Hanover Historical Texts Collection

The Hanover Historical Texts Collection makes available digital versions of historical texts for use in history and humanities courses. Search by keyword, or browse the listings below.

The faculty and students of the Hanover College History Department initiated the Hanover Historical Texts Project in 1995, at a time when few primary sources were available outside of published anthologies. To make primary texts readily available for classroom use, they selected important documents, scanned print versions that were out of copyright, converted the scans into HTML format, proofread the resulting documents to correct OCR errors, edited them to provide page breaks, page numbers, and bibliographical information, and posted them online. We have since expanded the collection to include transcriptions of manuscript material from the Hanover College archives.

Most of the texts in the Hanover Historical Texts Collection are in public domain. However, the electronic forms of public domain texts that we have created for the Collection are under copyright. We grant permission to copy and use items in the Hanover Historical Texts Collection for educational purposes; we ask that you acknowledge the Hanover Historical Texts Collection. We do not grant permission for commercial uses.

Bibliographical information and acknowledgements for scanning, conversion into html, and proofreading are found at the beginning of each text. Page numbers appear in square brackets [ ] at the point of the page breaks in the original texts.

Ancient Greece and Rome

The Presocratics
Anaxagoras, fragments and commentary
Anaximander, fragments and commentary
Anaximenes, fragments and commentary
Empedocles, fragments and commentary
Melissos, fragments and commentary
Parmenides, fragments and commentary
Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans, fragments and commentary
Thales, fragments and commentary
Xenophanes, fragments and commentary
Zeno, fragments and commentary

Medieval Europe

Letters of Crusaders
Anselme of Ribemont, Anselme of Ribemont, Letter to Manasses II, Archbishop of Reims (1098)
Stephen, Count of Blois and Chartres, Letter to his wife, Adele (1098)
Daimbert, Godfrey and Raymond, Letter to the Pope (1099)
Conrad III, First Letter to Wibald, Abbot of Corvey (1148)
Conrad III, Second Letter to Wibald, Abbot of Corvey (1148)
Aymeric, Patriarch of Antioch, Letter to Louis VII of France (1164)
Letter from the East to Master of Hospitalers (1187)
Frederick I, Letter to Leopold of Austria (1189)
Sibylla, Ex-Queen of Jerusalem, Letter to Frederick I (1189)
The Duke of Lorraine, Letter to the Archbishop of Cologne (1197)
Frederic II, Letter to Henry III of England (1229)
Gerold, Patriarch of Jerusalem, Letter to all the Faithful (1229)

Britain
Holy feast of Pentecost

Early Modern Europe

Modern Europe

The French Revolution
Arthur Young, Travels in France (1792) excerpts
Cahiers of 1789: The Clergy of Blois and Romorantin
Cahiers of 1789: The Nobility of Blois
Cahiers of 1789: The Third Estate of Versailles
Cahiers of 1789: The Third Estate of Carcassonne
The Decree Abolishing Feudalism (1789)
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790)
The Proclamation of the Duke of Brunswick (1792)
Documents of the National Convention
St. Just, Republican Institute, excerpts
Napoleon, Account of the Situation of the Empire (1804) excerpts

Nineteenth-Century Conservatism
The Carlsbad Decrees (1819), excerpts

Nationalism
Joseph Mazzini, The Duties of Man (1844) excerpts

The Revolutions of 1848
Documents of the Revolution of 1848 in France

National Unification
Otto von Bismarck, Memoirs, excerpts

Labor and Socialist Movements
Karl Marx, "Transformation" (1836-1837)
Karl Marx, letters to Arnold Ruge (1843)
Karl Marx, On the Jewish Question (1844)
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, "England's 17th Century Revolution" (1850)
Karl Marx, "Communism, Revolution, and a Free Poland" (1850)
Karl Marx, "The Duchess of Sutherland and Slavery" (1853)
Karl Marx, "Introduction to a Contribution to a Critique of Political Economy," (1857)
Thomas Hill Green, Liberal Legislation and Freedom of Contract (1861)
Karl Marx, Capital (1867)
Karl Marx, "Poland and the Russian Menace" (1867)
Karl Marx, The Abolition of Landed Property (Memorandum for Robert Applegarth), 1869
R. Landor, interview with Karl Marx, New York World (1871)
Karl Marx, Marginal Notes to the Program of the German Workers Party (1875?)
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, "Strategy and Tactics of the Class Struggle (1879)
H., interview with Karl Marx, Chicago Tribune (1879)
Karl Marx, The Civil War in France (1891)
Frederick Engels, "The Law of Value and Rate of Profit" (1895)
The Gotha Program (1875)
The Erfurt Program (1891)
Eduard Bernstein, Evolutionary Socialism (1909)
Karl Marx, Theses on Feuerbach

The Russian Revolution
Telegram from the American Consulate in Sweden to the U.S. Secretary of State, March 17, 1917 contributed by David Trail
Telegram from the American Consulate in Petrograd to the U.S. Secretary of State, March 20, 1917 contributed by David Trail
Telegram from the American Consulate in Moscow to the U.S. Secretary of State, March 20, 1917 contributed by David Trail

Africa and Asia

Africa
Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life (1789) part one

Asia
The Diary of Lady Sarashina (1009-1059)
The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (1889) contributed by Jonathan Dresner, Harvard University
The Constitution of Japan, 1947 contributed by Jonathan Dresner, Harvard University

Seventeenth-Century Colonial American History

Anne Bradstreet, A Dialogue Between Old England and New (1630)
John Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity (1630)
The Massachusetts Body of Liberties (1641)
Samuel Willard, A briefe account of . . . Elizabeth Knap of Groton (c.1671)
Increase Mather, Remarkable Providences relating to Witchcraft and Possessions (1684) excerpts
Instructions to Sir Edmund Andros, concerning Rhode Island and Connecticut charters(1686)
Commercial Orders to Governor Andros(1686-1687)
Orders for sending Sir Edmund Andros to England (1689)
George Burroughs, witchcraft court records, Salem, 1692
Abigail Faulkner, witchcraft court records, Salem, 1692
Elizabeth Fosdick and Elizabeth Paine, witchcraft court records, Salem, 1692
Dorcas Good, witchcraft court records, Salem, 1692
Elizabeth Hart, witchcraft court records, Salem, 1692
Abigail Hobbs, witchcraft court records, Salem, 1692
Mary Ireson, witchcraft court records, Salem, 1692
Sarah Osborn, witchcraft court records, Salem, 1692
John Proctor, witchcraft court records, Salem, 1692
Tituba, witchcraft court records, Salem, 1692

Eighteenth-Century American History

Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists (1772)

Nineteenth-Century American History

"Steamboat Adventure: Down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers with Nicholas and Lydia Roosevelt, 1811-1812" (an anthology of primary sources)
Benedict Family Letters, 1839-1852 (manuscript originals in the Hanover College archives)
Documents about women's education in Madison, Indiana, Madison Courier, 1841.
Jenny Lind's 1851 appearance in Madison, Indiana: program and lyrics; news reports; description from Charles Rosenberg, Jenny Lind in America, 1851; description from Olive Logan, Before the Footlights and Behind the Scenes, 1870
Sarah Butler Hendricks, prose and poetry, c. 1854 (manuscript originals in the Hanover College archives)
Hendricks family letters, 1856-1859 (manuscript originals in the Hanover College archives)
Joseph McHenry Adkinson family letters, 1863-1864 (manuscript originals in the Hanover College archives)
news of Joseph McHenry Adkinson, from D. D. McKee, 1864 (manuscript originals in the Hanover College archives)
Adkinson family papers, 1863-1994?

Julia Eddy letters, 1864-1868 (manuscript originals in the Hanover College archives)
Alfred G. Runner letters, 1864 (manuscript originals in the Hanover College archives)
Cyril Tyler letters, 1861-1862? (manuscript originals in the Hanover College archives)
"An Investigation of the Causes of Those Dark Forebodings Which Make Powerful Man Weak," Madison Courier, 1882
Charles Alling, Jr., student diary, 1883-1884 (manuscript original in the Hanover College archives)

Twentieth-Century American History

"Great Father Speaks to 189 Tribes of Indians," Madison Courier, 1914
"The Town Wild with Joy: First News of Signing of Armistice Received by the Courier at Three A. M.," Madison Courier, 1918
"Marshall's Key Note at the Indiana Democratic State Convention Today," Madison Courier, 1920
Hanover College Triangle, reports on antiwar protest, 1970

Hanover College and Local History

Hanover College and Jefferson County from 1820 to 1850

The Call of Hanover Church to John Finley Crowe, 1823
Portrait of John Finley Crowe
The Bye-Laws and Standing Rules of the Madison Presbytery, 1826
Records of Hanover Academy, 1828-1833 (edited and excerpted)
Minutes of Hanover Academy, 1828-1833
Inaugural Address of President James Blythe, 1833
Portrait of James Blythe
Alexander Kinmont, Discourse Delivered Before the Union Literary, 1836
Documents Related to the Controversy Surrounding President Duncan Macaulay, 1837-1838
Inaugural Address of President Duncan McAuley, 1838 (edited)
Inaugural Address of President Duncan McAuley, 1838
Inaugural Address of President Erasmus D. MacMaster, 1838
Documents about women's education in Madison, Indiana, Madison Courier, 1841.
Crowe, John Finley, "Colonization Society Address," 1845
The Inaugural Address of President Sylvester Scovel, 1847

Hanover College and Jefferson County from 1851 to 1900

Jenny Lind's 1851 appearance in Madison, Indiana: program and lyrics; news reports; description from Charles Rosenberg, Jenny Lind in America, 1851; description from Olive Logan, Before the Footlights and Behind the Scenes, 1870
Sarah Butler Hendricks, prose and poetry, c. 1854
Hendricks family letters, 1856-1859
Crowe, John Finley, "Address to Literary Societies," 1857
Elias Riggs Monfort Collection (Civil War letters from and to a Hanover student fighting in the war)
Address by John H. Holliday to the Philathean Society of Hanover College, 1863
Frederick Douglass's visit to Madison, 1880 (newspaper stories)
March editorials, Hanover Monthly, 1884
Charles Alling, Jr., student diary, 1883-1884
A Tall Youth from Eureka" [J. F. Crowe, Jr.], San Francisco Chronicle, 1891

Hanover College and Jefferson County from 1901 to 1930

Hanover College in the national news, 1903
"Why Triangle" and "An Apology," Hanover College Triangle, 1909
Hanover College Triangle (advertisements for local businesses), 1909
"Keep Busy" and "Student Publicity," Hanover College Triangle, 1909
"Tomorrow's Game," Hanover College Triangle, 1909
"A Collegiate Move on Lynching," Hanover College Triangle, 1916

"Students Decide in Favor of Compulsory Drill," Hanover College Triangle, 1917 (and related articles).
"Twelve Letters Awarded at Football Banquet," Hanover College Triangle, 1917
Rogers family papers, 1917-1918
"The Town Wild with Joy: First News of Signing of Armistice Received by the Courier at Three A. M.," Madison Courier, 1918

"College Ground Near Ballard's Probable Links," Hanover College Triangle, 1927
"Hanover College Is Century Old," Hanover College Triangle, 1927.
"The Administrative Column: Does College Pay?,"; " Are Co-Eds Smarter Than Men," Hanover Triangle, 1930

Hanover College and Jefferson County from 1931 to 1950

Learning in Black and White: Race Relations at Hanover College, 1832-1980 includes articles from the student newspaper and oral history interviews.

Hanover College and Jefferson County from 1951 to 2000

"Hanover Plan Quick To Be Scrutinized," Hanover College Triangle, 1962
"Beanie-clad Freshmen Represent Our Future," Hanover College Triangle, 1962 (and related articles)
"Jesse Owens to Talk," Hanover College Triangle, 1964
"Chivalry Ends: Equipment Replaces Human Hands" Hanover College Triangle, 1964
Austin, Robert W., "The Threshold of Boredom," 1964
John McDonough, "For Kent State, Cambodia -- Student[s] Express Concern In Letters," Hanover College Triangle, 1970 (and related articles)
News of the 1969 draft lottery, the 1970 shootings at Kent State University, and the 1974 tornado (from the Hanover College Triangle and the Madison (Indiana) Courier
John Horner, "Will Hanover Be Here in 1985?" 1975
Jakoubek, Jane T., Fall Convocation Address, 1999
Luttmer, Frank, "The Devil, History, and Studia Humanitatis," 1999

Hanover College and Jefferson County after 2000

Nichols, Russell L., Fall Convocation Address, 2001
Pence, Mike, commencement address, 2008
Reisser, Jan-Niklas, commencement address, 2014
Hale, J. Joseph, Jr., commencement address, 2014
Lambert, Lake, III, Inaugural Address, 2015
Lambert, Lake, III, "Sojourning for Truth," 2018

Secondary Sources on Hanover College History

Austgen, Suzanne M., "A History of Literary Societies at Hanover College" Hanover Historical Review 2 (1994)
Blake, I. George, excerpt from "The Civil War Came to Campus," 1963
Millis, William A., The History of Hanover College from 1827 to 1927, 1927
Moore, A. Y., History of Hanover College, 1900

Transcriptions of Manuscripts Held in the Hanover College Archives

The following are the results of various student projects in transcribing archival material housed at the Duggan Library. Elias Riggs Monfort and Charles Alling, Jr., are Hanover alumni, but others on this list have more tenuous connections to the college.

Documents from the Duggan Library's Archive are under the copyright of Hanover College. Permission is granted to copy and use the documents for educational purposes, though not for commercial purposes. More information on manuscripts in the Hanover College Archives is available here.

Adkinson family papers, 1863-1994?
Joseph McHenry Adkinson letters, 1863-1864
news of Joseph McHenry Adkinson, from D. D. McKee, 1864
Julia Eddy letters, 1864-1868
Alfred G. Runner letters, 1864
Cyril Tyler letters, 1861-1862?

Charles Alling, Jr., student diary, 1883-1884

Benedict family Letters, 1839-1852

Hendricks family letters, 1856-1859
Sarah Butler Hendricks, prose and poetry, c. 1854

Elias Riggs Monfort Collection (Civil War letters from and to the Monfort and Taylor families)

Rogers family papers, 1917-1918

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