7 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2025
    1. In adjusting the duties on imports to the object of revenue the influence of the tariff on manufactures will necessarily present itself for consideration. However wise the theory may be which leaves to the sagacity and interest of individuals the application of their industry and resources, there are in this as in other cases exceptions to the general rule. Besides the condition which the theory itself implies of a reciprocal adoption by other nations, experience teaches that so many circumstances must concur in introducing and maturing manufacturing establishments, especially of the more complicated kinds, that a country may remain long without them, although sufficiently advanced and in some respects even peculiarly fitted for carrying them on with success. Under circumstances giving a powerful impulse to manufacturing industry it has made among us a progress and exhibited an efficiency which justify the belief that with a protection not more than is due to the enterprising citizens whose interests are now at stake it will become at an early day not only safe against occasional competitions from abroad, but a source of domestic wealth and even of external commerce.

      This passage discusses the role of tariffs in promoting domestic manufacturing while still raising revenue. The author acknowledges the classical economic theory that individuals should freely direct their industry, but notes exceptions exist, especially for complex manufacturing that requires specific conditions to thrive. The passage emphasizes that manufacturing can develop successfully under protectionist measures, which would safeguard domestic producers from foreign competition, stimulate economic growth, and eventually contribute to both national wealth and international trade. It reflects early American debates on protectionism vs. free trade and the need to balance revenue generation with support for emerging industries.

    1. I AM a poor negro, who with myself and children have had the good fortune to get my freedom, by means of an act of assembly passed on the first of March 1780, and should now with my family be as happy a set of people as any on the face of the earth, but I am told the assembly are going to pass a law to send us all back to our masters. Why dear Mr. Printer, this would be the cruelest act that ever a sett of worthy good gentlemen could be guilty of. To make a law to hang us all, would be merciful, when compared with this law; for many of our masters would treat us with unheard of barbarity, for daring to take the advantage (as we have done) of the law made in our favor.—Our lots in slavery were hard enough to bear: but having tasted the sweets of freedom, we should now be miserable indeed.—Surely no Christian gentlemen can be so cruel! I cannot believe they will pass such a law.—I have read the act which made me free, and I always read it with joy—and I always dwell with particular pleasure on the following words, spoken by the assembly in the top of the said law.

      This passage reflects the perspective of a formerly enslaved African American who gained freedom through a 1780 act of the assembly (likely in Massachusetts, where gradual emancipation laws were passed). The writer expresses fear and outrage that a new law might re-enslave him and his family, emphasizing the cruelty and injustice of taking away liberty once experienced. He contrasts the harshness of slavery with the joy of freedom and appeals to the moral conscience of lawmakers, framing the potential law as incompatible with Christian and humane values. The passage illustrates the precarious nature of freedom for Black people even under legal emancipation and highlights the emotional and ethical dimensions of early anti-slavery struggles.

    1. The rich and the poor are not so far removed from each other as they are in Europe. Some few towns excepted, we are all tillers of the earth, from Nova Scotia to West Florida. We are a people of cultivators, scattered over an immense territory communicating with each other by means of good roads and navigable rivers, united by the silken bands of mild government, all respecting the laws, without dreading their power, because they are equitable. We are all animated with the spirit of an industry which is unfettered and unrestrained, because each person works for himself. If he travels through our rural districts he views not the hostile castle, and the haughty mansion, contrasted with the clay-built hut and miserable cabbin, where cattle and men help to keep each other warm, and dwell in meanness, smoke, and indigence. A pleasing uniformity of decent competence appears throughout our habitations.

      "The rich and the poor are not so far removed from each other as they are in Europe. Some few towns excepted, we are all tillers of the earth, from Nova Scotia to West Florida. We are a people of cultivators, scattered over an immense territory communicating with each other by means of good roads and navigable rivers, united by the silken bands of mild government, all respecting the laws, without dreading their power, because they are equitable. We are all animated with the spirit of an industry which is unfettered and unrestrained, because each person works for himself. If he travels through our rural districts he views not the hostile castle, and the haughty mansion, contrasted with the clay-built hut and miserable cabin, where cattle and men help to keep each other warm, and dwell in meanness, smoke, and indigence. A pleasing uniformity of decent competence appears throughout our habitations."*

      This passage, likely from early colonial or revolutionary-era observations of America, contrasts the social and economic conditions in the American colonies with Europe. The writer emphasizes the relative equality of wealth in America, where most people are farmers working their own land, unlike the stark divide between rich and poor in European society. The colonies are described as spacious, well-connected, and governed fairly, fostering respect for laws rather than fear. The passage highlights a sense of self-reliance and industriousness, where people work for their own benefit, and the countryside reflects modest but decent living, without the extremes of wealth and poverty seen in Europe. It conveys an idealized vision of American rural life as balanced, cooperative, and equitable.

    1. The tea destroyed was contained in three ships, laying near each other, at what was called at that time Griffin’s wharf, and were surrounded by armed ships of war; the commanders of which had publicly declared, that if the rebels, as they were pleased to style the Bostonians, should not withdraw their opposition to the landing of the tea before a certain day, the 17th day of December, 1773, they should on that day force it on shore, under the cover of their cannon’s month. On the day preceding the seventeenth, there was a meeting of the citizens of the county of Suffolk, convened at one of the churches in Boston, for the purpose of consulting on what measures might be considered expedient to prevent the landing of the tea, or secure the people from the collection of the duty. At that meeting a committee was appointed to wait on Governor Hutchinson, and request him to inform them whether he would take any measures to satisfy the people on the object of the meeting.

      "The tea destroyed was contained in three ships, laying near each other, at what was called at that time Griffin’s wharf, and were surrounded by armed ships of war; the commanders of which had publicly declared, that if the rebels, as they were pleased to style the Bostonians, should not withdraw their opposition to the landing of the tea before a certain day, the 17th day of December, 1773, they should on that day force it on shore, under the cover of their cannon’s mouth. On the day preceding the seventeenth, there was a meeting of the citizens of the county of Suffolk, convened at one of the churches in Boston, for the purpose of consulting on what measures might be considered expedient to prevent the landing of the tea, or secure the people from the collection of the duty. At that meeting a committee was appointed to wait on Governor Hutchinson, and request him to inform them whether he would take any measures to satisfy the people on the object of the meeting."

      This passage describes events leading up to the Boston Tea Party (December 1773), a key protest against British taxation. Three ships carrying tea were anchored at Griffin’s Wharf, guarded by British warships prepared to force the tea ashore if colonial resistance continued. The colonists, labeled “rebels” by the British, held a public meeting in Suffolk County to discuss strategies to block the tea landing or avoid paying the tax. They appointed a committee to petition Governor Hutchinson, seeking a resolution that might satisfy the people. The passage highlights the tension between colonial resistance and British authority, illustrating the political organization and legal appeals used by the colonists before taking direct action.

    1. They give the title of merchant to every trader, who rate their goods according to the time and specie they pay in: for example, pay, money, pay as money, and trusting. Pay is grain, pork, beef, etc at the prices set by the general court that year; money is pieces of eight, reals, or Boston or Bay shillings (as they call them) or good hard money, as sometimes silver coin is termed by them; also wampum Indian beads which serve for change. Pay as money is provisions as aforesaid one third cheaper than as the assembly or general court sets it; and trust as they and the merchant agree for time.

      "They give the title of merchant to every trader, who rate their goods according to the time and specie they pay in: for example, pay, money, pay as money, and trusting. Pay is grain, pork, beef, etc at the prices set by the general court that year; money is pieces of eight, reals, or Boston or Bay shillings (as they call them) or good hard money, as sometimes silver coin is termed by them; also wampum Indian beads which serve for change. Pay as money is provisions as aforesaid one third cheaper than as the assembly or general court sets it; and trust as they and the merchant agree for time."*


      Annotation: This passage describes the trade and currency system in colonial America, explaining how merchants priced goods depending on the form of payment. “Pay” refers to goods (grain, pork, beef) valued at official prices set by the colonial assembly. “Money” refers to coinage, including pieces of eight, local shillings, and even wampum beads, which functioned as currency. “Pay as money” means paying with provisions at a discounted rate compared to official prices. “Trust” refers to goods purchased on credit or by private agreement with the merchant. The passage highlights the flexibility of colonial trade and the blending of barter, currency, and credit in early American markets.

      If you want, I can make an even shorter version for quick study notes.

    1. That the Spaniards have executed most outrageous and more than Turkish cruelties in all the west Indies, whereby they are everywhere there, become most odious unto them, who would join with us or any other most willingly to shake of their most intolerable yoke, and have begun to do it already in diverse places where they were Lords heretofore

      The passage reflects anti-Spanish propaganda common in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, known as the “Black Legend,” which portrayed Spain as uniquely tyrannical and barbaric in its colonial practices. It also reveals the political motives behind such writing—encouraging support for English colonization by portraying it as more humane and justified in contrast to Spanish conquest.

    1. Cherokee, from what we now call California and the American southeast respectively, both exhibit the common Native American tendency to locate spiritual power in the natural world. For both Native Americans and Europeans, the collision of two continents challenged old ideas and created new ones as well.   Salinan Indian Creation Story When the world was finished, there were as yet no people, but the Bald Eagle was the chief of the animals. He saw the world was incomplete and decided to make some human beings. So he took some clay and modeled the figure of a man and laid him on the ground. At first he was very small but grew rapidly until he reached normal size. But as yet he had no life; he was still asleep. Then the Bald Eagle stood and admired his work. “It is impossible,” said he, “that he should be left alone; he must have a mate.” So he pulled out a feather and laid it beside the sleeping man. Then he left them and went off a short distance, for he knew that a woman was being formed from the feather. But the man was still asleep and did not know what was happening. When the Bald Eagle decided that the woman was about completed, he returned, awoke the man by flapping his wings over him and flew away. The man opened his eyes and stared at the woman. “What does this mean?” he asked. “I thought I was alone!” Then the Bald Eagle returned and said with a smile, “I see you have a mate! Have you had intercourse with her?” “No,” replied the man, for he and the woman knew nothing about each other. Then the Bald Eagle called to Coyote who happened to be going by and said to him, “Do you see that woman?” Try her first!” Coyote was quite willing and complied, but immediately afterwards lay down and died. The Bald Eagle went away and left Coyote dead, but presently returned and revived him. “How did it work?” said the Bald Eagle. “Pretty well, but it nearly kills a man!” replied Coyote. “Will you try it again?” said the Bald Eagle. Coyote agreed, and tried again, and this time survived. Then the Bald Eagle turned to the man and said, “She is all right now; you and she are to live together.”   John Alden Mason, The Ethnology of the Salinan Indians (Berkeley: 1912), 191-192. Available through the Internet Archive   Cherokee creation story The earth is a great island floating in a sea of water, and suspended at each of the four cardinal points by a cord hanging down from the sky vault, which is of solid rock. When the world grows old and worn out, the people will die and the cords will break and let the earth sink down into the ocean, and all will be water again. The Indians are afraid of this. When all was water, the animals were above in Gälûñ’lätï, beyond the arch; but it was very much crowded, and they were wanting more room. They wondered what was below the water, and at last Dâyuni’sï, “Beaver’s Grandchild,” the little Water-beetle, offered to go and see if it could learn. It darted in every direction over the surface of the water, but could find no firm place to rest. Then it dived to the bottom and came up with some soft mud, which began to grow and spread on every side until it became the island which we call the earth. It was afterward fastened to the sky with four cords, but no one remembers who did this. At first the earth was flat and very soft and wet. The animals were anxious to get down, and sent out different birds to see if it was yet dry, but they found no place to alight and came back again to Gälûñ’lätï. At last it seemed to be time, and they sent out the Buzzard and told him to go and make ready for them. This was the Great Buzzard, the father of all the buzzards we see now. He flew all over the earth, low down near the ground, and it was still soft. When he reached the Cherokee country, he was very tired, and his wings began to flap and strike the ground, and wherever they struck the earth there was a valley, and where they turned up again there was a mountain. When the animals above saw this, they were afraid that the whole world would be mountains, so they called him back, but the Cherokee country remains full of mountains to this day. When the earth was dry and the animals came down, it was still dark, so they got the sun and set it in a track to go every day across the island from east to west, just overhead. It was too hot this way, and Tsiska’gïlï’, the Red Crawfish, had his shell scorched a bright red, so that his meat was spoiled; and the Cherokee do not eat it. The conjurers put the sun another hand-breadth higher in the air, but it was still too hot. They raised it another time, and another, until it was seven handbreadths high and just under the sky arch. Then it was right, and they left it so. This is why the conjurers call the highest place Gûlkwâ’gine Di’gälûñ’lätiyûñ’, “the seventh height,” because it is seven hand-breadths above the earth. Every day the sun goes along under this arch, and returns at night on the upper side to the starting place. There is another world under this, and it is like ours in everything–animals, plants, and people–save that the seasons are different. The streams that come down from the mountains are the trails by which we reach this underworld, and the springs at their heads are the doorways by which we enter, it, but to do this one must fast and, go to water and have one of the underground people for a guide. We know that the seasons in the underworld are different from ours, because the water in the springs is always warmer in winter and cooler in summer than the outer air. When the animals and plants were first made–we do not know by whom–they were told to watch and keep awake for seven nights, just as young men now fast and keep awake when they pray to their medicine. They tried to do this, and nearly all were awake through the first night, but the next night several dropped off to sleep, and the third night others were asleep, and then others, until, on the seventh night, of all the animals only the owl, the panther, and one or two more were still awake. To these were given the power to see and to go about in the dark, and to make prey of the birds and animals which must sleep at night. Of the trees only the cedar, the pine, the spruce, the holly, and the laurel were awake to the end, and to them it was given to be always green and to be greatest for medicine, but to the others it was said: “Because you have not endured to the end you shall lose your, hair every winter.” Men came after the animals and plants. At first there were only a brother and sister until he struck her with a fish and told her to multiply, and so it was. In seven days a child was born to her, and thereafter every seven days another, and they increased very fast until there was danger that the world could not keep them. Then it was made that a woman should have only one child in a year, and it has been so ever since.

      Both the Salinan and Cherokee creation stories explain the origins of the world and humanity through nature, animals, and spiritual power. In the Salinan story, the Bald Eagle, the chief of animals, creates the first man from clay and the first woman from a feather, symbolizing life emerging from natural elements. The Cherokee story tells how the earth was formed from mud brought up by a water beetle from beneath a vast sea, shaped into mountains and valleys by a great Buzzard’s wings. The sun was placed in the sky at the right height to sustain life, and the animals and plants were tested for endurance, determining which would be nocturnal or evergreen. Finally, humans came into existence and multiplied, establishing natural order and balance. Both stories emphasize the deep connection between the natural world, animals, and the spiritual creation of life.