Description
Book SynopsisUsing an array of personal and public writings, The Overflowing of Friendship will transform our understanding of early American manhood as well as challenge us to reconsider the ways we think about gender in this period.
Trade ReviewThe Overflowing of Friendship is a sophisticated analysis of sources that have long confused historians. Offering a thoughtful window onto the world of early American men, it demonstrates that sympathy and affection were important qualities for the founding fathers. -- John Gilbert McCurdy New England Quarterly 2009 Path-breaking... Godbeer has staked out bold ground with this book. Some early Americanists will surely scoff at the notion that sentimentality was relevant even in the macho arena of state formation, just as historians of sexuality will freeze at the inference that there is no sexual attraction or intimacy between these men. That one book could successfully intervene with both the oldest historiographical and the newest theoretical question is no small feat, but rather one for which Godbeer deserves the appreciation and admiration of his fellow historians. Journal of the Early Republic 2010 His beautifully crafted book breaks important new ground. -- Anne S. Lombard American Historical Review 2010 This is a splendid study that should be useful to students at every level and to scholars in the field... A thoughtful and careful study. -- George E. Haggerty Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 2010
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. "The Friend of My Bosom": A Philadelphian Love Story
2. "A Settled Portion of My Happiness": Friendship, Sentiment, and Eighteenth-Century Manhood
3. "The Best Blessing We Know": Male Love and Spiritual Communion in Early America
4. "A Band of Brothers": Fraternal Love in the Continental Army
5. "The Overflowing of Friendship": Friends, Brothers, and Citizens in a Republic of Sympathy
Epilogue
Notes
Index
