Have a look at what really happened in the early days of America. This is probably not the same history that you learned in school. What you will see here is unvarnished and raw, directly from the 1700s, 1800s and early 1900s. It is real people talking with and about each other, expressing their thoughts, feelings, and ambitions. Here is the real pioneer spirit at its best and worst.

You have been cautioned. Read these accounts with your brain engaged.

Now, please enjoy a little time-travel, and learn about the people who laid the foundations of America. It will likely change the way you view our society and current affairs worldwide.

These archives are presented in two sections. The Archive Library contains complete works for original research. The Topical Archives are the product of other people's research, and are subject-specific compilations of material from multiple sources.

T E R M S   O F   U S E

The copyrights, if any, on the scanned material hosted on this web site have expired, and the material is in the public domain.  The scans (.jpg files) of the material, and the associated html files, are Copyright by 1st-hand-history.org as of the date-stamp on the individual files.

Having said that, our only reason for declaring copyright is to protect our work (and investment) from unauthorized copyrighting and commercial exploitation.  All of the scanned material on this site is available to you for non-commercial use and duplication at no charge, as long as you don't copy the entire site and try to sell it, or sell access to it.

For example, individuals performing research are free to download and/or print out any pages they wish to cite within their own work.  Make your own margin notes on the printed copies, or bind them into your final report - even if you plan to copyright and sell your final work.

Teachers and schools are welcome to make use of the materials contained herein, and CD-ROMs of this web site are available at very modest cost for those wishing to host them on in-house servers. Contact us for the current number of disks, and to arrange an ongoing subscription.

There.  That ought to satisfy your legal concerns.  If it didn't, please email us with your questions, and we'll try to find answers for you.