Kanzas and Nebraska by Edward E. Hale, First Edition, 1854

Hale, Edward Everett. Kansas and Nebraska:  The History, Geographical and Physical Characteristics, and Political Position of Those Territories; An Account of the Emigrant Aid Companies, and Directions to Emigrants. Boston: Phillips, Sampson & Company, 1854. First edition. 12mo. Original publisher’s brown cloth boards, blind-stamped on front and back, spine with gilt-stamped titles and floral decoration. With original tipped-in folding map in front. 

Presented is a first edition printing of Kanzas and Nebraska by Edward Everett Hale. The book was published in Boston by Phillips, Sampson & Company on September 28, 1854 and ranks among the earliest and most significant contemporary accounts of the newly organized Kansas and Nebraska Territories. The book is presented in its original blind stamped brown cloth boards, with the title and floral decoration stamped in gilt on the spine. The volume retains the original folding map, tipped in the front, which was engraved specifically for this work from the latest government surveys. 

Published only months after passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Kanzas and Nebraska is widely regarded as the first full-length study devoted to the two newly created territories. Author Edward Everett Hale wrote the book with a clear political purpose, seeking to encourage anti-slavery settlers, particularly those from New England, to emigrate westward and establish free communities before the institution of slavery could become entrenched. The work served as an informative guidebook and a persuasive argument in favor of Free Soil settlement. Contemporary readers were presented with practical information on routes of travel, climate, agricultural prospects, rivers and valleys, military and trading posts and missionary stations, discussions of the Native nations in the area, projected towns, railroads, and the activities of the New England Emigrant Aid Companies. The accompanying folding map, prepared expressly for the volume from original surveys, served as a practical reference for prospective emigrants. 

The Kansas-Nebraska Act, introduced by Stephen A. Douglas and signed into law by Franklin Pierce on May 30, 1854, organized the vast Nebraska Territory into the separate territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The legislation repealed the longstanding restrictions of the Missouri Compromise by allowing settlers to determine through popular sovereignty whether slavery would be permitted. The measure prompted an immediate race between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers seeking to influence the outcome. The resulting violence, remembered as Bleeding Kansas, became one of the defining crises leading toward the American Civil War. Hale's volume was published during this volatile political moment and is one of the earliest printed expressions of the Free Soil response to the legislation.

Edward Everett Hale was a prominent Unitarian minister, historian, editor, and reformer whose literary career spanned more than six decades. In his many historical and religious published works and sermons, he advocated for educational reform, abolition, and national unity. He is best remembered for his celebrated short story The Man Without a Country, first published anonymously in The Atlantic during the Civil War.

CONDITION:

Very good + condition. First edition. 12mo. Original publisher’s brown cloth boards, blind-stamped on front and back, spine with gilt-stamped titles and floral decoration. Wear and bumping to spine and headband, light surface scratches and staining to front and back boards. Endpapers stained. With original engraved folding map in front, tipped into the front. Pages healthy, with scattered stains in front, less as text progresses, and light foxing throughout. viii, 256 pp., plus 4 pages of advertisements, preface, fold-out map. 

REFERENCES: Howes #4371; Sabin #29624; Wagner-Camp #239a.

Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.