Benson J. Lossing and Historical Writing in the United States: 1830-1890

by Harold Mahan

Overview

Benson J. Lossing (1813-1891), whose career as a populizer of United States history spanned nearly sixty years, is the focus of this study of the production and uses of history in nineteenth-century American culture. After an introduction on relevant theory and methodology and the background for American historical writing, nine chronological chapters trace Lossing's career from an impoverished youth in rural New York through a thirty-year sojourban in New York City and later periods of voluminous writing. A conclusion discusses how Lossing's reputation suffered after the rise of academic historians who perceived him as lacking scholarly exactitude.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313288067
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/20/1996
Series:	Studies in Historiography , #4
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

HAROLD E. MAHAN is Professor of American Studies at Minnesota Bible College.

Table of Contents

Scribblers and Scholars: An Introduction
A Spark Flamed: 1813-1838
Historian on the Make: 1838-1841
A Career Revived: 1841-1848
From Dan to Beersheba: The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution
Worth a Dozen Plutarchs: The 1850s
Patriotic Lore: Lossing's Civil War
With Redoubled Efforts: 1868-1880
Decline and Fall: 1881-1891
More (or Less) Than a Historian? Lossing's Legacies
Bibliographic Essay
Index

Editorial Reviews

An intellectual biography of historical popularizer Lossing (1813-1891), using his career to illuminate how middle-class Americans of the 19th century read, wrote, and thought about the country's past. Also seeks to define whether he was a significant scholar or just a good writer who happened to find a topic of interest to the reading public. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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