The Old Northwest Pioneer Period: 1815-1840 (2 volumes) [Hardcover]

R. Carlyle Buley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 1983

The Old Northwest is an unparalleled account of the pioneer period, the problems of settlers, and the westward movement of the American people. No historian, professional or otherwise, who is interested in the history of the region comprising Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and parts of Minnesota can afford to be without this book. Based on nearly twenty-five years of research, it is that rare classic which appeals to specialist and general reader alike.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1318 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (October 22, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 025334168X
• ISBN-13: 978-0253341686
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #856,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic of American historiography, November 25, 2004

By 

Chatham Reader (Chatham, N.J.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Old Northwest Pioneer Period: 1815-1840 (2 volumes) (Hardcover)

"Old friends are the best" can apply to historical works as well as personalities for "The Old Northwest" is old -- first published in 1950 -- but still the best account of pioneer life north of the Ohio River ever written.

This two-volume work runs to nearly 1200 pages of text and is an exhaustive account of life in the early years of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and, to a small extent, Wisconsin. With his lengthy descriptions of quotidian life in these new states and territories the author anticipated by a generation the "annales" approach -- essentially retrospective sociology -- that dominated American historiography decades later. At the same time, he was, as well, a superb commentator on frontier politics and the technology of an emergent industrial civilization.

The sources for this monumental work are about what one would expect: countless newspapers, pioneer memoirs, publications of various antiquarian and First Settler associations and endless digging about in state archives. All of this is woven together in very serviceable prose that is laced with a pleasant humor and never cruel irony. The resultant work is endlessly readable.

There is no aspect of life in the geographical area under consideration for the time period 1815-1840 that is not described -- often in great detail. One learns what the pioneer planted and how he planted it; how he built his house and barn; how he slaughterd his hogs; how the pioneer wife clothed and fed her family and how that family was educated. These chapters, taken by themselves, would empower the veriest modern city-slicker to pioneer himself in the wilderness with at least a fighting chance at survival.

The canal and railroad booms are lovingly retailed. The reader learns exactly what an "ark" was and how it differed from a "flatboat" as well as the details of construction of any other number of riverine craft.

These books are, as well, a primer on Jacksonian banking and finance. The boom and bust mentality of a raucous agricultural economy just sliding over into manufacturing is recounted with a sophistication worthy of such later standbys as Bray Hammond's classic history of period banking.

One could go on and on. To recount all the subjects expertly recounted therein would exhaust the patience of the reader and the time of the reviewer. At the republication price of under $40.00 the set this offering must constitute one of the greatest bargains in American historical writing.