| Description |
269 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm. |
| Series |
Early American studies
|
|
Early American studies.
|
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-255) and index. |
| Contents |
Introduction -- A Cohansey Home -- A Presbyterian Conversion -- Ambition -- Rural Enlightenment -- A Virginia Sojourn -- Revolution -- The Call of God -- Duty -- Conclusion -- Appendix: A Note on the Fithian Diaries. |
| Summary |
The Way of Improvement Leads Home traces the short but fascinating life of Philip Vickers Fithian. Born to Presbyterian grain-growers in rural New Jersey, he was never quite satisfied with the agricultural life he seemed destined to inherit. Fithian longed for something more- to improve himself in a revolutionary world that was making upward mobility possible. Fithian is best known for the diary that he wrote in 1773-74 while working as a tutor at Nomini Hall, the Virginia plantation of Robert Carter, and his role as a Revolutionary War chaplain. From the villages of New Jersey, Fithian was able to participate indirectly in the eighteenth-century republic of letters- a transatlantic intellectual community. Participation required a commitment to self-improvement that demanded a belief in the Enlightenment values of human potential and social progress. He constantly struggled to reconcile this quest for a cosmopolitan life with his love of home. It was the people, the religious culture, and the very landscape of his "native sod" that continued to hold Fithian's affections. |
| Subject |
Fithian, Philip Vickers, 1747-1776.
|
|
Fithian, Philip Vickers, 1747-1776. |
|
Diarists -- Virginia -- Biography.
|
|
Diarists. |
|
Virginia. |
| Genre/Form |
Biographies.
|
| Subject |
Tutors and tutoring -- Virginia -- Biography.
|
|
Tutors and tutoring. |
|
Presbyterians -- New Jersey -- Biography.
|
|
Presbyterians. |
|
New Jersey. |
|
Civil war -- Religious aspects -- Presbyterians. |
|
Virginia -- Social life and customs -- To 1775.
|
|
Manners and customs. |
| Chronological Term |
To 1775 |
| Subject |
Plantation life -- Virginia -- History -- 18th century.
|
|
Plantation life. |
|
History. |
| Chronological Term |
18th century |
| Subject |
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Chaplains.
|
|
Enlightenment -- United States.
|
|
Enlightenment. |
|
United States. |
|
American diaries -- History and criticism.
|
|
American diaries. |
|
United States -- Intellectual life -- 18th century.
|
|
Intellectual life. |
| Genre/Form |
Biographies.
|
| ISBN |
9780812241099 alkaline paper |
|
0812241096 alkaline paper |
|
9780812220599 paperback |
|
0812240618 |
|
9780812240610 |
|
