Overview

In Surveying the Early Republic, Robert D. Bush contextualises the firsthand account of Andrew Ellicott, the United States Boundary Commissioner appointed by President George Washington in 1796. Ellicott and his Spanish counterparts established the boundary line between the United States and Spanish territory in North America after the United States and Spain signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo, opening the door to navigation of the Mississippi River and the export of American goods from the Spanish-held port of New Orleans. Over the course of this multiyear surveying project (1796-1800), Ellicott found himself entangled in the politics of these frontier lands, including an insurrection by inhabitants who favoured the United States against the existing Spanish regime. He also reported to his superiors on various rumors, plots, and political intrigues as well as on the secret activities of individuals in the pay of Spain, including U.S. Army General James Wilkinson. Regrettably, the widespread acclaim that followed the publication of Ellicott's journal in 1803, a year prior to the commencement of Lewis and Clark's expedition, faded over time. In this first edited and annotated version of that journal, Bush illuminates the commissioner's day-to-day narrative of events in what later became the Mississippi Territory and thus deepens our understanding of early American expansionism. In addition, Ellicott's accounts of personalities, plots, counter-plots, and Indian affairs depict with unparalleled clarity the tumultuous diplomatic experiences faced by President John Adams's administration as it pushed the bounds of America's frontier. Bush's deft treatment of this valuable primary source provides a critical contribution to the study of the history of early America.

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9780807163429

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Surveying the Early Republic offers a glimpse into the tumultuous times of the early republic as witnessed through the eyes of surveyor Andrew Ellicott. More than a mere collection of cartographic data and landscape observation, Ellicott's journal provided the newly formed government with valuable environmental, social, political, and scientific information during a time of territorial expansion and political tensions with Spain in the Old Southwest. Bush s skillful narrative provides an integrated historical background so that readers of Ellicott's journal are presented with a fascinating perspective on the age of American Enlightenment and all of the social and political fears and ambitions that accompanied it. --Cecilia Gowdy-Wygant, author of Cultivating Victory: The Women's Land Army and the Victory Garden Movement

Author Information

Robert D. Bush is the author of The Louisiana Purchase: A Global Context and editor of Memoirs of My Life: Pierre Clément de Laussat and Observations on the Colony of Louisiana, 1796-1802, by James Pitot.

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