INSANITY, JUSTICE & THE LAW — THE ROAD WEST — SANTA FE AND THE PRAIRIE TRADE

The North American Review. Volume LX. January–April 1845. [Puritans, Expeditions to Santa Fé, Chemistry of Vegetation]

Boston: Otis, Broaders, and Company, 1845. First Edition, First Printing. AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL LIFE IN 1845 — LAW, WESTERN EXPLORATION, RELIGION, SCIENCE & LITERATURE.
An attractive contemporary bound volume of the influential North American Review, containing its January and April 1845 numbers. The volume brings together substantial essays on criminal jurisprudence, American western exploration, British colonial affairs, religion, political history, philosophy, literature, and the sciences.

LAW, LITERATURE, SCIENCE & THE AMERICAN FRONTIER.
Particularly noteworthy are three contributions concerning the jurisprudence of insanity, including discussion of the trial of Abner Rogers Jr. for murder; two substantial accounts of the Santa Fe expeditions and American commerce across the western prairies; and essays on Blaise Pascal, the history of the American colonies, and the Jewish people.

A WINDOW INTO NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN THOUGHT.
The volume offers a revealing cross-section of American intellectual life in the mid-nineteenth century, when questions of law, westward expansion, religion, education, and scientific progress occupied an increasingly prominent place in public discussion.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Contemporary half-leather binding with gilt-decorated spine, gilt-lettered black leather spine labels, and marbled paper-covered boards. Marbled endpapers and marbled edges. Octavo volume, approximately 8 inches tall; 515 pages. Contains No. CXXVI (January 1845) and No. CXXVII (April 1845), comprising Volume LX. Printed contents pages identify the individual essays and reviews, with their opening page numbers.

CONDITION: VERY GOOD.
Binding is tight and square, with moderate shelf-handling wear and rubbing to corners and edges. Leather spine shows age-related rubbing and wear; marbled boards retain their decorative appearance. Preliminary leaves heavily foxed, with the title page showing notable age spotting. Foxing does not extend into the main text. Text pages are clean, with light, even age-toning.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE — AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL LIFE AND THE WESTWARD EXPANSION ERA
Published in Boston, the North American Review was one of the leading American literary and intellectual journals of the nineteenth century. Its essays and reviews brought together contemporary debates in law, politics, religion, education, literature, and the natural sciences.

CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE AND THE INSANITY DEFENSE.
The January number opens with an extensive examination of the jurisprudence of insanity, bringing together three works addressing medical understanding, criminal responsibility, and the application of the insanity defense in American courts. Particularly notable is the discussion of the trial of Abner Rogers Jr., involving the murder of Massachusetts State Prison warden Charles Lincoln Jr. These contributions document an important period in the developing relationship between medical knowledge and criminal law.

AMERICAN WESTWARD EXPANSION AND THE SANTA FE TRADE.
Two substantial contributions examine the American West and the expanding commercial routes across the prairies. Josiah Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies and George Wilkins Kendall's Narrative of the Texan Santa Fé Expedition provide contemporary material on western commerce, exploration, and travel through territories that were becoming increasingly important to American expansion.

RELIGION, PHILOSOPHY, AND POLITICAL THOUGHT.
The April number includes substantial consideration of Blaise Pascal, the history of the American colonies, the modern Jewish world, and Richard Hildreth's Theory of Morals. Other contributions examine the history of the Puritans, British colonial administration, and the political legacy of the Portuguese statesman Marquis of Pombal.

SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, AND EDUCATION.
The January number devotes considerable attention to contemporary scientific thought, including chemistry, plant organization, and agricultural applications of science. Other essays address the condition of Harvard College and educational reform in the Boston public schools, reflecting the journal's broad engagement with the intellectual and institutional development of the United States.

SELECTED ARTICLES — COLLECTOR INTEREST:
+++ LAW, MEDICINE & CRIMINAL JUSTICE: 'The Jurisprudence of Insanity' — including I. Ray's A Treatise on the Medical Jurisprudence of Insanity, the trial of Abner Rogers Jr., and Forbes Winslow's The Plea of Insanity in Criminal Cases.
+++ AMERICAN WEST & EXPLORATION: 'Expeditions to Santa Fé' — including Josiah Gregg's Commerce of the Prairies and George Wilkins Kendall's Narrative of the Texan Santa Fé Expedition.
+++ AMERICAN HISTORY & COLONIAL STUDIES: 'Chalmers' History of the American Colonies' by George Chalmers; 'British Colonial Politics'; and 'The Condition and Wants of Harvard College'.
+++ RELIGION & THEOLOGY: 'Neal's History of the Puritans'; 'The Modern Jews'; and the discussions of Blaise Pascal's Pensées and Lettres écrites à un Provincial.
+++ PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS: 'Hildreth's Theory of Morals' by Richard Hildreth; 'A Theory of Creation'; and 'Characteristics of Lord Byron'.
+++ EUROPEAN HISTORY: 'Memoirs of the Marquis of Pombal'; and 'Travels of Leo von Rozmital, 1465–1467'.
+++ SCIENCE & AGRICULTURE: 'The Chemistry of Vegetation', including discussions of Dumas, Boussingault, agricultural chemistry, and John William Draper's work on the organization of plants.
+++ EDUCATION & SOCIAL HISTORY: 'Mr. Mann and the Teachers of the Boston Schools', concerning Horace Mann and educational reform.
+++ LITERATURE & BOOK COLLECTING: Reviews and notices concerning Horace Walpole, Lord Byron, Blaise Pascal, Leibnitz, the Odyssey, and contemporary poetry and children's literature.

GENRES: American Periodicals, Nineteenth-Century Literature, American Intellectual History, Historical Essays, Literary Criticism, Political History, Scientific Literature

SUBJECTS: North American Review, American History, Westward Expansion, Santa Fe Trail, Josiah Gregg, George Wilkins Kendall, Criminal Jurisprudence, Insanity Defense, Medical Jurisprudence, Blaise Pascal, American Colonies, British Colonial History, Jewish History, Puritan History, Philosophy, Ethics, Lord Byron, Horace Mann, Harvard College, Agricultural Chemistry, Nineteenth-Century Periodicals

Item #22623

Price: $75.00