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Dr. Alexander Hamilton and provincial America : expanding the orbit of Scottish culture / Elaine G. Breslaw.
Table of contents only Available online
View online- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Breslaw, Elaine G., 1932-
- Series:
- Southern biography series
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Hamilton, Alexander, 1712-1756.
- Hamilton, Alexander.
- Scots--Maryland--Biography.
- Scots.
- Intellectual life.
- Maryland--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775.
- Maryland.
- History.
- Maryland--Intellectual life--18th century.
- Scotland--Intellectual life--18th century.
- Scotland.
- Enlightenment--Scotland.
- Enlightenment.
- United States--Civilization--Scottish influences.
- United States.
- Civilization.
- Maryland--Biography.
- Genre:
- Biographies.
- Physical Description:
- xiv, 348 pages, 4 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
- Other Title:
- Doctor Alexander Hamilton and provincial America
- Place of Publication:
- Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, [2008]
- Summary:
- This biography examines the life of Dr. Alexander Hamilton, a highly educated Scottish physician who immigrated to Maryland in 1738. From an elite European family, Hamilton was immediately confronted with the relatively primitive social milieu of the New World. He faced unfamiliar and challenging social institutions: the labor system that relied on black slaves, extraordinarily fluid social statuses, distasteful business methods, unpleasant conversational quirks, as well as variant habits of dress, food, and drink that required accommodation and, when possible, acceptance. Paradoxically, the more acclimated he became to Maryland ways, the greater the motive to change that society and make it more satisfying for himself both emotionally and intellectually. Breslaw perceptively describes the ways in which Hamilton tried to transform the society around him, attempting to recreate the world he had left behind and thereby justify his continued residence in such an unsophisticated place.
- Contents:
- Prologue: "A Desolate Corner of the World" 1
- Part I The Scottish Scene
- 1 "Those of Better Rank" 9
- 2 "Fashionable Study" 19
- 3 The Acquisition of Manners 32
- 4 "Mutual Instruction" 47
- Part II Adapting to a New World
- 5 "An Emigration Mentality" 63
- 6 "Seasoning in the Country" 74
- 7 "Idle Expectations" 89
- 8 "A Promising Stipend" 103
- 9 "A Discerning and Judicious Traveler" 114
- 10 American Prodigies 130
- 11 "Hard Times" 144
- Part III Settling Down
- 12 "Clubical Cordiality" 157
- 13 "A Fatigueing Business" 171
- 14 "Immortal Fame" 183
- 15 "A Moneyd Wife" 193
- 16 "Pomp, Pageantry, and Lofty Titles" 207
- 17 "Band of Music" 224
- Part IV Closing Years
- 18 "Stage Doctors" 241
- 19 A "Sober Phyz" 252
- 20 Useful Instruction 270
- 21 "The True Patriot" 287
- 22 "A Bloody and Tragical Action" 299
- 23 "An Irreparable Loss to the Publick" 313
- Epilogue: "A Sacred Relick or Memorial" 324
- Plan of the City and Castle of Edinburgh 34
- City and Port of Annapolis 209.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages [333]-337) and index.
- ISBN:
- 9780807132784
- 0807132780
- OCLC:
- 123119567
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