Sometimes, when I'm reading for class I get a little into my note-taking. This began around the time that I realized that the running commentary in my head could be manipulated, and used for good, rather than for evil. Instead of trying to suppress my own silly questions and sarcastic remarks, I began to write them down along with more serious notes, and among quotations that I wanted to highlight.
In my notes for this week, I have a quote from pg.53 of Starr, "As a result of limited education for women and the denial of literacy to slaves, three out of four people in colonial Virginia were 'largely or entirely confined within the oral medium'." Just underneath this quote, I'd added "yikes, doesn't paint a very pretty picture of Virginia" and below that "sometimes I think it's amazing that we, as a human race, survived as long as we did without modern technology".
Reading back through my notes in preparation for this week's blog post, I rolled my eyes at my cheeky commentary, but also felt that it reflected much of what I'd highlighted as important (or at least interesting to me) in this week's readings. I suspect that some of my confusion may be related to the way Starr reflects on history, but I found myself highlighting passages where I felt a genuine sense of wonder at the sheer ingenuity of early Americans. I know, right? That's pretty sappy stuff. As amazed as I was by early decisions about freedom of press, I was wowed even more by the way education played out….it's a bit of a bizarre feeling, really.
So, apparently, one of the lessons I am learning quite poignantly, is that I don't know diddly squat about history. And I'm about to make a slightly awkward transition, because what I'm referring to currently is a lack of knowledge about general history….but next I want to talk about someone I was surprised I'd never heard of: Matthew Lyon!
Okay first of all, Starr's description of Lyon: "a member of Congress and former printer from Vermont, who had come to America as an indentured servant and risen to political success partly by means of the newspaper he published"(79). How have I never heard of this guy?! And then later on? "Lyon was reelected to Congress while he was still in jail" (80). This may be a silly thing to point out, but why hasn't Leonardo DiCaprio played this dude in a movie yet? (and don't even get me started on his Wikipedia page….) Leave it to me to pinpoint this very brief moment in Starr's reading to obsess over, but there you have it. A glimpse into my weird psyche.
Finally, I found Starr's mention of when the newspapers began to refer to the colonists as "Americans" very interesting. This brought up a range of questions about identity and nationality, but it also made me wonder about the evolution of American slang, and how important the media is in shaping and helping create and perpetuate these ideas.
As far as my archive search went, I found my article in The Boston Weekly Magazine, Devoted to Morality, Literature, Biography, History, the Fine Arts…..(I thought this specification was funny - okay! We get it! You're very classy, Boston Weekly)-- and the article appeared on June 30, 1804. This piece is a letter from a reader, supposedly, who is responding to the Boston Weekly's call for examples of exceptional women, and it is called "Moral and Useful: Miranda- A Character".
"I have been pleased to observe in your useful Miscellany, an endeavor to promote the intellectual improvement of the female sex, by setting before them examples of virtue, fortitude, piety, and every commendable pursuit: I wish to assist your laudable design, but sending the character of a lady with whom I have the happiness to be acquainted, which I hope you will permit to appear in your Magazine."
The letter goes on to describe Miranda, who is "endowed with all the graces that can excite admiration, all those virtues that can command respect". The letter-writer clarifies that Miranda is "pleasing, rather than beautiful" and spends an entire paragraph describing her musical skills, "which lead[s] one to prefer a simple air performed by her to the most brilliant execution of a finished amateur" (even though her voice is not strong). Most importantly, however, is the "high cultivation" of Miranda's mind. The writer highlights not only Miranda's "extensive reading and knowledge of the world", but also mentions that she is careful to "adapt her conversation to the taste and understanding of her companions". I found this to be the most interesting bit of this letter, because it acknowledges that along with great knowledge of the world, there also comes a great responsibility to not be a jerk about it to others. This seems somewhat surprising to note, particularly for a female intellectual.
However, although Miranda is very well read, she is also the perfect domestic partner, and performs her service to her family "without ever appearing hurried or in confusion". Hence, most likely, her usefulness. While I thought that this article was surprising in that it included education as a point of notability in female character, it did spent its majority depicting a more traditional female role.
Hi Emilee, thanks for the great post. First, Lyon is not a widely known figure, so I doubt many have heard of him outside a small circle of scholars. But he fits Starr's argument of American exceptionalism. It is this argument that has gathered the most response. Is he simply waving the flag as a marketing ploy, or is he really revealing some of the central differences between early American media development and European models? I tend to think he is accomplishing the latter, though he leaves out much that complicates his argument. Great post!. dw
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