Preface

hen Americans look back to the early days of their nation's history, the names of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton and Franklin figure prominently in their thinking, for, traditionally, our histories have recorded the impact of political and military leaders. As the United States enters its third century of independence, however, its citizens are seeking a broader interpretation of the nation's past. America’s rich natural and cultural heritage is appreciated as never before. New generations of school children ask different questions of their history, and the public calls for new ways of understanding and preserving the heritage it enjoys.

William Bartram’s name is not new to American history, but popular interest in his remarkable life and travels is. Since the end of the eighteenth century, Bartram’s pivotal role in the history of American natural science and his important influence on the course of English literature has been recognized by scholars around the world. His studies of the American Indian have been cited by ethnographers and anthropologists as definitive sources for an early, and otherwise unrecorded, period of native American cultural history. His impact on the English romantic poets of the early nineteenth century has been recognized by literary historians and by the writers themselves. Bartram’s scientific discoveries have been described by botanists as among the most significant of America’s contributions to the field of horticulture, while many of his discoveries in other fields of natural history are viewed with equally high regard.

Only in recent years, however, has William Bartram’s reputation begun to receive the popular recognition it deserves. His influential Travels, first published in 1791, was republished in a valuable “naturalist's edition” annotated by Francis Harper in 1958. A paperback edition of the Travels, edited by Mark Van Doren, has been available since 1955 and has gone through several large editions in recent years. In the Southeast, where Bartram made his extensive eighteenth century explorations, a number of statewide Bartram organizations have been formed to promote a better understanding of the Philadelphia naturalist and to seek ways of commemorating his travels.

Recent Bartram research, conducted under the auspices of the Bartram Trail Conference, has brought to light much new information about his remarkable life and career. It is hoped that the following biographical study, drawn from this research, will help to set William Bartram in an accurate historical context and to provide an objective perspective from which his significance can be judged.

Robert M. Peck