The Property of the Nation : George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President
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| Title: | The Property of the Nation : George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President |
|---|---|
| Description: | Finalist: George Washington PrizeGeorge Washington was an affluent slave owner who believed that republicanism and social hierarchy were vital to the young country's survival. And yet, he remains largely free of the “elitist” label affixed to his contemporaries, as Washington evolved in public memory during the nineteenth century into a man of the common people, the father of democracy. This memory, we learn in The Property of the Nation, was a deliberately constructed image, shaped and reshaped over time, generally in service of one cause or another. Matthew R. Costello traces this process through the story of Washington's tomb, whose history and popularity reflect the building of a memory of America's first president—of, by, and for the American people.Washington's resting place at his beloved Mount Vernon estate was at times as contested as his iconic image; and in Costello's telling, the many attempts to move the first president's bodily remains offer greater insight to the issue of memory and hero worship in early America. While describing the efforts of politicians, business owners, artists, and storytellers to define, influence, and profit from the memory of Washington at Mount Vernon, this book's main focus is the memory-making process that took place among American citizens. As public access to the tomb increased over time, more and more ordinary Americans were drawn to Mount Vernon, and their participation in this nationalistic ritual helped further democratize Washington in the popular imagination. Shifting our attention from official days of commemoration and publicly orchestrated events to spontaneous visits by citizens, Costello's book clearly demonstrates in compelling detail how the memory of George Washington slowly but surely became The Property of the Nation. |
| Authors: | Matthew R. Costello |
| Resource Type: | eBook. |
| Subjects: | Presidents--United States--Biography, Collective memory--United States--History |
| Categories: | HISTORY / United States / 19th Century, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Presidents & Heads of State, HISTORY / United States / 20th Century |
| Database: | eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) |
| FullText | Links: – Type: ebook-epub Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The Property of the Nation : George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President – Name: Abstract Label: Description Group: Ab Data: Finalist: George Washington PrizeGeorge Washington was an affluent slave owner who believed that republicanism and social hierarchy were vital to the young country's survival. And yet, he remains largely free of the “elitist” label affixed to his contemporaries, as Washington evolved in public memory during the nineteenth century into a man of the common people, the father of democracy. This memory, we learn in The Property of the Nation, was a deliberately constructed image, shaped and reshaped over time, generally in service of one cause or another. Matthew R. Costello traces this process through the story of Washington's tomb, whose history and popularity reflect the building of a memory of America's first president—of, by, and for the American people.Washington's resting place at his beloved Mount Vernon estate was at times as contested as his iconic image; and in Costello's telling, the many attempts to move the first president's bodily remains offer greater insight to the issue of memory and hero worship in early America. While describing the efforts of politicians, business owners, artists, and storytellers to define, influence, and profit from the memory of Washington at Mount Vernon, this book's main focus is the memory-making process that took place among American citizens. As public access to the tomb increased over time, more and more ordinary Americans were drawn to Mount Vernon, and their participation in this nationalistic ritual helped further democratize Washington in the popular imagination. Shifting our attention from official days of commemoration and publicly orchestrated events to spontaneous visits by citizens, Costello's book clearly demonstrates in compelling detail how the memory of George Washington slowly but surely became The Property of the Nation. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Matthew+R%2E+Costello%22">Matthew R. Costello</searchLink> – Name: TypePub Label: Resource Type Group: TypPub Data: eBook. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Presidents--United+States--Biography%22">Presidents--United States--Biography</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Collective+memory--United+States--History%22">Collective memory--United States--History</searchLink> – Name: SubjectBISAC Label: Categories Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22HISTORY+%2F+United+States+%2F+19th+Century%22">HISTORY / United States / 19th Century</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22BIOGRAPHY+%26+AUTOBIOGRAPHY+%2F+Presidents+%26+Heads+of+State%22">BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Presidents & Heads of State</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22HISTORY+%2F+United+States+%2F+20th+Century%22">HISTORY / United States / 20th Century</searchLink> |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Classifications: – Code: 973.41092 Scheme: ddc Type: prePub – Code: B Scheme: ddc Type: prePub Languages: – Code: eng Text: English Subjects: – SubjectFull: Presidents--United States--Biography Type: general – SubjectFull: Collective memory--United States--History Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The Property of the Nation : George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Matthew R. Costello – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Matthew R. Costello IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2019 – D: 30 M: 07 Type: profile Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: isbn-print Value: 9780700628278 – Type: isbn-print Value: 9780700633364 – Type: isbn-electronic Value: 9780700628285 Titles: – TitleFull: The Property of the Nation : George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President Type: main |
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