A Paper Upon California; Read Before The Maryland Historical Society

By James Morrison Harris

Before California was a state of postcards, it was a question of nationhood. A frontier is argued here. James Morrison Harris delivers a lucid historical society paper, first read as an american history address before the Maryland Historical Society, that traces California's place in the American imagination and in policy. Part california history essay, part rare historical pamphlet, it captures the tone of nineteenth-century public scholarship: confident, probing, and rooted in documentary habit. For readers drawn to early california history and the long arc of american westward expansion, Harris offers a compact lens on how 19th century California was discussed, defended, and folded into a changing republic. Its viewpoint is evidence in itself, an Eastern forum weighing the far Pacific coast at a decisive moment. As a piece of primary source research, the paper stands as an academic history reference for students and enthusiasts of american western history alike, reflecting the era's assumptions as clearly as its arguments. The language of progress and peril, the pull of geography, and the quiet authority of institutions sit on every page. It rewards close reading today, too. It also speaks to today's curiosity about how narratives of conquest, settlement, and governance were assembled in the first place, making it essential to frontier era scholarship and to anyone building a shelf of American historical ephemera. Out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions. Restored for today's and future generations. More than a reprint -- a collector's item and a cultural treasure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9354502997
• ISBN13: 9789354502996
• Release Date: April 2021
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 36 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"