The popular books that brought Americans together in a common culture
The canon of popular American literature not only unified the culture, it helped create the national narrative of individualism and self-reliance.
The United States鈥� messy experiment in democracy is best understood not through the country鈥檚 highbrow literature or its founding documents, but through popular books that its inhabitants have read and consulted repeatedly. This is the argument put forward by historian Jess McHugh in her delightful debut, 鈥淎mericanon: An Unexpected U.S. History in Thirteen Bestselling Books.鈥�
The 13 books include: Noah Webster鈥檚 dictionary; 鈥淭he Old Farmer鈥檚 Almanac鈥�; 鈥淭he Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin鈥�; Emily Post鈥檚 鈥淓tiquette: In Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home鈥�; Dale Carnegie鈥檚 鈥淗ow to Win Friends and Influence People鈥�; 鈥淏etty Crocker鈥檚 Picture Cook Book鈥�; and several others. These books, she contends, helped create a shared culture in a sprawling country whose citizens lacked a common heritage.
For example, at a time when most Americans felt that spelling and grammar should adhere to British usage rules, famed lexicographer Noah Webster aspired to聽popularize a standardized form of American English. He聽believed that cultural independence from Britain was just as important as political independence. He laid out his vision for that new form in his 1783 speller, as well as in the colossal dictionary 鈥� first published in 1828 鈥� that is the forebear to today鈥檚 Merriam-Webster.
Webster aimed not only to free American English from British norms 鈥� for instance, by eliminating the 鈥渦鈥� in 鈥渃olour鈥� 鈥� but to harmonize the language of a regionally diverse young nation. 鈥淓ducation was the basis of national sentiment, and national sentiment was required for American survival, according to Webster,鈥� McHugh observes.
Just as an ostensibly objective reference book like Webster鈥檚 dictionary had a patriotic agenda, many of the titles McHugh covers were doing cultural or political work beneath the surface. 鈥淭he Old Farmer鈥檚 Almanac鈥� includes practical information on planting seasons and weather patterns in addition to recipes and more whimsical content. But in its early years, the almanac 鈥� which has been continuously published since 1792 鈥� also ennobled the independent yeoman farmer. He was depicted in its pages, in the author鈥檚 words, 鈥渁s self-sufficient, smart but not overly educated, patriotic, and civically engaged 鈥� all elements that would become foundations of the ideal early American.鈥�
The early 鈥淎lmanac鈥� also featured civic information, including court dates and names of congressmen. In doing so, McHugh writes, it 鈥渟tarted to weave a tradition of democracy into daily life for average Americans, physically tying together their farming cycles and the cycles of their government.鈥�
McHugh observes that many of the books in 鈥淎mericanon鈥� repressed dark truths about the American experience. Emily Post鈥檚 1922 tome on proper etiquette seemed to suggest that America was a meritocratic country without an aristocracy in which social mobility could be achieved simply by mastering a set of behavioral rules. But much remained unsaid in Post鈥檚 manual when it came to race and class. Calling American rules of manners 鈥渁 cruel trick,鈥� McHugh notes that Post herself attempted to have a woman stricken from the social register when it was discovered that her father was 鈥渃olored.鈥�
The titles in 鈥淎mericanon鈥� exalt virtues drawn from the country鈥檚 enduring national myths: individualism, self-reliance, thrift, and industry. The book鈥檚 chronological structure highlights notable ways in which certain themes have overlapped and evolved over time. In 鈥淗ow to Win Friends and Influence People,鈥� published as the country was emerging from the Great Depression, Carnegie renewed faith in the idea of the self-made man that was popularized in Benjamin Franklin鈥檚 rags-to-riches narrative. In Carnegie鈥檚 worldview, however, self-promotion was as integral to success as hard work.
And Catharine Beecher鈥檚 1869 handbook 鈥淭he American Woman鈥檚 Home鈥� 鈥� which was written with the help of her sister, 鈥淯ncle Tom鈥檚 Cabin鈥� author Harriet Beecher Stowe 鈥� made women and their domestic labor central to the moral health of the nation. The Betty Crocker cookbook, published almost a century later, promoted a similar message, but with a generous helping of consumerism added to the mix.
McHugh鈥檚 conclusions can be too pat, and her analysis occasionally lacks rigor. For instance, she writes that 鈥淏etty Crocker and General Mills are not single-handedly responsible for the revival of the cult of domesticity in midcentury America.鈥� This is not only obvious, but also calls attention to the fact that the author hasn鈥檛 addressed the many other forces in Cold War-era America which told women that their place was in the home.
Still, due in no small part to the appeal of its premise, 鈥淎mericanon鈥� is an edifying read, one that might lead readers to reconsider their own dog-eared American classics.