Indians in "Main-Street" by Nathaniel HawthorneMaterials prepared by: |
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Cathy Eaton, Department of English |
Joseph R. Modugno, Department of English |
The Squaw Sachem Sells Her Land to John Winthrop (courtesy of the Town of Winchester, MA) |
In "Main-Street" Nathaniel Hawthorne recounts a reasonably accurate record of 17th century Salem. His portrayal of the changing role of Indians in this one-hundred-year period is romanticized and sometimes close to caricatures as first he describes Indians as noble savages and later as stumbling drunks.
"Main-Street" is a narrative history of the metamorphosis of a pathway through a primordial, untouched forest barely trodden by moccasined Indians into a busy main-street thoroughfare that winds through a large, bustling town trodden by increasingly sophisticated white settlers. In the story a showman turns the crank of a picture show that captures a 100- year history of a single spot in New England to an audience which includes a critical viewer who mocks the poor workmanship of the cardboard people and buildings while he belittles the story-teller's condensed portrayal of people important to the region.
Hawthorne romanticizes the "majestic and queenly" Squaw Sachem and her husband, the chief Wappacowet, as noble redmen who naively imagine that their life styles and forested homes will endure forever. Then Hawthorne recounts the decline and disappearance of the Indian who appear originally as the majestic inhabitants of the wilderness before they become trappers who sell animal skins to the white settlers and who finally deteriorate into being drunken Indians who have succumbed to firewater. Hawthorne celebrates nature, laments its disappearance, and hints that eventually wilderness may return and reclaim the industrialized town.
According to Margaret Moore in The Salem World of Nathaniel Hawthorne (16-17), Hawthorne read voraciously about the past. She believes his historical account to be based on thorough research.
Hawthorne's sketch, "Main-Street," illustrates his grasp of that history. One of the few pieces he wrote while he was surveyor at the Salem Custom House, it first appeared in Elizabeth Palmer Peabody's Aesthetic Papers in 1849 and was collected in The Snow Image and Other Twice Told Tales in 1851. All can be documented in the historical record. Hawthorne had learned it from Thomas Hutchinson or William Bentley, or from Joseph Barlow Felt. His retelling of that history should not be overlooked (Moore 17). (courtesy of University of Missouri Press)
In "Main Street" (1852) Hawthorne repeats the theme that Indians will gradually disappear as the white race takes over the wilderness which will also vanish.
In his Journal of 1837, at 33, Hawthorne wrote:
Our Indian races having reared no monuments, like the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, when they have disappeared from the earth their history will appear a fable, and they misty phantoms.
(from The Heart of Hawthorne's Journals, Edited by Newton Arvin)(courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Co.)
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Fiction Related to Indians in "Main Street"
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Non-fiction Related to Indians in "Main Street"
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Deeds and Records
Maps
Illustrations, Title Pages, and Autographs
Introduction to the Indian Deed to Salem, 1686 (courtesy of the Salem City Clerk's Office)
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The Indian Deed to Salem, 1686 Full view of The Indian Deed to Salem, 1686 |
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Indian Names on the Salem Deed, 1686 Detail of the Indian Deed to Salem, 1686. The marks of Sam Wuttaanoh, John Tontohqunne and Cicely Petaghuncksq are shown. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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The Indian Deed to Salem, 1686 Back side of The Indian Deed to Salem, 1686 |
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The Squaw Sachem's Mark. Detail of an early document showing the bow and arrow that was the Squaw Sachem's Mark. The words identifying the "signature" were written by a clerk. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Indian Signatures from Early Massachusetts Documents Indian Signatures from Sidney Perley's History of Salem, Massachusetts. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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This is William Wood's map, taken from his book, New England's Prospect,which includes one of the earliest descriptive accounts of Salem, Massachusetts, the local Indians, and the natural environment. |
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Indian Lands and Localities in Essex County Massachusetts Map of Essex County, Massachusetts from Sidney Perley's Indian Deeds of Essex County, 1912, showing Indian place names and tribal areas. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Map of Indian Lands and Localities in Essex County Massachusetts Map of Essex County, Massachusetts from Sidney Perley's Indian Deeds of Essex County (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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The First "Main Street": Site of the Old Planters Settlement at Naumkeag This map illustrates the site of the first English settlement in Naumkeag. Here Roger Conant came with his companions in the autumn of 1626. |
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Map of New England in 1640 This map of New England in 1640 shows the region's major towns and settlements. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Essex County, Massachusetts in 1643. This map illustrates the first towns or "plantations" in northeastern Massachusetts. |
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Relief Map of Salem Relief map of Salem from Sidney Perley's The History of Salem Massachusetts (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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"The Ancient Ways" of Essex County The old roads of the Salem area from Sidney Perley's The History of Salem Massachusetts (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Endecott Lands, Danvers (Salem Village) John Endecott Lands in Danversport Area (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Detail of W. P. Upham's Map of Salem Village, 1692 (1866) Detail of W. P. Upham's Map of Salem Village, 1692 (1866), showing the Old Log Bridge and the Indian Crossing on the Ipswich River in Middleton. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Indian Village (From Hariot's "Relation") Illustration from A Popular History of the United States by William Cullen Bryant. New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1896. (courtesy of The Boston Public Library.) |
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Title Page, "Eulogy on King Philip" by William Apes, 1836. Rev. William Apes, "Eulogy on King Philip" |
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Title Page, Hubbard's Troubles with the Indians, 1677. Title Page, Hubbard's Troubles with the Indians, 1677. (courtesy of The American Antiquarian Society.) |
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Title Page, Increase Mather's Brief History of the Indian Wars, 1676. Title Page, Increase Mather's Brief History of the Indian Wars, 1676. (courtesy of The American Antiquarian Society.) |
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Roger Conant Autograph The Autograph of Roger Conant (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Cover of Main- Street by Nathaniel Hawthorne with introduction by Julian Hawthorne (1901) Kirgate Press, Lewis Budd 3rd, at "Hillside" in Canton, PA (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine) |
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Title page of Main Street with introduction by Julian Hawthorne (1901) Kirgate Press, Lewis Budd 3rd, at "Hillside" in Canton, PA (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine) |
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Introduction to Main Street by Julian Hawthorne (p. 5)(1901) Kirgate Press, Lewis Budd 3rd, at "Hillside" in Canton, PA (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine) |
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Introduction to Main Street by Julian Hawthorne (p. 6)(1901) Kirgate Press, Lewis Budd 3rd, at "Hillside" in Canton, PA (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine) |
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Introduction to Main Street by Julian Hawthorne (p. 7)(1901) Kirgate Press, Lewis Budd 3rd, at "Hillside" in Canton, PA (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine) |
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Introduction to Main Street by Julian Hawthorne (p. 8)(1901) Kirgate Press, Lewis Budd 3rd, at "Hillside" in Canton, PA (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine) |
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Introduction to Main Street by Julian Hawthorne (p. 9)(1901) Kirgate Press, Lewis Budd 3rd, at "Hillside" in Canton, PA (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine) |
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Introduction to Main Street by Julian Hawthorne (p. 10)(1901) Kirgate Press, Lewis Budd 3rd, at "Hillside" in Canton, PA (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine) |
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Pouch with Tassels Deerskin Pouch with Fur, Porcupine Quills, and Metal Chimes. Pawtucket Indian Artist. 17th Century. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Pouch with Tassels Deerskin Pouch with Fur, Porcupine Quills, and Metal Chimes. Pawtucket Indian Artist. 17th Century. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Black Stone Bear Black Stone Bear. Igneous Rock. Pawtucket Indian Artist. Ca. 16th Century (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Tray by unidentified Huron artist c. 1840 made of birchbark, moosehair, pigment, and thread "The design combines Native American beliefs about living harmoniously in the natural environment with an idealized view of nature in European art of the period. Beginning in the seventeenth century, Native American women learned European embroidery techniques at covent schools in Canada established to convert and educate them." (from exhibit notes, "Painted with Thread," Peabody Essex Museum, August 2001) (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Iroquois Ball-mouth War club, 19th Century. The club is painted red on one side, black on the other. There is sheet brass decoration on the sides of ball and scalloped carving on the handle edge behind ball. Two small leather bags hang from the top of the club, a leather thong through the base. The “GA-JE-WA” was a heavy weapon, usually made of ironwood, with a large ball of knot at the head. It was generally about two feet in length, and the base five or six inches in diameter. In close combat it would prove a formidable weapon. Courtesy of The New York State Museum: The University Of the State of New York |
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Iroquois Deer-Antler War Club, 19th Century. This type of war club was commonly used. In the lower edge, a sharp-pointed deer's antler, about four inches in length, was inserted to create a dangerous weapon that would inflict a deep wound in close combat. Courtesy of The New York State Museum: The University Of the State of New York |
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Detail of a 19th Century Iroquois Wampum Belt ("kaswénhta") This is a close-up of the "Lewis H. Morgan Belt," made of shell wampum beads and bound with blue and pink silk damask on each end. There are nine open white diamonds and one open square on a purple background. It was made for Morgan at the Tonawanda Reservation, using beads he bought from the daughter of Joseph Brant. The white and purple shell beads known as wampum had great ritual value among the Iroquois. Wampum was presented as gifts on special occasions such as funerals, and might be used as reparation for crimes such as murder. Wampum belts were used to commemorate important events such as treaties; their designs relayed messages related to the particular event. The word wampum is not of Iroquois origin. . . . It was first known in New England as “Wampumpeag, “ from which its Algonquin [Algonquian] derivation is to be inferred. Courtesy of The New York State Museum: The University Of the State of New York |
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Virginia Indians by John White Detail of Virginia Indians by John White |
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Early Drawing of American Indians Early Drawing of American Indians |
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Nesouaquoit (Sauk and Fox) Nesouaquoit (Sauk and Fox), McKenney and Hall Folio Plate (courtesy of The Philadelphia Print Shop.) |
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An Indian Dance From The Histoire of Travaile into Virginia Britannia by William Strachey, Gent. |
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Indian Village (From Hariot's "Relation") Illustration from A Popular History of the United States by William Cullen Bryant. New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1896. (courtesy of The Boston Public Library.) |
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The Squaw Sachem Sells Her Land to John Winthrop Mural of Squaw Sachem selling land that becomes Winchester, Massachusetts to John Winthrop by Aiden L. Ripley in the Winchester Public Library (courtesy of the Town of Winchester, MA) |
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Reproduction of an Old Style Algonquin Indian Birchbark Canoe. Sixteen Feet Long. Made by Henri Vaillancourt, Greenville, NH. This traditional Algonquin birchbark canoe is based on a centuries-old design and is an example of a type of canoe used by New England Indians. (courtesy of Henri Vaillancourt.) |
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Abenaki Style Birch Bark Canoe. This Abenaki style birch bark canoe was made by Henri Vaillancourt, Greenville, NH, using traditonal materials and methods. A similar example is in the Peabody Essex Museum collection. (courtesy of Henri Vaillancourt.) |
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William Wood, New England's Prospect, 1634. The title page of William Wood's New England's Prospect, which includes some of the first English desciptions of the Indians and the flora and fauna of Essex County, Massachusetts. The work, published in London in 1634, includes advice and cautions to prospective settlers and some of New England's first nature poetry. Wood visited Salem in 1629, when John Endecott was still heading the small group of settlers before the arrival of John Winthrop in 1630. With Winthrop came more than a thousand followers and the royal charter that marked the beginning of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the founding of Boston. |
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The Roger Conant (1592-1679) Statue at Washington Square North Roger Conant was among the group of settlers called the Old Planters who left Cape Ann in 1626 to settle in Salem, then called Nahum-Keike by the Indians and later, Naumkeag. Hawthorne mentions this first settler of Salem in "Main-Street," calling Conant "...of that class of men who do not merely find, but make, their place in the system of human affairs; a man of thoughtful strength...." Hawthorne depicts Conant and his wife as having projected "...an Eden in their hearts..." onto their new home in Naumkeag. (photography by Bruce Hibbard) |
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Roger Conant Autograph The Autograph of Roger Conant (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Site of the Old Planters Settlement at Salem The site of "the Old Planters" houses in Salem. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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View of the "Northfields" section of Salem. A view of "Northfields," across from Salem Neck, the site of the original settlement by Salem's "Old Planters." The Northfields section of Salem (extending from Salem's North River north to Peabody and Danversport) was the place where, according to Rev. John Higginson, the remnants of the once-populous Naumkeag Indians had their "Towne of Wigwams" in the 1620s. It was also the place where both Indians and Salem's first English settlers planted their corn. (Photography by Joseph R. Modugno) |
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Pioneer Village Postcard Pioneer Village Postcard Courtesy of Dark Horse Antiques, Dorchester, MA Darkhorseantiques@verizon.net |
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Pioneer Village Postcard Pioneer Village Postcard Courtesy of Dark Horse Antiques, Dorchester, MA Darkhorseantiques@verizon.net |
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Pioneer Village Postcard Pioneer Village Postcard Courtesy of Dark Horse Antiques, Dorchester, MA Darkhorseantiques@verizon.net |
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Pioneer Village Postcard Pioneer Village Postcard Courtesy of Dark Horse Antiques, Dorchester, MA Darkhorseantiques@verizon.net |
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Portrait of Governor John Endecott (1588?-1665) In 1628 John Endecott came to Naumkeag with a patent for land and a group of about 60 settlers. They joined Roger Conant and "the Old Planters" (members of the failed Cape Ann settlement of 1624), who had established a settlement in 1626, along a sheltered cove facing what are now the North and Danvers Rivers in Salem. Endecott governed the colony until he was replaced by John Winthrop in 1630. This portrait was painted a few months before Endecott's death in 1665. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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John Endecott Family Burial Ground in Danvers, Massachusetts. The entrance to the Endecott Family Burial plot in Danvers. The burial ground overlooks the Crane River and is situated on a former campsite of the Naumkeag Indians. It has been used as a burial place since the 1650s and contains many of Governor Endecott's relatives, as well as two British soldiers who died while on duty in Danvers. (Photography by Joseph R. Modugno) |
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Pear Tree Brought from England and Planted in 1632 by Gov. John Endecott Endecott Pear Tree Danvers, Massachusetts Frank Cousins Photo, 1891. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Early Seal of Massachusetts Bay Colony Seal of Massachusetts Bay Colony, in use 1629-1684. This silver seal was first used by Gov. John Endecott. The Indian's words, "Come over and help us," express the early missionary purpose behind English colonization. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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John Winthrop (1588-1649), Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1630-1649, engraving On June 12, 1630, John Winthrop, on board the flagship Arbella, landed at Naumkeag (Salem) and replaced John Endecott as governor. Soon after, Winthrop and his fleet of ships and Puritan colonists went on to "Mystic River" (Charlestown) and then to the Shawmut Peninsula (Boston). With the coming of Winthrop and the founding of Massachusetts Bay Colony, the "Puritan Experiment" in New England began. Rapid settlement occurred between 1630 and 1642, when approximately 21,000 English immigrants arrived in New England. The Puritan emigrants and their descendants set out to create a society based on Scripture, and as John Winthrop declared, one that should be a "Model of Christian Charity," "a city upon a hill." From vol. 1 , S. Perley's The History of Salem Massachusetts, 1924, p. 188 (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Engraving of Salem from John W. Barber's Collections, 1839, Worcester Salem View, 1839. Looking North on Washington Street from the intersection of Front Street. City Hall is the building with pillars on the right. |
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King Philip of Mount Hope by Paul Revere Metacom (or Metacomet), whom the English called King Philip, was the son of Massasoit and the Wampanoag sachem who led the uprising against the English between 1675-76. "King Philip's War," as the English named it, was one of the most economically and psychologically devastating events in New England history. Massacres and property destruction raged all over New England. It ended with Metacom shot to death in a Rhode Island swamp and the breakup of the Indian nations of eastern Massachusetts. Metacom's body was quartered and the parts hung from trees. His decapitated head was staked on a pole in Plymouth Colony, where it remained on view for more than twenty-five years. In his History of the War, Increase Mather commented with satisfaction that Philip was “hewed in pieces before the Lord.” (courtesy of The American Antiquarian Society.) |
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"Death of King Philip" From Heroism of Hannah Duston : together with the Indian Wars of New England, 1874, by Robert Boodey Caverly (1806-1887). |
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Portrait of Cotton Mather (1663-1723) Cotton Mather was one of Puritan New England's most influential ministers and leaders. He was famous for his writings, histories such as Magnalia Christi Americana and those that helped stir up support for the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692. He also promoted learning and early scientific knowledge in New England. He worked for acceptance of the smallpox vaccine and wrote a treatise on medicine called The Angel of Bethesda. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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Cotton Mather Portrait of Cotton Mather from Perley's History of Salem, Massachusetts. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA) |
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The Death of Jane McCrea" by John Vanderlyn 1804 The Death of Jane McCrea by John Vanderlyn 1804 |
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American Progress by John Gast 1872 American Progress by John Gast 1872 |
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Indian Chief Contemplating the Progress of Civilization Indian Chief Contemplating the Progress of Civilization |
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Cover of Main- Street by Nathaniel Hawthorne with introduction by Julian Hawthorne (1901) Kirgate Press, Lewis Budd 3rd, at "Hillside" in Canton, PA (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine) |
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Frontispiece depicting Main Street(Essex Street) in Salem from Main-Street by Nathaniel Hawthorne with introduction by Julian Hawthorne (1901)Kirgate Press, Lewis Budd 3rd, at "Hillside" in Canton, PA (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine) |
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The Squaw Sachem Sells Her Land to John Winthrop (courtesy of the Town of Winchester, MA) |
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The Squaw Sachem Sells Her Land to John Winthrop (courtesy of the Town of Winchester, MA) |
1. Explore Activities Related to “Main-Street”
A.) Images of American Indians
Make some observations on the portrayal of American Indians and the Indian-White relationship in these 19th century illustrations and art works. Categorize the ways Indians are presented during this period. As you view the images, it's important to remember that they present Indians through Euro-American imagination and ideology. Consider the following questions while analyzing individual illustrations or art works: What is emphasized in the work? What ideas and values are evident? What emotions does the work appeal to or communicate?
B.) The following websites provide additional American art images and articles on American art history.
C.) Artwork by American Indians of the Northeast
In the oral cultures of American Indians, artwork serves as a visual language that expresses the lives and worldviews of the people. Through signs and symbols, function and form each work speaks or tells a story rich in history and belief. Study the following images and observe on the form and design of each; consider the materials, as well. Describe what you find aesthetically pleasing or interesting. Explain how the object provides insight into the lifeways and culture, the beliefs and values of the creator. Make note of symbols or decorative motifs that you see as important or puzzling. In the 19th century, Euro-American ideas of "art" defined American Indian creations as "craft"-expressions of the primitive or naïve-not as sophisticated as the "high" art of the Western world. Do you agree? Collectively, how might these works, tell a different story, and offer an alternative view to the "official" white explanations of Indians and early American history?
D.) The following websites and links provide additional images of American Indian art and articles on American Indian traditions and artistic expression.
The Squaw Sachem Sells Her Land to John Winthrop (courtesy of the Town of Winchester, MA) |
"Maine, Indian Land Speculation, and the Essex County Witchcraft Outbreak of 1692," article by Dr. Emerson W. Baker and Dr. James Kences from Maine History, volume 40, number 3, Fall 2001 (pp. 159-189). (Please do not cite or reproduce without permission of the authors; write to Professor Baker at: ebaker@maine.rr.com )
"Thoreau's Last Words-- and America's First Literatures" article by Jarold Ramsey in Redefining American Literary History, Edited by A. LaVonne Brown Ruoff & Jerry W. Ward, Jr. The Modern Language Association, New York, 1990. pp. 52-61.
Jarold Ramsey, supports the ongoing movement of revising the American literary canon to include silenced or marginalized voices, such as the American Indian. Ramsey points out that American Indians, though often portrayed in our national literataure, are the product of the white man's imagination, not the Indian's. In fact, Ramsey concludes, even Thoreau (and more so, Hawthorne, we should add), who comes close at times in The Maine Woods to grasping the "aboriginal experience," lacks "the imagination of native origins and [is] incapable of speaking or comprehending the first languages of the land." Nathaniel Hawthorne's treatment--and lack of treatment--of the Native American in his body of work must be considered when reading this essay.
"The Ideal Identity: Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Loss of Native American Culture," paper delivered by Greg Stone, Dept. of English, University of Tulsa, at the conference of the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society, in Concord, MA, June 12, 2010.