Scope and Content Note
The papers of David Maydole Matteson (1871-1949) span the years 1876-1937, with the bulk of the material dating from 1908 to 1935. The collection consists largely of research notes, writings, and correspondence documenting Matteson’s career as a historian. The major portion of the papers consists of research notes and drafts from an unpublished study of riots in the United States from the colonial period to the end of the nineteenth century.
Research notes on riots and other civil disturbances document hundreds of incidents between 1641 and 1894. Included are well-known uprisings such as those led by Nathaniel Bacon, Jacob Leisler, Daniel Shays, and Nat Turner. Matteson also identified numerous lesser known impressment riots, land disputes, frontier uprisings, pre-Revolutionary crowd actions, slave revolts, nativist riots, election riots, military draft resistance, and labor strikes during the course of his research. He mined a myriad sources including newspapers, federal, state, and local records, personal papers, and some secondary sources. The New York Tribune is cited with particular frequency in descriptions of antebellum riots. Matteson’s notes are arranged in approximate chronological order.
A card file accompanying the research notes lists the name, date, and type of riot with bibliographic information written on the reverse side. The cards are arranged chronologically. The index does not correlate exactly with Matteson’s research notes.
Other items in the collection include Matteson’s writings entitled “Chinese Immigration” and “Direct Taxation under the Constitution of the United States.” A small group of correspondence contains letters from colleagues concerning his research. Also included are souvenirs and clippings from a dinner honoring historian Albert Bushnell Hart.