Literary Style as Political Metaphor in Modern Chivalry

The first volumes of Hugh Henry Brackenridge's Modern Chivalry, appear- ing only four years after the ratification of the Constitution, reveal from the start a remarkable panorama of life in the exuberant democracy of the early American frontier. Written over a time-span of twenty-three years,1 Modern Chivalry amasses such a wealth of contemporary detail that it has been regarded primarily as a period piece, an encyclopedia of antique Americana. And it is for this reason that few critics have given substantial attention to it. Although critics agree that the book's chief political themes concern a search for ways to control self-seeking human nature, which is exacerbated in a democracy, it is most often summarily described as a genial satire upon democratic excesses — Brackenridge, after all, had composed "The Rising Glory of America" with Philip Freneau, had pre- sented fiery patriotic sermons as chaplain in the Revolutionary Army under Washington, and had supported at first the French Revolution. For example, William L. Nance argues that Brackenridge is a staunch and unflinching defender of democracy who writes in Modern Chivalry "an intelligent treatise on practical democracy";2 Claude M. Newlin declares that Brackenridge "never swerved from his position as a sincere and ardent democrat,"3 and that "his satire was so good natured, so lacking in fundamental cynicism";4 for Mary Mattfield, Brackenridge "never loses his perspective or his ultimate faith in the democratic process";5 and Alexander Cowie similarly asserts that "humor gleams from almost every page of Modern Chivalry."6