Spectacular men : race, gender, and nation on the early American stage

In __Spectacular Men__, Sarah E. Chinn investigates how working class white men looked to the early American theatre for examples of ideal manhood. Theatre-going was the primary source of entertainment for working people of the early Republic and the Jacksonian period, and plays implicitly and explicitly addressed the risks and rewards of citizenship. Ranging from representations of the heroes of the American Revolution to images of doomed Indians to plays about ancient Rome, Chinn unearths dozens of plays rarely read by critics. __Spectacular Men__ places the theatre at the center of the self-creation of working white men, as voters, as workers, and as Americans. In Spectacular Men, Sarah E. Chinn investigates how working class white men looked to the early American theatre for examples of ideal manhood. Theatre-going was the primary source of entertainment for working people of the early Republic and the Jacksonian period, and plays implicitly and explicitly addressed the risks and rewards of citizenship. Ranging from representations of the heroes of the American Revolution to images of doomed Indians to plays about ancient Rome, Chinn unearths dozens of plays rarely read by critics. Spectacular Men places the theatre at the center of the self-creation of working white men, as voters, as workers, and as Americans.--Publisher's website Cover 1 Spectacular Men 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: “Advancing the interests of private and political virtue”: The Stakes of the Early American Stage 16 1. “The Imitation of Life”: How Men Act 46 2. American Actors/​Acting American 63 3. “O patriotism!/​ Thou wond’rous principle of god-​like action!”: The Changing Meanings of the Revolution 99 4. Love and Death: Staging Indigenous Masculinity 141 5. Tyrants, Republicans, and Rebels: Performing Roman Masculinities 186 Epilogue: From Sons of Liberty to Wage Slaves 225 Notes 230 Works Cited 248 Index 256 Introduction: advancing the interests of private and political virtue: the stakes of the early American stage -- The imitation of life: how men act -- American actors/acting American -- O patriotism!/ thou wond'rous principle of God-like action!: the changing meanings of the Revolution -- Love and death: staging indigenous masculinity -- Tyrants, republicans, and rebels: performing Roman masculinities -- Epilogue: from sons of liberty to wage slaves. Sarah E. Chinn. Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-240) and index.