The Chainbearer
- First published
- 1845
- Reading level
- Plain English
- Price
- Free
About the book
"The Chainbearer; Or, The Littlepage Manuscripts" by James Fenimore Cooper is a novel published in 1845. The second book in the Littlepage trilogy, it explores land ownership and the displacement of American Indians during westward expansion. Through the figure of the chainbearer—a surveyor who measures land—Cooper examines the cultural divide between European and Native American concepts of property. The novel critiques the growing corruption of civilization and America's treatment of indigenous peoples as the nation expands.
- Historical fiction
- War stories
- Domestic fiction
- New York (State)
- Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.)
Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #34916. The Chainbearer on Wikipedia.
