Declaration of Independence and Antebellum Philadelphia Gothic
This book reconsiders the founding document of the United States at a crucial moment in its history. Focusing on gothic fiction published in Philadelphia roughly during the period 1830â1855, Henry argues that the newly developing American national mythology also gave rise to much darker accounts of the nationâs descent into mob violence, corruption, and the breakdown of the rule of law. In stories that reconceive history as gothic romance, Edgar Allan Poe, George Lippard, and Robert Montgomery Bird developed a literary mode Henry calls âcivic horror,â a mode that frequently wandered into the speculative territory of âwhat if.â What if Independence Hall were razed to the ground, and in its place a royal palace was built? What if George Washington had accepted the Kingâs offer of a British peerage and turned traitor to the patriot cause? What if an unruly mob appropriated the Declaration of Independence as justification for its lawlessness or what if the lawlessness of the frontier came to characterize city life? Henry analyses such scenarios in Philadelphiaâs antebellum gothic fiction and considers their relevance to U.S. politics at the Declarationâs 250th anniversary.
Declaration of Independence and Antebellum Philadelphia Gothic
This book reconsiders the founding document of the United States at a crucial moment in its history. Focusing on gothic fiction published in Philadelphia roughly during the period 1830â1855, Henry argues that the newly developing American national mythology also gave rise to much darker accounts of the nationâs descent into mob violence, corruption, and the breakdown of the rule of law. In stories that reconceive history as gothic romance, Edgar Allan Poe, George Lippard, and Robert Montgomery Bird developed a literary mode Henry calls âcivic horror,â a mode that frequently wandered into the speculative territory of âwhat if.â What if Independence Hall were razed to the ground, and in its place a royal palace was built? What if George Washington had accepted the Kingâs offer of a British peerage and turned traitor to the patriot cause? What if an unruly mob appropriated the Declaration of Independence as justification for its lawlessness or what if the lawlessness of the frontier came to characterize city life? Henry analyses such scenarios in Philadelphiaâs antebellum gothic fiction and considers their relevance to U.S. politics at the Declarationâs 250th anniversary.
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This book reconsiders the founding document of the United States at a crucial moment in its history. Focusing on gothic fiction published in Philadelphia roughly during the period 1830â1855, Henry argues that the newly developing American national mythology also gave rise to much darker accounts of the nationâs descent into mob violence, corruption, and the breakdown of the rule of law. In stories that reconceive history as gothic romance, Edgar Allan Poe, George Lippard, and Robert Montgomery Bird developed a literary mode Henry calls âcivic horror,â a mode that frequently wandered into the speculative territory of âwhat if.â What if Independence Hall were razed to the ground, and in its place a royal palace was built? What if George Washington had accepted the Kingâs offer of a British peerage and turned traitor to the patriot cause? What if an unruly mob appropriated the Declaration of Independence as justification for its lawlessness or what if the lawlessness of the frontier came to characterize city life? Henry analyses such scenarios in Philadelphiaâs antebellum gothic fiction and considers their relevance to U.S. politics at the Declarationâs 250th anniversary.
