/em><\/td>Joseph Seamon Cotter Jr.<\/td><\/tr>
1918<\/td>The Twentieth-Century Crusade<\/a><\/em><\/td>Lyman Abbott<\/td><\/tr>
1919<\/td>The New Opportunity of the Church<\/a><\/em><\/td>Robert E. Speer<\/td><\/tr>
1919<\/td>Poems in The Liberator<\/em><\/a><\/td>Claude McKay<\/td><\/tr>
1921<\/td>Universal Negro Catechism<\/a><\/em><\/td>George Alexander McGuire<\/td><\/tr>
1927<\/td>The Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple of America<\/a><\/em><\/td>Noble Drew Ali<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u00a9 2021-2026 by John-Charles Duffy. Except as otherwise noted, the contents of this website are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution\u2013NonCommerical\u2013ShareAlike 4.0 International License<\/a>.

Contact: <\/strong>duffyjc@miamioh.edu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This website specializes in providing short selections from historical primary sources, edited and annotated for readability. Teaching from primary sources allows students to engage directly with voices from the past. It can also provide opportunities for students to think critically about whose voices are preserved in the historical record and why. Except as otherwise indicated, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6566,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-98","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/empire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/98","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/empire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/empire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/empire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6566"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/empire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/empire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/98\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2404,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/empire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/98\/revisions\/2404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/empire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}