Overview

Spanning more than two centuries, this book traces the many paths to adulthood that Americans have pursued over time. Conflicting Paths is an innovative history of growing up in America that includes analysis and five hundred first-person testimonials--autobiographies, diaries, and letters.

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9780674160668

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Graff has written a complex history of how childhood, adolescence, and youth have been formed, experienced, transformed, and understood by Americans...""Conflicting Paths"" should be read by all scholars in the fields of the history of children and the family. -- E. W. Carp ""Choice"" Graff's history of growing up in American from the mid-18th century to the early 20th century is ambitious...Students of history will be rewarded by the effort. And Graff's message about the uses and abuses of history cannot be heard enough. -- Rebecca Starr ""Times Higher Education Supplement"" Harvey J. Graff, one of our finest social historians, has tackled one of the most difficult subjects in the national story, the experience of growing up American and what it can teach us. The result is a striking accomplishment...For his raw materials Graff has examined more than five hundred accounts of American childhoods between 1750 and 1920. Many are diaries and journals, others are memoirs and reminiscences. The breadth of the selection is impressive, as is the author's grasp of the scholarly literature on childhood and social history generally. -- Elliott West ""History of Education Quarterly"" The heavy reliance in Conflicting Paths on primary materials produces a smoothly flowing, absorbing narrative. The life stories of obscure and not-so-obscure Americans give weight and substance to Graff's account. The work is also thoroughly grounded in secondary scholarly literature on American children and American childhood. An important addition to scholarship, Graff's work deserves a place in every major library and on the desk of every American historian of children or childhood. The heavy reliance in ""Conflicting Paths"" on primary materials produces a smoothly flowing, absorbing narrative. The life stories of obscure and not-so-obscure Americans give weight and substance to Graff's account. The work is also thoroughly grounded in secondary scholarly literature on American children and American childhood. An important addition to scholarship, Graff's work deserves a place in every major library and on the desk of every American historian of children or childhood. -- Joseph M. Hawes ""Journal of American History""

Graff has written a complex history of how childhood, adolescence, and youth have been formed, experienced, transformed, and understood by Americans... Conflicting Paths should be read by all scholars in the fields of the history of children and the family. -- E. W. Carp Choice Graff's history of growing up in American from the mid-18th century to the early 20th century is ambitious...Students of history will be rewarded by the effort. And Graff's message about the uses and abuses of history cannot be heard enough. -- Rebecca Starr Times Higher Education Supplement Harvey J. Graff, one of our finest social historians, has tackled one of the most difficult subjects in the national story, the experience of growing up American and what it can teach us. The result is a striking accomplishment...For his raw materials Graff has examined more than five hundred accounts of American childhoods between 1750 and 1920. Many are diaries and journals, others are memoirs and reminiscences. The breadth of the selection is impressive, as is the author's grasp of the scholarly literature on childhood and social history generally. -- Elliott West History of Education Quarterly The heavy reliance in Conflicting Paths on primary materials produces a smoothly flowing, absorbing narrative. The life stories of obscure and not-so-obscure Americans give weight and substance to Graff's account. The work is also thoroughly grounded in secondary scholarly literature on American children and American childhood. An important addition to scholarship, Graff's work deserves a place in every major library and on the desk of every American historian of children or childhood. The heavy reliance in Conflicting Paths on primary materials produces a smoothly flowing, absorbing narrative. The life stories of obscure and not-so-obscure Americans give weight and substance to Graff's account. The work is also thoroughly grounded in secondary scholarly literature on American children and American childhood. An important addition to scholarship, Graff's work deserves a place in every major library and on the desk of every American historian of children or childhood. -- Joseph M. Hawes Journal of American History

Harvey J. Graff, one of our finest social historians, has tackled one of the most difficult subjects in the national story, the experience of growing up American and what it can teach us. The result is a striking accomplishment...For his raw materials Graff has examined more than five hundred accounts of American childhoods between 1750 and 1920. Many are diaries and journals, others are memoirs and reminiscences. The breadth of the selection is impressive, as is the author's grasp of the scholarly literature on childhood and social history generally. -- Elliott West History of Education Quarterly

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