The Contrast
Manners, Morals, and Authority in the Early American Republic
Published on 1. April 2007
277 pages
978-0-8147-8343-6 (ISBN)
Description
"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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
I can think of no other text of the period that lays out the drive toward transparency more clearly or denigrates coquettes and libertines more entertainingly. The play is a pivotal piece of American cultural history - Norma Basch,author of Framing American Divorce: From the Revolutionary Generation to the Victorians The Contrast makes a real contribution to the existing scholarship on this period, it has great appeal for classroom use, and it puts back in print an amusing play that is instrumental in understanding critical issues in the new nation. The play The Contrast centers on gender roles, relations, and expectations, mocking the gender stereotypes of the day and is a rich source for understanding a host of political and social issues in the Early Republic. It is funnyeven to a modern audienceand replete with literary references. - Charlene M. Boyer Lewis,author of Ladies and Gentlemen on Display: Planter Society at the Virginia Springs, 1790-1860 This powerful and lively package of primary materials and historical context will demonstrate how historical & forces play themselves out on the ground. Kierners collection offers a fresh lens on a new world struggling into being and will inspire teachers and students of all ages alike. - Catherine Allgor,author of A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation &Kierners new edition of this play should win it a much wider modern audience. Kierner highlights the many historical themes of the play with a fine introduction and facilitates deeper understanding of those issues with a wonderfully chosen set of additional primary documents. The resulting book could be used with profit in any early American history course. (The North Carolina Historical Review)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
ISBN-13
978-0-8147-8343-6 (9780814783436)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
04/2007
New York University Press
€32.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Cynthia A. Kierner is professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is the author of Scandal at Bizarre: Rumor and Reputation in Jefferson's America and Revolutionary America: Sources and Interpretation.
Content
ContentsList of Illustrations Preface1 Introduction 2 The Contrast by Royall Tyler 3 Primary Documents A. Arts and Literature in Post-Revolutionary America B. Virtues and Vices of the Theater C. Lord Chester?eld and His Critics D. The Follies of FashionE. The Ideal WifeF. The Ideal Husband G. Educating American YouthH. The Meaning of Equality Suggested Reading Index About the Author IllustrationsAdvertisement for The Contrast, 1787 Frontispiece from the Columbian Magazine, 1789 The Declaration of Independence, by John Trumbull, 1787 Royall Tyler Plan of the City of New York, 1789 George Washington, by Jean-Antoine Houdon, 1785-1792 Title page from The Contrast, 1790 Frontispiece from The Contrast, 1790 Miss Carolina Sullivan, 1776 The Toilet, 1786 A Morning Ramble, or, The Milliner's Shop, 1782 The Copley Family, by John Singleton Copley, 1776-1777 The Washington Family, by Edward Savage, 1789-1796
