This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Pioneer Letters Of Gershom Flagg reprint Gershom Flagg Solon Justus Buck Illinois state journal co., state printers, 1912 Illinois

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A collection of letters mainly between Gershom Flagg and his son Willard but also to and from prominent St. Louisans, Illinois politicians, and others. Crusty, wry, opinionated, Gershom Flagg and his son who was at Yale, kept each other up to date concerning local, national, and international politics; agricultural, social, and economic trends; and duels, bank robberies, and hangings in and around St. Louis and southern Illinois; and the latest fads at Yale. These letters show that even during the early prairie years, Illinoisans were not isolated from the world of culture and politics unless they chose to be. Gershom Flagg viewed the world through a curmudgeon’s eyes, his son Wil­lard through the eyes of a romantic. Their letters add flesh and blood to the skeleton of history as they provide first-hand accounts of great events by the men who lived through them. The Flaggs wrote of cholera epidemics, river travel, prairie fires and fires in St. Louis, education, social events, and entertainment. Because Ger­shom was a great gossip who kept track of his neighbors, he includes facts about local weddings, births, deaths, even family quarrels.

The Panic of 1819 tells the story of the first nationwide economic collapse to strike the United States. Much more than a banking crisis or real estate bubble, the Panic was the culmination of an economic wave that rolled through the United States, forming before the War of 1812, cresting with the land and cotton boom of 1818, and crashing just as the nation confronted the crisis over slavery in Missouri. The Panic introduced Americans to the new phenomenon of boom and bust, changed the country's attitudes towards wealth and poverty, spurred the political movement that became Jacksonian Democracy, and helped create the sectional divide that would lead to the Civil War. Although it stands as one of the turning points of American history, few Americans today have heard of the Panic of 1819, with the result that we continue to ignore its lessons—and repeat its mistakes.