American Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of Published American Diaries and Journals. Volume 1: Diaries Written from 1492 to 1844 (review)

276civil war history continuing divisions among Democrats over drafting new state constitutions , the resurgence of agrarian interests and the adoption of a reactionary labor policy. Although this analysis of southern politics is usually persuasive and well-written, there are some problems. Perman thoroughly examined southern newspaper and manuscript collections but neglected government documents, the papers of northern politicians in the Library of Congress, and the voluminous material in the National Archives on patronage and political factionalism. For example, there is little attention given to the often titanic struggles over federal appointments in the South. Nor does Perman sufficiently explore the parties' legislative programs ; the general treatment of public policy questions, such as railroad subsidies, would have been greatly strengthened by a single quantitative analysis of legislative voting patterns. Finally, the emphasis on continuity and consensus makes the politics of the period seem almost bland and neglects the strident rhetoric, bitter campaigns and outbreaks of violence. Most specialists will have similar reservations about various specific points, but Perman's work has now become the starting point for all serious students of southern politics during Reconstruction. George C. Rable Anderson College American Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of Published American Diaries and Journals. Volume 1: Diaries Written from 1492 to 1844. By Laura Arksey, Nancy Pries, and Marcia Reed. (Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1983. Pp. 311. $74.00.) This impressive work, which will be completed in two volumes with citations to 1980, expands and revises the pioneer efforts of William Matthews 's American Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of American Diaries Written Prior to the Year 1861 (1945). It can be used in conjunction with Matthews's other major bibliography in the field, American Diaries in Manuscript, 1580-1954: A Descriptive Bibliography (1974). The authors of this work have accepted Matthews's definitions of diaries and journals, but they increased the scope of the work to include Spanish-American, Alaskan, and Hawaiian material and diaries of American missionaries serving in foreign countries. They expanded or completed Matthews's citations wherever possible and regularized them according to the Library of Congress Catalog, the National Union Catalog Pre-56 Imprints, and the Union List of Serials, and they provided access to the entire work through three indexes: name index, subject index, geographic index. There are 2782 entries in this volume. Entries are arranged in chronological order under the first year covered by the diary or journal. Thus, a diary covering the years 1838-1864 would be entered under the year 1838. Citations are alphabetical by book reviews277 author within each year. Each entry contains a full bibliographical citation for the publication in which the diary or journal appears, and editors are credited, later editions and reprints are mentioned, and informative annotations are provided. The annotations are especially full, vivid, and helpful. Matthews, in explaining his cut-off date of 1860 for his 1945 publication , wrote as follows: "So numerous are the diaries of Americans who took part in the Civil War that when I was making my bibliography of American diaries, my courage failed me and I called a halt at 1860." We are assured that Arksey, Pries, and Reed will cover the Civil War thoroughly in their second volume, but in the meantime readers of Civil War History will find much to interest them in volume one. Simply by browsing through the annotations from about 1820 on reveals a substantial amount of material on such subjects as slavery and antislavery, abolitionists, and plantation life, and there are eighteen entries on the Civil War itself. American Diaries is an exceptionally accurate, useful, and revealing reference source. With the publication of volume two it will take its place as the standard work in the field. Dean H. Keller Kent State University Correspondence of James K. Polk. Volume V, 1839-1841. Edited by Wayne Cutler. Earl J. Smith and Carese M. Parker, Associate Editors. (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1980. Pp. xlii, 836. $20.00.) Correspondence of James K. Polk. Volume VI, 1842-1843. Edited by Wayne Cutler. Carese M. Parker, Associate Editor. (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1983. Pp. xxxvi, 726. $25.00.) This presidential summer of 1984, when, at present writing, the Democrats will imminently descend on San...