Year: 1971
Type: article
Abstract: aborigin al past as w ell as in its own colonial heritage.E ven more, the country's first generation w ith leisure for sustained cultural activity was finding personal fulfillm ent in history.O u t of this regard for the past developed a h igh ly coherent set o f subjects, themes, m ethods, and uses of history w hich reflected the preoccupations and aspirations o f the nation.T h e Am erican idea of history com bined H egelian philosophical assumptions and R om an tic literary techniques w ith im m ediate concerns about m orality, G od, liberty, progress, and the n ation al mission.A m eri cans were especially convinced of the u tility o f history, its social use in supporting accepted values, its personal u tility in extend ing hum an experience, and its philosophical u tility in p ointin g m en tow ard an ultim ate reality w hich was closely akin to m elan choly.T h e idea o f history possessed a unity w hich helped give the R om an tic period coherence.H ow ever, w hen the structure weakened at any one point-when historical controversy ap peared-the entire edifice collapsed together.M any people have aided me.Professor H erm an A u su bel o f C olu m bia U niversity stim ulated m y interest in historiography, and Professor Fletcher M. G reen o f the U niversity o f N orth C arolina guided me in d eveloping this topic as a dissertation.A m on g the m any colleagues who have offered valu able criticism, I am especially indebted to Professor D avid H .
Source: The American Historical Review
DOI: 10.2307/1851739
Authors: Robert Cruden, George H. Callcott
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2041146089