Historical view of the American Revolution

THE following Lectures were written for the Lowell Institute of Boston in 1862, and read before it in the January and February of 1863. A part of them was also read before the Cooper Institute of New York in March and April of the same year. Relating to a past of great present value, they have already, I am told, done some good; and I publish them in the hope that, in a more accessible form, they may do still more. No nation can neglect the study of its own history without exposing itself to the danger and disgrace of repeating past errors. No statesman can confine his attention to the present, without losing sight of the principles from which the present grew, and thus becoming a groper in the dark, instead of a trustworthy guide.