Sex and the Founding Fathers: The American Quest for a Relatable Past (Sexuality Studies)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.84 (710 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1439911037 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 232 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-04-09 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Tracing these commentaries on the Revolutionary Era's major political figures in Sex and the Founding Fathers, Thomas Foster shows how continual attempts to reveal the true character of these men instead exposes much more about Americans and American culture than about the Founders themselves. Sex and the Founding Fathers examines the remarkable and varied assessments of the intimate lives of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Gouverneur Morris from their own time to ours. Biographers, journalists, and satirists have long used the subject of sex to define the masculine character and politica
Drawing primarily from popular biographies, from the colonial era through present day, the book explores the ways biographers present their subjects in response to the times: strict Victorian morals, Freudian psychoanalysis, and contemporary attempts to embrace, rather than hide, all aspects of their lives. Foster addresses the glossing over of Washington’s lack of children (perhaps he was sterile, but god forbid he was impotent), the refashioning of Franklin’s Parisian affairs as the harmless” pleasures of a foxy grandpa,” and the romanticized marriage of John and Abigail Adamsthe Romeo and Juliet of the American Revolution”. "In this concise, engaging book, Foster (Sex and the Eighteenth-Century Man) explores the intimate lives of six Founding Fathers, and, more importantly, the way their sex lives have been presented
Scholars, Yes; Readers Looking for Historical Fun, Not So Much Titillating title, coquettish cover, and yet, as I read on, my enthusiasm became, well, rather flaccid.I loved the IDEA of this book, and the reason for it: "Unlike contemporary sex-scandalized politicians who can be removed from office and disappear from public view, we are stuck with the Founding Fathers. They are going nowhere, and so we rewrite and respin and reremember them in various ways to present them in a positive light."I received an Advance Read. Great for historians, not so much if you just want to know more about the founders. SE Stone Americans struggle to relate to the founding fathers of the United States. These men lived 250 years ago in a world and culture that differs so much from today’s. Thomas A. Foster argues that over the years, historians have molded the founding fathers to make them relatable for their contemporary audience. This meant that those biographies and papers may have ignored evidence or drawn conclusions when there was none in order to make the 18th century m. My review in the Minneapolis Star Tribune Carl Rollyson Americans and the biographers of America’s founding fathers have always wanted it both ways: to read and write about the nation’s great men as though they lived above personal desire, and yet were people just like everyone else. And yet, sexual scandal always dogged the framers of the Constitution, even before the struggle for independence.During the Revolutionary War, the British tried to tear away at George Washington’s reputation by sho