The Courtesies of Authorship: Hannah Adams and Authorial Ethics in the Early Republic

The Legacy of Jedidiah Morse in Early American Geography Education: Forgotten and/or Forgettable Geographer?

“…A professional dispute with a prominent liberal New England historian, Hannah Adams, personified the divisiveness of Morse's message even among Christians. The rivalry began when Morse coauthored, with the Reverend Elijah Parish, Compendious History of New England in 1804, and then in 1808 published an abridged version of that book, less expensively than Adams' A Summary History of New England (Longo ), and both after Morse had assured Adams that he did not object to her 1799 publication of an abridged version of that text (Jackson ; Everton ). The disagreement lay in whether Morse's endorsement of Adams' right to print an abridged version precluded his own publication; Morse's defense was that Parish had objected to yielding to Adams the right to publish on the topic after he became aware of the discussion (Longo ; Jackson ; Everton ).…”

“…The rivalry began when Morse coauthored, with the Reverend Elijah Parish, Compendious History of New England in 1804, and then in 1808 published an abridged version of that book, less expensively than Adams' A Summary History of New England (Longo ), and both after Morse had assured Adams that he did not object to her 1799 publication of an abridged version of that text (Jackson ; Everton ). The disagreement lay in whether Morse's endorsement of Adams' right to print an abridged version precluded his own publication; Morse's defense was that Parish had objected to yielding to Adams the right to publish on the topic after he became aware of the discussion (Longo ; Jackson ; Everton ). After securing and reviewing rare copies of both Morse/Pariah and Adams' texts and reviewing Alice Spieseke's () conclusions after the same exercise, Schwartz () concluded that, despite its relative acceptance at the time (compared with today (Spieseke )) and the ambiguity of copyright law at the time vis‐à‐vis plagiarism, Morse may have committed plagiarism, which likely contributed to the rivalry even though neither formally accused the other of plagiarism.…”

“…Morse's reputation during the abridged text controversy may have been further tarnished by Adams' contrast of Morse's wealth as a clergyman and author with her own poverty. In addition, the wealth issue may have been tinged by less‐than‐subtle suggestions of gender bias (Vella ; Everton ), in her self‐deprecatory characterization as a “helpless woman, dependent on the scanty products of my pen for sustenance” (Jackson , 18). Adams' written statement to Morse, “Can you, Rev.…”