Reviewed by:

• The Property of the Nation: George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President by Matthew R. Costello
• Sara Georgini

Who owns history and the means to remake memory? Mining studies of early American thought and following the practice of reading public monuments as political markers, Matthew R. Costello investigates the fascinating afterlives of the nation’s first president. A southern-born god, a careworn hero, a ruthless slave owner, a federal leader for the ages—George Washington’s role has shifted variously since his death in 1799. One public site, his tomb at Mount Vernon, sits at the center of Costello’s skillfully researched and eloquently written inquiry. Reuniting the physical preservation of Washington’s body (the “property”) with the intellectual energy of republican etiquette (the “progress”) of the new nation, Costello shows how Americans mourned and remembered amid tides of political violence and cultural change. Six thematic chapters, culled from founding-era correspondence and deep material culture research, support his view that Washington’s “tomb served as an intersection for historical tourism, race and class relations, popular culture, and religious expression, all facets of life transformed by the advent of political democracy” (p. 9). That thrumming soundtrack of government power hovers over the book, giving larger discussions of nostalgia and nativism an extra emphasis. For scholars seeking a prehistory of founding fathers tourism, this work is especially evocative. It underlines the ongoing tension of public history, private homes, and political power.

To a great crowd of Victorian Americans turned visitors, Washington was born to die. Mount Vernon morphed into a shrine, glutted with gatekeepers, memorabilia-hawkers, and myths galore. As Costello demonstrates, this change coincided with Americans’ self-invention as “pilgrims” who braved new travels and embraced the kind of philanthropy needed to save the Virginia plantation from ruin (p. 11). A unique cast of voices tells the story. Costello weaves together the words and acts of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, local businessmen, and the formerly enslaved community to reconsider a familiar saga of salvage. The hard work of sustaining Washington’s legacy, in this interpretation, was imbued with privilege and profit. For tourists and funders alike, the dilemma of how to present the real Washington dominated headlines and checkbooks. Democratizing the president’s past brought challenges discussed in the book that public historians, archivists, and museum curators will find quite useful to read about in depth. One of the most dynamic results of Washington’s curation was the cohort of citizens who exercised political power to save his memory, accomplishing their task without the right to vote: women, African Americans, and foreign visitors. All claimed Washington’s body and legacy as relics of a shared revolution that felt increasingly—and dangerously— distant. The world after Washington moved on, with him. [End Page 114]

审核人：

• 国家的财产：乔治·华盛顿陵墓，弗农山和马修·R·科斯特洛的第一任总统的回忆
• 萨拉·吉尔吉尼（Sara Georgini）

谁拥有历史和重现记忆的手段？马修·科斯特洛（Matthew R. Costello）对美国早期思想进行了挖掘研究，并沿用了将公共纪念物作为政治标记阅读的做法，研究了美国第一任总统的迷人来世。一个南方出生的神，一个受过残酷的英雄，一个残酷的奴隶主，几代人的联邦领导人。乔治·华盛顿自1799年去世以来，其角色已经发生了不同的变化。一个公共场所，他在弗农山的墓地，位于科斯特洛（Costello）的中心精湛的研究和雄辩的书面询问。Costello将华盛顿的身体（“财产”）的身体保护与新国家的共和礼仪（“进步”）的智力能量重新结合在一起，展示了美国人在政治暴力和文化变革的浪潮中如何哀悼和缅怀。六个主题章节，从建国初期的通信和深刻的物质文化研究中选出的，支持了他的观点，即华盛顿的“陵墓是历史旅游，种族和阶级关系，通俗文化和宗教表达的交汇点，所有方面都因政治民主的到来而改变了”（第9页）。政府权力的震撼人心的声音徘徊在这本书上，这使对怀旧和本土主义的更大讨论成为了额外的重点。对于寻求开国先祖旅游史的学者来说，这项工作尤其令人回味。它突显了公共历史，私人住宅和政治权力的持续紧张状态。政治民主的到来改变了生活的方方面面”（第9页）。政府权力的震撼人心的声音徘徊在这本书上，这使对怀旧和本土主义的更大讨论成为了额外的重点。对于寻求开国先祖旅游史的学者来说，这项工作尤其令人回味。它突显了公共历史，私人住宅和政治权力的持续紧张状态。政治民主的到来改变了生活的方方面面”（第9页）。政府权力的震撼人心的声音徘徊在这本书上，这使对怀旧和本土主义的更大讨论成为了额外的重点。对于寻求开国先祖旅游史的学者来说，这项工作尤其令人回味。它突显了公共历史，私人住宅和政治权力的持续紧张状态。

华盛顿诞生了许多死于维多利亚时代的美国人，成为了死者。弗农山变成了一座神rine，里面挤满了守门人，纪念品小贩和神话般的盛宴。正如Costello所展示的，这种变化与美国人作为“朝圣者”的自我发明相吻合，他们冒着新的旅行，并接受了挽救弗吉尼亚种植园免于破产的那种慈善事业（第11页）。一个独特的声音讲述了这个故事。Costello编织了弗农山夫人协会，当地商人和前奴隶制社区的言行，重新考虑了熟悉的救助传奇。在这种解释中，维持华盛顿遗产的艰苦工作充满了特权和利益。对于游客和出资者来说，如何呈现真正的华盛顿的困境成为头条新闻和支票簿。使总统的过去民主化带来了本书中讨论的挑战，公共历史学家，档案保管员和博物馆策展人会发现深入阅读很有帮助。华盛顿政权最具活力的结果之一是一群行使政治权力来保存他的记忆，没有选举权就完成其任务的公民：妇女，非洲裔美国人和外国访客。所有人都声称华盛顿的遗体和遗产是一场共同的革命的遗迹，这场革命感到越来越遥远，也越来越危险。华盛顿之后的世界与他同行。华盛顿政权最具活力的结果之一是一群行使政治权力来保存他的记忆，没有选举权就完成其任务的公民：妇女，非洲裔美国人和外国访客。所有人都声称华盛顿的遗体和遗产是一场共同的革命的遗迹，这场革命感到越来越遥远，也越来越危险。华盛顿之后的世界与他同行。华盛顿政权最具活力的结果之一是一群行使政治权力来保存他的记忆，没有选举权就完成其任务的公民：妇女，非洲裔美国人和外国访客。所有人都声称华盛顿的遗体和遗产是一场共同的革命的遗迹，这场革命感到越来越遥远，也越来越危险。华盛顿之后的世界与他同行。[结束页114]