The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 57, July 1953 - April, 1954 Page: 415

Book Reviews

the fulfillment of God's will in the settlement of Louisiana by
French Catholics. In closing his narrative he asked, "Who will
not recognize therein the hand of the Creator?"
JEFFERSON DAVIS BRAGG
Baylor University
The Territorial Papers of the United States: The Territory of
Alabama, 1817-1819. Compiled and edited by Clarence Edwin
Carter. Washington (Government Printing Office), 1952.
Vol. XVIII. Pp. 875. $5.50.
Edited by Clarence Edwin Carter, this collection of documents,
as found in the National Archives of the United States in Wash-
ington, D. C., for the years 1817-1819, provides the basis for a
study and new evaluation of the origins of the state of Alabama.
The materials are presented in four main divisions: papers
relating to the foundations of the Territory of Alabama, 1816-
1817; and papers relating to the administrations of Governor
Bibb for each of the years, 1817 through 1819. The editor points
out that this volume is in effect a continuation of volumes V and
VI of the territorial papers of the United States, relating to the
Territory of Mississippi. Making clear that the collection is not
an exhaustive one, he indicates the principles which guided him
in making the selection from the documents in the various de-
positories in Washington.
With 950 documents presented, of which "few more than a
score have appeared in any previous work," it is obvious that the
range of contribution to Alabama history is quite extensive.
Reference to some of the main items will indicate the richness
of his collection. Interesting to Alabama historians will be the
communications establishing the approximate date of the entrance
into office of the first governor of Alabama Territory, William
Wyatt Bibb. Some authorities have placed the date earlier than
the one here suggested, namely, September 25, 1817. Outstanding
in revealing local interests are the numerous memorials and
petitions presented by various bodies to local and national author-
ities. That on pages 192 to 201, for example, against the transfer
of the territory to Mississippi, lists some six hundred names of
citizens in several counties of southern Alabama. Providing sim-

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