Recent Themes in Early American History

This collection of recent essays and interviews from Historically Speaking demonstrates that traditional approaches still foster fresh understanding of the early American past and that original contributions to oft-studied topics continue to be made. The volumes centerpiece is a lively forum on disjunctions between colonial and revolutionary historiography. Other pieces assess the divergent interests of academics and lay readers on the subject of the founding fathers, explore the emergence of American nationalism, examine notions of sustainability in colonial agriculture, map links between culinary history and national identity, and make new inroads into a host of standard topics, including the legacy of Jamestown and Plymouth, the end of Puritanism, and higher education in the colonies. The book serves as a companion text for related courses on American history as well as an entrance point for savvy general readers.