Enslaved & In Service II: A New Nation

If you're just joining us, consider going to the Introduction for Enslaved & In Service: here! Missed the last post? Find "Part I: Colonial New York" here.

"What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim."

- Frederick Douglass,

"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"
(1852)

John Trumbull. Declaration of Independence. 1826. Oil on canvas.
12' x 18'. United States Capitol Rotunda. 
Edited by Arlen Parsa and Zachary Veith to highlight enslavers depicted.
Courtesy of PolitiFact.

            At the conclusion of the War for Independence, Benjamin Rush stated “The American War is over, but this is far from being the case with the American Revolution. On the contrary, nothing but the first act of the great drama is closed.”[i] Benjamin Rush and others expected great social change on the horizon. Indeed the revolutionary rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence – that all men are created equal – had a resounding impact on every aspect of society, especially the growing discussion around enslavement.[ii] The words and actions of the Revolutionary generation demonstrate a paradox between owning humans and espousing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Of the forty-seven men depicted in John Trumbull's painting, "Declaration of Independence" (above), thirty-four enslaved people. Among those thirty-four men, indicated with red dots over their faces by documentarian Arlen Parsa, are Morgan Lewis' father, Francis Lewis (indicated by a yellow diamond) and his brother-in-law, Robert Livingston (indicated by a blue square). Despite how Benjamin Rush and others saw the American Revolution as a social revolution, the conditions for enslaved Black people in the early republic barely improved.[iii] The same men who declared "all men are created equal" enforced a racial hierarchy that denied basic human rights to Black and other non-White people.

Hidden Treasures of the Collection: Brunswick Panatrope Records

Two months ago, I wrote this post about Staatsburgh's Brunswick Panatrope that is located in the Main Hall.  This music player, which dates to 1927, has one original record inside the player.  Was this disc the last piece of music the family listened to while using the Panatrope?  What else did they listen to?  I always wondered about the rest of their music collection and I am happy to report that I discovered two binders of additional records in storage!  What can these records tell us about the family's musical preferences and the role of music in their lives?

Staatsburgh's Brunswick Panatrope

Hidden Treasures of the Collection: Brunswick Panatrope

“Without music, life would be a blank to me.” — Jane Austen, Emma

Gilded Age entertaining and music went hand in hand.  Attending the opera, musicales, or grand balls with a live orchestra was a common social activity for the Gilded Age elite.  Live music was also a frequent component of at-home entertaining.  When Ruth Mills held a reception for Alice Roosevelt on the occasion of her father's election as President, the Staatsburg Band serenaded her, and the Hungarian Band played music for the evening's dancing.

It was during the Gilded Age, that a whole new way to listen to music was developed.  Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, which was the first generally reliable device to record and play back audio.  The sound was fairly scratchy by modern standards, but the technology worked and continually improved over time.  The phonograph was a cylinder playing machine, and by the 20th century it was replaced with the disk phonographic record.  With this new technology, a machine now existed that could bring recorded music into the home and public spaces.

Thomas Edison and his second phonograph, 1878

  

Enslaved & In Service I: Colonial New York

If you're just joining us, consider going to the Introduction for Enslaved & In Service: here! Missed our last post? Find "A New Beginning" here.

"Anyone who calls themselves an explorer is an invader to someone else - someone is always paying for the gilding"

- Alice Proctor, 
The Whole Picture [i]

A slave auction in Dutch New York.
"Slave Auction, 1655" Howard Pyle, 1895.

Sojourner Truth - a contemporary
to Staatsburgh - has introduced slavery
in the Hudson Valley to generations
of Americans.

            Slavery in the Hudson Valley has been an overshadowed aspect of our local history. To better understand Staatsburgh founder Morgan Lewis’ connection to enslavement, it is important to start with how central slavery was to New Yorkers for generations. The entire system of Northern enslavement, from the international slave trade to the local manor houses, operated in parallel with American slavery elsewhere. Yet our contemporary ideas of American slavery fail to acknowledge the scope of bondage in the North. The Hudson Valley offers a window into a world beyond southern plantations to underscore how ubiquitous slavery was for New York colonists and early Republic citizens.[ii] Our collective image of slavery must include people of African descent enslaved in northern states, such as Sojourner Truth and countless others, and not just southern plantations.

Staatsburgh & The Gilded Age

As the stewards of a site that interprets the Gilded Age, we were very excited to see an entire television series dedicated to the era.  We were especially interested because the show was created by Downton Abbey mastermind, Julian Fellowes who is known for the efforts he puts into the historical details and accuracy of his shows and movies.  The first season of HBO's The Gilded Age depicted 1882 New York and aired from January - March 2022; a second season is forthcoming.  The show brought the era to life with magnificent costuming, sets, and a dramatization of the clash between old and new monied elites.  In addition to this central clash of values, the show also depicted the life of the black elite in Brooklyn, the plight of servants, and the ways new technology was about to revolutionize the country.  Although the main characters were fictional, there were several real historical figures mixed in such as Mrs. Astor, Ward McAllister, and Mrs. Fish among others.  

Photo: HBO