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Book 2017-226
The History of the American Indians
Book 2017-226

The History of the American Indians

Date1775
Engraver John Lodge (fl. 1754-1796)
Maker James Adair (1709 - 1783)
OriginEngland, London
MediumFull leather binding, with some gilt tooling on the spine.
DimensionsOH: 11" x OW: 8 7/8" x OD: 1 5/8"
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard F. Barry, III, Mr. and Mrs. Macon F. Brock, Mr. and Mrs. David R. Goode, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad M. Hall, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Johnson, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Moorman, IV, and Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Roberts.
Object number2017-226
DescriptionOne volume, bound in leather

Title page reads:
THE/ HISTORY/ OF THE/ AMERICAN INDIANS;/ PARTICULARLY/ Those NATIONS adjoining to the MISSISSIPPI, EAST AND/ WEST FLORIDA, GEORGIA, SOUTH AND/ NORTH CAROLINA, AND VIRGINIA:/ CONTAINING/ An ACCOUNT of their ORIGIN, LANGUAGE, MANNERS, RELIGIOUS and/ CIVIL CUSTOMS, LAWS FORM OF GOVERNMENT, PUNISHMENTS, CONDUCT in/ WAR and DOMESTIC LIFE, their HABITS, DIET, AGRICULTURE, MANU-/FACTURES, DISEASES and METHOD of CURE, and other Particulars, suffi-/cient to render it/ A/ COMPLETE INDIAN SYSTEM./ WITH/ OBSERVATIONS on former HISTORIANS, the Conduct of our Colony/ GOVERNORS, SUPERINTENDENTS, MISSIONARIES, &c./ ALSO/ AN APPENDIX,/ CONTAINING/ A Description of the FLORIDAS, and the MISSIPPI LANDS, with their PRODUC-/TIONS--The Benefits of colonising GEORGIANA, and civilizing the INDIANS--/ And the way to make all the colonies more valuable to the Mother Country./ With a new MAP of the Country referred to in the History./ By JAMES ADAIR. Esquire,/ A TRADER with the INDIANS, and Resident in their Country for Forty Years./LONDON: Printed for EDWARD and CHARLES DILLY, in the Poultry./ MDCCLXXV.
Label TextAuthor James Adair, self-described "trader with the Indians and Resident in their country for Forty Years," traded with the Catawba, Cherokee, and Chickasaw tribes between 1735 and 1759. His firsthand knowledge of these Southeastern tribes informs his "History of the American Indians." He devotes a chapter to each major tribe, covering trade as well as religious practices and customs. The main argument Adair sets forward in the book, however, is to prove his theory that these Indians were descended from the Lost Tribe of Israel. In a letter to John Adams, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "Adair had his kink. He believed all the Indians of America to be descended from the Jews...He was a trader, a man of learning, a self-taught Hebraist, a strong religionist, and of as sound as mind as Don Quixot in whatever did not touch his religious chivalry." It is this unique theory that Adair is primarily known for, though he is still considered today to be the leading authority of his time on Southeastern Indian tribes.


Contains the following:
"A MAP/ of the/ AMERICAN INDIAN NATIONS,/ adjoining to the/ MISSISSIPPI,/ WEST & EAST FLORIDA,/ GEORGIA,/ S. & N. CAROLINA,/ VIRGINIA. &c."