In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation [Paperback]

Francois Furstenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2007

In this revelatory and genuinely groundbreaking study, François Furstenberg sheds new light on the genesis of American identity. Immersing us in the publishing culture of the early nineteenth century, he shows us how the words of George Washington and others of his generation became America?s sacred scripture and provided the foundation for a new civic culture?one whose reconciliation with slavery unleashed consequences that haunt us still. A dazzling work of scholarship from a brilliant young historian, In the Name of the Father is a major contribution to American social history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. How were the ideals that were articulated in America's founding documents—freedom, democracy and government based on the consent of the governed—disseminated to the nation? That question animates this extraordinary new study by Furstenberg, an assistant professor of history at the Université de Montréal, which shows how popular print—broadsides, newspaper columns, schoolbooks, sermons—taught citizens "liberal and republican values," and ultimately "create[d] a nation." Thus Furstenberg devotes a chapter to Mason Weems's bestselling early biography of Washington: in addition to originating the famous cheery tree story, Weems taught a generation of Americans subtle stories about nationalism, virtue and piety. Indeed, Washington—or, rather, images of Washington—became central to American political education. In reading Washington's farewell address aloud to the family when it was reprinted, year after year, in the local newspaper, or in hanging his portrait on the dining room wall, Americans were expressing their consent to be governed by the government Washington presided over. In the deluge of founding father books, Furstenberg's blend of high-brow intellectual history and popular culture studies stands out; rather than lionize Washington, it advances an important argument about his role in shaping American political identity. B&w illus. (June 26)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

When George Washington decided to return to private life after his second term as president, he presided over a theoretical rather than an actual nation. Most citizens viewed their primary allegiance as owed to their state. Sectional feelings were strong, reflecting the vast cultural and economic differences; secession was on the minds of many, but that sentiment came from the west and northeast rather than the south. What the Founding Fathers called "factionalism" was intense, as Federalists and Republicans raged at each other. Finally, the institution of slavery seemed to mock American pretensions about a nation founded upon "consent of the governed." Furstenberg illustrates how Americans forged a sense of national identity out of these disparate elements. Utilizing civic texts (including the Declaration of Independence and Washington's farewell address), newspaper articles, and even paintings, he describes the slow but inexorable march toward a vision of what constituted an American identity. His treatment of slavery is particularly informative, as he asserts that the mental gymnastics required to reconcile slavery and republican principles would have devastating consequences. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (April 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143111930
• ISBN-13: 978-0143111931
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #926,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Dissertation Revisited, December 21, 2008

By 

WILLIAM H FULLER (SPEARFISH, SD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation (Paperback)

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER is a public rendering of the author's doctoral dissertation, "Civic Texts, Slavery, and the Formation of American Nationalism." The original title gives a much more accurate picture of the book's contents than does the title created for public consumption. Having begun with this reference to Furstenberg's dissertation, it may be appropriate to add that much of the text still reads like an academic dissertation, and the occasional dryness of the presentation may be perceived as a significant weakness by the general reader. The study of history need not be dull, but parts of this book are just not, shall we say, inspirational.

Another weakness for me was the occasional reference to a formative event or social movement with which I was unfamiliar and which was not explained, leaving the reference more frustrating than instructional. Several references to the Scottish Enlightenment are a case in point, but then perhaps I am the only reader who remains unenlightened concerning that event. Every now and then, Furstenberg also offers the reader an opportunity to expand his or her vocabulary. I know I've seen the word "teleological" before, but it's a valid example of some of the usages that sent me scurrying to the lexicon. The display of erudition in academic dissertations does not always translate to comprehension in a popular history book.

Of greater concern is that the general reader may believe he or she understands several terms that appear frequently and which are central to the author's presentation, but which have very specific, uncommon definitions as Furstenberg employs them. These include "nationalism," "republican," and even "autonomous." Unless the reader consults the extensive notes section at the end of the book, there is significant opportunity to misinterpret what one is reading. While inappropriate in a dissertation, explanatory footnotes on the page where such words first appear in their specialized meaning would have been helpful.

On the other hand, there is a fair amount of fascinating information to be gleaned from the book. I did enjoy learning the origin of the obviously fictitious myth of young Washington's chopping down his father's cherry tree. The fact that Jefferson argued that every aspect of the Federal government and its laws should terminate and be reformulated by the people every generation, which he defined as a span of nineteen years, must have escaped all of my public school and university history books! Madison's more pragmatic approach of "tacit assent" by the people--and even the fact that "consent of the governed" was a matter of serious debate in the 18th century--were never addressed in my educational experience. I'm glad to have that tidbit added to my understanding of the formation of American government. How 18th and 19th century schoolbooks and home almanacs inculcated morality and personal responsibility in people and how that was felt to be necessary if they were to give their tacit consent to being governed is an equally significant concept.

An interesting note on the ability of humankind to interpret beliefs to suit their purposes also appears. The concept of personal responsibility that was part and parcel of the civic texts included the firm belief that one chose one's destiny through one's behavior, application to serious pursuits, demeanor, and so forth. Virtue was always rewarded and sloth always led to depravity. External events were simply not credited with determining one's fate. Since virtue, which included fighting for one's freedom, was always rewarded, then it was argued that slaves chose their condition in life or else they would no longer be enslaved. I felt that to be an interesting rationalization for protecting white slave owners' economic interests.

There are more good "finds" in this book, too, such as the propaganda equating the continuance of British rule to the enslavement of white colonists, thus stirring up the population to support the armed insurrection known as the American Revolution. In short, I found IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER rather helpful in expanding my understanding of American politics and culture in the 18th and 19th centuries. Unhappily, I also found it to read too much like the doctoral dissertation which was its original incarnation. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to the serious scholar of American history and culture, but I am indeed hesitant to recommend it to the general reader who enjoys being entertained as well as instructed by his or her reading.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting thesis, July 29, 2006

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1. "John Henninger" (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation (Hardcover)

Furnestberg has written an interesting book describing how the worship of George Washington has led to stagnation in American political thinking. According to Furstenberg popular historians in the early nineteenth century depicted Washington as a man of moral self control and artists pictured him as an rock against the revolutionary change that was occurring in Europe. Also Washington was depicted by artists and historians alike as a heavenly being whose words had to be worshipped as a sacred canon. Finally the legacy of Washington and the revolutionary generation helped to legitimize slavery since white Americans were considered to have fought for their freedom as opposed to slaves who were nothing more than passive agents. I would reccomend this book for anyone who wants to see a darker side of this country's fetish with the founding fathers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and Illuminating, September 8, 2010

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation (Paperback)

Dealing with first fifty years after the American Revolution "In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation" asks the question, how did an entity as diverse geographically and culturally, to say nothing of socially or economically, as the United States unify into a single nation? Historian François Furstenberg gives an intriguing answer, the persona of George Washington served to full disparate threads together as his words, image, and mythical standing served as a touchstone for national identity.

Furstenberg analyzes what he calls "civic texts" to show the coalescence of a national identity. These include the words and images of the founding fathers, especially George Washington, which circulated throughout the nation in newspapers, pamphlets, almanacs, books, and paintings ranging from high art to primitive cartoons. They served to narrate a collective national spirit, in the process drawing the regions of the United States together.

Center stage in this story is the great national scar of slavery and its place in public life and private virtue. The civic texts that Furstenberg emphasizes show this clearly. This analysis is insightful in that it shows how republicanism in the early national period sought a reconciliation of its prerogatives of liberty and justice with the reality of slavery in the new nation. This irony is too great to ignore, and the place of George Washington as a slaveholder was central to successfully tying the two together. A real problem came among non-slaveholders, especially in the North, who refused to accept republicanism as legitimately supportive of slavery, thereby setting up the great crusade of the nineteenth century.

This is a powerful and evocative, as well as illuminating, book.