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206CIVIL WAR HISTORY which Vesey became the center. When those negotiations were revealed, they were sensationalized, and hasty trials brought groups of alleged conspirators to the gallows, so peremptorily that even some conservatives among the white population feared for civil rights. Richard C. Wade, in "The Vesey Plot: A Reconsideration" (Journal of Southern History, May, 1964), believes there was no plot, there were no weapons. Unrest among Negroes and fears among whites precipitated an hysteria of dire proportions. Mr. Wade's findings do not erase those of Mr. Lofton. There are areas of disagreement which continue to merit study and interpretation. The above writings, and others, show how many related areas have been too lightly investigated, which could be profitably considered in depth. Thus, Mr. Wade remarks that "the urban environment proved inhospitable to conspiracies because it provided a wider latitude to the slave, a measure of independence within bondage, and some relief from the constant surveillance of the master." Perhaps so. But Marion D. deB. Kilsen, in Toward Freedom: An Analysis of Slave Revolts in the United States" (Phyton, Summer, 1964), concludes that The urban factor appears to have been significant as a source both of more cosmopolitan ideas and of greater role differentiation for Negroes." Mr. Wade is correct in noting that emotionalism affected Negro and pro-southern white historians, and retarded understanding. Mr. Lofton's hard-earned researches may not be the last word on the Vesey affair, but they contribute to its clarification. Louis Filler Antioch College Diary of Charles Francis Adams. Vol. I, January 1820-June 1825. Vol. II, July 1825-September 1829. Edited by Aïda DiPace Donald and David Donald. (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1964. Pp. Ixiv, 469; xi, 514. $20.00.) These two new volumes in the published papers of the Adams family are beautifully printed, and their editors, Aïda DiPace Donald and David Donald, have performed their job with diligence, a high regard for accuracy , and with imagination. Charles Francis Adams records the events and thoughts in his dairy life during the years 1820 to 1829. He began his diary at the age of thirteen . These two volumes, therefore, are the product of his very early years, age thirteen to age twenty-two. In spite of his immaturity, the firsthand observations of leading statesmen, and particularly those of his father, are of great interest to the historian of political history. However, these occupy only a small part. The more significant contribution is the frank story of a young man growing to maturity in Washington and Boston in the third decade of the nineteenth century. Adams' stated purpose was to take careful account of how he spent his time. He committed himself to keeping an honest book reviews207 and full account, and the diary testifies that he met both commitments. His few wayward excursions into the student circle of drinking bouts and his brief experience with a mistress are noted, but it is his introvertish analysis of himself that makes this work one of great value. The material is full and frank enough for a psychological case study. Secondly, the diary throws light on the self-education of an important man. Adams did not achieve brilliant marks as a student at Harvard. He was critical of almost all of his instructors, failing to find one who excited him or contributed significantly to his intellectual growth. The diary does not enable one to form any judgment as to whether the unrewarding experience at Harvard was due to Adams' lack of maturity and the disturbing factors in his own life or whether the fault lay with the professors. However, Adams read prodigiously in the fields of history, of British and French literature, and in philosophy. In addition he took full advantage of the thin fare of theater and music available to him. By the age of twenty-two, two years after he left the university, he was a mature and well-educated man. Finally, the two volumes portray the tragedies of the family. John Quincy Adams was not happily married and two of his sons caused him deep concern. One of them, George, ended his own life shortly after his...

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