ABSTRACT
Focusing on the changing cultural politics of the preservation movement, this article begins in the mid-nineteenth century with the campaign to preserve Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home, as a symbol of national union, republican motherhood, and cultural traditionalism. The essay segues into the development of (1) the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (and late-nineteenth-century themes of white supremacy, rule by the betters, and cultural regeneration), (2) the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (with the themes of early-twentieth-century WASP identity and patriotism, archaeological method, and post-medieval construction), (3) Colonial Williamsburg (with the themes of architectural aesthetics and corporate-style management), the National Park Service (with its male professionalism and bureaucratization), and Mystic Seaport (Yankee small towns and individualism). Many other sites and houses are introduced, but I emphasize throughout that the preservation movement is best understood by examining the changing cultural politics of the time.
