New American Cyclopedia

The New American Cyclopedia was a 16-volume encyclopedia created and published by D. Appleton & Company of New York over the years 1857 to 1866. Its primary editors were George Ripley and Charles A. Dana.

The New American Cyclopedia was a general encyclopedia with a special focus on subjects related to the United States. As it was created over the years spanning the American Civil War, the focus and tone of articles could change drastically; for example, Jefferson Davis, the future president of the Confederate States of America, was treated at length as a United States Army soldier and US government politician.

A notable contributor was Karl Marx, then a European correspondent for the New York Tribune, who, under the suggestion of the editors, submitted articles on military affairs (for which he may have collaborated with Friedrich Engels). He also wrote a highly unsympathetic biographical article on Simon Bolivar.

The New American Cyclopedia was revised and republished as the American Cyclopedia in 1873. There was also an associated yearbook, "Appletons' Annual cyclopaedia and register of important events of the year" from 1861 to 1875.


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