Literature Network » Jean Jacques Rousseau

Fence Sitting

Content courtesy of

From: The Washington Post
Date: 19960607
Author:Hank Burchard

FENCES rank right behind air, water, food and shelter as necessities of life. Philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau called fences the foundation of civilization. The Plymouth colonists justified taking Indian lands by saying unfenced property was just naturally up for grabs, and much of the rest of our history is shaped and bounded by wood and wire.

These and countless other fence facts, fancies and factoids are to be found in an unlikely and utterly fascinating show at the National Building Museum. Once again this innovative museum has taken an apparently ordinary subject and shown it to ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Jean Jacques Rousseau

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.