Whither the early republic : a forum on the future of the field / edited by John Lauritz Larson and Michael A. Morrison.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Larson, John Lauritz, 1950-

Morrison, Michael A., 1948-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--Civilization--1783-1865--Historiography.

United States.

United States--Civilization--To 1783--Historiography.

United States--History--1783-1865--Historiography.

United States--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (216 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Penned by leading historians, the specially-commissioned essays of Whither the Early Republic represent the most stimulating and innovative work being done on imperialism, environmental history, slavery, economic history, politics, and culture in the early Republic.The past fifteen years have seen a dramatic expansion in the scope of scholarship on the history of the early American republic. Whither the Early Republic consists of innovative essays on all aspects of the culture and society of this period, including Indians and empire, the economy and the environment, slavery and culture, and gender and urban life. Penned by leading historians, the essays are arranged thematically to reflect areas of change and growth in the field.Throughout the book, preeminent scholars act as guides for students to their areas of expertise. Contributors include Pulitzer Prize-winner Alan Taylor, Bancroft Prize-winner James Brooks, Christopher Clark, Ted Steinberg, Walter Johnson, Patricia Cline Cohen, David Waldstreicher, and more. These essays, all originally commissioned to appear in a special issue of the Journal of the Early Republic, explore a diverse array of subjects: the struggles for control of North America; the economic culture of the early Republic; the interactions of humans with plants, climate, animals, and germs; the commodification of people; and the complex intersections of politics and culture.Whither the Early Republic offers a wealth of tools for introducing a new generation of historians to the nature of the field and also to the wide array of possibilities that lie in the future for scholars of this fascinating period.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction: What Is This Book?

Part I. Continental Possessions

Continental Possessions-Three Deepening Trends / Reséndez, Andrés

Whither the Rest of the Continent? / Fenn, Elizabeth A.

Continental Drifts / Brooks, James F.

Continental Crossings / Taylor, Alan

Part II. Pursuing Happiness

Liberal America/Christian America: Another Conflict or Consensus? / Davenport, Stewart

The View from the Farmhouse: Rural Lives in the Early Republic / Clark, Christopher

The Limits of Homo Economicus: An Appraisal of Early American Entrepreneurship / Tucker, Barbara M. / Tucker, Kenneth H.

Economic Landscapes Yet to be Discovered: The Early American Republic and Historians' Unsubtle Adoption of Political Economy / Huston, James L.

Part III. Interactive Landscapes

Environmental Stewardship and Decline in Old New England / Donahue, Brian

Re-Greening the South and Southernizing the Rest / Stewart, Mart A.

Mudslides Make Good History / Bolton Valenčius, Conevery

Down, Down, Down, No More: Environmental History Moves Beyond Declension / Steinberg, Ted

Part IV. Commodification of People

The Vexed Story of Human Commodification Told by Benjamin Franklin and Venture Smith / Waldstreicher, David

Wages, Sin, and Slavery: Some Thoughts on Free Will and Commodity Relations / Stanley, Amy Dru

Commodified Freedom: Interrogating the Limits of Anti-Slavery Ideology in the Early Republic / Smallwood, Stephanie

The Pedestal and the Veil: Rethinking the Capitalism/Slavery / Johnson, Walter

Part V. Public, Private, and Spirit Worlds

Sex and Sexuality: The Public, the Private, and the Spirit Worlds / Cline Cohen, Patricia

Space in the Early American City / Herman, Bernard

A History of all Religions / Schmidt, Leigh E.

Questions, Suspicions, Speculations / Shields, David S.

Afterword: The Quest for Universal Understanding / Lauritz Larson, John / Morrison, Michael A .

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781283897839

1283897830

9780812207231

0812207238

OCLC:

651944351