| Author Name: | Rourke, Constance and Lhamon Jr., W. T. |
|---|---|
| Date: | {{{date}}} |
| Journal: | [[{{{journal}}}]] |
| Volume: | {{{volume}}} |
| Topic: | Blackface Minstrelsy |
| Pages: | {{{pages}}} |
Stepping out of the darkness, the American emerges upon the stage of history as a new character, as puzzling to himself as to others. The book, which is a "study of the national character", singles out the archetypal figures of the Yankee peddler, the backwoodsman, and the blackface minstrel to illuminate the fundamental role of popular culture in fashioning a distinctive American sensibility. The book crackles with the jibes and jokes of generations while presenting a striking picture of a vagabond nation in perpetual self-pursuit. The work of Davy Crockett, Henry James, Jim Crow and Emily Dickinson is presented in the book.