Lunch Bite on David Humphreys' A Poem on Industry (1794)
January 19, 2018 |
Library Assistant Benjamin Hurwitz discusses A Poem on Industry, written in 1794 by David Humphreys, an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati. In this poem, Humphreys praised the industrious spirit of the American people and called for the creation of domestic manufacturing. In particular, he promoted American wool manufacturing as an antidote to British economic domination. Like many of his peers, Humphreys believed wool raising to be a virtuous pursuit. It fit the pastoral vision of agrarian America while also aiding the American economy and its manufacturers.
Humphreys first rose to prominence during the Revolutionary War, when he served as an aide-de-camp to General Washington. After the war, he gained fame as a poet and served as the foreign minister to Portugal and Spain. In his later life, Humphreys became a sheep farmer and one of the nation’s largest wool manufacturers.
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Website:
www.societyofthecincinnati.org/events/public |
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| Location Information |
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Anderson House |
2118 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC |
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| Contact Information |
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Catherine Harris |
| Email:
charris@societyofthecincinnati.org |
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