Public Lives, Private Virtues surveys portraits of American Revolutionary heroes in books, magazines, and school texts from 1782 to 1832 and relates these sketches to cultural changes of the period. Faced with rapid and sometimes unsettling change, historians, biographers, and editors of period offered their readers narrative and visual portraits of heroes, hoping to promote classical civic virtues during a time when business-minded Americans increasingly pursued individual gain. The fifty years following the Revolution saw ...
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Public Lives, Private Virtues surveys portraits of American Revolutionary heroes in books, magazines, and school texts from 1782 to 1832 and relates these sketches to cultural changes of the period. Faced with rapid and sometimes unsettling change, historians, biographers, and editors of period offered their readers narrative and visual portraits of heroes, hoping to promote classical civic virtues during a time when business-minded Americans increasingly pursued individual gain. The fifty years following the Revolution saw biography shift from historical narration to description of private experience. The most interesting of the biographers, Mason Locke Weems, created an original life of Washington, adapting his style to the needs of book buyers, who were put off by the cost of conventional histories and attracted to the books' entertaining stories. During this period magazine editors in the mid-Atlantic and New England states occasionally wrote sketches of heroes to provide readers examples of virtue, but their major contribution was to publish original graphic portraits. Some magazine illustrators copied portraits by American painters; others fashioned elaborate allegorical pieces. Brief narratives of Revolutionary heroes met the needs of the growing number of New England schoolbook authors especially well. By reading descriptions of the war's heroes and their adventures, authors believed children would learn virtue as well as rhetorical skills. In all their forms during this period, narratives and portraits of Revolutionary heroes extolled classical virtues even though the rise of commerce and Americans' pursuit of individual wealth made these virtues anachronistic.
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Add this copy of Public Lives, Private Virtues: Images of American to cart. $88.93, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by Routledge.
Add this copy of Public Lives, Private Virtues: Images of American to cart. $192.18, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPricesUK5 rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Castle Donington, DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2000 by Routledge.
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Fine. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. 194 p. Studies in American Popular History and Culture. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Public Lives, Private Virtues: Images of American to cart. $200.84, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Routledge.
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Seller's Description:
Fine. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. 194 p. Studies in American Popular History and Culture. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
