American Whig: William Livingston of New York (Revised Ed.)

by Milton M. Klein

First published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

648 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1993

About the author

A specialist in the colonial history of New York and early American legal history, Milton M. Klein was University Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. A graduate of the City College of New York, he earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1954 and taught at both Columbia University and Long Island University before joining the faculty at the University of Tennessee in 1969.

Reviews

[Michael Hattem · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a revised edition of Klein's Columbia dissertation from the late 1950s. It covers Livingston's life and career from his birth in 1723 until he left New York and "retired" to New Jersey in 1772. During his lifetime, Klein was the foremost expert on Livingston and, incredibly, this volume is the only contemporary biographical work of this sorely under-recognized founder. This is an especially great achievement considering the only publication of Livingston's papers came in the late 1970s and early 1980s and these covered only his time in New Jersey. There is no published edition of Livingston's pre-1772 papers. This is largely because Livingston wrote hundreds of essays under pseudonyms and, for that reason, it is impossible to produce a definitive edition of his writings. In fact, one of his close descendants (perhaps his grandson or great-grandson) undertook the project of collecting his writings but was eventually forced to give up. As it stands, Livingston's pre-1772 papers are scattered among more than a dozen archival collections (some within various "Livingston Family Papers" and some in the papers of non-relatives) from California to Massachusetts. Even if a complete edition is impossible, there would be enormous value in a multi-volume (or even single volume) of Livingston's New York writings. Currently, the entirety of The Independent Reflector is published in a volume masterfully edited by Klein, but his other important essays including "The Watch-Tower," "The Sentinel," and "The American Whig" remain unpublished.