Back around the beginning of spring, I finally purchased a copy of Intellectual Life and the American South, 1810-1860, by Michael O’Brien. The University of North Carolina Press makes the following pitch for the book:
Looking over the period, O’Brien identifies a movement from Enlightenment ideas of order to a Romanticism concerned with the ambivalences of personal and social identity, and finally, by the 1850s, to an early realist sensibility. He offers a new understanding of the South by describing a place neither monolithic nor out of touch, but conflicted, mobile, and ambitious to integrate modern intellectual developments into its tense and idiosyncratic social experience.
This also meshes with my interests in exploring the thinking of people in the Shenandoah Valley within that same period of time, and leading-up to the war. I want to know 1) if anyone in, or with roots in, the Shenandoah Valley was making literary contributions, 2) what the people of the Valley were reading, and 3) where that literature originated (not to mention, what it was “saying” to the people of the Valley). As I indicated in a post, about a week ago, I found at least four with ties to the Valley who were notable contributors. I’ll go into greater detail about some of this in other posts.
Additionally, as much emphasis that’s been placed on the Southern Literary Messenger, I think it’s rather obvious that the literature that people of the Valley were consuming wasn’t coming directly from the SLM‘s pages. Rather, they were taking-in the most literature (by volume, one might say) from area newspapers… which were, in fact taking those pieces from other newspapers (no big surprise, there) and the larger magazines (such as the SLM, but also from a wide variety of publications from the North). I know… to some, this isn’t news, but to others, it might come as a surprise.
This leaves me with some questions…
Did the literature (in particular, that which was being extracted from Northern publications), in any way, have an influence on their thinking, especially as tensions increased through the latter 1850s and into 1860-61?
Is there some form of distinction in literature and its impact between the Valley and, say… the Tidewater?
Was the work which was extracted from Northern presses so carefully selected as to not to touch the proverbial nerve, but to speak more specifically to a general interest in Romanticism?
Needless to say, there’s considerable work ahead for me.
If curious, take some time to peruse the snippets below to see the sources for some the stories that appeared in the Virginia Free Press, between the 1830s and 1850s. Some, you will find, are not sourced… and, regretfully, can’t even be found in Google searches.
Sourced to Graham’s Magazine, based in Philadelphia (August 1845)
While attributing to an author (who can’t be found via Google), there is no indication from whence this piece, from August 1855, was extracted.
From August, 1837… a piece which was taken from the Knickerbocker… also known as the New York Monthly Magazine.
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Richard Williams
August 29, 2013
Hey Robert – good stuff! Maybe Waddell’s or Peyton’s history of Augusta County could provide some clues? As you probably know, there are some searchable editions online. Also, you might want to explore some of the early schools histories (where available) like Hotchkiss’s Loch Willow Academy, etc. Just a few quick suggestions.
Robert Moore
August 29, 2013
Thanks, Richard. I have Waddell’s book, but haven’t checked it yet. I think I can access Peyton online. I did take a quick look at some of the other Valley papers as well, to Harrisonburg and Staunton. I did see, in an edition from 1849, that the Rockingham Register mentioned the “latest” edition of the Southern Literary Messenger, and it’s content. I’m also curious to see if the Ladies Repository (a Methodist publication) was one of those recognized for its value. I haven’t seen anything about it yet. It did start to touch on the slave issue more in the 1850s, but I would think earlier issues may have had pieces extracted from them.
I haven’t considering looking at what the schools were reading as I find myself (for whatever reason) very taken-in by what the adults were reading. The pieces on values, morality, and, of course, Romanticism seemed to find the front pages of papers quite often. I also seem to find myself chuckling at some of the 19th century humor pieces. Above all, I’m especially drawn to the story of the Valley authors of the time, and their interactions with people such as Edgar Allan Poe.
Thanks for commenting. I’ve got more coming!
Richard Williams
August 30, 2013
Have you ever seen Robert E. Lee’s reading list, post-war?
Robert Moore
August 30, 2013
I haven’t seen it, but I have seen one for Jackson. In fact, I have one set of books that Jackson had in his collection (not his personal books, of course, but copies from that same publication run)… the two volume set of the History of the Jews (I haven’t looked at it in a while, but I think the publication year was 1858).
I think there will be some difficulty finding specific books read by specific people of the Valley, before the war. Of course, we always hear that certain books were popular in the South, and so forth, but what I’m trying not to do is fall into that trap, and automatically paint the Valley readership with the beliefs so commonly held about Southerners and their readings in general.
There are some who argue that the majority of Southerners were not “well read”, and I suspect (taking into consideration levels of class) in some areas that’s probably true. On the other hand, we have it that the Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley Novels were highly influential in shaping the culture of the Southern concept of chivalry and so forth. That too may hold some truth. In the Valley, however, I’m building a theory based on a relatively low population density and a fairly good circulation of newspapers. As such, I suspect that a large range of folks in the social strata received part of their “literary culture” from the newspapers that extracted pieces from larger publications. After all, the newspapers were more affordable for all levels, vice maintaining subscriptions to the more popular magazine-type publications of the time.
Richard G. Williams, Jr.
September 1, 2013
Robert – if you have a copy of Riley’s “Robert E. Lee After Appomattox” (and if you don’t, you should get a copy), you can read a list of what Lee read after he came to Lexington. Riley compiles the list from records of the Y.M.C.A. library and that of the Franklin Society library – both in Lexington during Lee’s life. Riley includes this interesting passage in discussing Lee’s reading habits:
“The first library book he used after his removal to Lexington was Goldsmith’s Rome. It was read about the time, probably immediately after, he had finished reading Worsley’s Illiad, referred to above. An examination of this book will suggest reasons why it appealed to General Lee. Chapter I treats of the rise of Julius Caesar and the overthrow of the Roman Republic. Chapter II treats of the period of anarchy which followed Caesar’s death and the final settlement of the constitution and the organization of the Empire under Augustus. Chapters III and IV contain many suggestive passages which would have appealed to ex-Confederates in the late 1860’s, when they had many reasons to fear wholesale confiscation, disenfranchisement and even the loss of life. He must have read and pondered many sentences like the following: ‘The most sacred rights of nature were violated; three hundred senators; and above two thousand knights were included in this terrible proscription; their fortunes were confiscated, and their murderers enriched with the spoil.’”
The list reveals that Lee was, in addition to his spirituality, quite intellectual in his reading pursuits. I may post something about this at some time.
Robert Moore
September 1, 2013
Thanks, Richard. If there’s one thing I never doubted… it was just how well-read Lee may have been in the intellectual movements of his time. For one, he was in the class in which he could attain that level of education… and then expand upon it at West Point. Also, as far as his postwar time in the Valley, regretfully, Lee falls outside the spectrum of people
My focus for now, however, is on the people of the Valley (born and raised here, with roots deep enough here for me to take notice, or those who lived here long enough to consider themselves people of the Valley… Hotchkiss comes to mind for the latter, for example) before the war. I think, in part, this interest is triggered by the void of information that exists for the years from the early 19th century through the late 1850s. There is so very little written about it… at least to the depth that I’d like to see… and I’m curious how (if at all) many different aspects of their lives in the years before the war, could be calculated in the sum of sentiments on the verge of war. John Wayland, Harry Strickler, Waddell and others took-on their specific localities, but I’d like to try to get a good grasp on the pulse of the Valley as a whole. At least that’s my hope.
Don’t let this discourage you from commenting, however. I really think you’ll enjoy the journey into that time, and I’ll appreciate your comments as another with roots in the Valley, and a passion for the same.
Janet
August 30, 2013
John Waylands book “A History of Rockingham County (WEB)” has a chapter titled “Writers and Printers: Books and Periodicals” on page 316. I imagine the History of Shen. Co. has something similar – it is still under copyright and can’t be downloaded.