Two-timing (or four?) Tufts

Although not so adept at prison break as our friend Burroughs, Tufts definitely has a way with women. By the end of book two, he has engaged himself in at least four relationships and has accrued three marriages. The only legitimate one is to his first wife, Lydia Bickford. Poor, unfortunate soul. For some reason, Tufts returns to her several times following his misadventures.
Like many of the other narratives we have read thus far, our main character, Tufts, makes claims that marriage suspends a natural inclination to licentious behavior--at least, temporarily. However,Tufts more willing to accede that his vices are only lying "dormant, as though they had lost primeval energy" (28), also acknowledging "the seeds of vice inherent in my constitution" (28. Of course, the reader can be assured that Tufts is no physician or authority on deviant behavior (not yet, at least), and so his Calvinistic concession to innate depravity seems strangely out of place. However, the acknowledgement of guilt could be viewed as just another rogue-ish trick to manipulate readers into belief that he has reformed or that society is inevitably divided--someone has to be the crook, so why shouldn't it be him?
Tufts mentions the newspaper reports concerning his crime and character. Considering that Burroughts also mentioned public opinion in his narrative, it would be interesting to spend more time reflecting on how newspaper articles contributed to the forming of the "rogue," and the celebrity figure. Tufts says "the more I endeavored to obviate the falsity of the allegation, the louder was the clamour to my prejudice" (30). How did society view the information in newspapers? As absolute truth? If so, how much did these accounts impact the way in which people, especially known criminals, were filtered through the legal systems.
Speaking of...Tufts spends 90 days at Exeter in the dungeon, BEFORE THE TRIAL. I don't think even Burroughs was subjected to such treatment without a conviction. However, the Tufts narrative begins before the Revolution is full underway. I wonder how much the new government affected systems of imprisonment? Also, I just learned that the idea that a person is "innocent until proven guilty" is not in the U.S. Constitution or any other document. The concept comes from English Common Law (according to Wikianswers) Not until an 1894 Supreme Court case was this idea adopted in any official context.
Tufts sojourn into Native American camps was one of the most interesting parts of the narrative, for me anyway. These people take him in, provide him food, shelter and rest. In return, he seduces one of their daughters, threatens one of their hunters with death, and leaves them in a general drunken stupor. Additionally, he provides a jaded, though probably moderate by 18th century standards, portrait of Native American life. To begin with, Tufts explicitly details Native Americans' weakness for liquor and the resulting "bacchanalian revels" (95). He spends nearly two pages describing them. His account of their religious beliefs and perceptions continues for one vague paragraph in which Native Americans are described as ambivalent at best. As for the marriage rites, Tufts relates what he perceives to be the most significant exchange: "It was customary for the bridegroom to throw a deer's leg into the bride's tent, after which she was wont to throw an ear of corn in his" (96).
The Johnson Text
Re-reading U.S. history as a first-year graduate student, compared to reading as a 17-year-old high school U.S. history student is remarkable. Oh, that's what the Whiskey Rebellion was all about. Oh, Hamilton. Well, he wasn't the most austere fellow, was he? And poor old John Adams. I did realize several things, the most important one being this--not so much has changed in the last two centuries. Those things which remain the same are also what decidedly make this country American. How much are we still " a nation of farmers who bought their goods from other countries, who lived their social and emotional lives within their own neighborhoods, and who--to confound those who wish to govern them--were self-conscious republicans who had won their independence through force of arms" (6). At least, if not literally, figuratively. Additionally, Washington presided over meetings in which the new version of the aristocracy dominated. "When Jefferson became secretary of state and attended official social functions, he often found himself the only democrat at the dinner table. Aristocratic sentiments prevailed, said Jefferson, 'unless there chanced to be some [democrat] from the legislative houses'" (8). Sound familiar?