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Tertiary sourceBook1905

Taylor, Zachary (The New International Encyclopaedia, 1905)

1905

A 1905 reference entry on Zachary Taylor, the twelfth President of the United States. It describes his family, his frontier and Indian wars, and his later career.

This entry gives a 1905 account of Taylor's early life and military career before his presidency.

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Source: Wikisource

About this source

What it is

This is an entry on Zachary Taylor in The New International Encyclopaedia, published in New York by Dodd, Mead and Co. in 1905. It is a reference article, not a letter or speech by Taylor. It describes his birth in Orange County, Virginia, on November 24, 1784, his father's role as a Revolutionary War officer, and his defense of Fort Harrison in 1812 against a large force of Indians led by Tecumseh.

Why it matters

The entry shows how an early twentieth-century encyclopedia presented Taylor's military career, including his fights against Indian allies of Great Britain and his victory over the Seminole at Okeechobee. Such articles were written long after the events and were meant for general readers, so they tell us what their editors thought important, as well as facts about Taylor.

Look closer

  • Which parts of Taylor's life does the article emphasize, such as his battles, and why might that be?
  • How does the entry describe the Indian peoples it mentions, and what words does it use for them?
  • What does the article leave out that a student would want to know about Taylor's presidency?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Zachary Taylor on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Zachary Taylor half plate daguerreotype

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