Description
Book SynopsisConsiders the conditions of early America which shaped and were shaped by ideals of masculinity
Trade ReviewNew Men: Manliness in Early America, a collection of essays edited by Thomas A. Foster, examines various conceptions of masculinity from the founding of Jamestown in the early seventeenth century through the American Revolution. Indeed, Foster stresses the impossibility of identifying a single gendered American masculinity given its contingent relationship to status, race, sexuality, and regional identity. Accordingly, the dozens of essays in New Menrange in time and place in order to 'address the variety of standards and ideals of manliness in early America and highlight the breadth of differences among them' (1). -- Carl Robert Keyes * Early American Literature *
New Men brings to life the many ways by which gender shaped early American relationships, interracial encounters, and political authority. -- Mark. E. Kann * The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society *
In this collection of essays, the editor seeks to answer to what extent manliness in early America shaped the nation's character and institutions and what roles race, ethnicity, and class played in forming masculinity. -- Steve Goddard's History Wire * historywire.com *
In lucid prose, the contributors map the contours of early American manhood from first encounters through the Revolution, and from the marriage bed to the battlefield. The results demonstrate the continuing vitality of gender as a category of analysis as well as the fascinating, sometimes terrifying dynamism of the colonial Atlantic world. -- Jane Kamensky,Harry S. Truman Professor of American Civilization, Brandeis University
The essays published here provide fresh perspectives on time-honored topics from the settlement of Jamestown to revolutionary political rhetoric along with provocative insights from new topics such as dreams, desire, and dangerous men in the early modern world. Some essays will provoke wonderful classroom discussions, while others offer important points of departure for future scholarship. All of them are worth reading. -- Anne Lombard,author of Making Manhood: Growing Up Male in Early New England
This impressive collection of essays is one of the best books in print on the history of manliness. It covers a broad range of times, places and topics, and it does so at a consistently high level of interest and insight. As a result, New Men will make a great choice for courses on masculinity or early America. -- E. Anthony Rotundo,author of American Manhood: Transformations in Masculinity from the Revolution to the Modern Era
With New Men, Foster ushers in a new era in masculinity studies. Both historically precise and analytically astute, these essays provide multiple meditations on masculinity before the birth of the nation. -- Michael Kimmel,author of Manhood in America
These essays show the diverse approaches to masculinity studies...a welcome addition to early American social, cultural, and gender scholarship. * The Journal of American History *
Table of ContentsPreface Mary Beth Norton Acknowledgments Introduction: New Men Thomas A. FosterPart I. Settlement 1 Gentlemen and Soldiers John Gilbert McCurdy 2 Indian and English Dreams Ann Marie PlanePart II. Warfare 3 "We are men" Tyler Boulware 4 Real Men Susan AbramPart III. Atlantic 5 "Blood and Lust" 6 "Banes of Society" and "Gentlemen of Strong Natural Parts" Natalie A. Zacek 7 "Impatient of Subordination" and "Liable to Sudden Transports of Anger" Trevor BurnardPart IV. Enactment 8 "Effective Men" and Early Voluntary Associations in Philadelphia, 1725-1775 Jessica Choppin Roney 9 "Strength of the Lion ... Arms Like Polished Iron" Kathleen M. BrownPart V. Revolution 10 Of Eloquence "Manly" and "Monstrous" Benjamin H. Irvin 11 John Adams and the Choice of Hercules Thomas A. Foster 12 "Play the Man ... for Your Bleeding Country" Revolutionary War Janet Moore Lindman Afterword: Contending Masculinities in Early America Toby L. Ditz About the Contributors Index
