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Dean, The following sources might prove helpful: William White to James Wilson, 27 November 1768, Konkle Manuscript, vol. 3, p. 5. Edward Potts Cheyney, History of the University of Pennsylvania, 1740-1940 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1940) and Andrew Bennett, James Wilson of St. Andrews: An American Statesman, 1742-1798 (St. Andrews: J. & G. Innes, Limited, 1928) My work was more focused on the Pamphlet "Considerations on the Nature and Extent of the Legislative Authority of the British Parliament", not the Visitant per se. Apparently, Wilson did not publish his Considerations essay in 1768 due to College of Philadelphia vice-Provost and Presbyterian minister Dr. Francis Allison. Allison, a man that Wilson held in high regard, found it too controversial for the times after having proofread the first copy of Considerations in 1768. This information, however, comes from Smith's biography, a text which, though extremely helpful for one interested in learning about Wilson, is sometimes hard to expand upon due to an occassional lack of citations. Perhaps you may wish to touch base with Mark David Hall as well. Good luck, Chris Brooks Christopher Brooks ZENAF (Center for North American Studies) JW von Goethe Univ. Frankfurt, GERMANY --- Andrew McMichael <Andrew.McMichael@WKU.EDU> wrote: > Subject: RE: James Wilson as Author of VISITANT > columns? > Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 12:25:33 -0500 > From: kent.mcgaughy <kent.mcgaughy@hccs.edu> > > > Several years ago I tackled a similar problem > regarding the authorship > of the LETTERS FROM THE FEDERAL FARMER attributed to > Richard Henry Lee. > After researching the issue I found evidence > indicating that Melancton > Smith of New York was the author. > > The use of pseudonyms was common in political > discussions (consider > Wilson's friend John Dickinson who wrote the LETTRS > FROM A PENNSYLVANIA > FARMER about the same time the Visitant columns > appeared),and on other > topics as well. The mystery of authorship, however, > is one for us in the > present. I found that quite often contemporaries > knew who wrote what. > For example, after Dickinson wrote the Farmer's > letters, Richard Henry > Lee arranged for the publication of the letters in > pamphlet form in > Virginia and wrote a preface for the Virginia > edition. Afterwards, Lee > wrote to Dickison to propose establishing committees > of correspondence > between Virginia and Pennsylvania. Lee knew who to > contact in spite of > the fact that Dickinson used a pseudonym. > > The purpose of a pseudonym was less about concealing > the author's > identity and more about letting a reader know what > the article/essay is > about at a glance. In a sense a pseudonym served the > purpose of a good > title and thesis statement in modern writing. > > You might check Wilson and White's circle of friends > and see what > evidence you can find; or check their correspondence > and see if he uses > the same arguments or phrasing in his letters. Is > there evidence in > other areas of their lives that the topics covered > in the Visitant > columns were of particular interest to Wilson and > White. > > Rarely will you be able to find a "smoking gun" that > establishes > authorship beyond doubt. If you want to pursue this, > prepare to do a lot > of digging, a lot of research, and, at best, be > satisfied with a good > circumstantial case. In some cases, a well-written, > cautionary footnote > may serve as the best solution to this sort of > problem. > > J. Kent McGaughy > Houston Community College, Northwest > > -----Original Message----- > From: H-NET List for History of the Early American > Republic on behalf of > Jamie Bronstein > Sent: Wed 4/4/2007 9:14 AM > To: H-SHEAR@H-NET.MSU.EDU > Subject: James Wilson as Author of VISITANT columns? > > Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2007 08:45:13 -0500 > From: wide0302@stcloudstate.edu > Subject: James Wilson as Author of VISITANT columns? > > Dear Subscribers, > > > > Can anyone help me with this question concerning > James Wilson? Wilson > and his friend William White are commonly regarded > as the anonymous > authors of the VISITANT columns that appeared in the > Pennsylvania > Chronicle and Universal Advertiser from Feb. 1, 1768 > to May 1, 1768. > Wilson's principal biographer, Charles Page Smith, > makes this claim for > authorship and his lead is followed by numerous > others who have written > on Wilson. The problem is, I have not been able to > locate any concrete > evidence, (and this includes the ambiguous citation > by Smith) that links > Wilson and White to these columns. Does anyone know > how this link was > made by Smith? > > > > Also, in relation to these columns, I wanted to know > if these anonymous, > reader submitted essays on the subject of manners > were fairly unique or > relatively common for newspapers of the day. I am > hoping there is some > secondary source available that might answer this > question and save me > from the time-consuming task of going through > countless newspapers to > find the answer myself. I am familiar with the C. > Dallett Hemphill > book, Bowing to Necessity, but this work focuses > mainly on manners > advice as recommended through book and pamphlet > sources. I am more > interested in determining if this type of advice on > manners was commonly > printed in what I would consider a more accessible > form - an inexpensive > newspaper. > > > > Thanks in advance for your help. > > > > Dean Williams > > History Masters Candidate > > St. Cloud State University > > > > > > ----- End forwarded message ----- > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Don't get soaked. Take a quick peek at the forecast with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather
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