In This Remote Country

French Colonial Culture in the Anglo-American Imagination, 1780-1860

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Colonial Period (1600-1775), Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American, Native American
Cover of the book In This Remote Country by Edward Watts, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Edward Watts ISBN: 9781469625867
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: December 1, 2015
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Edward Watts
ISBN: 9781469625867
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: December 1, 2015
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

When Anglo-Americans looked west after the Revolution, they hoped to see a blank slate upon which to build their continental republic. However, French settlers had inhabited the territory stretching from Ohio to Oregon for over a century, blending into Native American networks, economies, and communities. Images of these French settlers saturated nearly every American text concerned with the West. Edward Watts argues that these representations of French colonial culture played a significant role in developing the identity of the new nation.

In regard to land, labor, gender, family, race, and religion, American interpretations of the French frontier became a means of sorting the empire builders from those with a more moderate and contained nation in mind, says Watts. Romantic nationalists such as George Bancroft, Francis Parkman, and Lyman Beecher used the French model to justify the construction of a nascent empire. Alternatively, writers such as Margaret Fuller, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and James Hall presented a less aggressive vision of the nation based on the colonial French themselves. By examining how representations of the French shaped these conversations, Watts offers an alternative view of antebellum culture wars.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

When Anglo-Americans looked west after the Revolution, they hoped to see a blank slate upon which to build their continental republic. However, French settlers had inhabited the territory stretching from Ohio to Oregon for over a century, blending into Native American networks, economies, and communities. Images of these French settlers saturated nearly every American text concerned with the West. Edward Watts argues that these representations of French colonial culture played a significant role in developing the identity of the new nation.

In regard to land, labor, gender, family, race, and religion, American interpretations of the French frontier became a means of sorting the empire builders from those with a more moderate and contained nation in mind, says Watts. Romantic nationalists such as George Bancroft, Francis Parkman, and Lyman Beecher used the French model to justify the construction of a nascent empire. Alternatively, writers such as Margaret Fuller, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and James Hall presented a less aggressive vision of the nation based on the colonial French themselves. By examining how representations of the French shaped these conversations, Watts offers an alternative view of antebellum culture wars.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Carolina Israelite by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Race Over Party by Edward Watts
Cover of the book The Lumbee Indians by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Between Churchill and Stalin by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Rough Weather Makes Good Timber by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Wars within a War by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Hiroshima Diary by Edward Watts
Cover of the book The Nature of the Outer Banks by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Jah Kingdom by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Wild North Carolina by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Santa by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Black Soldiers in Blue by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Southeastern Geographer by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Rethinking Slave Rebellion in Cuba by Edward Watts
Cover of the book Constructing Bangladesh by Edward Watts
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy