1. One of the “recent publications” was [Mathew Carey], Annals of Liberality, Generosity, Public Spirit, &c. New Series—No. II (Philadelphia, 1825; Shoemaker description begins Richard H. Shoemaker, comp., A Checklist of American Imprints for 1820–1829 (11 vols.; New York, 1964–72). description ends 19442). JM’s copy is in the Madison Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress. Carey’s other works may have been a series of five pamphlets entitled “Canal Policy” that Carey wrote under the pseudonym “Fulton.”

2. The two pamphlets have not been identified, but they were probably part of a flurry of essays published by members of the Pennsylvania Society for the Promotion of Internal Improvements, among whom were Richard Peters Jr. and William Strickland. The society had recently initiated a conversation about the necessity for better commercial communication between the eastern and western parts of the state, and the relative merits of canals and railroads to accomplish that goal. The society sent Strickland to Great Britain in March 1825 to collect and report on the latest developments regarding the construction of canals, railways, roads, and bridges. For a description of the activities of the society, see Robert E. Carlson, “The Pennsylvania Improvement Society and Its Promotion of Canals and Railroads, 1824–1826,” Pennsylvania History 31 (1964): 295–310.