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Public History in Historical Perspective

Memory, History, and Nation Making from Independence to the Civil War

By: Clare Corbould (Editor), W Fitzhugh Brundage (Editor), Michael A. McDonnell (Editor), Frances M. Clarke (Editor)

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Paperback | 3 October 2013

At a Glance

Paperback
320 Pages

Age
22+

Dimensions(cm)
22.9 x 15.3 x 2.1

Paperback

$114.75

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In today’s United States, the legacy of the American Revolution looms large. From presidential speeches to bestselling biographies, from conservative politics to school pageants, everybody knows something about the Revolution. Yet what was a messy, protracted, divisive, and destructive war has calcified into a glorified founding moment of the American nation. Disparate events with equally diverse participants have been reduced to a few key scenes and characters, presided over by well-meaning and wise old men.

Recollections of the Revolution did not always take today’s form. In this lively collection of essays, historians and literary scholars consider how the first three generations of American citizens interpreted their nation’s origins. The volume introduces readers to a host of individuals and groups both well known and obscure, from Molly Pitcher and “forgotten father” John Dickinson to African American Baptists in Georgia and antebellum pacifists. They show how the memory of the Revolution became politicised early in the nation’s history, as different interests sought to harness its meaning for their own ends. No single faction succeeded, and at the outbreak of the Civil War the American people remained divided over how to remember the Revolution.

Industry Reviews

"A welcome contribution to public and college library American History shelves."--Midwest Book Review

"By emphasizing the changing nature of collective and individual memory, this collection makes a valuable contribution to understanding the different meanings of the American Revolution in US history. Highly recommended."--Choice

"Remembering the Revolution is a superb book that illustrates quite well that the American Revolution was not a unifying event and that subsequent generations of Americans have held contested and varied ideas over its meaning. It demonstrates that the debates among our political parties who reference the Founding Fathers and their agendas is nothing new in our nation's history."--H-Net Reviews

"Utilizing sources including emotive poems, diaries, contemporary histories, worship events, and pension applications, the editors and authors created a nuanced volume cogently exploring issues of memory studies and the American Revolution that is highly recommended for scholars in either field."--Journal of American History

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