the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, at Madison, and in the Congressional Library. But my chief sources of information have been the legislative documents of Virginia and West Virginia and the public prints. I realize fully the treachery of such sources as the last named, but, all things considered, they are the best that are available for a study of this nature.
The first eight chapters of this study were offered and accepted for my Doctor's dissertation at the University of Wisconsin in 1908. For suggestions, criticism, and the care with which he has read my manuscript I am especially indebted to Dr. Ulrich B. Phillips, of New Orleans, La. My acknowledgments and thanks are also due to Dr. F. J. Turner, of Madison, Wis.; to Dr. W. E. Dodd, of Chicago, Ill.; to Dr. W. L. Fleming, of Baton Rouge, La., and to Mr. Virgil A. Lewis, of Charleston, W. Va. To the many others who have assisted me in various ways, I can here extend only a sweeping expression of thanks.
Ashland, Va.
September 6, 1909
