Al Goins

HIST-1700-201-Su17
Primary Source Evaluation #1
6/25/17

1. Who are the author(s) of the source?

a. James E. Seaver

2. Describe the authors place in society, including relevant characteristics that may have

affected the work (age, wealth, sex, education level, political or religious ideology, race,

etc.)

a. The author seems to have been a Christian minister, of European origins, in his

late 30s at the time of publication. He would have held a good amount of

influence, considering that Ministers were practically backed by God and politics

in the time period.

3. What is the title of the source?

a. A NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF MRS. MARY JEMISON, Who was taken by

the Indians, in the year 1755, when only about twelve years of age, and has

continued to reside amongst them to the present time.

4. What is the historical period during which the source was produced?

a. 1823-1824, shortly before The Bureau of Indian Affairs was established by the

US War Department.

5. Where was the source produced?

a. Pembroke, Massachusetts
6. Who is the authors target audience? (This is one of the more difficult questions: think

carefully about who the author was trying to reach with the source. Of all the people who

might read it, who did the author care most about?)

a. According to the preface, Seaver was concerned with making the content easily

comprehensible to readers, especially to children (who lack critical ability). I

would conclude then that his target audience consisted of the impressionable,

white, Christian population, with a beginning to intermediate level of education.

According to the introduction, there were many gentlemen of respectability that

wished to record her story to be preserved with a view not only to perpetuate the

remembrance of the atrocities of the savages in former times, but to preserve

some historical facts3. One could argue that these gentlemen were the primary

target audience, as they were Seavers employers and he had to write it in a way

that met their requirements, but I would conclude that the combined target

audience of Seaver and his employers consisted of the impressionable, white,

Christian population, with a beginning to intermediate level of education.

7. What is the authors main argument? Or, for the (few) sources that dont have a main

argument, what are they trying to convey to the reader?

a. At face value, this is simply the biography of a womans life among the Indians.

At the same time it is fondly hoped that the lessons of distress that are portrayed,

may have a direct tendency to increase our love of liberty; to enlarge our views of

the blessings that are derived from our liberal institutions; and to excite in our

breasts sentiments of devotion and gratitude to the great Author and finisher of

our happiness.3 This quote from the preface, along with the entirety of the
 introduction and the time period, leads me to believe that Seavers main objective

was justifying the creation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (the creation of which

must have been in process at the time), which would protect U.S. citizens liberty

(at the expense of the Natives). A secondary motive seems to have been instilling

the fear of godlessness into his readers.

8. What supporting arguments or evidence does the author use to convince the reader of

their main argument?

a. The whole biography. And for those who might argue that even in the title it

claims that Mrs. Jemison has continued to reside amongst them to the present

time3, the preface seeks to diminish the full awareness and reasoning behind any

of her decisions to stay with her foster/Indian family, which can be seen by the

following paragraph: It will be observed that the subject of this narrative has

arrived at least to the advanced age of eighty years; that she is destitute of

education; and that her journey of life, throughout its texture, has been interwoven

with troubles, which ordinarily are calculated to impair the faculties of the mind;

and it will be remembered, that there are but few old people who can recollect

with precision the circumstances of their lives, (particularly those circumstances

which transpired after middle age.) If, therefore, any error shall be discovered in

the narration in respect to time, it will be overlooked by the kind reader, or

charitably placed to the narrator's account, and not imputed to neglect, or to the

want of attention in the compiler.3

9. Is there any part of the source where you think the author might be lying, exaggerating, or

otherwise making things up? Why do you think so? Or: Why do you think the author is

trustworthy?

a. I believe the biography is filled with partial truth based on the bias of the author:

Strict fidelity has been observed in the composition: consequently, no

circumstance has been intentionally exaggerated by the paintings of fancy, nor by

fine flashes of rhetoric: neither has the picture been rendered more dull than the

original. Without the aid of fiction, what was received as matter of fact, only has

been recorded.3 This paragraph states that nothing has been exaggerated or

changed from Mrs. Jemisons narrative, but one should take a moment to consider

the final sentence, particularly; what was received as a matter of fact3. What

Seaver welcomed, or received, as a matter of fact may be different from the actual

experience of Mrs. Jemison. A reader might also note that Seaver seems to be

trying to cover his bases with the preface. If, therefore, any error shall be

discovered in the narration in respect to time, it will be overlooked by the kind

reader, or charitably placed to the narrator's account, and not imputed to neglect,

or to the want of attention in the compiler.3 A pliant reader would most likely

take this at face value and not many would question his word against a womans,

especially when they had just been informed that she was mentally unstable

(something which happens even now). I would also like to note that for a

biographical account, the author spends a great deal of time in the introduction

reinforcing popular opinion and bias against the Indians: Many gentlemen of

respectability, felt anxious that her narrative might be laid before the public, with
 a view not only to perpetuate the remembrance of the atrocities of the savages in

former times, but to preserve some historical facts which they supposed to be

intimately connected with her life, and which otherwise must be lost. All this,

coupled with Seavers scepticism of Mrs. Jemisons extolment of the Senecas

virtues over vice, lead me to believe that he was too biased of an author to be a

completely trustworthy source.

10. What does the source teach us about history? Also, be sure to highlight anything that can

be learned indirectly. (Look for assumptions the author makes about how the world

works and then think about what those assumptions tell us.)

a. The biography itself is an informative historical account from a somewhat unique

perspective. It gives historians a peek into life amongst the Senecas in the time

surrounding the Revolutionary War, as well the differences in perspective from

Seaver (an educated white man) and Mrs. Jemison (an uneducated, Indian

raised, white woman). The source indirectly lets us look at the role good,

Christian, education played during that time period, and the general public

sentiment for those outside their norm: The Seneca cannot be good, because

they held white Christians hostage. This woman is a simpleton, and does not

know what it means to be White, therefore her word is not as good as the authors.

Etc.
1
"BIA Website." Indian Affairs | BIA. June 30, 2017. Accessed June 29, 2017.
https://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/BIA/.
2
"Mary Jemison." Wikipedia. June 18, 2017. Accessed June 29, 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Jemison.
3
Seaver, James E. A narrative of the life of Mrs. Mary Jemison. Canandaigua, NY: Printed by
J.D. Bemis, 1824.
4
"U.S. Timeline - The 1820s A Decade of Compromise and Doctrine." U.S. Timeline: The
1820's, America's Best History. Accessed June 29, 2017.
http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1820.html.