DOCSLIB.ORG

678 the NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY Primary Sources Date

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
678 the NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY Primary Sources Date 678 THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY primary sources date to the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s, an era she quite rightly calls “antebellum” in the text. I also question the author’s use of two terms associated with critical theory. She asserts that the tran- sient poor “comprised a subaltern class” (2, 6, 180), but she does not develop this idea or situate her study within the field of postcolonial studies, where “subaltern” is most widely used. She also characterizes the transient poor as “stateless” (10), but does not pursue the impli- cation that these people had no national identity in the modern sense of the term. Vagrants and Vagabonds is a rewarding book. Professor O’Brassill- Kulfan’s commitment to wide archival research, excellent writing, and robust scholarly engagement make her work a pleasure to read and a model of good historical method. Ruth Wallis Herndon is professor of history at Bowling Green State University. She is the author of Unwelcome Americans: Living on the Margin in Early NewEngland (2001) and the co-editor and contributing author of Children Bound to Labor: The Pau- per Apprentice System in Early America (2009). Colonial Revivals: The Nineteenth-Century Lives of Early American Books. By Lindsay DiCuirci. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsyl- vania Press, 2019. Pp. 279. $69.95 cloth.) Late in Colonial Revivals Lindsay DiCuirci uses six verbs to de- scribe Washington Irving’s approach to then-newly-available archival materials in his writing of Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (1828): “he preserved and transformed them, he exploited and mined them, he cultivated and curated them” (156). Preservation, transfor- mation, exploitation, and curation might well describe the range of approaches to the archive taken by all of the editors and publishers DiCuirci analyzes. DiCuirci opens her study with a discussion of the preservation im- pulse; nineteenth-century antiquarians feared that the colonial past was being lost and sought to recover it through reprinting key texts. Moreover, they linked preservation of these texts with preservation of the nation itself, though ironically the mostly seventeenth-century books and manuscripts on which they pinned these hopes were by nationality British rather than American. Although she writes of uncovering “the accumulation of mean- ing that followed the colonial book into the nineteenth century” (5), Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/tneq_r_00782 by guest on 01 October 2021 BOOK REVIEWS 679 DiCuirci also maintains that “textual recovery and reprinting were central . to nurturing legacies and propagating historical myths” (21). The latter claim is the one substantiated by the book’s analy- sis. What DiCuirci shows is that colonial books were not so much followed by meaning as recreated and reimagined to suit the often political and polemical purposes of their reprinters, who tended to be less concerned with texts’ static original meanings than with their potential uses in contemporary arguments. In particular, DiCuirci re- veals that colonial texts were used to shore up arguments about re- gional identity, what she calls “a politics of local history that resisted national consolidation” (10). Building on the work of historians like Trish Loughran (on print, the nation, and regional identity) and liter- ary scholars like Meredith McGill (on reprinting), DiCuirci carefully reconstructs editors’ and publishers’ decisions to demonstrate how reprinting both reflected and shaped debates about region, nation, and history. Three chapters devoted sequentially to New England, Virginia, and Pennsylvania explain how particular texts were transformed and ex- ploited. In New England, DiCuirci argues, new editions of Cotton Mather’s Magnalia Christi Americana (1702, 1820, 1855) and of John Winthrop’s journals were presented as reprintings of texts central to New England—and hence American—culture even though each had been all but unavailable for over a century. Further, both Winthrop’s History of New England (1825, 1853–55) and Mather’s Magnalia were selectively reshaped by their editors. DiCuirci writes of Winthrop’s editor that, “rather than producing a surrogate book, Savage acted as a surrogate Winthrop” when he “crafted the journals themselves into the history of New England that he felt Winthrop had intended” (73). If New Englanders sought their origins in Winthrop and Mather, Virginians “sought to root the American character in the soil of Jamestown” (85). By reprinting Robert Beverley’s History and Present State of Virginia (1705, 1722, 1855), publisher J.W. Randolph both as- serted the primacy of Virginia to the country’s history and suggested, at least implicitly, the continuing relevance of Beverley’s diatribes. Beverley’s “warning against economic dependence, luxurious indul- gence, and poor stewardship,” DiCuirci writes, “powerfully echoed into nineteenth-century political and cultural debates in the South” (100). Beverley’s critique of colonial dependence on British imports, for instance, became for Randolph a critique of the popularity of northern goods in antebellum Virginia and an argument for south- ern exceptionalism. Yet African Americans in Virginia used reprinting Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/tneq_r_00782 by guest on 01 October 2021 680 THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY to reject racially-specific nationalism, defending black patriotism and citizenship claims through reprinted Revolutionary-era texts. For Pennsylvania’s Quaker historians, too, reprinting was both an attempt to reify a particular past and an intervention in contemporary disputes. On one hand, editors who reprinted the works of William Penn and other early Quaker leaders were united in seeking “to install Pennsylvania as the national conscience, with the Penn family at its center” (126). These editors tuned to early Quaker works as support for arguments against Indian removal and slavery. On the other hand, disputes over how to apply these texts to Quaker practice “yielded a permanent rupture” (123); Quakers might have been united in seek- ing to apply Quaker teaching to national politics, but closer to home competing factions sought to exploit colonial-era texts in support of competing theological interpretations. The book’s treatment of Irving’s Life and Voyages moves the fo- cus from British-colonial texts to the Spanish colonial archive. In- vited to Spain to translate rare documents into English, Irving instead reshaped them into a fanciful biography of the explorer. Although Irving claimed to be presenting an impartial and accurate history, in DiCuirci’s reading his Columbus was a representation of Spanish colonialism itself, and Irving’s history was a means of wrestling not just with the explorer but with the legacy of empire. DiCuirci’s study is both wider and narrower than her title implies. She is interested in the reprinting not only of books narrowly defined but also of manuscripts, while her nineteenth-century ends before the Civil War. Still, within these bounds, DiCuirci ranges widely. It is much to her credit that the book encompasses a broad geographical scope, paying as close attention to the Mid-Atlantic and the South as to New England. An epilogue that reads modern digitization projects as analogues to nineteenth-century antiquarian reprinting projects and argues for a more inclusive approach than that practiced two cen- turies ago is thoughtful and cogently argued. DiCuirci’s focus on ed- itors and printers does leave open questions about readers. It would be interesting, for instance, to know who read reprinted colonial texts and what readers thought of them. How effective were these reprint- ings in influencing the contemporary debates they entered? These questions, however, are beyond DiCuirci’s intended scope, and both historians and literary scholars interested in book history will find Colonial Revivals worth reading for its new interpretations of classic texts, for its careful archival work, and for the ways DiCuirci con- tributes to ongoing conversations in book history. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/tneq_r_00782 by guest on 01 October 2021 BOOK REVIEWS 681 Lynda K. Yankaskas is associate professor of history at Muhlenberg College, where she teaches courses in early American history and book history. Her book manuscript examines early American social libraries as civic institutions. Books for Idle Hours: Nineteenth-Century Publishing and the Rise of Summer Reading. By Donna Harrington-Lueker. (Boston and Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2019. Pp. xiv, 229. $90.00 cloth. $29.95 paper.) Summer reading might seem like a light topic for a scholarly mono- graph, but in Books for Idle Hours Donna Harrington-Lueker shows that summer reading has been serious business for a century and a half. With its project of “trac[ing] the cultural and commercial gen- esis of today’s summer reading in nineteenth-century print culture” (3), Books for Idle Hours is a fascinating study of a distinct but largely overlooked body of nineteenth-century American fiction and the au- thors, readers, publishers, and economic and social conditions that gave rise to it. Among the many strengths of Books for Idle Hours is its range of methodological approaches, which conduce to a complex and multi- faceted account of summer reading. Defining summer reading as both product and practice, Harrington-Lueker organizes the book topically, beginning with a wide perspective on nineteenth-century leisure and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Reform Movements 1820S-1850S Reform Movements
    Reform Movements 1820s-1850s Reform Movements • A series of movements from the 1820s to the 1850s that tried to make a positive change in society. Abolition • abolition – the movement to end slavery • Abolitionists worked in the North to convince others that slavery was wrong. Famous Abolitionists • William Lloyd Garrison – published abolitionist newspaper The Liberator • Grimke sisters – daughters of a plantation owner who turned against slavery; lectured against slavery Former Slaves • Frederick Douglass and Sojurner Truth • Both used their experience as slaves to convince other to end slavery Underground Railroad • a series of above ground escape routes from the South to the North • abolitionists would help runaway slaves escape hiding them and smuggling them into the North • Anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 slaves traveled the underground railroad from 1830 to 1860. Harriet Tubman • most famous “conductor” of the underground railroad • She was an escaped slave returned to the South 19 times to help slaves escape. • $40,000 was offered for capture. Women Reformers • Many women abolitionists realized they were fighting for rights they themselves did not possess. • Elizabeth Cady Stanton – an abolitionist who also fought for more rights for women • Susan B. Anthony – emerged as leader of the women’s rights movement Women’s Rights • In the 1800s, women could not vote, sit on juries, or hold public office. • Married women had the fewest rights since all property was managed by the husband. Seneca Falls Convention • A convention in 1848 that called for rights for women • Declaration of Sentiments (based on the Dec. of Ind.) listed complaints and demanded rights Seneca Falls Convention • Every resolution passed the convention with a unanimous vote, except suffrage.
    [Show full text]
  • THE ECONOMY of CANADA in the NINETEENTH CENTURY Marvin Mcinnis
    2 THE ECONOMY OF CANADA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY marvin mcinnis FOUNDATIONS OF THE NINETEENTH- CENTURY CANADIAN ECONOMY For the economy of Canada it can be said that the nineteenth century came to an end in the mid-1890s. There is wide agreement among observers that a fundamental break occurred at about that time and that in the years thereafter Canadian economic development, industrialization, population growth, and territorial expansion quickened markedly. This has led economic historians to put a special emphasis on the particularly rapid economic expansion that occurred in the years after about 1896. That emphasis has been deceptive and has generated a perception that little of consequence was happening before 1896. W. W. Rostow was only reflecting a reasonable reading of what had been written about Canadian economic history when he declared the “take-off” in Canada to have occurred in the years between 1896 and 1913. That was undoubtedly a period of rapid growth and great transformation in the Canadian economy and is best considered as part of the twentieth-century experience. The break is usually thought to have occurred in the mid-1890s, but the most indicative data concerning the end of this period are drawn from the 1891 decennial census. By the time of the next census in 1901, major changes had begun to occur. It fits the available evidence best, then, to think of an early 1890s end to the nineteenth century. Some guidance to our reconsideration of Canadian economic devel- opment prior to the big discontinuity of the 1890s may be given by a brief review of what had been accomplished by the early years of that decade.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise of Mass Democracy: 1820-1840
    AP U.S. History: Unit 4.2 Student Edition The Rise of Mass Democracy: 1820-1840 I. The "New Democracy" Use Space Below for Notes A. By the 1820s, politicians made an increased effort to appeal to the voting masses. 1. Most high offices were still held by wealthy citizens. 2. Change in emphasis: a. Jeffersonian democracy: the people should be governed as little as possible; gov’t for the people b. Jacksonian democracy: government should be done directly by the people. This idea underlay Jackson’s spoils system in the 1830s. B. The New Democracy was based on universal white manhood suffrage rather than property qualifications: the common man now became more influential. 1. Between 1812 and 1821, 6 new western states granted universal manhood suffrage 2. Between 1810 and 1821, 4 eastern states significantly reduced voting requirements. However, by 1860 only New England still allowed African Americans to vote in the North. 3. South was last region to grant universal white manhood suffrage. 4. New voters demanded politicians that would represent common peoples' interests. 5. Frederick Jackson Turner: "The Significance of the Frontier on American History" (1893) Thesis: Existence of cheap unsettled land in the West created a frontier society that shaped the American character—more democratic and egalitarian. C. Rise of workingmen’s parties 1. Laborers in the east formed organizations that demanded free education for their children, a 10-hr work day, and an end to debtor’s prisons. 2. Some groups became violent (especially during Panic of 1837) II. Causes of the New Democracy A.
    [Show full text]
  • The Origins of Millerite Separatism
    The Origins of Millerite Separatism By Andrew Taylor (BA in History, Aurora University and MA in History, University of Rhode Island) CHAPTER 1 HISTORIANS AND MILLERITE SEPARATISM ===================================== Early in 1841, Truman Hendryx moved to Bradford, Pennsylvania, where he quickly grew alienated from his local church. Upon settling down in his new home, Hendryx attended several services in his new community’s Baptist church. After only a handful of visits, though, he became convinced that the church did not believe in what he referred to as “Bible religion.” Its “impiety” led him to lament, “I sometimes almost feel to use the language [of] the Prophecy ‘Lord, they have killed thy prophets and digged [sic] down thine [sic] altars and I only am left alone and they seek my life.”’1 His opposition to the church left him isolated in his community, but his fear of “degeneracy in the churches and ministers” was greater than his loneliness. Self-righteously believing that his beliefs were the “Bible truth,” he resolved to remain apart from the Baptist church rather than attend and be corrupted by its “sinful” influence.2 The “sinful” church from which Hendryx separated himself was characteristic of mainstream antebellum evangelicalism. The tumultuous first decades of the nineteenth century had transformed the theological and institutional foundations of mainstream American Protestantism. During the colonial era, American Protestantism had been dominated by the Congregational, Presbyterian, and Anglican churches, which, for the most part, had remained committed to the theology of John Calvin. In Calvinism, God was envisioned as all-powerful, having predetermined both the course of history and the eternal destiny of all humans.
    [Show full text]
  • Changes in Print Paper During the 19Th Century
    Purdue University Purdue e-Pubs Charleston Library Conference Changes in Print Paper During the 19th Century AJ Valente Paper Antiquities, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/charleston An indexed, print copy of the Proceedings is also available for purchase at: http://www.thepress.purdue.edu/series/charleston. You may also be interested in the new series, Charleston Insights in Library, Archival, and Information Sciences. Find out more at: http://www.thepress.purdue.edu/series/charleston-insights-library-archival- and-information-sciences. AJ Valente, "Changes in Print Paper During the 19th Century" (2010). Proceedings of the Charleston Library Conference. http://dx.doi.org/10.5703/1288284314836 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. CHANGES IN PRINT PAPER DURING THE 19TH CENTURY AJ Valente, ([email protected]), President, Paper Antiquities When the first paper mill in America, the Rittenhouse Mill, was built, Western European nations and city-states had been making paper from linen rags for nearly five hundred years. In a poem written about the Rittenhouse Mill in 1696 by John Holme it is said, “Kind friend, when they old shift is rent, Let it to the paper mill be sent.” Today we look back and can’t remember a time when paper wasn’t made from wood-pulp. Seems that somewhere along the way everything changed, and in that respect the 19th Century holds a unique place in history. The basic kinds of paper made during the 1800s were rag, straw, manila, and wood pulp.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 13: North and South, 1820-1860
    North and South 1820–1860 Why It Matters At the same time that national spirit and pride were growing throughout the country, a strong sectional rivalry was also developing. Both North and South wanted to further their own economic and political interests. The Impact Today Differences still exist between the regions of the nation but are no longer as sharp. Mass communication and the migration of people from one region to another have lessened the differences. The American Republic to 1877 Video The chapter 13 video, “Young People of the South,” describes what life was like for children in the South. 1826 1834 1837 1820 • The Last of • McCormick • Steel-tipped • U.S. population the Mohicans reaper patented plow invented reaches 10 million published Monroe J.Q. Adams Jackson Van Buren W.H. Harrison 1817–1825 1825–1829 1829–1837 1837–1841 1841 1820 1830 1840 1820 1825 • Antarctica • World’s first public discovered railroad opens in England 384 CHAPTER 13 North and South Compare-and-Contrast Study Foldable Make this foldable to help you analyze the similarities and differences between the development of the North and the South. Step 1 Mark the midpoint of the side edge of a sheet of paper. Draw a mark at the midpoint. Step 2 Turn the paper and fold the outside edges in to touch at the midpoint. Step 3 Turn and label your foldable as shown. Northern Economy & People Economy & People Southern The Oliver Plantation by unknown artist During the mid-1800s, Reading and Writing As you read the chapter, collect and write information under the plantations in southern Louisiana were entire communities in themselves.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 10 the Making of Middle Class America
    CHAPTER 10 THE MAKING OF MIDDLE CLASS AMERICA The American Nation: A History of the United States, 13th edition Carnes/Garraty Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman © 2008 TOCQUEVILLE: Democracy in America n May 12, 1831: French aristocrats Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont arrived in New York City n Believed Europe was headed from aristocratic past to democratic future and wanted to prepare for change by studying U.S. n Wrote De la Démocratie en Amérique, which appeared in English as Democracy in America in 1836 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman © 2008 TOCQUEVILLE: Democracy in America n Democracy in America: “No novelty in the United States struck me more vividly than the equality of conditions.” n Inequality not supported by institutions or public opinion and paled when compared to Europe Reality n 1830s and 1840s: wide and growing gap between rich and poor in cities n 1828 Richest 4% in NYC controlled 50% of wealth n By 1845 controlled 67% n Tocqueville failed to see poor n Little interest in effects of industrialization and urbanization n Did note wages higher than Europe and cost of living lower n Most of contact was with elite Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman © 2008 THE FAMILY RECAST n Growth of cities undermined the family as a unit of economic production n Those with jobs were removed from the house during working hours 6 days a week n Paid in cash n Husband had to surrender control of home to wife because he was gone so much n Gains and losses for women n More power in domestic
    [Show full text]
  • Download the 1830S Jones Stock
    George Ranch Historical Park e 1830’s Jones Stock Farm Educator’s Guide 1830S JONES STOCK FARM EDUCATOR’S GUIDE 1830s Stock Farm 1 George Ranch Historical Park is a living history museum that tracks four genera- tions of one family over one hundred years of Texas history. The George Ranch Historical Park’s history follows family lines beginning in 1824 when Texas was still part of Mexico. The first Texas pioneers settled near the Brazos River. In the years since, the Ranch has passed through four generations and grown into one of Fort Bend County’s landmarks. The family’s original “home place” is at the core of the George Ranch Historical Park where the legends and legacies of those who shaped this place come to life every day. Authentic locations, historic homes, costumed presenters and a remark- able story of determination and courage set the stage for trekking through Texas history. The Family History.................................................................................. 1 Visiting the George Ranch Historical Park........………………....…….. 2 Pre-Visit Activities………………………………………………....…... 4 Survival of the Fittest…………………………………………...... 5 To Measure a Mile……………...………………………….....….. 7 Stock Farm Vocabulary…………...………………………..…….. 9 Post-Visit Activities…………………………...………………….…..... 11 Gone to Texas!...........……………………………………………. 12 There’s No Place Like Home…………....……………….............. 17 A Picture Says It All.………………………………...…......…..... 19 Enrichment Activities.............................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 1790S 1810S 1820S 1830S 1860S 1870S 1880S 1950S 2000S
    Robert Fulton (1765-1815) proposes plans for steam-powered vessels to the 1790s U.S. Government. The first commercial steamboat completes its inaugural journey in 1807 in New York state. Henry Shreve (1785-1851) creates two new types of steamboats: the side-wheeler and the 1810s stern-wheeler. These boats are well suited for the shallow, fast-moving rivers in Arkansas. The first steamboat to arrive in Arkansas, March 31, 1820 Comet, docks at the Arkansas Post. Steamboats traveled the Arkansas, Black, Mississippi, Ouachita, and White Rivers, carrying passengers, raw 1820s materials, consumer goods, and mail to formerly difficult-to-reach communities. Steamboats, or steamers, were used during From the earliest days of the 19th Indian Removal in the1830s for both the shipment 1830s of supplies and passage of emigrants along the century, steamboats played a vital role Arkansas, White, and Ouachita waterways. in the history of Arkansas. Prior to the advent of steamboats, Arkansans were at the mercy of poor roads, high carriage Quatie, wife of Cherokee Chief John Ross, dies aboard Victoria on its way to Indian costs, slow journeys, and isolation. February 1, 1839 Territory and is buried in Little Rock Water routes were the preferred means of travel due to faster travel times and During the Civil War, Arkansas’s rivers offered the only reliable avenue upon which either Confederate or Union fewer hardships. While water travel was 1860s forces could move. Union forces early established control preferable to overland travel, it did not over the rivers in Arkansas. In addition to transporting supplies, some steamers were fitted with armor and come without dangers.
    [Show full text]
  • THE DEBATE OVER INDIAN REMOVAL in the 1830S
    University of Massachusetts Boston ScholarWorks at UMass Boston Graduate Masters Theses Doctoral Dissertations and Masters Theses 6-2011 The eD bate over Indian Removal in the 1830s George William Goss University of Massachusetts Boston Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.umb.edu/masters_theses Part of the History Commons, Indian and Aboriginal Law Commons, and the Native American Studies Commons Recommended Citation Goss, George William, "The eD bate over Indian Removal in the 1830s" (2011). Graduate Masters Theses. Paper 44. This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Doctoral Dissertations and Masters Theses at ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE DEBATE OVER INDIAN REMOVAL IN THE 1830’s A Thesis Presented by GEORGE W. GOSS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF HISTORY June 2011 History Department/Program © 2011 by George W. Goss All rights reserved THE DEBATE OVER INDIAN REMOVAL IN THE 1830’s A Thesis Presented by George W. Goss Approved as to style and content by: ________________________________________________ Timothy Hacsi, Assistant Professor Chairperson of Committee ________________________________________________ Julie Winch, Professor Member ________________________________________________ Bonnie Miller, Assistant Professor Member _________________________________________ Paul Bookbinder, Program Director History Department _______________________________________ Roberta L. Wollons, Chairperson History Department ABSTRACT THE DEBATE OVER INDIAN REMOVAL IN THE 1830’s June 2011 George W. Goss, BA, University of Texas MAT, Emmanuel College Directed by Professor Tim Hacsi The US in the 1830s debated the relationship between the US and Indian communities of North America.
    [Show full text]
  • Land, Debt, and Taxes: Origins of the U.S. State Default Crisis, 1839 to 1842
    Land, Debt, and Taxes: Origins of the U.S. State Default Crisis, 1839 to 1842. John Joseph Wallis, Richard E. Sylla, and Arthur Grinath III 2 Of all the United States’s abundant resource endowments perhaps the most generous was arable land. The new nation possessed hundreds of millions of acres of good land, whose inherent fertility could be exploited only by the development of transportation and financial systems. Not surprisingly, the new American states embarked on ambitious plans of infrastructure investment in canals and banks financed by extensive public borrowing, much of it from foreign investors. Apparently ambition exceeded ability. By 1842, eight states and the Territory of Florida were in default on their loans. Four states would ultimately repudiate all or part of their debts. It was a debt and default crisis not unlike late 20th century emerging-market crises. As the title of Reginald McGrane’s classic Foreign bondholders and American State debts suggests, most of the scholarly attention paid to the 1840s crisis focuses on international financial aspects and what happened when the states found themselves unable to meet their interest obligations.1 Later in the 1840s, American states began rewriting their constitutions to change their fiscal institutions in ways designed to reduce the frequency of default crises in the future. They drew lessons from the mistakes they believed they had made in the in the 1820s and 1830s when debts for canals, banks, and railroads were incurred. If we are to understand why the states changed their constitutions, we need to understand and explain why, when, and how they borrowed in the first place.
    [Show full text]
  • Pauper Emigration to Upper Canada in the 1830S*
    Pauper Emigration to Upper Canada in the 1830s* by Rainer BAEHRE ** Pauper emigration to the Canadas peaked in the 1830s during the very period in which public concern over poor relief reached a climax in Great Britain. 1 In the mother country "the figure of the pauper, almost forgotten since, dominated a discussion the imprint of which was as powerful as that of the most spectacular events in history". 2 So argues Karl Polanyi. Yet, in general histories of Upper Canada the pauper is referred to only in passing. 3 Could it be that the pauper's role in Upper Canada was larger than has hitherto been assumed? As this appears to be the case this paper will examine how the problem of British pauperism was transported to the colony in the important decade before the Rebellion. I The early decades of the nineteenth century witnessed growing po­ litical, economic and social turmoil in Great Britain. The general crisis heightened in the late 1820s, aggravated by a combination of fluctuating markets, overpopulation, enclosure, poor harvests, the displacement of * I would like to thank Professors Peter N. Oliver, H. Vivian Nelles, and Leo A. Johnson for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper. Also special thanks to Stan Pollin, Greg Theobald, Faye Mcintosh and John Keyes. Responsibility for the final version is my own. This research was supported by the Canada Council. ** Department of History, Mount Saint Vincent University. 1 For example, see: J. R. POYNTER, Society and Pauperism : English Ideas on Poor Relief, 1795-1834 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1969), p.
    [Show full text]