Humans, Animals, and U.S. Society in the Long Nineteenth Century: A Documentary History

This set of five volumes offers scholars and students a selection of historical source materials thematically arranged and edited to provide an overview of key phenomena and developments pertaining to animals and human-animal relations in long-nineteenth-century U.S. society. Subjects include contemporary debates about human-animal difference and their interweaving with the politics of race, gender, and sexuality; the emergence and development of animal advocacy; labour and travel with animals; urbanisation and animals in the American city; pet culture; animal-focused forms of entertainment and competition; institutions of animal display; hunting; and the evolving debate about (anthropogenic) extinction. A general introduction and five elaborate volume introductions bring the collected materials into conversation with current research in historical animal studies, the environmental humanities, and related fields, illustrating how Americans have imagined, managed, and contested the place of animals within U.S. society across the long nineteenth century.