DOCSLIB.ORG

Literary Retrospectives: the 1890S and the Reconstruction of American Literary History

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Literary Retrospectives: the 1890S and the Reconstruction of American Literary History Literary Retrospectives: The 1890s and the Reconstruction of American Literary History DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Karin L. Hooks Graduate Program in English The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Elizabeth Renker, Advisor Steven S. Fink Andrea N. Williams Copyright by Karin L. Hooks 2012 Abstract This dissertation proposes that the 1890s were critical to the formation of American literature because of their focus on identifying, collecting, and preserving an American literary tradition. Since 1930, when Fred Lewis Pattee claimed that the twentieth century began in the 1890s, a continuing strain in literary criticism has investigated the decade as the birthplace of modernism. In recent years, however, scholars have begun troubling these historical assessments of the era in order to recover a more nuanced understanding of the decade. Building on their work, I study how competing narratives of American literature existed in the 1890s alongside the fin de siècle movement toward literary nationalism. I recover a group of long-lost literary historians who envisioned a more inclusive American literary canon than was eventually adopted in the early years of the twentieth century. I use the term “scenes of negotiation” to refer to discussions of American literature in late nineteenth-century social discourse about the development of a national American literary tradition. More specifically, I argue that these scenes of negotiation can be read as literary history because no fixed narrative of American literature yet existed. These scenes of negotiation make discernible how accounts of literary history emerged at multiple sites, in multiple genres, through multiple agents. The Introduction identifies ii some of these scenes of negotiation and explains why they should be read as American literary history, which records the history of literature in America through an examination of texts and/or authors. Organized around specific case studies, the chapters explore how literary historians working singly or in conjunction with others documented the 1890s as a period of literary retrospection and consolidation. Chapter 1 investigates how Edmund Stedman and Ellen Hutchinson’s co-editorship of A Library of American Literature resulted in one of the late nineteenth century’s most important and formative constructions of American literature. Chapter 2 explores how The Critic’s elections for “The Forty Immortals” and “The Twenty Immortelles” proposed a gendered model of authorship that closely resembles the current state of the field of American literature. Chapter 3 examines how Pauline Hopkins worked as a cultural stenographer, writing an inclusive account of American literary history in her novel Contending Forces that included African Americans, a group largely ignored in A Library of American Literature and The Critic’s elections. Chapter 4 recovers the late nineteenth-century genre of obituary literature as a forum for validating male and female American authorship in order to illustrate how it aided in the development of an American literary tradition. This dissertation reaches three conclusions that provide a new framework for understanding the types of cultural work being done in the 1890s. First, scenes of negotiation document how the literary historians identified herein understood American literature’s role in recording the nation’s social and political development and in instilling cultural pride and patriotism in its citizenship. Second, scenes of negotiation unsettle traditional notions about who was writing literary history and the venues in which it was iii being written. Third, scenes of negotiation offer an alternative to traditional literary histories, revealing that some late nineteenth-century literary historians were determined to include female and minority authors in the American literary tradition. Recovering these scenes of negotiation changes our current understanding of the 1890s as an era lost to literary history by showing it a period alive with literary history and demonstrating that late nineteenth-century literary historians made possible the canon wars of the twentieth century by their recording of the rich and diverse American literary past. iv Dedicated to John v Acknowledgments This is a dissertation about retrospection, of remembering and reflecting in order to better appreciate the present. In completing it, I am especially grateful for the Ohio State intellectual community. Elizabeth Renker, my adviser, enthusiastically supported and encouraged me in more ways than I can enumerate. Andrea Williams inspired this project through her class on the 1890s. Steve Fink offered insightful comments and suggestions on my chapter drafts, and Susan Williams mentored me along the way. I am grateful to the Graduate School for the grant that funded my archival research at Columbia and Harvard, and to the research librarians at these institutions. I am especially thankful for my friends in Literacy Studies, and for Kathleen Griffin, who always had time to answer my questions over the years. My McNair family at Middle Tennessee State provided the push that got me started. And many friends helped me finish, particularly Anne-Marie and Heather. My family has been an unwavering source of encouragement, supporting me from near and far. This dissertation is dedicated to my husband, John, who lovingly supported me, and to my daughter, MaryBeth, who cheered me on every step of the way. And it is written in loving memory of my mother, whose belief in me fueled my dream of graduate school. vi Vita April 16, 1962................................................Born—Topeka, Kansas 2005 ...............................................................B.A. English Middle Tennessee State University 2007 ...............................................................M.A. English, University of Delaware 2007-2012 .....................................................Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: English vii Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication.......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................................v Vita..................................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii Introduction: Mapping American Literature in the 1890s ...................................................1 Chapter 1: Edmund Clarence Stedman and Ellen McKay Hutchinson: Co-Editors of A Library of American Literature.............................................24 Chapter 2: “The Forty Immortals” and “The Twenty Immortelles”: The Critic and Its Readers’ “Newspaper Academy” ......................................68 Chapter 3: Pauline Hopkins: Cultural Stenographer of the 1890s...................................128 Chapter 4: The Critic’s Obituary Literature and the Construction of American Literary History.............................................................................187 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................244 viii List of Tables Table 1: Working List of Sources Identified in Pauline E. Hopkins’s Contending Forces...............................................................................................146 ix Introduction Mapping American Literature in the 1890s In August 1898, The Bookman: A Review of Books and Life published “A Literary Map of the United States” that envisioned much of the American literary landscape as still open for settlement.1 The Bookman’s explanation of the map, in its column “Chronicle and Comment,” drew on the language of national conquest, extending the late nineteenth-century concepts of Manifest Destiny and westward expansion into the literary arena. Before identifying Paul Wilstach, the former literary editor of the Washington Times, as the “ingenious literary geographer who designed the map,” the Bookman says, The accompanying geographical map of American Literature needs no key for its comprehension by the intelligent reader and student of our literature. It shows the geographical relations of accepted and familiar American authors to each other, delimiting the haunts of their “local colour,” and marking off the territorial rights to which they may be said to lay claim as pioneers and conquerors. It will also serve as a valuable guide to ambitious writers looking for fresh fields and pastures new. Not the 1 Founded by Howard Dodd, president of New York publishers Dodd, Mead, and Company and a professor of Latin at Columbia University, The Bookman was edited between during this time by Harry Thurston Peck and James MacArthur. See Mott’s A History of American Magazines, 4: 432-441. 1 least interesting feature is the vast extent of lands that are indicated as still “unclaimed.” The names of several American authors will occur to the observer as being omitted on this map, but a moment’s reflection will show that they
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Celia Thaxter and the Isles of Shoals Deborah B
    University of Nebraska at Omaha DigitalCommons@UNO Student Work 12-2003 Constructing identity in place : Celia Thaxter and the Isles of Shoals Deborah B. Derrick University of Nebraska at Omaha Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Derrick, Deborah B., "Constructing identity in place : Celia Thaxter and the Isles of Shoals" (2003). Student Work. 58. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/58 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Work by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONSTRUCTING IDENTITY IN PLACE: CELIA THAXTER AND THE ISLES OF SHOALS A Thesis Presented to the Department of Communication and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha by Deborah B. Derrick December 2003 UMI Number: EP72697 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Disssrtafioft Publishing UMI EP72697 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest ProQuest LLC.
    [Show full text]
  • Willa Cather and American Arts Communities
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research: Department of English English, Department of 8-2004 At the Edge of the Circle: Willa Cather and American Arts Communities Andrew W. Jewell University of Nebraska - Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/englishdiss Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Jewell, Andrew W., "At the Edge of the Circle: Willa Cather and American Arts Communities" (2004). Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research: Department of English. 15. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/englishdiss/15 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the English, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research: Department of English by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. AT THE EDGE OF THE CIRCLE: WILLA CATHER AND AMERICAN ARTS COMMUNITIES by Andrew W. Jewel1 A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: English Under the Supervision of Professor Susan J. Rosowski Lincoln, Nebraska August, 2004 DISSERTATION TITLE 1ather and Ameri.can Arts Communities Andrew W. Jewel 1 SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Approved Date Susan J. Rosowski Typed Name f7 Signature Kenneth M. Price Typed Name Signature Susan Be1 asco Typed Name Typed Nnme -- Signature Typed Nnme Signature Typed Name GRADUATE COLLEGE AT THE EDGE OF THE CIRCLE: WILLA CATHER AND AMERICAN ARTS COMMUNITIES Andrew Wade Jewell, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2004 Adviser: Susan J.
    [Show full text]
  • Maryland Historical Magazine, 1941, Volume 36, Issue No. 1
    ma SC 5Z2I~]~J41 MARYLAND HISTORICAL MAGAZINE PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY VOLUME XXXVI BALTIMORE 1941 CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXVI PAGE THE SUSQUEHANNOCK FORT ON PISCATAWAY CREEK. By Alice L. L. Ferguson, 1 ELIZA GODBFROY: DESTINY'S FOOTBALL. By William D. Hoyt, Jr., ... 10 BLUE AND GRAY: I. A BALTIMORE VOLUNTEER OF 1864. By William H. fames, 22 II. THE CONFEDERATE RAID ON CUMBERLAND, 1865. By Basil William Spalding, 33 THE " NARRATIVE " OF COLONEL JAMES RIGBIE. By Henry Chandlee Vorman, . 39 A WEDDING OF 1841, 50 THE LIFE OF RICHARD MALCOLM JOHNSTON IN MARYLAND, 1867-1898. By Prawds Taylor Long, concluded, 54 LETTERS OF CHARLES CARROLL, BARRISTER, continued, 70, 336 BOOK REVIEWS, 74, 223, 345, 440 NOTES AND QUERIES, 88, 231, 354, 451 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 90, 237, 455 LIST OF MEMBERS, 101 THE REVOLUTIONARY IMPULSE IN MARYLAND. By Charles A. Barker, . 125 WILLIAM GODDARD'S VICTORY FOR THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. By W. Bird Terwilliger, 139 CONTROL OF THE BALTIMORE PRESS DURING THE CIVIL WAR. By Sidney T. Matthews, 150 SHIP-BUILDING ON THE CHESAPEAKE: RECOLLECTIONS OF ROBERT DAWSON LAMBDIN, 171 READING INTERESTS OF THE PROFESSIONAL CLASSES IN COLONIAL MARYLAND, 1700-1776. By Joseph Towne Wheeler, 184, 281 THE HAYNIE LETTERS 202 BALTIMORE COUNTY LAND RECORDS OF 1687. By Louis Dow Scisco, . 215 A LETTER FROM THE SPRINGS, 220 POLITICS IN MARYLAND DURING THE CIVIL WAR. By Charles Branch Clark, . 239 THE ORIGIN OF THE RING TOURNAMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. By G. Harrison Orians, 263 RECOLLECTIONS OF BROOKLANDWOOD TOURNAMENTS. By D. Sterett Gittings, 278 THE WARDEN PAPERS.
    [Show full text]
  • The Armstrong Browning Library Newsletter God Is the Perfect Poet
    The Armstrong Browning Library Newsletter God is the perfect poet. – Paracelsus by Robert Browning NUMBER 51 SPRING/SUMMER 2007 WACO, TEXAS Ann Miller to be Honored at ABL For more than half a century, the find inspiration. She wrote to her sister late Professor Ann Vardaman Miller of spending most of the summer there was connected to Baylor’s English in the “monastery like an eagle’s nest Department—first as a student (she . in the midst of mountains, rocks, earned a B.A. in 1949, serving as an precipices, waterfalls, drifts of snow, assistant to Dr. A. J. Armstrong, and a and magnificent chestnut forests.” master’s in 1951) and eventually as a Master Teacher of English herself. So Getting to Vallombrosa was not it is fitting that a former student has easy. First, the Brownings had to stepped forward to provide a tribute obtain permission for the visit from to the legendary Miller in Armstrong the Archbishop of Florence and the Browning Library, the location of her Abbot-General. Then, the trip itself first campus office. was arduous—it involved sitting in a wine basket while being dragged up the An anonymous donor has begun the cliffs by oxen. At the top, the scenery process of dedicating a stained glass was all the Brownings had dreamed window in the Cox Reception Hall, on of, but disappointment awaited Barrett the ground floor of the library, to Miller. Browning. The monks of the monastery The Vallombrosa Window in ABL’s Cox Reception The hall is already home to five windows, could not be persuaded to allow a woman Hall will be dedicated to the late Ann Miller, a Baylor professor and former student of Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe Papers in the HBSC Collection
    Harriet Beecher Stowe Papers in the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center’s Collections Finding Aid To schedule a research appointment, please call the Collections Manager at 860.522.9258 ext. 313 or email [email protected] Harriet Beecher Stowe Papers in the Stowe Center's Collection Note: See end of document for manuscript type definitions. Manuscript type & Recipient Title Date Place length Collection Summary Other Information [Stowe's first known letter] Ten year-old Harriet Beecher writes to her older brother Edward attending Yale. She would like to see "my little sister Isabella". Foote family news. Talks of spending the Nutplains summer at Nutplains. Asks him to write back. Loose signatures of Beecher, Edward (1803-1895) 1822 March 14 [Guilford, CT] ALS, 1 pp. Acquisitions Lyman Beecher and HBS. Album which belonged to HBS; marbelized paper with red leather spine. First written page inscribed: Your Affectionate Father Lyman At end, 1 1/2-page mss of a 28 verse, seven Beecher Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. Hartford Aug 24, stanza poem, composed by Mrs. Stowe, 1840". Pages 2 and 3 include a poem. There follow 65 mss entitled " Who shall not fear thee oh Lord". poems, original and quotes, and prose from relatives and friends, This poem seems never to have been Katharine S. including HBS's teacher at Miss Pierece's school in Litchfield, CT, published. [Pub. in The Hartford Courant Autograph Bound mss, 74 Day, Bound John Brace. Also two poems of Mrs. Hemans, copied in HBS's Sunday Magazine, Sept., 1960].Several album 1824-1844 Hartford, CT pp.
    [Show full text]
  • The Literary Criticism of William Howard Gardiner
    The University of North Carolina at Greensboro JACKSON LIBRARY K1NARD, LEE V. The Literary Criticism of William Howard Gardiner. (1976) Directed by: Dr. Donald G. Darnell. Pp- 80 William Howard Gardiner (1796-1882) wrote the first critical notice of an American novel to appear in the North American Review (July 1822). This review of James Fenimore Cooper's The Spy, A Tale of the Neutral Ground, includes a number of ideas and theories which comprise a major statement about the modern American historical romance. At the conclu- sion of the review Gardiner named Cooper America's first distinguished novel writer. With a view toward isolating Gardiner's critical theories, this study unites his reviews of Cooper, James McHenry (1785-1845), and William Hickling Prescott (1796-1859), all of which appeared in the North American Review. Since many of Gardiner's critical remarks, par- ticularly those about Cooper, are as valid in the twentieth century as they were in the nineteenth, this discussion will provide an analysis of the influences that shaped his conception first of America, and then of the kind of fiction he wanted writers to develop during the second decade of the nineteenth century. This analysis of Gardiner's literary criticism will disclose that his ideas about the modern American historical romance found their way into the mainstream of American literature and contributed to the development of many of the major American fictional characters; therefore indicating that William Howard Gardiner exerted a major influence on the birth, direction and promotion of American literature. THE LITERACY CRITICISM OF WILLIAM HOWARD GARDINER by Lee W.
    [Show full text]
  • THE Chap-Book SEMI-MONTHLY
    DELOS AVERY 425 SURF ST. CHICAGO iiiii'iCJS HSSTQR5CAL SUkVcV THE Chap- Book A MISCELLANY of Curious and Interesting Songs, Ballads, Tales, Histories, &c. ; adorned with a variety of pictures and very delightful to read ; newly composed by MANY CELEBRATED WRITERS; To which are annexM a LARGE COLLECTION of Notices of BOOKS. VOLUME L From May i^ib to November 1st A.D. MDCCCXC IV CHICAGO Printed for Stone &' Kimball o^ the Caxton Building where Shopkeepers^ Hawkersy and others are supplied DELOS AVERY 42S SURF ST. CHICAGO CKAB 1 INDEX TO VOLUME I POETRY ALDRICH, THOMAS BAILEY page ORIGINALITY 247 PESSIMISTIC POETS I03 BROWN, ALICE TRILBY 91 CARMAN, BLISS NANCIBEL 103 THE PRAYER IN THE ROSE GARDEN 34 CRAM, RALPH ADAMS THE RIDE OF THE CLANS I39 GOETZ, P. B. QUATRAINS 344 HALL, GERTRUDE MOONLIGHT, TRANSLATED FROM PAUL VERLAINE 7 VERSES 184 HENDERSON, W. J. ASPIRATION 335 HOVEY, RICHARD HUNTING SONG 253 THE SHADOWS KIMBALL, HANNAH PARKER PURITY 223 MOODY, WILLIAM VAUGHN A BALLADE OF DEATH-BEDS 5I MORRIS, HARRISON S. PARABLE 166 00 MOULTON, LOUISE CHANDLER page IN HELEN'S LOOK I96 WHO KNOWS? 27 MUNN, GEORGE FREDERICK THE ENCHANTED CITY 1 27 PARKER, GILBERT THERE IS AN ORCHARD 331 PEABODY, JOSEPHINE PRESTON THE WOMAN OF THREE SORROWS I34 ROBERTS, CHARLES G. D. THE UNSLEEPING 3 SCOLLARD, CLINTON THE WALK 183 SHARP, WILLIAM TO EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN 212 TAYLOR, J. RUSSELL THE NIGHT RAIN I27 VERLAINE, PAUL EPIGRAMMES 211 MOONLIGHT, TRANSLATED BY GERTRUDE HALL 7I YELLOW BOOK-MAKER, THE 4I PROSE ANNOUNCEMENTS I9, 43, 73, 96, I18, I47, I75, 204, 242, 266, 357 B.
    [Show full text]
  • Coventry Patmore: Critic of Literature and Art Julitta Gaul Loyola University Chicago
    Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1941 Coventry Patmore: Critic of Literature and Art Julitta Gaul Loyola University Chicago Recommended Citation Gaul, Julitta, "Coventry Patmore: Critic of Literature and Art" (1941). Master's Theses. Paper 187. http://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/187 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1941 Julitta Gaul - COVENTRY PATMORE CRITIC OF LITERATURE AND ART BY SISTER JULITTA GAUL. S.C.C. A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF :MASTER OF ARTS I:N LOYOLA UNIVERSITY FEBRUARY 1941 ,...... PREFACE The past two decades have witnessed a revival of interest in Coventry Patmore, whom the world has come to know as 11 the poet of nuptial love." In 1921 Frederick Page collected and published a large uumber of Patmore's latest essays under the title of Courage~ Politics and other Essgys, while Osbert Burdett published a microscopic examination of the Patmorean theme under the title The Idea of Patmore. The numerous articles commemorating the centenary of Patmore's birth were followed in 1924 by a biography of his daughter Emily, a religious of the Holy Child Jesus, whose life is a kind of commentary on the odes of ~ Unknown ~· Frederick Page's study of Patmore's poetry appeared in 1933.
    [Show full text]
  • July 17-18, 2021
    St. Mary Church St John the Baptist Personnel 34 Oak St 29 North St Rev. Msgr. Robert H Aucoin, Pastor PO Box 187 PO Box 68 Deacon Daniel B. McGrath, Deacon Assistant Waddington, NY 13694 Madrid, NY. 13660 Carmel Rastley, Faith Formation - Madrid 315-388-4466 315-322-5661 Anne-Marie Young - Faith Formation - [email protected] [email protected] Waddington http://mwcatholics.org http://mwcatholics.org Trustees Facebook.com/ facebook.com/ St. Mary - Julie Moots & Mark Scott StMaryWaddington StJohntheBaptistMadridNy St. John - Carol Garvey & Carmel Rastley Sixteenth Sunday of the Year - July 17-18 SUMMER RAFFLE 2021: Saturday, July 17, 4:30 pm (SJ) St. James School, Gouverneur In Memory of David & Denise Griffin by Anne Griffin For tickets contact St. James Parish Sunday, July 18, 8:30 am (SJ) 315-287-0114 GRAND Prize: $10,000 2nd Prize: $5000 The Intentions of Parishioners 3rd Prize: $2500 4th Prize: $1500 Sunday, July 18, 10:30 am (SM) 5th Prize: $500 Plus 5 Early Bird drawings for $100 each, will be Adam Miller by Tom & Fran Nelson drawn July 4th Monday, July 19, 7:30 am (SM) GRAND PRIZE DRAWING WILL BE HELD SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12th Grace Barton by Connie & Mark Miller Tuesday, July 20, 9:00 am (SJ) All tickets will remain “in the drum” and be eligible for EVERY prize drawing!! Only 350 Our Mothers and Fathers Living and Deceased tickets will be sold. Donation price of $100 each. Wednesday, July 21, 7:30 am (SM) John Fallon by Billy & Marcia Tiernan Summer Faith Adventure August 9-13 Thursday, July 22, 9:00 am (SJ) 3-5:30 pm Our Mothers and Fathers Living and Deceased Parish Center ADORATION (5-6 pm at SM) Children who are in our census will soon receive an invitation to participate in this wonderful Friday, July 23, 7:30 am (SM) summer program.
    [Show full text]
  • Metuchen the Brainy Borough
    METUCHEN THE BRAINY BOROUGH Compiled by the Metuchen Historic Preservation Committee Metuchen The Brainy Borough Compiled by the Metuchen historic preservation committee The Metuchen Historic Preservation Committee was formed in January 2008 to advise the Mayor and Council on steps to strengthen Metuchen’s commitment to historic preservation. The Committee’s goals are to develop public education on the benefits of historic preservation, honor Metuchen’s historic resources by increasing the number of structures in town listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places, and explore the development of a Metuchen Historic Preservation Ordinance to formally recognize and protect the town’s distinctive historic and architectural character. The Historic Preservation Committee Suzanne Andrews Lori Chambers Michele Clancy Richard Miller Tyreen Reuter, Chair Rebeccah Seely Richard Weber Nancy Zerbe Jay Muldoon, Council Liaison June, 2015. All Rights Reserved. Metuchen, New Jersey. Introduction For several years, the Metuchen Historic Preservation Committee — with the assistance of grants from the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission — has studied Metuchen’s history and historic neighborhoods to evaluate the potential for one or more historic districts. These studies have resulted in additional historical information, especially related to one important theme: Metuchen’s reputation as “the Brainy Borough.” Local historians were aware of the 1914-1915 newspaper “battle” between Metuchen and Glen Ridge as to which town deserved the title; however, there were no extant copies of the Metuchen Recorder newspaper that over the extended period of the battle carried each town’s submissions of prominent residents who would warrant their hometown being considered “brainy.” The Committee’s recent studies have not only added to the general knowledge of the battle; they resulted in a significant research find: much of Metuchen’s reporting on the subject was also reprinted in Bloomfield’s Independent Press,* available at the Bloomfield Public Library.
    [Show full text]
  • Massachusetts AFL-CIO
    1 Massachusetts AFL-CIO Annual Scholarship Awards Program Labor History Study Guide 2018-19 Authored By: Mitchell Manning & Eve Weinbaum, UMass Amherst Labor Center with editing assistance from MA AFL-CIO Scholarship Committee, American Federation of Teachers, Massachusetts For more information, contact Carla Connolly, Massachusetts AFL-CIO Scholarship Coordinator (781) 324-8230 or [email protected] 2 Dear Student: We are excited to announce a new study guide for the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Labor History exam for the 2018-19 school year. The following guide has been prepared by scholars at the UMass Amherst Labor Center in conjunction with our Scholarship Committee, consisting of members of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, among others. We hope that you will find this guide engaging and eye opening. Unions have a proud and exciting history of improving the quality of life for all working people and being on the frontlines of social change and we see the exam as an invitation to learn more about the union movement in the Commonwealth and the country. The test itself will consist of one essay question and a 30 question multiple choice section whose answers will be clear through careful reading of the study guide. As you read the guide, many terms are bolded so you can read the corresponding definition in the attached glossary. On behalf of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, we would like to wish you good luck on the test and best wishes for your academic future. Sincerely, Steven A. Tolman President, Massachusetts AFL-CIO 3 Union FAQs! What is a union? A union is a group of workers who come together to improve their working conditions through collective action and negotiating contracts around wages, hours, and working conditions.
    [Show full text]
  • Rose Hawthorne Lathrop —>
    MOTHER MARY ALPHONSA —> ROSE HAWTHORNE LATHROP —> MRS. GEORGE PARSONS LATHROP —> ROSE HAWTHORNE “NARRATIVE HISTORY” AMOUNTS TO FABULATION, THE REAL STUFF BEING MERE CHRONOLOGY “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project Rose Hawthorne HDT WHAT? INDEX ROSE HAWTHORNE MOTHER MARY ALPHONSA 1851 May 20, Tuesday: At the “little Red House” in Lenox, Massachusetts, Rose Hawthorne was born to Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody Hawthorne. At least subsequent to this period, it seems likely that Nathaniel and Sophia no longer had sexual intercourse, as Nathaniel has been characterized by one of his contemporaries as deficient “in the power or the will to show his love. He is the most undemonstrative person I ever knew, without any exception. It is quite impossible for me to imagine his bestowing the slightest caress upon Mrs. Hawthorne.” Sophia once commented about her husband that he “hates to be touched more than anyone I ever knew.” Presumably the Hawthornes gave up sexual intercourse for purposes of contraception, or perhaps because they found solitary or mutual masturbation to be more congenial, or perhaps, in Nathaniel’s case, because he preferred to have sex with prostitutes, a social practice of the times which Hawthorne referred to as “his illegitimate embraces,” rather than go to the trouble of arranging “blissful interviews” with his wife.1 Hawthorne was bothered by the presence of children, and after the birth of Rose would speak bitterly of the parent’s “duty to sacrifice all the green margin of our lives to these children” towards which he never felt the slightest “natural partiality”: [T]hey have to prove their claim to all the affection they get; and I believe I could love other people’s children better than mine, if I felt they deserved it more.
    [Show full text]