▁was ▁an ▁American ▁non f iction ▁writer ▁of ▁the ▁early ▁ 1 9 th ▁century . ▁ ▁His ▁books ▁and ▁pam ph lets , ▁which ▁presented ▁both ▁standard ▁and ▁spec ulative ▁history ▁and ▁arch ae ology ▁sold ▁in ▁the ▁thousands . ▁Although ▁Pri est ▁appears ▁to ▁have ▁been ▁poor ly ▁educated , ▁he ▁attempted ▁to ▁port ray ▁himself ▁as ▁an ▁authority ▁in ▁his ▁books . ▁ ▁Pri est ▁is ▁often ▁identified ▁as ▁one ▁of ▁the ▁cre ators ▁of ▁pseud os cient ific ▁and ▁pseud oh istor ic ▁literature . ▁ ▁Although ▁his ▁work ▁was ▁widely ▁read ▁and ▁several ▁of ▁his ▁works ▁were ▁published ▁in ▁multiple ▁ed itions , ▁his ▁books ▁were ▁character ized ▁by ▁theories ▁that ▁were ▁used ▁to ▁justify ▁the ▁violent ▁dom ination ▁over ▁both ▁the ▁Native ▁American ▁and ▁African - American ▁pe op les . ▁ ▁Pri est ' s ▁works ▁were ▁among ▁the ▁most ▁over t ly ▁rac ist ▁of ▁his ▁time . ▁ ▁Pri est ' s ▁off ensive ▁works ▁help ▁set ▁the ▁stage ▁for ▁the ▁ ▁Tra il ▁of ▁T ears ▁and ▁the ▁defense ▁of ▁sla very ▁that ▁contributed ▁to ▁the ▁conflicts ▁of ▁the ▁American ▁Civil ▁War . ▁ ▁Early ▁life ▁ ▁Pri est ▁was ▁born ▁in ▁Un ad illa , ▁New ▁York . ▁ ▁He ▁grew ▁up ▁during ▁a ▁time ▁when ▁the ▁United ▁States ▁was ▁first ▁establish ing ▁itself ▁as ▁a ▁nation . ▁ ▁Little ▁specific ▁is ▁known ▁about ▁his ▁school ing , ▁but ▁it ▁is ▁assumed ▁that ▁he ▁received ▁a ▁basic ▁primary ▁and ▁secondary ▁education .