BOOK REVIEWS
Nursing in Ohio: A History. By James H. Rodabaugh and Mary Jane
Rodabaugh. (Columbus, The Ohio State
Nurses' Association, 1951. xiv+
273p., illustrations, appendices, source notes, and
index. $4.00.)
Ohio for many years has shown unusual
interest in the history of medicine.
Stimulated by the eager enthusiasm of
Dr. Jonathan Forman, a group of
researchers has met annually for more
than a decade to add immeasurably
to the knowledge of nineteenth-century science
in the Middle West. A
steadily growing list of papers,
monographs, and books by physicians,
historians, and laymen testifies to the
energy and careful scholarship of
individuals who believe that the full
and complete history of a culture is
incomplete without reference to health
and disease. Both the Ohio State
Medical Journal and the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly
have supported research by devoting
generous space to articles exploring
fascinating facets of medical history.
Now, with the publication of a history
of nursing, two Ohioans con-
tinue the tradition and make a
distinguished contribution to an historical
literature dealing with disease and the
care of the sick. In a very real
sense, Nursing in Ohio is a
pioneering effort, for as yet no other state has
published a full-length, documented
story of the nurse and her function
in society.
The Rodabaughs swiftly and expertly
sketch the story of frontier ills
and treatments, describe various schools
of medical practice, characterize
outstanding physicians, and trace the
rise of hospitals. They devote three
chapters to the beginnings and early
development of nursing, showing how
Catholic nursing orders were among the
first to care for the sick, how
Protestant nurses from Germany, Norway,
and Sweden began work about
1836, and how the Civil War emphasized
the need for nurses. The post-
war period, of course, witnessed the
slow rise of the modern hospital and
of the trained nurse. With deftness and
objectivity, the authors trace
training programs in Ohio from the days
of "practical" instruction to the
time when a variety of subjects was
taught the student nurse. In 1915
minimum standards for schools of nursing
were established, although not
without opposition. From then until 1951,
other acts provided additional
legal helps and standards.
The mighty social and economic changes
that so radically altered
American life after the first World War
(two chapters tell the story of the
206
Book Reviews 207
service nurse in World Wars I and II)
obviously influenced the nurse's
position in Buckeye society. The period
from 1900 to 1920, the authors
point out, was a boom time for hospital
training schools. Not only were
more nurses needed, but new types of
nursing services were being de-
veloped-in public health, administrative
work, industry, schools, and in
specializations such as the nursing of
children and tuberculosis nursing.
The hospital could not begin to train
girls for these increased demands.
Instruction, therefore, moved from
hospital wards to university classrooms.
The University of Cincinnati led the way
in 1916 when it established a
three-year course in nursing and later
added a five-year combined academic
and professional course. A variety of
other agencies, including a grading
committee, made strenuous effort to
improve nursing education.
Despite the best endeavors of agencies
and individuals, the Rodabaughs
say that the nurse's lot has not always
been happy or prosperous. Hospital
nursing all too frequently robbed the
nurse of her dignity, paid her a
miserably small salary, provided her
with inadequate room and board, and
promised her no future security.
Hospitals have so exploited student nurses
as to reduce the number of graduates.
Nursing has not been made as at-
tractive as it should be. The result is
a decline in morale and poor nursing
service. It is stated bluntly that
nurses, in general, work to make money
and that the humanitarian spirit which
once dominated the profession
"seems to be wilting."
Looking into the future, the authors
suggest with caution that nursing
may so develop as to exist on three
levels: "subsidiary" workers to replace
in part the three-year diploma nurse;
the bedside nurse, who has received
three years of basic training in a
hospital; and the specialized nurse, who
has been graduated from a university
program. The hospital school of
nursing is becoming outmoded, the
Rodabaughs repeat, because it lacks
both facilities and faculty. The volume
closes with the thought that a
nationalized health program might result
in better salaries and more
security for the nurse.
Dr. and Mrs. Rodabaugh are to be
congratulated not only because they
have written a competent and informative
history of nursing in Ohio, but
also because they, in a very real sense,
have provided a model that other
states could well follow. And the Ohio
State Nurses' Association deserves
praise for its vision in recognizing the
value of such a history and for
supporting the writing of it with
loyalty and financial aid. Once again,
Ohio can be proud of its medical
historians.
University of Minnesota PHILIP D. JORDAN
208
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
Handbook of Denominations in the
United States. By Frank S. Mead. (New
York and Nashville, Abingdon-Cokesbury
Press, 1951. 207p. $2.75.)
The most comprehensive and reliable
source of information on the
250 and more denominations, Christian
and others, in the United States
is the Survey of Religious Bodies which
the United States Bureau of the
Census used to publish every ten years.
Unfortunately, the census of 1946
was not completed. The last issue of the
Survey appeared in 1941 and pre-
sents the status of 1936; a new one
cannot be expected before 1960 or
thereabouts, depending on whether
congress will appropriate funds for an
ecclesiastical census in 1956. Although
the historical and descriptive parts
of the 1941 edition retain their high
permanent value, its statistical figures
are already out of date. The current
church publications which give up-
to-date statistics are not easily
accessible everywhere. Thus Mr. Mead's
brief Handbook, which gives the
state of things as of 1951, will be welcome
as a practical instrument, a kind of
first aid on the minister's, teacher's, or
editor's desk. It is unpretentious and
frankly compilatory in character.
It contains factual information only and
principally excludes value judg-
ment. Basically it is an extract from
the census, supplemented by con-
sultation of such recent studies as Clark's
Small Sects, Sperry's Religion
in America, and Braden's These Also Believe, and of
communications of
the church bodies themselves. New
material, not presented in the census
of 1936, is added here and there, as for
instance the chapter on Jehovah's
Witnesses (pp. 100-102). The
arrangement-roughly alphabetical, with
the subdivisions of the larger groups as
Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans
kept together in blocks-is about the
same as in the census. The most recent
statistics on church membership are tabulated
(p. 185 et seq.).
Mistakes are almost unavoidable in a
work of this character. There are
not too many in this book. The legendary
tale of St. Vladimir's conversion
(p. 80) should not be offered as
history. On page 72 the Gothic invasion
of Italy in the fifth century and the
Lombard attacks of the eighth are
telescoped into one event; on the same
page the famous difference between
Greek and Latin doctrine on the
proceeding of the Holy Spirit is mis-
represented. A misprint ("mortality" instead of
"immortality") makes
Adventist doctrine incomprehensible (p.
18). In the survey of the
Protestant Episcopal Church, Bishop
Richard Moore of Virginia is con-
fused with Benjamin Moore of New York;
and the general tendency of this
church towards splitting larger dioceses
into smaller ones (for example,
division of the old diocese of Ohio into
the two of Ohio and Southern
Book Reviews 209
Ohio, 1874) is turned into its contrary
(p. 159). The Great Revival of
1801 in Kentucky should retain its
traditional name and not be confused
in name with the Great Awakening of the
1730's and 40's (p. 67). An
overdose of conciseness seems to
transform Oliver Cromwell into a Pres-
byterian (p. 148). Such things can
easily be corrected in the second edition
which the author is planning.
Mr. Mead's book of course does not aim
at replacing the census, which
for any kind of thorough study will
remain indispensable.
A special vote of thanks is in order for
several precious Americana. The
reader will appreciate the information
about an "Automatic Correspondence
School" run by a denomination which
offers courses in "evangelology,
deaconology, missionology, pastorology
and laymanology," of which the
last, I think, deserves the prize.
Kenyon College RICHARD G. SALOMON
The Papers of Henry Bouquet. Edited by S. K. Stevens, Donald H. Kent,
and Autumn L. Leonard. Volume II, The
Forbes Expedition. (Harris-
burg, Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania
Historical and Museum Com-
mission, 1951. xxxiii+704p.,
illustrations, maps, bibliography, and index.
$7.00.)
In the series of wars which finally
culminated in the Treaty of Paris of
1763 the French and the British bitterly
contested for the control of colonial
empire. The last of these struggles, the
so-called French and Indian War,
broke the backbone of New France and
ended French claims to the St.
Lawrence and Mississippi valleys and the
intermediate Great Lakes area.
One of the most important places in the
chain of posts and forts the French
attempted to maintain between the St.
Lawrence and Mississippi watersheds
was at the forks of the Ohio River,
present-day Pittsburgh.
It was a relatively simple matter for
the French to expel the weak
English settlement from the unfinished
post at the forks in the spring
of 1754. The fort was then completed,
further strengthened, and christened
Fort Duquesne. This and other efforts
gave virtual control of the Ohio
Valley to the French. Since it was
anticipated that English efforts would
be directed to an attempt to oust them,
Duquesne was made as strong as
available resources would permit. The
English realized the seriousness of
the matter from their standpoint and
concluded that a comparatively strong
and well-trained force would be
necessary to dislodge this French garrison
from its location at the junction of the
Monongahela and Allegheny rivers.
210 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
The ill-fated Braddock expedition of
1755 further enhanced French control
of the Ohio Valley.
With the formal declaration of war
between France and England on
May 18, 1756, Fort Duquesne became the
center of the activities of the
former among the Indians, and of raids
with them on the Virginia and
Pennsylvania frontiers. The issues
involved in the area of the valley of the
Ohio received considerable attention and
became the object of grave concern
in Britain. After the cabinet
reorganization of 1757 in which William Pitt
was given full control in military and
foreign affairs, there was planned a
determined expedition to oust the
French. Brigadier General John Forbes
was ordered to America to drive the
enemy from the western Pennsylvania
area. Colonel Henry Bouquet was his
second in command on this ex-
pedition in 1758. Because of the illness
of the general, Bouquet's position,
role, and responsibility as to the
success and outcome of the venture became
extremely important.
The present volume is concerned with
that portion of the Forbes ex-
pedition which led to the capture of
Fort Duquesne from the French.
Supply problems, the establishment of
communication facilities, road build-
ing, the construction of forts and
posts, and all the other aspects of the
progress of a military expedition into
the American frontier are presented
by the principals themselves. Taking
actual possession of Duquesne, how-
ever, was anticlimactic, for, as Bouquet
recorded in letters to friends, "we
. . . arrived here to day [November 25]
in expectation to meet the Ennemy:
but to our great Surprise . . . found
the Fort in Flames, and abandonned,"
because "the French [had been]
seized with a panic at our approach"
(pp. 608, 609). The story is told in the
several hundred letters, memoranda,
petitions, speeches, journals, reports,
and other miscellaneous documents,
as well as Bouquet's orderly book
covering a substantial part of the ex-
pedition, assembled by the editors from
repositories and collections in the
United States, Canada, and Great
Britain.
A number of features add to the value
and usefulness of this work. The
manuscripts are listed chronologically
with names and places of each in-
cluded. The papers for each month are
prefaced with a chronicle of events.
Documents in French and German are
followed immediately by trans-
lations. In cases of missing manuscripts
a carefully calendared statement
as to contents and identity is made
wherever possible. These are in addi-
tion to the usual editorial features
found in such works.
qqq`````1``` This, although Volume II, is the first to be published. Volume
23333333333333333333333```ww3333334, to con-
q11121`ain Bouquet's earlier papers, has
been postponed pending the hoped-for
Book Reviews 211
discovery of many missing items. High
standards for it have been set by
the editors in the present volume.
Ohio State University DWIGHT L. SMITH
Old Indiana and the New World:
Address at the Opening of the Library
of Congress Exhibition Commemorating
the Territory of Indiana, Novem-
ber 30, 1950. By Elmer Davis. (Washington, The Library of Congress,
1951. 14p. $2.25.)
For several years the Library of
Congress has performed a commendable
service by installing fine exhibitions
"commemorating significant anniver-
saries in the histories of the 48 United
States." Florida, Texas, Tennessee,
Iowa, Utah, Georgia, Wisconsin, Oregon,
Minnesota, California, and the
District of Columbia had been honored by
exhibitions up to November 30,
1950, when the display commemorating the
one hundred and fiftieth anni-
versary of the establishment of the
Territory of Indiana was opened.
Mr. Elmer Davis, noted author and radio
commentator and a native of
Aurora, Indiana, gave the address at the
opening of the Indiana exhibition.
His talk was a brief review of the
Hoosier culture.
In the earliest days the "flavor of
life" of Indiana was that of the tri-
state region that centered in
Cincinnati. "The river counties set the Hoosier
literary tradition," Mr. Davis
points out. As people moved into the rich flat
lands of up-state Indiana and
transportation facilities united the population,
the state's cultural atmosphere changed.
It was characterized by "a centripetal,
introspective culture; pretty well
satisfied with itself . . .; a world with no
aspiration to the loftier heights, but
which also, in those days, managed to
avoid the depths as well."
The stereotyped Hoosier of the flat
lands, however, has proved inadequate
in the urban-industrial transformation
of the state since 1900. "The old
tight, introspective, self-satisfied
Hoosier culture . . .which cultivated, about
as well as any society has ever
cultivated it, the doctrine of moderation in
all things, of the golden mean-that is
gone. It had no answer to the
problems of a new age."
Mr. Davis' analysis of the Hoosier and
his culture is applicable in general
to the Middle West.
Midwesterners-all-`1111111egan on a virgin frontier. They
not only won their living from the soil,
but they worked the natural re-
sources into abundant salable surpluses
which brought phenomenal pros-
perity. No wonder the qidwesterners were
self-satisfied and self-confident!
At the same time their concentration on
economic production allowed little
time for cultivating the mind, for
accumulating a knowledge of human re-
212 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
lations, or for studying and enjoying
the arts. Perhaps it is not surprising,
therefore, that the midwesterners of
today, still limited by their tradition
of self-sufficiency, are unprepared to
meet the vast economic, social, and
political problems of the modern world
which has moved close around them.
Ohio State Archaeological JAMES H. RODABAUGH
and Historical Society
Johnny Appleseed and Shorter Poems. By Ernest C. Leverenz. (New York,
Exposition Press, 1951. 88p. $2.50.)
In fifty-one pages of quiet, dignified
tetrameters Mr. Leverenz, who is
an instructor in Latin and German at
Concordia College, Fort Wayne, re-
counts the traditional story of Johnny
Appleseed-his birth in Revolutionary
New England, his early adventures in
western Pennsylvania, his nursery
plots on the Ohio border, his tragic
love affair, his missionary labors for
the Church of the New Jerusalem, his
saving of the settlements from the
Indians, his far travels and later
services to early settlers of Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, and Wisconsin. Mr. Leverenz
preserves all the popular idealism
that has come to be associated during
the past century with the folk concept
of Johnny's mission and his
accomplishment in helping open a way in the
western wilderness for the westward
progress of democracy.
"No war exploits made him
renowned,/ Nor sober statesmanship ac-
claimed," the author writes in his
prologue; "But in humane pursuits he
found/ His role in life, unique and
famed./ He served mankind in humble
ways/ On frontier soil in rugged
days." Mr. Leverenz keeps his treatment
of the Chapman legend within this
simple, reasonable pattern omitting
much of the sentimental and grotesque
nonsense that one often hears and
reads these days from the Johnny
Appleseed "enthusiasts."
Accompanying the verse are fourteen
pages giving a "Biography of
John Chapman," Historical Notes,
and a Bibliography. Since, however,
the author has elected to treat of the
mythical Johnny Appleseed without
consideration for recent biographical
research on the historical John Chap-
man, neither the verse nor the supplementary
material may be accepted for
biographical reference. It is the myth,
of course, rather than the man behind
it, that is now the more important in
the American folk heritage.
Other short poems in the volume give
similar treatment to "Columbus,"
"Washington,"
"Lincoln," "America's Bill of Rights,"
"Sesquicentennial
of Old Fort Wayne,"
"Indiana," and other historical themes.
Otterbein College ROBERT PRICE
Book Reviews 213
The Civilizations of Ancient America:
Selected Papers of the XXIXth
International Congress of
Americanists. Edited by Sol Tax, with
an In-
troduction by Wendell C. Bennett.
(Chicago, The University of Chicago
Press, 1951. viii+328p., illustrations
and bibliography. $7.50.)
At irregular intervals over the past
thirty years gatherings of specialists
dealing with anthropological problems of
the Americas have summarized
their knowledge and debated their
interpretations. These volumes have
generally constituted landmarks in
publication, in that they have become
authoritative compendiums of the major
findings and opinions on the
subject to date. The present volume is
no exception to this rule, although
in the opinion of this reviewer it falls
considerably short of the mark set by
certain previous volumes. Negative
comments first: There is over-representa-
tion of narrowly specialized articles
which will be of scant interest to the
general reader (for example, an illustrated
paper on a rare Peruvian square
bonnet); and the interpretive summations
of past research, like Strong's
excellent "Cultural Resemblances in
Nuclear America: Parallelism or Dif-
fusion?" are so brief and condensed
that few except the professional re-
searchers themselves will have
sufficient prior knowledge to follow their
arguments. These defects should not be
laid at the door of Dr. Tax, the
editor, but rather to the imbalance of
the papers delivered at the congress
plus the exhorbitant printing costs
which demand cuts. If one could ignore
the feelings of contributors, it would
be much the better choice to ignore
the many specialized items and feature
the few, full-length, detailed in-
terpretive papers.
Wendell Bennett's excellent Introduction
provides a comparison of the
papers delivered at the 1949 congress
with those at the last previous meeting,
in 1928. This comparison shows that
interests have "not diverged greatly
in the past two decades," but that
important differences exist in the con-
cepts and methodologies used by the
researchers. In general, considerable
scientific sophistication is shown in
the 1949 meeting, that is, a familiarity
with the precision and demands of canons
of proof as well as the use of
complex methods of analysis (for
example, C14 dating). Also, there is
more willingness to see continuous
relationships between historical (that is,
archaeological) habitations and
contemporary social life, in the effort to-
ward developing a more comprehensive
social-historical science of human
ecology. (See Gordon Willey's paper,
"Peruvian Settlement and Socio-
Economic Patterns.") To say this
another way, there has been an increased
professionalization of the field; there are fewer names among the con-
tributors of persons who would be
classified as "amateurs," "explorers,"
214
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
"naturalists," and the like.
This reflects the intensive scientific work done
in the Americas in the past two decades
by the growing crop of anthropolo-
gical students supported by various
governmental grants and funds. Inter-
American studies have become an
important minor instrument of diplomacy
and cultural interchange.
But of course there are some differences
in interests also, and a certain
amount of vital new information.
Choosing rather randomly (you cannot
really review a book consisting of
thirty-eight separate contributions!), the
following seem worthy of special notice:
A new term, "Nuclear America,"
has been introduced. It refers to the
regions of high civilization from Mexico
to Peru. The details of cultural
development in this area are now pretty
well known-far beyond 1928
at any rate. But as Bennett remarks,
"the causes remain obscure." On the
margins of this whole area information
is now available as to diffusions of
Nuclear culture-for example, the
important dependency of the Mississippi
Valley on Mexico for much of its
cultural emphases at several time periods.
In all the Americas the search for early
man has been carried on intensively
and the evidence is accumulating
rapidly. "Early Hunter" and pre-ceramic
horizons have now been spotted nearly
everywhere, followed by various ex-
pressions of food-gathering-hunting
cultures of simple design. Out of these
Archaic or Formative (both terms in use)
bases emerge regional dif-
ferentiations. This whole process has
taken longer, according to new, exact
methods of dating, than the Americanists
were willing to grant in 1928,
during the epoch of anthropological
skepticism. To illustrate how far
thinking has departed from those
skeptical and suspicious days, Gordon
Ekholm can now write a sober and
reasoned discussion of the strong prob-
ability of Nuclear American ties with
Southern Asia (the last essay in the
book). The broadening of the conceptual
and methodological base has had
the healthy effect of reviving, for
serious study with new perspectives, many
old problems long discarded.
In spite of these newer approaches, it
should be pointed out in conclusion
that spade work is still the answer in
the long run. The dirt archaeologist
and the painstaking historical
documentary researcher; the linguist and the
ethnologist, must continue their efforts
as before, in spite of the laboratory
scientist and the theorist who have
become so evident in recent years. There
is evidence of real teamwork between all
concerned, and Americanist studies
are unquestionably headed for big things
in coming decades. This volume
provides a fair introduction to the
promises.
Ohio State University JOHN W. BENNETT
Book Reviews 215
Zachary Taylor, Soldier in the White
House. By Holman Hamilton. (In-
dianapolis, The Bobbs-Merrill Company,
1951. 496p., notes, bibliography,
and index. $6.00.)
This well written volume completes the
life story of Zachary Taylor begun
in Zachary Taylor, Soldier of the
Republic, published a decade ago. Mr.
Hamilton, a newspaper man, has done a
tremendous amount of research
and has produced a book which is both
scholarly and interesting. This book
deals with the life of Taylor and his
relationships to public affairs from
the time of the beginning of the Taylor
boom during the Mexican War
to the passage of the measures usually
known as the Compromise of 1850
a few weeks after Taylor's death. Some
of the traditional concepts of the
sectional crisis emerging from the
acquisition of new territories during the
1840's are here subjected to a critical
evaluation, and some fresh inter-
pretations result.
As happened before and has happened
since, both major political parties
wanted to capitalize on the popularity
of a military hero by running him
for the presidency. Although many
Democrats wanted to nominate him, a
number of Whigs felt an urgency about
the Taylor candidacy which can be
illustrated by a letter written by
Lincoln in April 1848 to another Whig
from Illinois entreating him to get a
mutual friend to forsake Clay and
support Taylor because they would elect
Taylor but could not elect Clay.
This same urgency led J. J. Crittenden,
just elected governor of Kentucky
by the Whigs and one of Taylor's closest
advisers, to write on September 1
to Thomas Ewing, former senator from
Ohio and cabinet member during
the Harrison-Tyler administration:
"There is, Ewing, one other considera-
tion that must give to you and me a
final concentrated interest in this
contest-It is the last in which
we can hope to share in the triumph--If
defeated now, it is final as to us-We
can no more hope to see the govern-
ment rescued from abuse, & in the
hands of men who would administer it
in its purity. Put forth all your
strength, then, in this last struggle-and
let nothing be left undone which can
contribute to an honorable success."
The Whig party had been plagued by factions
ever since its foundation;
and in considerable extent this had
stemmed from the Clay-Webster rivalry
for the presidency. When these two men
were again passed by in 1848, they
were in no mood to accept other
leadership from their party, especially
when they were not given cabinet posts.
Much of the bitterness of the
sectional struggle in the senate was
heightened because these two men op-
posed the presidential leadership on the
question of the admission of
California and the treatment to be accorded
New Mexico and also in the
216
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
boundary dispute with Texas. The
president received a good deal of Demo-
cratic support in the senate, but too
many Whigs opposed him to reach a
settlement.
Hamilton writes very well-this is
another superior American biography.
He handles his material expertly and
produces a book worth the attention
of historians and of the general public.
Yet his footnoting technique is
frustrating to one wanting to check his
sources. Not only does he place
his footnotes at the end of the book, he
also uses one footnote to buttress
many points on several pages. To take
one footnote at random, the first note
for Chapter IV cites three unpublished
Taylor letters, four newspaper
references, and six references to
Samson's Letters of Zachary Taylor. The
footnote originates in the middle of a
sentence near the bottom of the third
page of the chapter; it seems that
thirteen statements (but which thirteen
is not clear) on those three pages are
buttressed by this note. Despite
this clumsy footnoting Hamilton has a
finished book in which it is nearly
impossible to find errors. One might
argue that the statement that Taylor's
cabinet had "no Clay . . . intimate"
(p. 167) is not quite true. Thomas
Ewing, secretary of the interior,
remained on intimate terms with Clay
until the latter's death, although Clay
did speak of Ewing at this time as
his only friend in the administration.
One might also have reservations
about the statement on page 61 that
Secretary of State Clayton had shared
"honors with Webster and Clay in
debates on the bank." But such as these
are minor. The thoroughness of the
research, the new lights, the balanced
writing, and the interesting presentation
have earned for this volume a place
in college and university libraries as
well as in public and private libraries.
Hiram College PAUL I. MILLER
Heavens on Earth: Utopian Communities
in America, 1680-1880. By Mark
Halloway. (New York, Library Publishers,
1951. 231p., bibliographical
acknowledgment, index, illustrations,
and map. $4.75.)
In spite of the publisher's blurb that
this book is a "detailed history of
American Communal Utopian
settlements," it does not go that far, but
it does embody a most satisfactory
survey of the subject. Scores of enter-
prises from the Atlantic to the Pacific
are discussed. A map helps the reader
locate the more important settlements.
Ohio has had its share of Utopias-
Zoar, Equity, Watervliet, White Water,
and even Utopia itself, founded
by the brilliant Josiah Warren, near
Cincinnati. The author takes full ad-
vantage of the interesting characters
and the varied communities that made
Book Reviews 217
up this segment of the American, and to
some extent the European, scene.
Delightful comments abound-thus Johann
Jacob Zimmermann, an early
pietist "noted for his detestation
and denunciation of all clergymen--a
detestation that seems later to have
embraced the larger part of humanity."
Or, there is the account of Mother Ann's
husband who took to the bottle
and another woman, "Celibacy no
doubt had imposed a great strain on his
constitution."
But the book contains much more than a
mere survey of wild dreamers,
neurotic eccentrics, and sincere
devotees. The humane sympathy and
judicious fairness with which Mr.
Halloway treats the individuals involved
struck this reviewer as being
noteworthy. Thus, in considering one group,
the author comments, "Whatever
psychologists might make of the peculiar
religious attitude of the Shakers, the
Shakers themselves found fulfillment
in it." In these days of thinking
in predigested and capsule form, it may
be worth while to hark back to some of
the beliefs which created these
schemes. The author discusses this
aspect of his topic in Chapter XIII,
"Was It Worth While?" and in
the prologue, "The Idea Persists." It is a
stimulating and refreshing study. With
this in mind and considering the high
costs of publishing, it may be
picayunish to cavil at the lack of documenta-
tion. The Bibliographical
Acknowledgement mentions only the best-known
works. For those who wish to delve into
the subject deeper or would like
to know where the author obtained
specific pieces of knowledge, this book
provides no signs of indication or few
paths to guide the way of a searcher
in this field. But the searcher,
researcher, and general reader, all will find
the book worth while.
Miami University WILLIAM JOHN McNIFF
Henry Hamilton and George Rogers
Clark in the American Revolution,
with the Unpublished Journal of Henry
Hamilton. Edited by John D.
Barnhart. (Crawfordsville, Ind., R. E.
Banta, 1951. 244p., illustrations,
index, notes, and bibliography. $5.00.)
Professor John D. Barnhart has performed
a useful service by editing the
Journal of Lieutenant Governor Henry
Hamilton. Although Hamilton's
Report was published some years ago,
permission to print the Journal has
previously been withheld.
The Journal is much more extensive than
the Report, although the latter
contains an account of Hamilton's
imprisonment in Virginia, which the
former does not. The Report, however,
was written after Hamilton's re-
218 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
lease, and it was, in part at least, an
apology for his failure. The Journal,
on the other hand, is a record of
Hamilton's daily activities in great detail,
written on the spot. For this reason it
is a more significant source of his-
torical information.
Seven brief chapters precede the
Journal. The first contains an account
of Hamilton's life before he set out on
his expedition to Vincennes. The
editor shows that Hamilton did not leave
Detroit to escape trial for judicial
irregularities there, as has previously
been charged.
The second chapter is entitled
"Superintendent of Indian Warfare."
After reviewing the use of Indians by
the French, the British, and the
Americans, and considering the orders
under which Hamilton was working,
Mr. Barnhart absolves him from any
peculiar guilt in the practice which
would warrant the exclusive fixing upon
him of the appellation "Hairbuyer."
This is a valid conclusion, but Henry
Hamilton's unsavory reputation has
been so firmly established by repetition
that this exposition will probably
have no more effect in renovating it
than have the attempts of scholars
before him.
The succeeding chapters, except the
last, are an account of Hamilton's
expedition to Vincennes, his capture by
George Rogers Clark, his imprison-
ment at Williamsburg, and his release.
The narrative generally parallels
the entries in the Journal. Additional
information from other contemporary
sources has been used to round out
Hamilton's record.
The last chapter, before the Journal, is
entitled "Changes in Evaluation:
Hamilton and Clark." In it the
editor asks the question, "What changes
are necessary in the previously accepted
account of the American Revolution
in the West?" His answer, in brief,
is, practically none. He finds, for
example, that Hamilton was callous to
the sufferings of the people against
whom he sent Indian warriors, but that
he was simply obeying orders.
Basing his estimate on Hamilton's whole
career, Mr. Barnhart concludes
that he was "a brave, honest, and
honorable man." His faults were mainly
impulsiveness and poor judgment.
The editor, in reappraising the reasons
for Clark's victory, finds that
the fickle French and Indians were
largely responsible for Hamilton's de-
feat, and he gives a great deal of
weight to news of the Franco-American
alliance for turning the French to the
support of Clark. He assigns credit
also to Clark's winning personality and
his understanding of the Indians.
The Journal, Mr. Barnhart decides, shows
that Clark exaggerated the
number of prisoners he took at Vincennes
and discloses evidence "of an
element of vindictiveness, if not of
brutality, in Clark's character." Never-
Book Reviews 219
theless, he concludes that "among
American heroes Clark deserves to stand
forth as a man's man, a rugged, tough
fighter who refused to be discouraged
and who drove himself and his men to a
significant victory."
The Journal itself is extremely
interesting. Reading it, one is impressed
by Hamilton's patience with the
capricious Indians, his care of his men, and
his lenience toward the French of
Vincennes, even though he despised them.
Perhaps he was a man of too liberal a
disposition to be a successful military
commander. In spite of responsibilities
and hardships on the march he took
time to notice natural beauty and even
to sketch scenes that interested him.
There are copious footnotes following
the text and a section entitled
"Sources of Information." The
latter is a bibliographical essay on the writings
of Hamilton, on other contemporary
documents, manuscript and printed, and
on secondary accounts.
The book is beautifully made. It is
unfortunate that no maps showing
Hamilton's travels were included.
University of Michigan F. CLEVER BALD
The Homes of America As They Have
Expressed the Lives of Our People
for Three Centuries. By Ernest Pickering. (New York, Thomas Y. Crowell
Company, 1951. 284p., illustrations and
index. $5.75.)
The Homes of America is, as its jacket explains, a "biography of the
American home." The work is
conspicuously for the layman and not the
scholar, although the scholar will find
here a fairly large number of hitherto
unpublished photographs from the very
valuable pictorial files of the
Historic American Buildings Survey in
Washington. He will also applaud
the fact that except in a very few
instances the author gives exact dates
only when those dates have been well
authenticated by early records. In other
cases he gives the period only, thus
avoiding one of the persistent bugaboos
of inaccuracy which characterize so much
of our writing in the field of
American architecture.
As a biographer of the American home Mr.
Pickering deals especially
with the many forces, both material and
non-material, that have shaped 300
years of domestic architecture in the
United States. The work is divided
into five parts: a Prologue, "The
Colonial Period," "The New Republic,"
"The Era of Confusion," and
"The Present Century." Chapter subdivisions
within this scheme deal in the Colonial
Period with New England, the
Middle Atlantic Colonies, the South
Atlantic Colonies, and the Spanish
and French; in the New Republic with the
"Post-Colonial" and Greek
220
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
Revival styles; in the Era of Confusion
with "More Revivals"; and in the
Present Century with "Tradition and
Function."
Mr. Pickering writes easily and clearly
though not excitingly about the
growth and development of America and
their reflection in its domestic
architecture. In this effort the subject
matter is sometimes described in such
general terms that one senses a distance
from the architecture itself which
might happily have been avoided by the
introduction, now and again, of
quotations from the contemporary record.
The work is obviously concerned with
broad trends, however, rather than
with specific instances, and on these
grounds one can overlook, for in-
stance, the absence of any but passing
mention in the chapter on the Era
of Confusion of those vital and often
isolated forces at work amidst the
popular "confusion" of styles
in the late nineteenth cenutry. There is
good reason for showing, as the author
does on page 240, the "familiar
turned porch posts of the Carpenter's
Colonial style," which were multiplied
without number throughout the country
and certainly represent (especially
in terms of the large numbers which have
survived) the broad trend. Yet
it seems unfortunate that two almost
identical porches are shown on the
same page. The second photo seems
redundant and might well have been
replaced with at least one example of
the best which this period had to offer.
In his appraisal of the architecture
there is an unevenness in evaluation in
which the Greek Revival comes off much
less fairly than would seem
justifiable as "a sentimental
style" and "an artificial, though popular, move-
ment . . . which was largely unrelated
to family life" (p. 197). The final
chapters on the Modern movement, on the
other hand, furnish a fair and
objective summation of the fundamental
goals of the contemporary architect.
The occasional interpolation of photos
of contemporary homes throughout
the text in connection with the earlier
architecture also helps to provide
thought-provoking accents. Despite
occasional factual inaccuracies and un-
evenness in appraisal this work has a
particular value in its emphasis, so
seldom stressed in either the scholarly
or popular literature, of the forces
which shaped, and the conditions out of
which arose the architectural
forms peculiar to the United States.
Metropolitan Museum of Art ABBOTT CUMMINGS
Foreigners in the Union Army and Navy.
By Ella Lonn. (Baton Rouge,
Louisiana State University Press, 1951.
viii+725p., frontispiece, bibliog-
raphy, and index. $8.50.)
This excellent monograph, in the opinion
of the reviewer, constitutes one
Book Reviews 221
of the most interesting contributions
that has been made to the field of
Civil War literature within recent
years. Miss Lonn has now done for the
North what she so successfully did for
the South in her Foreigners in the
Confederacy (1940). After giving a brief analysis of the
distribution of the
foreign element in the North in 1860,
the author outlines the issues offered
by the candidacy of Abraham Lincoln, and
presents the views of various
nationality groups as to the seriousness
of the impending crisis. Although
the German element had, for the most
part, adhered to the Democratic
party, the issues offered by the Lincoln
campaign caused many, subjected
to the persuasive oratory of Carl Schurz
and Gustav Korner, to break from
their traditional political moorings.
Similarly the Irish, although firm in their
southern sympathies and fearing the
Negro as an ultimate economic and
social competitor, paradoxically enough
were soon enrolled as stern de-
fenders of the Union cause. This cannot
be interpreted to mean, however,
that the Irish approved the eventual
wartime policy of emancipation or
were indifferent to the governmental
policy of conscription.
When secession became an accomplished
fact, the 3,903,672 immigrant
citizens residing in the North were, for
the moment, placed on the defensive.
Out of their eagerness to demonstrate
their loyalty, and having witnessed
the disturbing effects of revolutionary
movements in their homelands, they
promptly offered their services in
defense of the Union and of their adopted
homes. Although a majority joined the
armed forces out of purely patriotic
motives some, including the Irish, saw
in the conflict an opportunity to
strike indirectly at the hereditary foe
of the Sons of Erin. Others, like many
native-born Americans, were motivated by
a spirit of adventure or were
not unfavorably disposed toward the
remuneration offered by the bounty
system.
Into the ranks of the Union army came
thousands of foreigners, who,
at an earlier date, either had served in
the regular army or had gained mili-
tary experience in the revolutionary
movements of 1830 and 1848 in Europe.
There were brigades of Irishmen and
Frenchmen from New York, and
regiments of Germans from Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri,
New York, and Pennsylvania. There were
Scotchmen from New York and
Scandinavians from the farms on the
western frontier. In due time the
Union army became a cosmopolitan
assemblage. Out of a total Union en-
listment of approximately 2,312,304, the
foreign-born supplied 518,161
troops, including 200,000 Germans,
144,221 Irishmen, 3,000 Swedes,
and 800 Hungarians, with minor
nationalities represented in proportion to
their numbers. In many cases nationality
groups formed entire regiments,
222 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
such as the famous German 9th Ohio
commanded by Colonel Robert
McCook.
The federal government, realizing the
necessity of recognizing nationality
groups for their response to the call
for troops and their devotion to the
Union cause, was not averse to rewarding
foreigners possessing military
or political ability with commissions.
In addition, morale was enhanced by a
liberal policy of bestowing medals upon
individuals for meritorious service.
Throughout the war period nationality
groups clamored incessantly for the
appointment of their countrymen to high
commands. Accordingly, six
men of foreign birth attained the rank
of major general, 147 the rank of
colonel, and 76 the rank of major.
During the early phase of the conflict
the people of the North, ignorant
of military operations, were inclined to
look upon the foreign-born as a
godsend. Soon, however, despite the
important services rendered by foreign
units in defending Missouri and in the
engagements at Forts Henry and
Donelson, Shiloh, Perryville, and
Antietam, nativism reared its ugly head,
causing confusion, prejudice, and dissatisfaction
in the Union ranks. It
was soon evident that native-born
soldiers preferred to be under the com-
mand of their own officers. Indeed, to
cite one example among many, the
commissioned officers of the 58th Ohio
opposed the appointment of J.
Andregg to office in that regiment on
the grounds that he was a foreigner.
Then, too, there was a strong feeling on
the part of West Point graduates
that high ranking positions should be
reserved for them; and both civilian
and foreign appointees were systematically
excluded from their "intimate
circle."
Defeat of foreign units or units
composed principally of the foreign-
born on the field of battle, intensified
the nativistic reaction. It is shown
that the defeat of the Union forces at
Chancellorsville, although not in
true historical perspective in 1863, was
the occasion for the wholesale con-
demnation of the 11th Corps, composed
principally of Germans. Indeed,
certain northern newspapers and orators
talked loosely of the desirability
of "shooting" the entire unit.
After Chancellorsville the Germans, bitterly
resenting the ingratitude of the
Americans, lost their enthusiasm for the
conflict, and future German enlistments
were kept at a minimum. Nor
did the indirect application of such
invidious sobriquets as "Kraut" and
"Sowbelly" to high-ranking
German officers promote a spirit of comrade-
ship between native-born and
foreign-born units. Throughout the war
years little or no attempt was made to
eradicate possible misunderstandings
between the native-born and our adopted
citizens. The foreign units main-
Book Reviews 223
tained, until casualties and disease
decimated their ranks, their identity
and solidarity by such mediums as the
foreign-language press, the issuance
of commands and orders in their native
tongues, and the employment of
identifying flags and especial uniforms.
Soon the green flag of Erin
became symbolic of the traditional
fighting qualities of the Irish. The sudden
appearance of that green flag on the field
of battle was sufficient to en-
gender fear and consternation in
Confederate ranks. Moreover, it was not
uncommon for the Confederates to hear
strains of the Marseillaise, the
battle songs of the Swedes, or the many
German and Polish marching
songs as individual units moved toward
the battle front.
It is interesting to note, however, that
the native-born did not have a
monopoly on jealousy and hatred. The
unfortunate situation was further
tangled by rivalries between German and
Irish troops and the acrimonious
debates between German units relative to
the merits and demerits of such
foreign-born heroes as Carl Schurz,
Franz Sigel, and Ludwig Blenker.
Foreign-born units, supported by the
foreign-language press and solidly
backed by a patriotic home front,
insisted that victories won by German
units should be credited to the Germans,
and Irish victories to the Irish.
While the revival of nativism in the
armed forces and the bitter contest
between nationality groups constitutes
one of the darkest pages of Civil
War history, the augmenting of Union
forces by such methods as kidnapping,
impressment, and coercion properly
deserves the condemnation of modern
historical scholars. Moreover, the
unorthodox methods employed by public
officials in enticing 650,000 eager
immigrants to northern ports in war
time presents an equally sordid picture.
Many unsuspecting immigrants, be-
lieving that they were to serve as
replacements in factories and on the farms,
found themselves enrolled as combat
troops.
Despite the rivalries, jealousies, and
apparent confusion in the Union
ranks, the immigrant citizens
contributed substantially not only to an ulti-
mate Union victory, but also to certain
refinements in the service. In
preparing military maps, desperately
needed for tactical problems, the
United States leaned heavily upon German
topographical engineers; and the
Poles, a minor nationality group, contributed
substantially to the success of
the newly organized Signal Corps.
English, Irish, and German physicians
and surgeons, scientifically trained in
European universities, administered
to the sick and wounded. Morale in camp
and field was enhanced by the
presence of foreign-born pastors and
priests who constantly performed their
spiritual duties without reference to
race, creed, or remuneration. Yet, in
evaluating the services rendered by the
foreign-born, the author concludes,
224
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
as does Professor Fred Shannon in his Organization
and Administration
of the Union Army, that the soldiers of foreign birth did not bear more
than their share of the fighting.
Natives and the foreign-born shared
equally in paying the supreme price. The
Civil War raised all alike to
"the honorable status of American
citizens."
The author concludes her study with an
analysis of the foreign-born
in the Union navy. Although none of the
great naval commanders was
born abroad, three of them, Admirals
Farragut, Dahlgren, and DuPont,
were sons of foreign-born Americans. It
is significant, however, that the
contributions of John Ericsson, born in
Sweden, revolutionized naval warfare.
It would be difficult indeed, within the
limits of this review, to do justice
to this substantial contribution to
Civil War literature. Miss Lonn does
not hesitate to reverse previous
historical judgments or to present new in-
terpretations. In the light of
present-day historical evidence, the author
is unfavorably disposed toward Professor
William E. Dodd's conclusion
(American Historical Review, XVI [1910-11], 774-788) that the foreign-
born vote in the Northwest decided the outcome
of the election of 1860,
and refutes the once popular impression
that the Union was saved by
foreign troops alone. Finally, the
author places the responsibility for the
Union defeat at Chancellorsville upon
General Howard's neglect of the
elementary principles of defense rather
than upon the inefficiency of the
German 11th Corps.
In preparing her study Miss Lonn has
consulted a wide variety of sources
including manuscript materials, consular
reports, public documents, diaries,
autobiographies, periodicals,
newspapers, and secondary materials. The
author has written critically and
dispassionately on the troublesome problem
of building an effective Union army and
navy from the melting pot of
nationalities. The volume, well printed
and attractively bound, contains a
classified bibliography and an appendix.
The index, although incomplete,
is adequate.
Ohio State Archaeological JOHN 0. MARSH
and Historical Society
With Rod and Transit: The Engineering
Career of Thomas S. McNair
(1824-1901). By James B. McNair. (Los Angeles, the author, 1951.
xv+267p., illustrations, notes, and
appendices. $7.50.)
This volume of 267 pages, including
several pages of notes and illus-
trations, will not, I hasten to point
out, be of much value to Ohioans. It
Book Reviews 225
is, however, a book of some general
interest and has a very special interest
to Pennsylvanians. Students of early
engineering practices, railroad and canal
building, and coal mining will find it
of very real value. In fact, this is the
chief importance of the book. It is
privately printed and written by a de-
scendant of the Thomas S. McNair whose
biography is the subject of the
work. The entire work is based for the
most part on the McNair family
papers now deposited in the Huntington
Library at San Marino, California.
(As an aside, one might comment upon the
unsuitable choice of such a
depository in view of the fact that the
major portion of the collection is
essentially local Pennsylvania
historical material.) Mr. McNair has written
more than a dozen other works. With the
exception of two they are
scientific treatises. He is not a
trained biographer and historian and his
present book is rambling and rather
disorganized, as viewed by professional
standards.
However, With Rod and Transit is
a book which was well worth the
writing and in its way is a
contribution. One entire chapter is devoted to
genealogy and is of little value to the
historian. A similar chapter is perhaps
somewhat wasted on the Masonic
affiliations of Thomas McNair. A chapter
on "Education" has
illuminating sidelights on the educational system of the
1840's and 1850's. Another on the civic
and political career of Mr. McNair
has much useful local history. More than
half of the volume is given over
to the engineering career of McNair, and
this is the portion of the book
which justifies its writing and
publishing. McNair's first "adventure in civil
engineering" was in 1848 on the
Pennsylvania Canal at Berwick, Penn-
sylvania. His later association with
railroad engineering and building and
with mining engineering are covered in
some detail, and the liberal quota-
tions from letters and the like make the
record both interesting and valuable.
Such items as descriptions of surveying
expeditions to lay out Pennsylvania
railroads are highly worth while. McNair
took part in 1871 in helping to or-
ganize the American Institute of Mining
Engineers at Wilkes-Barre. There
are some observations on coal strikes
and labor unions. We learn that
McNair seems to have invented the
inclined standard mine transit used
in mine surveying operations. The
monuments of Thomas McNair's life
still exist in some of his engineering
works in the anthracite region. He died
at Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in 1901.
With Rod and Transit is a labor of love upon the part of the author, son
of the subject of the book. It is a book
of some general interest and value
but more largely an adventure in local
history, despite the fact that the
226 Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
subject is one of those forgotten men
who made valuable contributions to
mining and engineering practice.
Pennsylvania Historical S. K. STEVENS
and Museum Commission
The Miami Conservancy District. By Arthur E. Morgan. Foreword by
Edward A. Deeds. (New York, McGraw-Hill
Book Company, 1951.
xiii+504p., illustrations, bibliography,
index of names, and index. $6.50.)
Years pass by, records are lost, and
memories grow hazy about events
and things, so it is well to have a book
written to establish some records
in more nearly permanent form. When such
a book can be written by the
leading figure in the events described,
readers are assured of authenticity.
No one but Arthur Morgan could have
produced the real story of the Miami
Conservancy District.
The pioneering character of the Miami
Conservancy District, activated
as it was, in response to the disastrous
Dayton flood of 1913, by determina-
tion that a similar event would not be
allowed to occur again if com-
munity concern, capable leadership, and
engineering skill could prevent
it, is ably portrayed by Dr. Morgan. The
fact that such programs evolve as
the product of creative thinking by someone,
and that this creation was
the result of effective cooperation by
many people, including especially
Mr. Edward A. Deeds (and I hasten to
add, Dr. A. E. Morgan), is thoroughly
appreciated and well presented.
Characteristically, Dr. Morgan credits
his staff for their major efforts, and
includes photographs and brief sketches
of many of the men.
The book presents in detail the story of
getting enabling legislation, of
organizing the District, of preparing
plans, of constructing the dams, of
the results seen with the passing of
years without floods, and of the in-
fluence of the Miami Conservancy
District on national programs.
For conservation workers this book is a
"must." For all good citizens it
is a means to better citizenship-by
example.
Franz Theodore Stone T. H. LANGLOIS
Institute of Hydrobiology