The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 45, July 1941 - April, 1942 Page: 222

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

The book has its weak points. The author's failure to com-
prehend the real character of the Negro becomes most evident
in his chapter, "The Black Man." It is at once obvious, upon
reading the chapter, that Dr. Crum did not consult such author-
ities on the Negro as Dollard, Du Bois, and Herskovits. His
conclusions, for the most part, are painfully superficial. The
tendency on the part of the author to allow the frequent occur-
rence of repetitious passages will probably annoy many readers,
as will the long, shallow quotations from a Mrs. Puckett and a
Mr. Gonzales, two of the observers of Negro life cited by Dr.
Crum. Despite these weaknesses the book makes fair reading,
and, though it omits some of the outstanding works done on the
Negro, its bibliography should be of interest to students who
desire to do research in the field of Gullah culture.
JOHN H. FAULK.
Austin, Texas.
Cultural Life in Nashville, 1825-1860. By F. Garvin Davenport,
Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1941. Pp.
x, 210. $3.50.
This study does not pretend to be a "complete social history"
of ante-bellum Nashville but a cultural history by which the
author means "intellectual and aesthetic attainment." With this
introduction one expects and finds chapters on education, med-
ical schools and medical practices, religious developments, the
theater, and musical and literary tastes. A brief concluding
chapter entitled "Street Scenes" does not meet the high stand-
ard of the rest of the book. Emphasis tends to center upon
leaders, personalities, and the changes in the face of the city
brought about by new schools, more imposing church structures,
the theater, the publishing houses, the libraries and the new
Capitol where the leaders may carry on their work. This study
is restricted to the Brahmins of the city.
The impression gained from the book is that a varied and
expanding intellectual and spiritual life was well supported in
the decade of the fifties by a population of somewhat over 10,000.
On one of the largest stages in America, the Adelphi Theater
management presented Eliza Logan, Charlotte Cushman, Ole
Bull, and Edwin Booth. Barnum collected $4 and $5 a seat
from hundreds who clamored to hear Jenny Lind. By 1854
the people heard their first full opera. Soon the German set-

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