| Description |
1 online resource (288 pages) |
| Series |
Public history in historical perspective |
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Public history in historical perspective.
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| Contents |
Machine generated contents note: Locating the Birthplace in American Public Memory / Seth C. Bruggeman -- 1. Remembering John Muir, the Trans-Atlantic "Father" of Wilderness Conservation / Angela Phelps -- 2. This House Holds Many Memories -- Constructions of a Presidential Birthplace at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site / Christine Arato -- 3. Commemorating Jimmy Carter and Southern Rural Life in Plains, Georgia / Zachary J. Lechner -- 4. Authenticity and Interpretation at Mark Twain's Birthplace Cabins / Hilary Iris Lowe -- 5. Stratford Hall -- Memorial to Robert E. Lee? / Laura Lawfer Orr -- 6. Memories, Monuments, and Mormonism -- Birthplace of Joseph Smith in Vermont / Keith A. Erekson -- 7. Rosine, Kentucky -- Birthplace of Bill Monroe and American Bluegrass Music / Cynthia Miller -- 8. "Right Here in Mason City" -- Meredith Willson and Musical Memory in the American Midwest / Anna Thompson Hajdik -- 9. Paulsdale -- Adapting Alice Paul's Birthplace for a New Generation of Leaders / Kris Myers -- 10. Raven in the Frog Pond -- Edgar Allan Poe and the City of Boston / Dan Currie -- 11. Du Bois in Great Barrington -- Promises and Pitfalls of a Boyhood Historic Site / Robert Paynter |
| Summary |
Scores of birthplace monuments and historic childhood homes dot the American landscape. These special places, many dating to the early years of the last century, have enshrined nativity alongside patriotism and valor among the key pillars of the nation's popular historical imagination. The essays in this volume suggest that the way Americans have celebrated famous births reflects evolving expectations of citizenship as well as a willingness to edit the past when those hopes go unfulfilled. The contributors also demonstrate that the reinvention of origin myths at birthplace monuments still factors in American political culture and the search for meaning in an ever-shifting global order. Beyond asking why it is that Americans care about birthplaces and how they choose which ones to commemorate, Born in the U.S.A. offers insights from historians, curators, interpretive specialists, and others whose experience speaks directly to the challenges of managing historical sites. Each essay points to new ways of telling old stories at these mainstays of American memory. The case of the modern house museum receives special attention in a provocative concluding essay by Patricia West |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
English |
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Print version record |
| Subject |
Collective memory -- United States
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Birthplaces -- United States
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Historic sites -- United States.
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SOCIAL SCIENCE -- General.
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HISTORY -- United States -- State & Local -- General.
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Birthplaces
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Collective memory
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Historic sites
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United States
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| Author |
Bruggeman, Seth C., 1975-
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| LC no. |
2012007992 |
| ISBN |
9781613762097 |
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1613762097 |
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