Bluegrass renaissance : the history and culture of central Kentucky, 1792-1852

Originally established in 1775 the town of Lexington, Kentucky grew quickly into a national cultural center amongst the rolling green hills of the Bluegrass Region. Nicknamed the "Athens of the West," Lexington and the surrounding area became a leader in higher education, visual arts, architecture, and music, and the center of the horse breeding and racing industries. The national impact of the Bluegrass was further confirmed by prominent Kentucky figures such as Henry Clay and John C. Breckinridge. Bluegrass Renaissance: The History and Culture of Central Kentucky, 1792-1852 , chronicles Lexington's development as one of the most important educational and cultural centers in America during the first half of the nineteenth century. Editors Daniel Rowland and James C. Klotter gather leading scholars to examine the successes and failures of Central Kentuckians from statehood to the death of Henry Clay, in an investigation of the area's cultural and economic development and national influence. Bluegrass Renaissance is an interdisciplinary study of the evolution of Lexington's status as antebellum Kentucky's cultural metropolis. Part 1. Overview and Comparisons Central Kentucky's "Athens of the West" Image in the Nation and in History / James C. Klotter Putting Kentucky in Its Place / Stephen Aron Kentucky's "Athens of the West" Viewed in a "Distant Mirror" / Shearer Davis Bowman Part 2. Facets of Life Slavery and Abolition in Kentucky : "Patter-rollers were everywhere" / Gerald L. Smith "Mrs. Boone, I presume?" : In Search of the Idea of Womanhood in Kentucky's Early Years / Randolph Hollingsworth "A richer land never seen yet" : Horse Country and the "Athens of the West" / Maryjean Wall Three Central Kentuckians, the "Bone" of Political Office, and the Kentucky Exodus, 1792-1852 / Mark V. Wetherington Part 3. Science, Arts, and Education Jewels in the Crown : Civic Pride and Educational Institutions in the Bluegrass, 1792-1852 / John R. Thelin Horace Holley and the Struggle for Kentucky's Mind and Soul / Tom Eblen and Mollie Eblen Living Hills : The Frontier Science of Rafinesque / Matthew F. Clarke Lexington Limners : Portrait Painters in the "Athens of the West" / Estill Curtis Pennington Public Music Making, Concert Life, and Composition in Kentucky during the Early National Period / Nikos Pappas Benjamin Henry Latrobe and Neoclassical Lexington / Patrick Snadon Afterword / by Jim Gray.

Originally established in 1775 the town of Lexington, Kentucky grew quickly into a national cultural center amongst the rolling green hills of the Bluegrass Region. Nicknamed the "Athens of the West," Lexington and the surrounding area became a leader in higher education, visual arts, architecture, and music, and the center of the horse breeding and racing industries. The national impact of the Bluegrass was further confirmed by prominent Kentucky figures such as Henry Clay and John C. Breckinridge.

The Idea of the Athens of the West: Central Kentucky in American Culture, 1792-1852, chronicles Lexington's development as one of the most important educational and cultural centers in America during the first half of the nineteenth century. Editors Daniel Rowland and James C. Klotter gather leading scholars to examine the successes and failures of Central Kentuckians from statehood to the death of Henry Clay, in an investigation of the area's cultural and economic development and national influence. The Idea of the Athens of the West is an interdisciplinary study of the evolution of Lexington's status as antebellum Kentucky's cultural metropolis.

"Chronicles Lexington's development as one of the most important educational and cultural centers in America during the first half of the nineteenth century. Editors Daniel Rowland and James C. Klotter gather leading scholars to examine the successes and failures of Central Kentuckians from statehood to the death of Henry Clay, in an investigation of the area?s cultural and economic development and national influence. Bluegrass Renaissance is an interdisciplinary study of the evolution of Lexington's status as antebellum Kentucky's cultural metropolis."--Provided by publisher