THE AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES A COMPLETE AND CONCISE ACCOUNT OF THE GROWTH AND DEVELOP- Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1886, by DAVID W. JUDD, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. PREFACE. THE following pages tell the story of United States history from the days when this land was tenanted only by beasts and barbarians to the present year. The intention and endeavor of the author has been to omit no important fact, no incident that marked or assisted the development of the nation during the whole of this time. To accomplish this result within the moderate compass of a single volume, it was necessary that no superfluous words or flights of fancy should be indulged in. Hence this book will be found a plain presentation of the facts. It need hardly be said that great care has been exercised to obtain exact statements of fact. In the earlier and more obscure portions of our history and concerning troublous and confused times, such as the Civil War, considerable divergence is found among the authorities as to dates and figures. In such cases the author has given the preference to the most consistent and reasonable statements, but where the truth has been accessible to search he has endeavored to find it. To write an impartial history of any country is a difficult task; to write without prejudice of one's own country is well-nigh impossible. Political strife, religious animosities, sectional differences, all combine to prevent the historian from writing the colorless truth and also to prevent the reader from agreeing with his statements. Nevertheless, the author of 928668 35 |