Bluegrass Renaissance: The History and Culture of Central Kentucky, 1792-1852

by James C. Klotter (Editor), Daniel Rowland (Editor), Stephen Aron (Contribution by), Shearer Davis Bowman (Contribution by), Gerald L. Smith (Contribution by)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813136073
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	08/09/2012
Pages:	378
Sales rank:	1,233,278
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Daniel Rowland is associate professor of history at the University of Kentucky and has published numerous articles on art, architecture, and political culture in early modern Russia as well as contributing to the Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History.

James C. Klotter is professor of history at Georgetown College and the State Historian of Kentucky. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including A Concise History of Kentucky and A New History of Kentucky.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 Overview and Comparisons

1 Central Kentucky's "Athens of the West" Image in the Nation and in History James C. Klotter 11

2 Putting Kentucky in Its Place Stephen Aron 36

3 Kentucky's "Athens of the West" Viewed in a "Distant Mirror" Shearer Davis Bowman 53

Part 2 Facets of Life

4 Slavery and Abolition in Kentucky: "'Patter-rollers' were everywhere" Gerald L. Smith 75

5 "Mrs. Boone, I presume?" In Search of the Idea of Womanhood in Kentucky's Early Years Randolph Hollingsworth 93

6 "A richer land never seen yet": Horse Country and the "Athens of the West" Maryjean Wall 131

7 Three Central Kentuckians, the "Bone" of Political Office, and the Kentucky Exodus, 1792-1852 Mark V. Wetherington 158

Part 3 Science, Arts, and Education

8 Jewels in the Crown: Civic Pride and Educational Institutions in the Bluegrass, 1792-1852 John R. Thelin 181

9 Horace Holley and the Straggle for Kentucky's Mind and Soul Tom Eblen Mollie Eblen 204

10 Living Hills: The Frontier Science of Rafinesque Matthew F. Clarke 222

11 Lexington Limners: Portrait Painters in the "Athens of the West" Estill Curtis Pennington 240

12 Public Music Making, Concert Life, and Composition in Kentucky during the Early National Period Nikos Pappas 264

13 Benjamin Henry Latrobe and Neoclassical Lexington Patrick Snadon 286

Afterword Jim Gray 344

List of Contributors 347

Index 351

Editorial Reviews

"This excellent collectiotn of essays seeks to address an important, but understudied, time priod in Kentucky history during which Lexington and its surrounding areas were at their zenith both culturally and economically. This is a highly readable volume that should appeal to any person interested in the state's history, that should become the standard 'go-to' text on this era in Kentucky for many years to come."—Anne Marshall, author of Creating a Confederate Kentucky: The Lost Cause and Civil War Memory in a Border State" —

"The essays well testify to the breadth and high quality of work being undertaken on early Kentucky." — Matthew G. Schoenbachler, author of Murder and Madness: The Myth of the Kentucky Tragedy

"These excellent essays now comprise the most comprehensive view of Lexington's golden age in all its many facets while extorting the individuals who molded it into something great. In the end one understands why Lexington had a Latrobe house — the most sophisticated house designed in federal America — for it symbolized an earned preeminence. In time its preeminence faded but in these essays Lexington continues to teach us by revealing its strengths and weaknesses its success and failures which speak to our own." — John E. Kleber, editor of The Kentucky Encyclopedia and The Encyclopedia of Louisville

"Recipient of Clay Lancaster Herritage Education Award for their service in researching and disseminating information about Central Kentucky." — Lexington Herald-Leader

"Taken as a whole, the collection is a treasure trove of references for the student of Kentucky history, and it introduces new fields of research and reflection. It is a great addition to the historiography and a welcome complement to earlier edited collections published by the University Press of Kentucky." — Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"[...] The well-crafted and well-researched essays illuminate the unique culture that flourished in the Central Bluegrass region during the antebellum era. Individuals who research and teach Kentucky history in the state's universities and public schools will find in these chapters a wealth of information and insight to share with their classes. Bluegrass Renaissance is an exemplary book, a credit to its publisher. The essays within its covers add to our understanding of the antebellum cultural milieu that made the Bluegrass frontier an exciting and unique region." — Indiana Magazine of History

From the Publisher