Here, George Washington was born : memory, material culture, and the public history of a national monument / Seth C. Bruggeman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bruggeman, Seth C., 1975-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

National monuments--Social aspects--United States.

National monuments--Political aspects--United States.

Collective memory--United States.

Material culture--Social aspects--United States.

Material culture--Political aspects--United States.

Public history--United States.

Patriotism--United States.

Nationalism--United States.

George Washington Birthplace National Monument (Va.)--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (273 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Athens, Ga. : University of Georgia Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Here, George Washington Was Born, Seth C. Bruggeman examines the history of commemoration in the United States by focusing on the George Washington Birthplace National Monument in Virginia's Northern Neck, where contests of public memory have unfolded with particular vigor for nearly eighty years. Washington left the birthplace with his family at a young age and rarely returned. The house burned in 1779 and would likely have passed from memory but for George Washington Parke Custis, who erected a stone marker on the site in 1815, creating the first birthplace monument in America. Both Virginia and the U.S. War Department later commemorated the site, but neither matched the work of a Virginia ladies association that in 1923 resolved to build a replica of the home. The National Park Service permitted construction of the "replica house" until a shocking archeological discovery sparked protracted battles between the two organizations over the building's appearance, purpose, and claims to historical authenticity. Bruggeman sifts through years of correspondence, superintendent logs, and other park records to reconstruct delicate negotiations of power among a host of often unexpected claimants on Washington's memory. By paying close attention to costumes, furnishings, and other material culture, he reveals the centrality of race and gender in the construction of Washington's public memory and reminds us that national parks have not always welcomed all Americans. What's more, Bruggeman offers the story of Washington's birthplace as a cautionary tale about the perils and possibilities of public history by asking why we care about famous birthplaces at all.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Birthing Washington

CHAPTER 1 The First Stone

CHAPTER 2 Costumed Ladies and Federal Agents

CHAPTER 3 Building X

CHAPTER 4 A Contest of Relics

CHAPTER 5 Framing the Colonial Picture

CHAPTER 6 Homecomings

Afterword

Notes

Bibliography

Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 233-247) and index.

ISBN:

9786613253071

9781283253079

1283253070

9780820342726

0820342726

OCLC:

759160197