Scandal at Bizarre is a well written example of microhistory. It focuses on a particular family, the Randolphs, and even more on one particular event within that family’s history, the suspected murder of Nancy Randolph’s child by her brother-in-law.
My first reaction to the idea that a micro history could answer “great historical questions” was that this was an impossibility. There could be no way that the study of a small, seemingly isolated event could answer any question about the overall time period. But nothing truly happens in a vacuum and the Randolph family’s actions and responses were a product of their time and reveal cultural and societal norms. In Scandal at Bizarre, Kierner argues that all the intricacies of post American War for Independence (AWI) life are reflected in the microcosm of the Randolph family. She states that this story is a “revealing barometer of the power and perils of patriarchy…” (p. 171) which were prevalent in the time. I do think she takes this a step too far and tends to blame the society for the situation, rather than individuals actions.
That the Randolphs were, in fact, the Randolphs made a huge impact on how this story played out. If the family had less means and was lower in the social structure an incident like this would likely have never come to light. If it had, it would have been dealt with swiftly in a “shoot first, ask questions later” sort of way. It wouldn’t have been gossiped about and no one’s reputation would have necessarily been on the line.
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