The present (November) number of the Magazine of Western History, which
is the first number of the new volume (Vol. XV) appears under a new name
which will more adequately describe its present character.
The title chosen—“THE NATIONAL MAGAZINE—A JOURNAL DEVOTED TO AMERICAN
HISTORY—” is in keeping with the enlarged scope and purpose of the
publication. When it first came into existence, its proposed mission was
to gather and preserve the history of that great West which lies beyond
the Alleghanies, and while that labor has been pursued with results
that have enriched American history, the boundaries have been gradually
enlarged until the whole country has become its field of research, and
readers and contributors are found in every State and territory.
The Magazine has become NATIONAL, and it is believed that the present
name will be accepted as more appropriate than the one that has been
outgrown.
* * * * *
The new name defines, perhaps with sufficient fullness, both scope and
purpose, but for the sake of clearness we add that it is proposed to
confine our interest exclusively to the field of American History, and
whatever directly illustrates it. By this we mean not alone or chiefly
the history of our remote past with its discoveries, its early settlers,
and its struggling colonies, but the history as well of the present
century—the planting of colonies by railroads, the evolution of States,
the founding of cities, the building up of a literature, the history of
politics, and of all that unexampled material progress that makes America
the wonder and admiration of the world.
* * * * *
The great civil war has served necessarily as an extraordinary stimulus
to historical writing and research concerning its antecedent causes,
the tremendous conflict itself, and its far reaching and still potent
consequences. It is plain however, that the history of the war has yet
been written only in outline. The historical material which when gathered
and sifted would give it completeness and fullness is as yet largely
unwritten. This exists in the recollections of men yet living—actors and
witnesses—in their letters, journals and other written memoranda, and in
the traditions carefully cherished by families and friends of those that
are gone. We propose to collect such material as far as possible, and
give it a permanent record in our pages.
* * * * *
One of the interesting features of our national life is the growth of
societies for the encouragement of historical studies as well as the
preservation of valuable historical material which would otherwise be
lost. The historical societies having permanent homes, number nearly
or quite two hundred and fifty, and while some of the largest support
intermittent publications of their own, we believe there is no general
organ devoted to their interests and furnishing a medium of intercourse
between them. The National Magazine proposes, as far as possible, to
supply this want and will conduct a separate department giving all notes
of interest regarding the Historical Societies of the United States
which we may be able to obtain.
* * * * *
It is believed that a large amount of historical material of great
interest both to the general reader and the historical student exists
in the shape of papers prepared by members of these various Historical
Societies for the interest and instruction of their particular
organizations.
Such papers as we refer to are prepared for the most part by members who
have both leisure and taste for historical research, or who find in such
work a grateful relief from the exacting cares of successful professional
and business careers, and although addressed to a limited circle, have
frequently a value and interest that entitles them to a larger audience
and to preservation in more permanent form.
It is proposed to present in the pages of the Magazine, in pursuance of
our general purpose to broaden the field of its interest and usefulness,
a selection from such papers. It is believed that the literature of
American History would be greatly enriched from this source. Papers of
even local interest are not without value to the student of history in
any portion of the country, and all these various efforts at writing
history are building up that great body of historical material from which
American History at least in the nineteenth century is to be exhaustively
and philosophically written.
* * * * *
“In lighter vein” we propose to touch on the picturesque side of
historical research, and to seek material in the legends and traditions
that attach to certain localities. The very fact that a certain headland,
valley, mountain or river has a legendary interest is not undeserving
the attention of the scholar and is a matter of legitimate historical
interest if not value. A country as new as ours can well afford to
jealously preserve whatever of such legendary and historical lore it
may have. It at least serves to “adorn the tale” which has a more solid
basis. Other changes are contemplated that will add value, and interest
to the pages of the Magazine.
* * * * *
The present number contains the first installment of a series of articles
from the advance sheets of the forthcoming Memorial History of New
York, edited by Gen. James Grant Wilson. It is the intention to select
for publication in the Magazine such parts of this work as will in our
judgment be of great interest to its readers, and as far as possible
present a continuous narrative. These articles will be amply illustrated
from the plates prepared and selected for the original work with great
care. The exhaustive character of the work, the time given to its
preparation, the staff of contributors each pre-eminent in his special
field, are fully set forth on the cover of the present number.
* * * * *
In the August number of this Magazine we remarked upon the fact that the
historic property of Valley Forge was in danger of being sold and divided
among individual purchasers and that in this event the ancient ramparts
of Fort Washington, the site of the forge, the cold spring, and the
Headquarters of Washington, Lafayette and Knox would be obliterated. It
is a pleasure to learn that the march of such “improvement” will probably
be arrested. A meeting of the members of the National Society of the
Daughters of the Revolution residing in Washington was held on Oct. 13th,
and a plan was considered for purchasing and preserving this property.
The Illinois chapter of the same organization has also held a meeting
to advance the same cause. With the patriotic ardor of women thoroughly
awakened there should be no question about preserving to the nation the
field of Valley Forge with all its “visible history.”
* * * * *
A monument to the great Indian Chief Red Jacket, Chief of the Senecas and
the renowned orator of the six nations was dedicated at Waterloo, N. Y.
on Oct. 14th. President Welles of the Waterloo Historical Society under
whose auspices the monument is erected presided. The Hon. W. C. Bryant
of Buffalo delivered an historical address. The monument is unique in
design, being carved from a block of granite to represent the trunk of an
oak tree, and stands on the west shore of Cayuga Lake near the spot where
Red Jacket was born. The base bears four descriptive bronze tablets, and
around the base are clustered six small bowlders bearing the names of the
six nations of the Iroquois. Red Jacket was one of the unique figures of
his time, his character a peculiar mixture of the noble and the ignoble,
a sagacious statesman, a cunning demagogue, but always an Indian.
* * * * *
A gathering both important and unique was held in Independence Hall,
Philadelphia, on the 12th of October. The occasion was the reunion of
a committee which has undertaken to organize a Pan-Republic Congress
and Human Freedom League, and to arrange an international meeting in
connection with the anniversary ceremonies of 1892. The leaders of the
movement claim that their ideas have been gradually disseminated through
organized societies in all civilized countries. Their meaning and purpose
they broadly state to be: That the four hundredth anniversary of the
discovery of this continent should be celebrated by a convocation, first
of the representatives of all governments based on an acknowledgment of
the rights of man, and secondly, of representatives of the people of
high purpose everywhere, independent of the form of government under
which they live. That these two bodies acting in concert on the soil of
the greatest of the governments founded upon freedom, should consult
together on the means of widening the domain in which the earth’s
dwellers may enjoy the rights claimed for us by our immortal Declaration
of Independence.
* * * * *
Youngest among the sisterhood of the States of our Union stands
Washington, on the borders of the far Pacific. It is very gratifying to
observe the citizens of a community of such regent origin, amid the eager
competitions of life and the pressure of material interests, turning
aside from these practical pursuits to secure for future generations a
record not only of their own achievements, but of the humbler and more
heroic doings of the pioneers of their State. Such is the aim and purpose
of the Washington State Historical Society, organized during the present
month in the city of Tacoma, and the latest to join the ever widening
circle of these societies. In the words of its president, the Hon.
Elwood Evans, “the State of Washington has reached a time when the need
of collecting original historical material has become imperative since
the history of the State and Territory runs back 38 years, and most of
the early settlers are dead. The hardships and heroism of the pioneers
should be handed down and recorded as material for the historian of later
years.”