The Contrast : Manners, Morals, and Authority in the Early American Republic / Cynthia A. Kierner.
2007
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Title
The Contrast : Manners, Morals, and Authority in the Early American Republic / Cynthia A. Kierner.
Author
Kierner, Cynthia A., author.
ISBN
9780814749371
Published
New York, NY : : New York University Press, [2007]
Copyright
©2007
Language
English
Language Note
In English.
Description
1 online resource
Item Number
10.18574/nyu/9780814749371.001.0001 doi
Dewey Decimal Classification
812/.1
Summary
"The Contrast", which premiered at New York City's John Street Theater in 1787, was the first American play performed in public by a professional theater company. The play, written by New England-born, Harvard-educated, Royall Tyler was timely, funny, and extremely popular. When the play appeared in print in 1790, George Washington himself appeared at the head of its list of hundreds of subscribers.Reprinted here with annotated footnotes by historian Cynthia A. Kierner, Tyler's play explores the debate over manners, morals, and cultural authority in the decades following American Revolution. Did the American colonists' rejection of monarchy in 1776 mean they should abolish all European social traditions and hierarchies? What sorts of etiquette, amusements, and fashions were appropriate and beneficial? Most important, to be a nation, did Americans need to distinguish themselves from Europeans-and, if so, how? Tyler was not the only American pondering these questions, and Kierner situates the play in its broader historical and cultural contexts. An extensive introduction provides readers with a background on life and politics in the United States in 1787, when Americans were in the midst of nation-building. The book also features a section with selections from contemporary letters, essays, novels, conduct books, and public documents, which debate issues of the era.
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Access limited to authorized users.
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Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
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text file PDF
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 18. Sep 2023)
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Table of Contents
Frontmatter
Contents
Illustrations
Preface
1 Introduction
2 The Contrast by Royall Tyler
3 Primary Documents
Suggested Reading
Index
About the Author
Contents
Illustrations
Preface
1 Introduction
2 The Contrast by Royall Tyler
3 Primary Documents
Suggested Reading
Index
About the Author