Historic Preservation and the National Mythology

HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND THE NATIONAL MYTHOLOGY Both historians and agitators are makers of myths. When did aIl thiis feverish activity begin? It is impossible Richard Hofstadter to pinpoint an exact birthdate for such a complex movement. ln 1860 the romantic writer Nathaniel Hawthorne said, in the preface to his novel, The Marble Faun: "No What kind or history fills the American consciousness author ...can conceive of .the difficulty of writing a today? Some might argue that myths are the prevailing romance about a country where there is no shadow, no mode. They would claim this despite the traditional antiquity, no mystery , no picturesque and gloomy image of the United States as a young country without wrong, nor anything but a commonplace prosperity, in history or ancient myths. broad and simple daylight, as is happily the case with The cliché of the "young country" is misleading.1 Two my dear native land." hundred years ago the United States moved toward inde- The Centenniall celebrations of 1876 showed that pendence. Today there are 25 European nations; of Americans had little interest in their history 100 years these, only four (Great Britain, Denmark, Spain and ago. Countless sl>eeches,writings and artifacts proclaimed E Sweden) bad their present forms of government in 1776. America 's prid(: in its recent progress and current The others lived under different regimes or did not yet achievements. The early American past was generally exist. Thus, the United States bas shown considerable represented as a time of hardship. However, at some stability and attachmentto tradition. point in the last quarter of the 19th century, the word Europeans asked to choose one image to symbolize the old ceased to b4~a derogatory term. Now the scale of United States might very well pick the skyline of New values is reversed, as historian John Lukacs points out York City. But Americans put to the same test might in his 1968 work Historical Consciousness: "Who today choose an old, historic symbol such as the dome on the in the United States would prefer a restaurant advertis- U.S. Capitol Building, the White House, Independence ing 'modern food' to another advertising 'old-fashioned Hall or the Statue of Liberty. cooking'?"4 The United States is, in fact, passionately interested in its history .No nation carries on more massive efforts to study its past. According to the 1973/74 Directory of THE PREV ALENCE OF MYTHS Historical Societies and Agencies in the U.S. and Canada, prepared by the American Association for State and Mythology is incorrectly associated only with ancient Local History, this country bas almost 5,000 historical and prehistoric times. The Greeks, particularly Herodotus organizations. They range from old and afiluent bodies, and Thucydides, are usually credited with overcoming such as the Massachusetts Historical Society, founded in my th and creatiing history in the fifth century B.C. 1791, to small, inactive groups. Modem history is generally dated from the 1750s,5 the These groups are organized in the extraordinarily decen- Age of Reason that also saw the birth of the American tralized American way-nationally, by region, state, republic. This is a simplistic view, for mythology is with county, city, town or neighborhood, and often to preserve us today, and history continues to carry a heavy load of a single historic place. There are specialized historical myths.8 societies for religious denominations, ethnic groups, Every nation writes its own history as a chronicle of professions, periods and for various objects from steam prowess and virtue, though few authors now are as threshers to miniatures. candid as America's most honored historian, George At last count there were more than 5,000 museums, Bancroft (1800-1891), who wrote that his own History again, ranging from world-famous institutions to obscure of the United States exhibited "the movement of the collections of trivia. That number is constantly growing, divine power." Even today, Arnericans without a special according to the 1975 OtJicial Museum Directory of the interest in history remember from school days little more American Association of Museums. The once aristocratic than a series of virtuous incantations, including Thomas avocations of genealogy2 and heraldry are also fiourishing Jefferson's "We hold these truths to be self-evident," today. Nathan Hale's "1 only regret that I have but one life to These claims are not made in a spirit of American give for my country," Franklin D. Roosevelt's "We have chauvinism. They are confirmed by the noted architec- nothing to fear b,ut fear itself," and John F. Kennedy's " Ask not what your country can do for you." tural historian, Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, in bis Outline of European Architecture: "ln the United States. ..thanks Most Americans would reject the suggestion that they to a national penchant towards doing things thoroughly are not entirely r;ational. Yet, at the turn of this century ...architectural research is infinitely more active and Thorstein Veblen (1857-1930), an American social successful ( than in Britain) ."3 scientist of Norvvegian descent, delighted in exposing the "bizarre survival" of archaic traits, animistic habits and predatory barbarism in American society. ln the same period, Sigmund Freud developed his theories, in which myths are essential. Freudian concepts may have been slow in crossing the Atlantic but they eventually penetrated every area of American life and thought. The theories of psychiatrist CarI Jung and anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, with their emphasis on my th, have also been influential. American politics, literature and mass communications are pervaded by my th and symbol though the public is not aware of it.7 A myth is perceived as reality or it ceases to be a my th. Sometimes the presence of my th is obvious. For instance, the presidency of John F. Kennedy is now often referred to as "Camelot" in open comparison to the mythical city of the legendary King Arthur .8 However, sometimes mytbical elements are not so apparent. For example, the The Mount Vernon ar(:hitectural motif is represented in com- Bible tells how Gideon's ar my of 300 destroyed the mercial establishments such as Howard lohnson's restaurants, Midianite host of 120,000. Similarly, at the battle of which adopted the style as a basic design in the 1930s. (Howard Tours the Christians slew 375,000 infidels and lost l ,500 lohnson's Public Relations Office) of their own. These are myths that assume divine inter- Le dessin architectural de Mont Vernon est représenté dans des vention. Still, in our own days we have read the war établissements commerciaux tels que les restaurants Howard communiques of unhappy memory: Both sides invari- Johnson qui l'ont adopté comme dessin d'ornementation de base ably claimed staggering enemy losses and usually con- dans les années 1930. ceded only that "One of our airplanes is missing." The modern scale of disproportion may be somewhat smaller, but the mythical principle remains. Anthropologist Edmund Leach has defined myths as "unobservable realities in terms of observable phenome- na." A link between the national mythology and historic Other house types of the 18th century were also revived preservation is that buildings and artifacts can serve as until the "colonial" style became the standard for tract concrete manifestations of mythical abstractions. A few houses of the 20th century. Eighteenth-century America ex amples will demonstrate the changing interplay be- has become a mythical Golden Age, and millions of tween history and my th that has taken place on American Americans want to live in a house that simulates an sites: estate of landed gentry'. George Washington ~d an extraordinary reputation for Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, is one of the most integrity, with one fable indicating that, as a child, he fascinating houses in America. It was not only the home could not tell a lie. His towering height, Roman features, of a great man; it was Thomas Jefferson's own design, grave dignity and stately prose made him a living monu- inside and out. ln 1826, he died in debt, and most of ment in his own time. After his death, partisan disputes the Monticello grounds and furnishings were auctioned were forgotten, and the Father of his Country was vir- off the next year. ln 1831 the estate was sold to an entre- tually deified. Washington's residence, Mount Vernon, preneur who turned it into a silkworm farm and went passed to collateral descendants who might have sold bankrupt. ln 1834 Monticello was bought for $2,500 the un profitable estate to commercial interests. To fore- by Uriah P. Levy, a colorful lieutenant in the United stall this eventuality, Ann Pamela Cunningham of South States Navy. Levy, a Jew, had experienced prejudice, Carolina founded the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and was an ardent admirer of Jefferson, the apostle of of the Union. A well-organized campaign for funds was religious freedom. Wh~n Levy died in 1862, his will left successful; the organization took over the mansion in Monticello to the U.Sc government for use as an agri- 1858 and has managed it since. A house associated with cultural school for orphans. Levy's relatives sued and Washington was probably the only one that could have broke the will; meanvvhile, Monticello had been seized enlisted nationwide support at a time when section al by the Confederate government. After the Civil War. loyalties were still strong. The aura of Washington has litigation continued until Jefferson Levy, a nephew of made Mount Vernon the ideal American home. The Uriah, bought out other heirs and acquired the neglected mansion with its distinctive portico has been replicated house in 1882.

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