Past, present, and future: History and memory in New York City, 1800--1860

The first half of the nineteenth century saw New York City rise from a relatively small city to the largest metropolis in North America. The changes which affected the United States, from economic to demographic to cultural, appeared first in New York. New York City was a place of change and progres...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Steenshorne, Jennifer E.
Language:English
Published: 2002
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.7916/D8N58KZ8
id ndltd-columbia.edu-oai-academiccommons.columbia.edu-10.7916-D8N58KZ8
record_format oai_dc
spelling ndltd-columbia.edu-oai-academiccommons.columbia.edu-10.7916-D8N58KZ82019-05-09T15:14:58ZPast, present, and future: History and memory in New York City, 1800--1860Steenshorne, Jennifer E.2002ThesesCollective memoryHistoryHistoric preservationThe first half of the nineteenth century saw New York City rise from a relatively small city to the largest metropolis in North America. The changes which affected the United States, from economic to demographic to cultural, appeared first in New York. New York City was a place of change and progress. At the same time, a new concern with the history of the City and concern with preservation arose. This study will examine how the need to balance preservation with change, the need to create an identity for New York, and the need to set New York's place in the nation, were explored in the early historical discourse surrounding New York, from formal chronicles to acts of preservation. I have examined the preservation and publication efforts of the New-York Historical Society, Washington Irving's Knickerbocker History and its effect on New York's culture, local histories of New York City and State, and the controversies surrounding the removal of New York City's burial grounds in order to explore these issues. The attempt of the New-York Historical Society to act as custodians of the City's history raises the question of just whose history was to be preserved. Washington Irving's works brought the Dutch history of New York to life for many of its citizens more vividly than any archive, and introduced the Knickerbocker character as a New York type. Local histories of New York City and State explored the relationship between regions and the nation as a whole. The efforts of New Yorkers to deal with the removal of burial grounds from New York City's boundaries show how important the past, particularly the personal past, was to New Yorkers of all classes and ethnicities. Themes of civic memory, the relationship between public and private, ideas of a usable past, and the relationship between myth and history run throughout this material. The historical discourse surrounding the New York of today was shaped by the historical discourse of the early nineteenth century.Englishhttps://doi.org/10.7916/D8N58KZ8
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Collective memory
History
Historic preservation
spellingShingle Collective memory
History
Historic preservation
Steenshorne, Jennifer E.
Past, present, and future: History and memory in New York City, 1800--1860
description The first half of the nineteenth century saw New York City rise from a relatively small city to the largest metropolis in North America. The changes which affected the United States, from economic to demographic to cultural, appeared first in New York. New York City was a place of change and progress. At the same time, a new concern with the history of the City and concern with preservation arose. This study will examine how the need to balance preservation with change, the need to create an identity for New York, and the need to set New York's place in the nation, were explored in the early historical discourse surrounding New York, from formal chronicles to acts of preservation. I have examined the preservation and publication efforts of the New-York Historical Society, Washington Irving's Knickerbocker History and its effect on New York's culture, local histories of New York City and State, and the controversies surrounding the removal of New York City's burial grounds in order to explore these issues. The attempt of the New-York Historical Society to act as custodians of the City's history raises the question of just whose history was to be preserved. Washington Irving's works brought the Dutch history of New York to life for many of its citizens more vividly than any archive, and introduced the Knickerbocker character as a New York type. Local histories of New York City and State explored the relationship between regions and the nation as a whole. The efforts of New Yorkers to deal with the removal of burial grounds from New York City's boundaries show how important the past, particularly the personal past, was to New Yorkers of all classes and ethnicities. Themes of civic memory, the relationship between public and private, ideas of a usable past, and the relationship between myth and history run throughout this material. The historical discourse surrounding the New York of today was shaped by the historical discourse of the early nineteenth century.
author Steenshorne, Jennifer E.
author_facet Steenshorne, Jennifer E.
author_sort Steenshorne, Jennifer E.
title Past, present, and future: History and memory in New York City, 1800--1860
title_short Past, present, and future: History and memory in New York City, 1800--1860
title_full Past, present, and future: History and memory in New York City, 1800--1860
title_fullStr Past, present, and future: History and memory in New York City, 1800--1860
title_full_unstemmed Past, present, and future: History and memory in New York City, 1800--1860
title_sort past, present, and future: history and memory in new york city, 1800--1860
publishDate 2002
url https://doi.org/10.7916/D8N58KZ8
work_keys_str_mv AT steenshornejennifere pastpresentandfuturehistoryandmemoryinnewyorkcity18001860
_version_ 1719046475976015872