Philip Freneau : Champion of Democracy

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Axelrad, Jacob.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Freneau, Philip Morin, 1752-1832--Political and social views.

Freneau, Philip Morin.

Politics and literature--United States--History--18th century.

Politics and literature.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (493 p.)

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, [1967]

Summary:

Philip Freneau was a poet, editor, and mariner. A graduate of Princeton, he was the roommate of James Madison and a classmate of Hugh Henry Brackenridge and Aaron Burr. When the colonies rebelled against England, he supported his newly born nation as a privateer, spending some time in a British prison as a result. He also served, more effectively, as “the poet of the Revolution.” Later he became the journalistic voice of the democrats. Ardently devoted to liberty, he believed himself to be a defender of the common man, for whom he fought selflessly and often vitriolicly throughout his life. In newspapers such as The Freeman’s Journal, The New York Daily Advertiser, The National Gazette, The Jersey Chronicle, and The Time-Piece, he published articles, letters, and poems, instructing the citizens of the new Republic about their rights, and attacking those who, he believed, were infringing on those rights. In the midst of the controversy in which he was so often involved, he also found time to write a small body of poetry whose sensitivity and beauty mark him as the poetic equal of his European contemporaries, and, in fact, as a precursor of the new Romantic movement In Philip Freneau: Champion of Democracy Jacob Axelrad provides a detailed biography of this pensman of the Revolution and early Republic. He gives a sympathetic, imaginative, perceptive, yet objective interpretation of Freneau and his place in history, and at the same time he presents a delightfully readable and clear picture of the period during which the poet lived. These pages not only re-create the battles between Whig and Tory, federalist and democrat, but they also are alive with the activities and philosophies of the men who made American history. James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, John Adams, James Monroe go about the business of creating and shaping a new country, and as they do, they move into and out of the life of the poet of Monmouth, influencing him in a variety of ways. Above all, Axelrad brings to life for the reader the man Freneau: simple, direct, often uncritical in his devotion to the cause he believed in; courageous in sustaining his stand against strong opposition; disillusioned and pessimistic about human nature, yet boldly optimistic about the future of humanity and of his country. And always behind the furor the reader is aware of the man struggling to provide a living for himself and his family, and never quite succeeding.

Contents:

Frontmatter

PREFACE

CONTENTS

1. IN THE BEGINNING

2. FATHER AND SON

3. A POET AT PRINCETON

4. ECHOES IN THE WIND

5. THE LAW OF NATURE

6. THE MUSE OF LIBERTY

7. THE STUDY OF NOTHING

8. REVOLT INTO REVOLUTION

9. WHAT IS A REBEL?

10. THE MASK OF BEAUTY

11. SOLDIER AND SEAMAN

12. A PRISONER OF THE BRITISH

13. GOD-ATTENDING STAR

14. THE FRUITS OF VICTORY

15. THE POET AS POSTAL CLERK

16. CAPTAIN PHILIP FRENEAU

17. HONEYSUCKLE AND OTHER DELUSIONS

18. NEPTUNE AND CLIO

19. SILKEN BANDSAND OTHERS

20. TRIUMVIRATE

21. THE NATIONAL GAZETTE

22. THE ISSUE OF DEMOCRACY

23. OPEN UP THE DOORS!

24. OLD FRIENDS AND NEW FOES

25. FEVER AND FAILURE

26. TREATIES AND TRAITORS

27. THE TIME-PIECE

28. MEN AND PORCUPINES

29. THE REIGN OF TERROR

30. THE TURNING OF THE TIDE

32. MAN SHALL BE FREE

33. REAP THE HARVEST

34. WAY OF ALL FLESH

35. THE OLDAND THE NEW

36. THE BOOK IS FINISHED

APPENDIX A Records of Deeds and Mortgages in Hall of Records, Monmouth County, Freehold, New Jersey

APPENDIX B Legal Dockets of Actions for Debts

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Bibliography: p. [437]-459.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-292-72792-5

OCLC:

967524711