BOOK REVIEWS
Secret History of the American
Revolution. By Carl Van Doren.
(New York, Viking, 1941. 534p. Illus.
$3.75.)
This book of seventeen chapters gives an
account of the con-
spiracies of Benedict Arnold and
numerous others drawn from
the secret service papers of the British
Headquarters in North
America. which were taken to England at
the close of the Revo-
lutionary War. They were unavailable and
unknown to the
public for more than a century when they
were purchased by the
late William L. Clements of Michigan and
were added to the
valuable manuscript collection of the
Clements library at the
University of Michigan. The
possibilities of this material were
suggested to Mr. Van Doren and he
proceeded to work through
the Clements collection as well as other
rare materials in other
great libraries in the eastern part of
the United States.
The author has deciphered messages and
discovered missing
links which he has gradually unfolded
into a story not known
before. He uncovers much treachery and
intrigue on the part of
the British in their efforts to win over
the mighty leaders of the
American cause. The book appears at a
very appropriate time
since it shows that in a time of stress
and storm, most of the
citizens of the New America were sincere
and devoted to the
cause of independence in spite of
temptation and bribe.
There is an appendix of 56 pages giving
the Arnold-Andre
correspondence and Clements' narrative.
A general bibliography,
chapter references and an index, bring
the book to a close. The
book contains portraits, facsimile
reproductions of unpublished
manuscripts, and a map of the
Arnold-Andre country.
H. L.
(65)
66
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
The Economic History of the United
States. By Chester W.
Wright. (New York, McGraw-Hill Book
Company, 1941.
$4.00.)
In this book the author surveys the
economic history of the
United States from the first settlement
down to 1940. The
primary purpose is to describe and
explain the economic progress
made by the American people, and in
addition to provide the
economic background for understanding
the country's political
and social history. The approach to the
study of economic his-
tory that dominates the presentation of
the subject matter in this
volume is that of the economist, rather
than that of the political
historian, whose immediate and primary
function is to study the
production and distribution of wealth
with the objective of learn-
ing how the nation's economic progress
can be promoted and its
standard of living advanced. It can be
called the functional ap-
proach to economic history. Although the
narrative provides
such knowledge of the general background
of economic history
as is needed for most purposes in the
interpretation of political
history, and has frequently been turned
aside to indicate the
reactions thus involved, this was a
secondary rather than a
primary consideration in the selection
and organization of the
material.
Although facts are the basis of history,
the history that ends
with their mere narration is largely
sterile. To give the facts
significance and value, their
relationship to some human problem
of importance must be made clear. This
book endeavors to do
so by making the struggle of the
American people to raise their
standard of living the central and
unifying problem of this his-
tory and by pointing out, especially in
the introductory chapter,
the relationship of the mass of factual
material to this problem.
Yet the full value of the facts--their
value for the purpose of
future guidance in both individual and
social action--is attained
only as the events and developments
covered by the facts are
interpreted and explained, and as the
influence of the various
factors that determine economic progress
is made clear. There-
fore, throughout, the book seeks above
all to stress the analysis
BOOK REVIEWS 67
of the causes chiefly responsible for
the results obtained by the
American people in their attack on this
fundamental economic
problem.
Nearly half the book is devoted to the
period since 1860.
Three chapters deal with economic
developments in the rest of
the world, chiefly significant because
of their influence on Ameri-
can economic development. Particular
attention is given to the
economic problems of war, as reflected
in the experience of the
Revolution, the Civil War and the World
War. There is a sys-
tematic and comprehensive analysis of
the relation of government
to economic life. In a stimulating final
chapter, the author re-
views the whole development, analyzing
the main factors respon-
sible for the achievement, and offering
certain conclusions as to
why greater success was not attained.
One of the outstanding features of the
book is the extensive
use made of graphs and maps. A good
bibliography and general
index are also included.
A. J. O.
Council Fires on the Upper Ohio. By Randolph C. Downes.
(Pittsburgh, The University of
Pittsburgh Press, 1940.
367p.)
"The Indians believed they were an
original, a superior,
race. . . . Before the white man came to
disillusion the Indians
there was no world other than theirs;
they were the only existing
race. They were the supreme earthly
creatures, the chosen of
God, and the only other forms of animal
life were the beasts of
forest and field, the fish of the river
and sea, the birds of the
air. These constituted the other
'races,' over which it was given
them to rule." But into the
Indian's sylvan paradise blundered
??he vanguard of another, a
"super-superior," race which had been
??'chosen" to rule him as he had
ruled the beast, the fish and the
??ird.
The conflict that resulted, "a conflict. . .between two
??nethods of living, one based on
hunting and fishing, the other
??in farming and commerce," or that crucial part of
the conflict
68
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
that took place in the upper Ohio
Valley, is described more ob-
jectively than ever before in Council
Fires on the Upper Ohio
by Randolph C. Downes.
Beginning his book with an essay on
"The Indian Point of
View" the author reviews, with a
genuine attempt at an impartial
treatment, the incidents which led to
the "inevitable defeat of
the Indians." No one can doubt,
when he has read this book,
that the white conquerors were unjust on
many occasions. Nor
can he doubt that the Indians were often
truly "savages." He
will have seen how the misunderstandings
and jealousies natural
in a situation involving two groups
wanting the same thing were
fanned to hatred and bloody warfare by
mistakes on both sides.
Council Fires on the Upper Ohio is the story of the Indians
in the Ohio Country from the time of the
coming of the Shaw-
nee, Delaware and Mingo to that region,
about 1720, to the
Treaty of Greenville, following General
Anthony Wayne's cam-
paign, in 1795. It tells of the futile
efforts of the Indians to
save themselves--by confederation to
present a united front, and
by allying themselves with one or
another of the white nations.
The confederations that were at least
slightly successful in stem-
ming the tide of white occupation were
those promoted by Pon-
tiac in the 1760's and by Joseph Brant
in the 1780's. The In-
dians usually chose the wrong white
allies--first they joined the
losing cause of the French and then the
declining cause of the
British.
The setting of the story moves westward
as the conquest by
the Americans forced the Indians to
retire in that direction. The
first portion, therefore, deals chiefly
with events in Western
Pennsylvania, while the latter part
forms the beginnings for the
history of the Northwest Territory and
the country that later be-
came the State of Ohio. In an earlier
volume, Frontier Ohio,
1788-1803, published as volume 3 of the Ohio Historical Collec-
tions of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society, in
1935, Mr. Downes had presented, in his
first chapter, the story
of the Indian conquest during the period
of 1788-1795. The
present volume presents much additional
material covering that
BOOK REVIEWS 69
period as well as the earlier history of
Indian activities in the
Ohio Valley.
In addition to being a well-documented,
dispassionate but
interesting history of the Indians in
the Ohio Valley, Council
Fires on the Upper Ohio is one of the finest examples of book-
making yet produced in the field of
local history. Artistic head-
piece illustrations by Alex Ross, a fine
choice of type-face and
paper, and an attractive binding make it
a beautiful book and add
much to its readableness. Carefully
prepared footnotes, bibliog-
raphy and index add much to its
usefulness.
K. WILLIAM McKINLEY.
Wilderness Chronicles of Northwestern
Pennsylvania. Edited by
Sylvester K. Stevens and Donald H. Kent.
Prepared by
Pennsylvania Historical Survey (Frontier
Forts and Trails
Survey), Division of Community Service
Programs, Work
Projects Administration. (Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania Histori-
cal Commission, 1941, 343p. Illus. and
maps.)
This is the first volume of a series covering
the region of
northwestern Pennsylvania. The book
contains a selection of
sources describing outstanding events as
seen by contemporaries
or participants. The material is
classified into twelve periods in-
cluding, "The Discovery of
Northwestern Pennsylvania," "The
French Fortify the Allegheny
Valley," "Warding off English
Threats," "Raiding the English
Frontier," "The Expulsion of
the French," "The English
Reopen the Venango Trail," "The
Building of the English Forts,"
"Life in the Wilderness Posts,
1761," "The Year before the
Storm," "The Indians Burn the
Forts," "The English Regain
Control," and "Bradstreets' Treaty
and Bouquet's Peace." There is a
brief bibliography and a very
full index.
H. L.
70
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Hamilton in the Making. By Alta Harvey Heiser. (Oxford, Ohio,
Mississippi Valley Press, 1941. 402p.
$3.00.)
This history is unique in two respects.
In the first place it
is written by a capable local historian,
whose objective has been
to present in accurate form a history of
the home community and
in the second place it is made available
at the very reasonable
price of $3.00 per copy. All this is in
marked contrast with the
ordinary county or local history
prepared by some commercial
minded firm, written to sell to
subscribers at a price entirely out
of proportion to its value. It comes as
a result of the use of
much source material and this gives it
an added value. The his-
tory is told in a series of nineteen
chapters beginning with the
story of the two towns located on the
east and west banks of the
Miami River which eventually were
united. The author adopts
the biographical style in telling her
story. She tells of early
transportation, mills, hotels, churches,
schools, banking and in-
dustry.
The chapter on "Monuments to
Pioneers" gives a history of
Hamilton's cemeteries and the last
chapter gives the history of
the final union of Hamilton and
Rossville. As a narrative of a
representative community, the book
furnishes an example for
other historical contributions,
reflecting the life of America as it
emerged from the small rural group and
gradually expanded into
urban centers.
The story of the pioneer, John Wood, in
whose memory the
book is dedicated, is woven into the
whole book. The author has
given a fine example of a local history,
having breathed into her
narrative the spirit of life. The book
appeared very appropri-
ately at the time of the
sesquicentennial celebration of Hamilton
and Butler counties. The volume contains
seventeen illustrations
and is provided with a good index. The
binding is both attractive
and durable.
H. L.
BOOK REVIEWS 71
Old Oxford [Ohio] Houses and the
People Who Lived in Them.
By [Mrs.] Ophia D. Smith [author of Life
and Times of
Giles Richards.] (Oxford,
Ohio, The Oxford Historical
Press, 1941, 149P. Illus. $1.05
postpaid. Address Mrs.
W. E. Smith, Oxford, Ohio.)
This book, the first of a group to be
called the Oxford His-
torical Series, covers a subject which is more and more claiming
the interest of historical societies and
persons interested in local
history. Old houses, mills, bridges and
churches are receiving
more and more attention, as they should,
and some state historical
societies are creating committees to
make surveys and records of
them.
The history of Oxford would very naturally
reveal an unusu-
ally large number of historic houses and
with painstaking re-
search, which often becomes very
difficult, Mrs. Smith has ac-
complished this in a most satisfactory
way. Valuable as are these
sketches, it is unfortunate that the
book could not have contained
a full set of illustrations rather than
only about half of them.
These would have added much to the
permanent record and to
the value of the series. Probably no
other town of the State,
rich in history and tradition, could
offer as good an opportunity
for such a record. Twenty-four such
houses are described with
their historical background. Many of
them are nearly a century
old. Among them are the homes of Robert
Hamilton Bishop,
first president of Miami University,
and William Holmes Mc-
Guffey, the birthplace of Caroline
Scott, later the wife of Presi-
dent Benjamin Harrison, Dr. Scott's
boarding home for young
adies, and the home of Robert W.
McFarland, a later president
of Miami University. Such a series of
books in Ohio would be
of great value and interest, and it is
to be hoped that Mrs. Smith's
excellent work may serve as an example.
H. L.
72
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Inventory of Business Records. Ohio Historical Records Survey.
(Cleveland, Ohio, 1941, 104p.)
This inventory of the records of the D.
Connelly Boiler Com-
pany (1875-1931) and the J. B. Savage
(Printing) Company
(1869-1939) constitutes another step
forward in the development
of an interest in the care and
preservation of business records as
important historical source materials.
These records were turned
over to the Western Reserve University
Library and this 100
page catalogue supplies one of the
first, if not the first, work of
its kind in this country.
Western Reserve University Library now
has the nucleus of
a collection of business records to
which the historian, economist
and others hope contributions will be
made by business firms
having old and non-current records. The
Historical Records
Survey, under the direction of Miss
Lillian Kessler, deserves
much credit for editing and publishing a
usable and accurate de-
scription of these materials. The
booklet contains an historical
sketch of each company and a descriptive
paragraph following
each entry in the inventory proper. The
records seem fairly
complete, consisting of accounting,
purchase, production and sales
records as well as reports on industrial
relations, labor statistics
and correspondence.
In the foreword of the book, John W.
Love, Business Editor
of the Cleveland Press, who is one of
the leading promoters of
this movement to preserve such records
in Cleveland, acknowl-
edges the contribution of the late Dr.
Robert C. Binkley and Dr.
Arthur C. Cole of Western Reserve
University in securing these
records for their library. He also mentions Mr. Paul Feiss,
president of the Joseph & Feiss
Company who recognizes "the
value of preserving company records for
the light they throw
upon business methods and indirectly
upon the life of the times."
The volume is bound in strong paper,
printed by a near-
print process, is well indexed and will
serve as an example of
what ought to be done with other such
collections as well as serv-
ing as a guide to researchers.
W. D. O.
BOOK REVIEWS 73
Tommy Carries the Ball. By James and Marion Renick. Illus-
trated by Frederick Machetanz. (New
York, Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, 1940. 78p. $1.50.)
David Cheers the Team. By James and Marion Renick. Illus-
trated by Frederick Machetanz. (New
York, Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, 1941. 125p.
$1.50.)
These books for young people in the
early teens are by the
director of publicity of the Ohio State
University Athletic De-
partment and his wife. The illustrations
are by a well-known
Ohio artist who is also an author. The
first volume is a football
story where Tommy learns some of the
essentials from a univer-
sity player and uses the instruction to
a good advantage in his
own game. In the second book, a
basketball story, David is de-
lighted to find that "the people
who move in next door" turn out
to be the new basketball coach and his
wife. David rigs up a
hoop on the garage and soon has the new
coach in his back yard
showing him how to play properly. They
become good friends
and David becomes mascot of the high
school team.
The illustrations are an important part
of these books since
they are designed to be instructive as
well as decorative. Youth
who aspire to become football and
basketball players will find
that the models for these pictures are
from life and in most cases
are real stars at Ohio State University.
In fact Machetanz was
a basketball star himself several years
ago.
W. D. O.
Clarence Darrow for the Defense. By Irving Stone.
(Garden
City, New York, Doubleday, Doran and
Company, 1941.
560p. $3.00.)
This biography is a very vivid portrayal
of the life of a man
noted for his integrity and his sense of
what was true and right.
Darrow was a "great liberal lawyer,
a free thinker, a foe of in-
Tolerance, champion of the underdog and
defender of lost causes"
and Irving Stone has given a word
picture of unusual attractive-
74
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
ness. Darrow never shrunk from the
responsibility of champion-
ing an individual or a cause he believed
right.
The first chapter of the book traces the
ancestry of Darrow
and his own life until his removal to
Chicago soon after he was
thirty years of age. This chapter also
gives a good picture of
life in northeastern Ohio at the middle
of the nineteenth century.
It is a matter of interest for Ohio
readers that Clarence Darrow
was a native of Ohio and taught school
in the State for three
years.
He became interested in law and a few
weeks after his
twenty-first birthday he embarked upon
his legal career which
was destined to cover six decades. For
forty-three years follow-
ing his defense of Eugene V. Debs, case
after case was to add to
his reputation as a lawyer for the
defense. During this time he
defied public opinion and faced the
scorn of his friends, to cham-
pion the causes and individuals he
believed right.
Mr. Stone reviews the famous cases with
which he was as-
sociated and clearly portrays both
Darrow the lawyer and Darrow
the man. Chapter VI entitled "Can a
lawyer be an honest man?"
expresses well his philosophy.
Six hundred and thirty source notes
arranged to correspond
to the chapters of the book add to its
value. There is also a se-
lected bibliography and a list of
personal contributors.
H. L.
Christian Newcomer, His Life, Journal
and Achievements.
Edited by Samuel S. Hough. (Church of
United Brethren
in Christ, Dayton, 1941. 293p. Illus.
$1.00)
Christian Newcomer was an organizer and
builder of the
United Brethren church. Dr. Hough, after
months of careful
research, has produced a book based upon
the original publication
of 1834 with additional explanatory
notes and interpretations.
After an editorial introduction, a
chapter is devoted to Newcom-
er's own life story. Chapters 3-14 are
devoted to Newcomer's
Journal covering the period October,
1795 to March 4, 1830. He
BOOK REVIEWS 75
died March 12, 1830, and was
buried near Hagerstown, Mary-
land.
There is much material relating to Ohio.
Dr. Hough has
contributed data in the way of making
available to the reader
what the pioneer said and did and
Newcomer has left an unusual
record in locating many families, places
and events. His ref-
erences to hosts and hostesses and
colleagues give much material
for the genealogist. He reveals the
conditions of the country in
those early years. He also makes records
of the places and dates
of all the early annual and general
conferences.
It is a book which should be in every
genealogical and his-
torical library.
H. L.
Men at Work--In the Mill. By John Masefield. (New York,
Macmillan
Company, 1941. 158p. $2.00.)
Men Working. By
John Faulkner. (New York, Harcourt,
Brace & Co. 1941. 300p. $2.50.)
John Masefield is a poet, presumably
more interested in
emotions than in details of
manufacturing. John Faulkner
(brother of William, the Oxford, Miss.,
novelist) studied engi-
neering, and supposedly might be more
interested in technical
processes than in people's lives. Yet, In
the Mill describes in
simple and beautiful fashion the way
carpet was made at the
Alexander Smith establishment of
Yonkers, N. Y., when Mase-
field worked there in the depression
years 1895-97; and Men
Working, a first novel, tells nothing about what was done nor
how it was performed on the "W P
& A" project that employed
Paw Taylor in some Mississippi town
toward the end of the
depressed 1930's.
The Taylors, Paw, Maw, and the assorted
kids (including
20-year-old "Rinno," the
drooling idiot who was six feet two and
weighed less than 50 pounds) abandoned
their cotton share-crop
when Paw got his "four-o-two"
form assigning him to the WPA,
and moved to town to better themselves.
They clubbed with
76
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
similar families and crowded into a big
rented house, bought food
and old radio sets on tick, resorted to
primitive sanitation when
the water was shut off, lived on relief
when Paw got his "four-
o-three" furlough papers, and, when
they had to vacate the prem-
ises, moved into the property of another
unsuspecting landlord.
They had blind faith in the power and
good intentions of Mr.
Will, the politician. They were proud
and wouldn't accept charity
until it was made all right by signing
the papers. They didn't
complain, except that now and then Paw
would say "I'm right
disappointed."
Despite its horrible detail, Men
Working is entertaining and
not unpleasant reading. It doesn't tell
much about the work, but
it may describe some of the life of
certain citizens of Mississippi.
When John Masefield quit the sea at New
York and got a
job in the carpet mill (rather an
accomplishment for a foreigner
in a time of depression) he was
nineteen. He learned to straighten
the yarn tubes and when his work became
routine he employed
his mind by planning a model training
school for the merchant
marine. Later he became a "mistake
finder" and helped keep all
the processes running smoothly and his
fellow workers out of
trouble. He found dignity in work and
working men. He liked
everybody--the other millhands, the
Negro waiter, the Chinese
laundryman--and everybody liked him. He
lived well and simply,
saved money, wandered Sundays through
the countryside, de-
veloped a passion for reading, and
longed (despairingly) to be-
come a writer. He seemed not to mind 60
hours of work a week
nor the pay; there was enough time off
and money enough for
him. His only indictment of the factory
system is the query why
people who have devised such a wonderful
machine can't operate
it smoothly enough to save the workmen
the dread of layoffs.
He found America (probably by contrast
with what he had known
of the Old World) a land where food and
clothes were good and
cheap compared with the effort that had
to be put forth to obtain
them.
So John Masefield's twenty-two months in
the mill were
pleasant. A hankering to see England at
the time of Victoria's
BOOK REVIEWS 77
Diamond Jubilee made him chuck the job
and go to sea again to
work his way home.
In the Mill is pleasant autobiography, like its author and the
experiences it describes. We need more
books like it to round
out our history of industry.
Unfortunately, if John Masefield
hadn't already been famous it is
doubtful whether his manuscript,
charming as it is, would have been
accepted for publication or
widely read if some publisher had taken
a chance on it. We may
be glad that the Poet Laureate has set
down his memories of
work and workingmen.
MERRILL WEED
Democracy Is Different. By Carl Frederick Wittke [and eight
collaborators.] (New York, Harper and
Bros., 1941. 230p.
$2.50.)
This book is made up of a series of
lectures delivered at
Oberlin College by representatives from
the faculties of Oberlin
College, Ohio State University, the
University of Chicago, New
School for Social Research and Harvard
University. The theme
of the series is "Democracy over
against Communism, Fascism
and Nazism." The first and second
addresses are by Dr. Wittke
?? The Evolution of Democracy. The
preface and the last ad-
dress on Democracy today and tomorrow
are contributed by
Ernest H. Wilkins, president of Oberlin
College. Professor
Henry R. Spencer of Ohio State
University discusses the "Cor-
??orate State."
The purpose of the book is "to set
forth the evolution and
present nature of democracy and of the
three forms of dictator-
ship which are today the outstanding
manifestations of autocracy,
and to suggest certain possibilities as
to the defense and advance
of democracy."
H. L.
BOOK REVIEWS
Secret History of the American
Revolution. By Carl Van Doren.
(New York, Viking, 1941. 534p. Illus.
$3.75.)
This book of seventeen chapters gives an
account of the con-
spiracies of Benedict Arnold and
numerous others drawn from
the secret service papers of the British
Headquarters in North
America. which were taken to England at
the close of the Revo-
lutionary War. They were unavailable and
unknown to the
public for more than a century when they
were purchased by the
late William L. Clements of Michigan and
were added to the
valuable manuscript collection of the
Clements library at the
University of Michigan. The
possibilities of this material were
suggested to Mr. Van Doren and he
proceeded to work through
the Clements collection as well as other
rare materials in other
great libraries in the eastern part of
the United States.
The author has deciphered messages and
discovered missing
links which he has gradually unfolded
into a story not known
before. He uncovers much treachery and
intrigue on the part of
the British in their efforts to win over
the mighty leaders of the
American cause. The book appears at a
very appropriate time
since it shows that in a time of stress
and storm, most of the
citizens of the New America were sincere
and devoted to the
cause of independence in spite of
temptation and bribe.
There is an appendix of 56 pages giving
the Arnold-Andre
correspondence and Clements' narrative.
A general bibliography,
chapter references and an index, bring
the book to a close. The
book contains portraits, facsimile
reproductions of unpublished
manuscripts, and a map of the
Arnold-Andre country.
H. L.
(65)