History: The Most Important Documents In America's History

There are many documents in America’s history that have defined key moments in the past and shaped the future. Three documents that have important historical significance include: “Planter William Byrd Tours the Backcountry,” in 1728, “The Cherokee Phoenix,” by Elias Boudinot in 1826 and President Lincoln’s, “The First Inaugural Address,” in 1861. Out of these three documents, Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address has the most historical significance because it was spoken when the country’s identity was divided, the south had succeeded from the union, and Lincoln’s election into office was a cause of the Civil War, the bloodiest war in America’s history. In 1728, “Planter William Byrd Tours the Backcountry,” was written. Byrd describes

Farmers in the backcountry didn’t grow an extensive amount of crops to sell for a profit because they didn’t have the transportation system they needed in order to enter into the market economy. So in order to make the most out of their situation, they lived off a bartering economy. The reason they let their animals go in the winter and then gather them in the spring is because it takes much more land to enclose cattle and hogs because they have to pasture. By letting them roam freely, they were able to utilize their land for their crops that they would protect from livestock by building a fence around it. It is also important because it shows the arrogance of William Byrd, as well as planters similar to him. He believed honor and social status were the most important things in life, and people of the backcountry did not live their lives in a similar manner. The people of the backcountry probably didn’t like Byrd because of his superior behavior and privileges he had. This gives insight into why some people in the backcountry may not have sided with the rebels during the American Revolution. Many rebels were wealthy planters like Byrd, who wanted the right to expand his property. In spite, some people of the backcountry probably became loyalists and sided with the British

Boudinot was the editor of the first Cherokee newspaper, “The Cherokee Phoenix,” In one of his articles, “An Address to the Whites,” he pleas the government to acknowledge the tremendous strides his tribe has taken in order to assimilate with the whites. His first example was the invention of letters. George Guest created a series of symbols that were comprehendible to the Cherokee tribe. In fact, “The Cherokee Phoenix” was written in two languages, one side had the Cherokee symbols and the other side was written in English. This allowed Elias Boudinot to be a widely read and enabled whites to see the progress the Cherokees have made because they could read this newspaper. Boudinot’s next example was the peaceful adoption of Christianity. “It is worthy of remark, that in no ignorant country have missionaries undergone less trouble and difficulty, in spreading knowledge of the Bible, than in this.” The Cherokees used their new invention of letters to translate the New Testament. According to Boudinot, “the translation of the New Testament… has swept away that barrier which has long existed, and opened a spacious channel for the instruction of adult Cherokees.” Boudinot’s final point was the new government created by the Cherokees that was very similar to the American Constitution. The Cherokee Nation was divided into eight districts. They had a Superior Court as their judicial branch, a