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101 Chapter 6 A Sense of Place As Blair sought to remedy the imperfections of American society, he became more conscious of the heritage shared by the mountain sections of the eastern United States. His reform work led to the discovery of a mountain region in the upland South quite similar to the mountains of New England. Keenly aware of the significant role played by sectional rivalries during the Civil War era, he and many of his compatriots came to appreciate the strong influence of region on patterns of behavior. Blair’s recognition of desirable features in the land and people of the White Mountains and New Hampshire lakes region began during his youth. Americans in this time period were looking for a unique identity to distinguish their “New World” from other nations. Not having ancient institutions and long pedigrees to call on, they were forced to define themselves in terms of recent history and natural settings. Among the characteristics selected were the War for Independence, political freedom and constitutional government, Andrew Jackson’s victory over the British army at the Battle of New Orleans, the rugged Atlantic Coast, the Hudson River valley, Niagara Falls, and the mountainous wilderness of northern New England. John Ward and other scholars have described Americans’ efforts to create a national identity as the process of inventing tradition.1 In particular , Americans began to assign significance to specific geographic areas. Many states claimed exalted qualities and self-promoting characteristics. At first, the area covered by the Appalachian Mountains did not fit easily into the new American identity. Part of the range was in the South, part in the early West—in Pennsylvania and Ohio—and part in New England. For European pioneers, the mountains initially posed a barrier—a perception reinforced by the British Proclamation Line of 1763, which forbade migration beyond the crests of these mountains. Following the War for Independence, settlers surged into and through the Appalachians. 102 Henry W. Blair’s caMpaiGn to reforM aMerica From the beginning, these pioneers challenged established authority, as evidenced by the “State” of Franklin, the Whiskey Rebellion, the “Republic ” of Vermont, and the Indian Stream Republic.2 This tradition continued in the southern mountains during the Civil War when inhabitants resisted both Union and Confederate governments.3 Initial settlement patterns in the New England Appalachians revealed nothing distinctive about the region. Virtually all the early settlers were from southern New England. Rather than moving as individuals or families, dozens—sometimes hundreds of people—moved from the same neighborhood or community. People from Massachusetts traveled to northern New England overland and along lakes and river bottoms. Large numbers of Connecticut pioneers paddled up the Connecticut River to find land in New Hampshire and Vermont. Several significant features of these migrants helped shape a regional identity. First, the settlers were ethnically and culturally homogeneous. They shared religious training, a belief system, and a commitment to public education. They came from a township form of government that relied on politically active community members and annual public meetings to approve budgets and policies. Most of them were farmers, but they expected to sell their surpluses commercially and to have access to craftsmen and local businesses.4 The land on which these pioneers struggled to survive was not hospitable . For many thousands of years, this territory had been covered by a glacier. When the ice finally melted, it left behind a scarred land. The tops of mountains had been rubbed and pressed down, and great ravines had been gouged into their sides. Moreover, the topsoil had been scraped away from much of the lowlands, leaving unproductive deposits of gravel, sand, rocks, and clay.5 Residents also had to contend with harsh weather. On April 19, 1862, a Vermont farm girl living close to Blair’s home reported : “Father got up in the morning . . . [to go] out the back door[.] Lo and behold he could not get out[,] the snow was completely over the top of the door but one corner next [to] the well[.] [H]e dug a little hole through just enough to creep out.”6 In 1816—the year of no summer—the region experienced snow in eleven months and frost in every month.7 Despite these challenges, northern New Englanders made considerable progress because of the strength of their community institutions. For example, northern New Hampshire residents built schools in virtually every village and spent most of their tax dollars supporting this enterprise. [3.141.199.243] Project...

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