The subtitle of this book is “Profiles in Early American Culture”. Ellis looks at four men who were prominent in the early days of America, just after the revolution. These were not necessarily typical Americans, however. Each were prominent, and well known at that time, in a different area of arts or letters. Only one is familiar to us today. The men are: Charles Willson Peale, an artist; Hugh Henry Brackenridge, a novelist; William Dunlap, active in the theater; and Noah Webster, of dictionary fame. Each had an idea of where they thought culture in the new country should go, and some were more accurate than others. At the time, one common belief was that the center of culture, or in other words, the arts, was moving from East to West. It had flowed from Rome, to Europe, to England, so the next stop would logically be the Americas. However, some also believed that the arts tended to flower just before the collapse of a society.
This book is interesting not just because of the individuals, but because of what it tells us about the new country overall. Also, although these men tried to steer the direction of the arts in America, they were not always successful. It is difficult for one individual to change or direct an entire culture. They may have had some impact, especially Webster, but probably not as much as they would have wished. They were fighting against various biases, for example that the theater is evil, and that actors and actress are as well. Some of this was due to lingering animosity to anything that was originally English.
While these individuals were somewhat well-known at the time, they are not well remembered today. While they all had some talent in their chosen field, most did not leave us with works that have stood the test of time. Brackenridge is also known for his involvement in the Whiskey Rebellion. Peale opened a natural history museum. One of Dunlap’s primary traits was that he made friends easily. But they were all somewhat of a “big deal” in their own era. Most were acquainted with at least a few of the people we do remember from this era. And if nothing else, all of those people we do remember, would have been aware of these four individuals.
If this was your family, how would you research them? Researching well-known persons is a lot easier than researching the “common man”, which is who most of us have as ancestors. But learning about people living at the same time as our ancestors at least tells us something about the culture at that time. This might be especially true if our ancestors happened to live in the same area as someone better known, or at least someone who left written records behind.