Coming to Accounts: Fraud and Muckraking in Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition
This article traces the rhetoric of accounting in nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century racial discourse, from its initial use by slave traders, to its reinscription (or re-metaphorization) as “fraud” by abolitionists, and finally to its turn-of-the-century valence in exposing the linguisti...
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European Association for American Studies
2013-11-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10148 |
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| author | Mark David Kaufman |
| author_facet | Mark David Kaufman |
| author_sort | Mark David Kaufman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article traces the rhetoric of accounting in nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century racial discourse, from its initial use by slave traders, to its reinscription (or re-metaphorization) as “fraud” by abolitionists, and finally to its turn-of-the-century valence in exposing the linguistic double-dealing and metonymic substitution that informed—and continues to inform—racist ideology.With its emphasis on bodysnatching, doubling, and displacement of “figures,” Charles W. Chesnutt’s 1901 novel The Marrow of Tradition exposes the fallacious logic, the traces of the trade, which persisted in the figuration of racial relations in post-Reconstruction America. In doing so, Chesnutt’s novel participates in, or prefigures, a method of journalistic “muckraking” that was soon to characterize the first decade of the twentieth century. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a5dd6b4f646a477ca48399ffb2a5e3f8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-11-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-a5dd6b4f646a477ca48399ffb2a5e3f82025-01-06T09:10:47ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362013-11-018110.4000/ejas.10148Coming to Accounts: Fraud and Muckraking in Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of TraditionMark David KaufmanThis article traces the rhetoric of accounting in nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century racial discourse, from its initial use by slave traders, to its reinscription (or re-metaphorization) as “fraud” by abolitionists, and finally to its turn-of-the-century valence in exposing the linguistic double-dealing and metonymic substitution that informed—and continues to inform—racist ideology.With its emphasis on bodysnatching, doubling, and displacement of “figures,” Charles W. Chesnutt’s 1901 novel The Marrow of Tradition exposes the fallacious logic, the traces of the trade, which persisted in the figuration of racial relations in post-Reconstruction America. In doing so, Chesnutt’s novel participates in, or prefigures, a method of journalistic “muckraking” that was soon to characterize the first decade of the twentieth century. https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10148slaveryracismFrederick Douglassaccountingfraudmuckraking |
| spellingShingle | Mark David Kaufman Coming to Accounts: Fraud and Muckraking in Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition European Journal of American Studies slavery racism Frederick Douglass accounting fraud muckraking |
| title | Coming to Accounts: Fraud and Muckraking in Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition |
| title_full | Coming to Accounts: Fraud and Muckraking in Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition |
| title_fullStr | Coming to Accounts: Fraud and Muckraking in Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coming to Accounts: Fraud and Muckraking in Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition |
| title_short | Coming to Accounts: Fraud and Muckraking in Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition |
| title_sort | coming to accounts fraud and muckraking in charles w chesnutt s the marrow of tradition |
| topic | slavery racism Frederick Douglass accounting fraud muckraking |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10148 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT markdavidkaufman comingtoaccountsfraudandmuckrakingincharleswchesnuttsthemarrowoftradition |