America Writes Its History, 1650–1850

By turns irreverent, sympathetic and amusing, America Writes Its History, 1650–1850 adds to the public discourse on national identity as advanced through the written word. Highlighting the contributions of American writers who focused on history, the author shows that for nearly 200 years writers struggled to reflect, or influence, the public perception of America by Americans. This book is an introduction to the development of history as a written art form, and an academic discipline, during America’s most crucial and impressionable period. America Writes Its History, 1650–1850 takes the reader on a historical tour of written histories—whether narrative history, novels, memoirs or plays—from the Jamestown Colony to the edge of the Civil War. What exactly did we, as Americans, think of ourselves? And more importantly; What did we want non–Americans to think of us? In other words, what was (and is) history, and who, if anyone, owns it?

Jude M. Pfister is a public historian working for the National Park Service in Morristown, New Jersey, with experience in many of the most important historic sites in the U.S.

Jude M. Pfister
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 216
Bibliographic Info: appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7921-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1448-9
Imprint: McFarland

“Recommended”—Choice; “Pfister is a compelling storyteller, and he does an excellent job exploring the ideological and theoretical pressures exerted on early historians”—American Literature</I..