l writers whom we shall
mention is Francis Parkman (1823- ), whose subject has the advantage
of being thoroughly American. His _Oregon Trail_, 1847, a series of
sketches of prairie and Rocky Mountain life, originally contributed to
the _Knickerbocker Magazine_, displays his early interest in the
American Indians. In 1851 appeared his first historical work, the
_Conspiracy of Pontiac_. This has been followed by the series entitled
_France and England in North America_, the six successive parts of
which are as follows: the _Pioneers of France in the New World_, the
_Jesuits in North America_; _La Salle and the Discovery of the Great
West_; the _Old Regime in Canada_; _Count Frontenac and New France_;
and _Montcalm and Wolfe_. These narratives have a wonderful vividness,
and a romantic interest not inferior to Cooper's novels. Parkman made
himself personally familiar with the scenes which he described, and
some of the best descriptions of American woods and waters are to be
found in his histories. If any fault is to be found with his books,
indeed, it is that their picturesqueness and "fine writing" are a
little in excess.

The political literature of the years from 1837 to 1861 hinged upon the
antislavery struggle. In this "irrepressible conflict" Massachusetts
led the van. Garrison had written in his _Liberator_, in 1830, "I will
be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice. I am in
earnest; I will not equivocate; I will not excuse; I will not retreat a
single inch; and I will be heard." But the Garrisonian abolitionists
remained for a long time, even in the North, a small and despised
faction. It was a great point gained when men of education and social
standing, like Wendell Phillips (1811-84) and Charles Sumner (1811-74),
joined themselves to the cause. Both of these were graduates of
Harvard and men of scholarly pursuits. They became the representative
orators of the antislavery party, Phillips on the platform and Sumner
in the Senate. The former first came before the public in his fiery
speech, delivered in Faneuil Hall December 8, 1837, before a meeting
called to denounce the murder of Lovejoy, who had been killed at Alton,
Ill., while defending his press against a pro-slavery mob. Thenceforth
Phillips's voice was never idle in behalf of the slave. His eloquence
was impassioned and direct, and his English singularly pure, simple,
and nervous. He is perhaps nearer to Demosthenes than any o