This morning we headed for Delaware, destination: Winterthur (pronounced winter-tour), an absolutely amazing museum and gardens. Winterthur is the estate of the DuPont’s whose family fortune was made from gunpowder and dynamite and evolved into the DuPont Chemical Corporation. The estate also is the home of an outstanding research library of American culture. 

 Our first two hours were spent with Kathy Matson who lectured about the “Consumer Revolution” which began in the 1740s-1750s in North America. Things changed so much she said it was noticeable, and people noticed and commented on it.

 For the first time in history, people were beyond survival and a mode of self-sufficiency and began to purchase goods for consumption. This all revolved around trade in the Atlantic World (rim). Since I have grown up in time where most goods have been readily available, it was interesting to think of living in a time when it would be a novel experience to be able to purchase something rather than relying on self, bartering, or going without.

 Kathy Matson was quick to point out that all of the commodities that drove the trade around the Atlantic Rim were things that people didn’t need, but wanted: sugar, alcohol, tobacco, and indigo; definitely a pattern of consumerism that persists today. 

We got to tour the fifth floor of the DuPont mansion, which was only a small fraction of the house. The house has 175 rooms! When DuPont’s collections of Americana drew too many visitors, the daughters said it was too much; it was like living in a museum. So DuPont built a “cottage” for the family – a mere 75 rooms!

 We did some hands-on activities that would work great in the classroom – hope we can get copies. I know my students would enjoy the bartering that goes on at the general store. Activities where the students actually participate are much more meaningful experiences for them; actually we all seem to learn more when we are engaged rather than just listening to a lecture.

The contrast between the DuPont lifestyle and that of the Amish is one that was hard to miss. No two ways of life could be more opposite. Where the Amish avoid the material world, DuPont devoted his life and fortune to collecting the material goods that represent American life in different times and places. He paid so much attention to the smallest details. The film about the estate said that he even had his staff coordinate the flowers with the china being used, and he insisted that no type of flower be used more than once during his guests’ visits!