“Steamer J. M. White, No. 2; or the White of 1844,” from Fifty Years on the Mississippi, or, Gould’s History of River Navigation by Emerson W. Gould, 1889. Gould reports, “There were three steamboats named J. M. White . . . The second J. M. White was built by Capt. J. W. Converse at Pittsburgh in 1843 . . . She proved to be the most extraordinary steamboat of her day in the way of speed. She made the run from New Orleans to St. Louis in 1844. Time—3 days, 23 hours and 23 minutes. This time was not beaten until 1870, 26 years afterward.” Image courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society.
Welcome to Commonplace, a destination for exploring and exchanging ideas about early American history and culture. A bit less formal than a scholarly journal, a bit more scholarly than a popular magazine, Commonplace speaks—and listens—to scholars, museum curators, teachers, hobbyists, and just about anyone interested in American history before 1900. It is for all sorts of people to read about all sorts of things relating to early American life—from architecture to literature, from politics to parlor manners. It’s a place to find insightful analysis of early American history as it is discussed in scholarly literature, as it manifests on the evening news, as it is curated in museums, big and small; as it is performed in documentary and dramatic films and as it shows up in everyday life.
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How to cite Commonplace articles:
Author, “Title of Article,” Commonplace: the journal of early American life, date accessed, URL.
Sophie White, “Trading Looks Race, Religion and Dress in French America,” Commonplace: the journal of early American life, accessed September 30, 2019, https://commonplace.online/article/trading-looks-race-religion-dress-french-america/
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