Being a man meant being in charge of one’s own life, liberty, and property. The first two chapters of Michael Kimmel’s book, Manhood in America: A Cultural History, goes into detail of how American Manhood was like and how it started. In the introduction of his book, Kimmel states, "I do believe that a comprehensive historical account of the American experience can no longer ignore the importance of masculinity--and especially of men's efforts to prove their manhood--in the making of America" (p. ix). His book puts together the changing ideals of manhood from the Revolutionary War to the present time.
In the first chapter, The Birth of the Self-Made Man, Kimmel talks about a shift in the ideal of manhood that occurred in the aftermath of the American Revolution. He shares with us the three dominant ideals of manhood that coexisted during the nineteenth century. Two of the ideals being Genteel Patriarch and Heroic Artisan. They were both inherited from Europe, one focusing on deep community and family involvement while the other was considered …show more content…
43). Everything, according to Kimmel, became a test, and the solutions that men chose to cope with this relentless testing "self-control, exclusion, and escape--have been the dominant themes in the history of American masculinity until the present day" (p. 44). The Civil War and the invasion of women, black, and immigrants constituted an “assault” on Self-Made Manhood that resulted into a masculinity. Masculinity was understood to be a set of characteristics and actions that men had to constantly perform in order to be seen as a man among their