LEADER 05012nam 2200925Ia 450 001 9910787518703321 005 20211217002949.0 010 $a0-8122-0639-8 024 7 $a10.9783/9780812206395 035 $a(CKB)2670000000418324 035 $a(OCoLC)859161556 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10748745 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000967793 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11565832 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000967793 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10977088 035 $a(PQKB)11469722 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse27776 035 $a(DE-B1597)449724 035 $a(OCoLC)1013946162 035 $a(OCoLC)1029837340 035 $a(OCoLC)1032693844 035 $a(OCoLC)1037980215 035 $a(OCoLC)1041979219 035 $a(OCoLC)1046619372 035 $a(OCoLC)1047029122 035 $a(OCoLC)1049620715 035 $a(OCoLC)1054880536 035 $a(OCoLC)933291621 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780812206395 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3442210 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10748745 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL682429 035 $a(OCoLC)873028589 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3442210 035 $a(EXLCZ)992670000000418324 100 $a20130712d2008 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 14$aThe way of improvement leads home$b[electronic resource] $ePhilip Vickers Fithian and the rural Enlightenment in early America /$fJohn Fea 210 $aPhiladelphia [Pa.] $cUniversity of Pennsylvania Press$dc2008 215 $a1 online resource (278 p.) 225 0 $aEarly American Studies 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 0 $a1-322-51147-0 311 0 $a0-8122-2059-5 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [219]-255) and index. 327 $tFront matter --$tContents --$tIntroduction --$tChapter 1. A Cohansey Home --$tChapter 2. A Presbyterian Conversion --$tChapter 3. Ambition --$tChapter 4. Rural Enlightenment --$tChapter 5. A Virginia Sojourn --$tChapter 6. Revolution --$tChapter 7. The Call Of God --$tChapter 8. Duty --$tAppendix. A Note On The Fithian Diaries --$tNotes --$tIndex --$tAcknowledgments 330 $aThe Way of Improvement Leads Home traces the short but fascinating life of Philip Vickers Fithian, one of the most prolific diarists in early America. Born to Presbyterian grain-growers in rural New Jersey, he was never quite satisfied with the agricultural life he seemed destined to inherit. Fithian longed for something more-to improve himself in a revolutionary world that was making upward mobility possible. While Fithian is best known for the diary that he wrote in 1773-74 while working as a tutor at Nomini Hall, the Virginia plantation of Robert Carter, this first full biography moves beyond his experience in the Old Dominion to examine his inner life, his experience in the early American backcountry, his love affair with Elizabeth Beatty, and his role as a Revolutionary War chaplain.From the villages of New Jersey, Fithian was able to participate indirectly in the eighteenth-century republic of letters-a transatlantic intellectual community sustained through sociability, print, and the pursuit of mutual improvement. The republic of letters was above all else a rational republic, with little tolerance for those unable to rid themselves of parochial passions. Participation required a commitment to self-improvement that demanded a belief in the Enlightenment values of human potential and social progress. Although Fithian was deeply committed to these values, he constantly struggled to reconcile his quest for a cosmopolitan life with his love of home. As John Fea argues, it was the people, the religious culture, and the very landscape of his "native sod" that continued to hold Fithian's affections and enabled him to live a life worthy of a man of letters. 410 0$aEarly American studies. 606 $aAmerican diaries$xHistory and criticism 606 $aDiarists$zVirginia$vBiography 606 $aEnlightenment$zUnited States 606 $aPlantation life$zVirginia$xHistory$y18th century 606 $aPresbyterians$zNew Jersey$vBiography 606 $aTutors and tutoring$zVirginia$vBiography 607 $aUnited States$xHistory$yRevolution, 1775-1783$xChaplains 607 $aUnited States$xIntellectual life$y18th century 607 $aVirginia$xSocial life and customs$yTo 1775 610 $aAmerican History. 610 $aAmerican Studies. 615 0$aAmerican diaries$xHistory and criticism. 615 0$aDiarists 615 0$aEnlightenment 615 0$aPlantation life$xHistory 615 0$aPresbyterians 615 0$aTutors and tutoring 676 $a973.3/7 676 $aB 700 $aFea$b John$01543213 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910787518703321 996 $aThe way of improvement leads home$93826987 997 $aUNINA