Creating an American Identity: New England, 1789–1825

294 Pages·2008·30.744 MB·English

by  Stephanie Kermes (auth.)

CREATING AN
AMERICAN IDENTITY
New England, 1789-1825
STEPHANIE K ERMES
CREATING AN AMERICAN IDENTITY
CREATING AN AMERICAN IDENTITY
New England, 1789-1825
Stephanie Kermes
palgrave
macmillan
* CRE"'TINGANAM[RIC"'NlDENTlH
Copyright() StephanieKermes,2008.
Softcoverreprintof'jhehardcover lstedition2008
AUrightsreserved.
Firstpublishedin2008by
PALGRAVEMACMILLAN""
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Macmillan" isaregisteredtrademarkintheUnitedStates,UnitedKingdom
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ISBN9711-1-349-37278-2 ISBN978-0-230-61291-4(euookj
DOl 10.1007/978-0-230-61291-4
libraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Kermes,Stephanie.
CreatinganAmericanidentity:NewEngland,1789-1825IStephanie
Kermes,
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN 978-0-230-60526-5
1.NewEngland-Civilization-1Bthcentury.2.NewEngland
Civilization-19th century.3. Regionalism-NewEngland-e-Hutory.
4.Nationalism-NewEngland-History. S.Nationalism- United
States-History.6.Nationalcharacteristics,American- History.
7.Popularculture- NewEngland- History.B.Politicalculture- New
England- History.9.Newfngland-Relations-Europe.10.Europe
Relations-NewEngland.I.Title.
F8.K47200B
974'.03-dc22 200704B026
Acatalogue recordlorthis bookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
DesignbyNewgenImagingSystems(P)ud.Cbennel,India.
Firstedition:July2008
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
l'ransfcrrcdtoDigitalPriming2011
Tomy daughter andhusband, Lia and
Tom, I dedicate this book withlove
CONTENTS
ListofFigures IX
Acknowledgments Xl
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 New EnglandizingAmerica 15
Chapter2 APrussianMonarch-anAmerican Hero:
Early Republican Royalism and Parallels
between the CultofFrederick the Greatand
Celebrations ofthe First AmericanPresident 57
Chapter 3 Failed Republicans:Images ofthe British
and the French 87
Chapter4 Hero ofLiberty:New England Celebrations
ofGeneral Lafayette during HisVisit
in 1824-1825 117
Chapter 5 Separation for the Nation:The Movement
for Maine'sStatehood 145
Chapter 6 God'sPeople:The Creation ofa
Protestant Nation 169
Conclusion 197
Notes 203
Bibliography 273
Index 287
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1 Artist Unknown, Contemplation bytheShore,
fireboard, 1790 (courtesy ofthe Peabody Essex
Museum,Salem,Massachusetts) 30
Figure 1.2 George Ropes, Crowningshield'sWharf,
1806 (courtesy, Peabody EssexMuseum,
Salem,Massachusetts) 37
Figure 1.3 FrancisAlexander, GlobeVillage,
painting, ca.1822 40
Figure 1.4 Viewfrom the Green Woodstoward
Canaan andSalisbury, in Connecticut,
engraving, ColumbianMagazine, 1789
(courtesy,American AntiquarianSociety) 40
Figure 2.1 Norman, TheJustice ofFrederick!
engraving, in BostonMagazine 1 (1783):287
(courtesy ofthe Rare Booksand Manuscript
Department,Boston Public Library) 74
Figure 5.1 Lemuel Moody, SignalsatPortland
.Lighthouse, watercolor 1807,collections
ofthe Maine HistoricalSociety 157
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This bookwould havenever been written without myprofessors and
fellowgraduate students in the history department and the adminis
tratorsatthe GraduateSchoolofArtsand Scienceat Boston College.
For me, Boston College has been the most supportive and inspiring
scholarly environmentthat I could hope for, when I first came there
asan international studentfrom Germany, throughout myyears asa
Ph.D. candidate, and asa Postdoctoral fellow.Teaching and research
fellowshipsfrom Boston College allowed me to become the teacherI
wanted to be and to write the first draft ofthis book. Fellowships
from the John Nicholas Brown Center and the Huntington Library
alsosupported me duringresearch and writingofmydissertation.
The expertise and generous aid from archivists and librarians
throughout New England not only made this book possible, but
also helped to completeit in alittlelessthan ten years. I wouldlike
to thank the staff at the Massachusetts Historical Society, the
Maine Historical Society, the Boston Public Library, the Society
for the PreservationofNew EnglandAntiquities (now Historic New
England), the Houghton Library at Harvard University, the John
Hay Libraryat Brown University, the Huntington Library, the Amy
Bessand Lawrence K. MillerLibraryat the HancockShaker Village,
and the New HampshireHistoricalSociety.Iespeciallyappreciate the
assistance ofPeterDrummeyat the Massachusetts HistoricalSociety
and Nicholas Noyes at the Maine HistoricalSociety.
I need to acknowledge everybody who made it possible for this
book to also include visual sources. James Patterson at the Jacob
EdwardsLibrary, ChristineMichelliniatthe PeabodyEssexMuseum,
Sean P.Caseyat the BostonPublic Library, BethanyEngstromat the
Farnsworth Art Museum, and Iaclyn Penny at the American
AntiquarianSociety made sure thatI getreproductionsofthe images
and permissions in averyshorttime.
Christopher Chappell, my editor at Palgrave McMillan, helped
more to finalize this bookthanheprobablyrealizes.Itwasapleasure
to workwith him; hispromptand clearanswers to mye-rnails,which
were numerous on some days,kept the process flowing at alltimes.
xii ~ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My greatest intellectual debt is to teachers and colleagues who
accompaniedthis bookand itsauthoratdifferentstages.Alan Rogers
has been the best dissertation advisor one couldwish for and awon
derfulfriend. I learned so much from him, not only aboutAmerican
historybutalso aboutteachingand writingin general. Observinghis
intelligent and at the same time entertaining lectures was as much a
lesson for me as our long conversations about New England in the
early republic. David Quigley, with his insight and dedication to
American history, made me want to read, research, and write night
and dayand pushed me and this bookfurther than I could haveever
gone. Itwas alwaysthe best decision to follow his advice. Marilynn
Johnson'sclasses,although they focused on alater periodthan mine,
greatly influenced my thinking and made me a better historian.
Duringthe transformationfrom the dissertationintothe book,Joyce
Appleby, Joseph Conforti, Jonathan Sassi,andAlan Taylor all read a
few chapters or the entire manuscript. I cannot thank them enough
fortheircareful readingand inspiringcomments,which helped meto
make mostmeaningfulrevisions.lowealarge debtto myfriend Joan
Cashin.Shewasalwaysthereformewhen Ineededadviceandremains
mymodel asateacher, scholar, and writer.
Ialsowantto thankJayCorrin,PollyRizova,JohnMcGrath,Tom
Whalen, John Mackey, Susan Lee, and Kathleen Martin at Boston
Universityfor beingwonderful colleagues and friends.
I dedicate this bookto Tom and Lia, myhusband and daughter. I
am ever thankful for Tom's support, critical questions, and beliefin
me. This book became what it isbecause oftheirloveand affection.
Introduction
The creation of American nationalism in the decades after
Independence was paradoxically a distinctly regional process.At the
same time the French Revolution brought about the emergence of
modern nationalism in Europe, the founding ofthe new American
republic led Americans to establish an idea ofwhat it meant to be
an American. Americans in New England thought that to be an
American meant primarily to be a New Englander. They came to
believethat in the creation ofthe newAmericanidentitytheirregion
should serveasamodel for all otherAmericans.Takingthe measure
ofthis earlyAmerican nationalism is essential to understanding the
politics, culture,and identityofthe new republic.
More thanthirtyyearsago, DavidPotterremindedusthatnational
and regional loyaltiesare intertwined. He emphasizedthatanational
identitydoes not overpowerregional and local identities, butthat all
these loyalties nourish and shape each other because they share a
psychological pattern. My study returns to Potter's observation by
focusingon NewEnglandbetween1789 and 1825 inorderto analyze
the relationship between nationalism and regionalism.'
At the beginning ofthe twenty-firstcentury, globalization evokes
fears among many people that we are losing local, regional, and
national traditions. In response to a situation where we share more
information,consumergoods,and entertainmentwithothersaround
the world every day, values connected with a more particular place
gain new significance. Evenifprogressingrapidly,globalizationdoes
not remain unchallenged by local, regional, and national loyalties.
Therefore,itisespeciallyimportantforustounderstandhowuniversal
and particular identities interact. This study looks at the relation
between American nationalism, New England regionalism, and
transatlantic elements that helped define those identities.
When I was a graduate student at the University ofMunich in
Germany, I wascurious about how the size ofthe United States and
its immigrant, multicultural, and multiracial character might
distinguish American nationalism from its European counterparts.