Town Born: The Political Economy of New England from Its Founding to the Revolution

Barry Levy

Published by University of Pennsylvania Press 2010

Town Born

The Political Economy of New England from Its Founding to the Revolution

Barry Levy

In the series Early American Studies

https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812202618

Overview
Contents

About this book

Ranging from the birth of town meetings in England to the whipping posts of early Boston to the creation of the Scituate shipbuilding common, Town Born reveals how New England town political economies created the foundation for a relatively egalitarian American society.

Author / Editor information

Barry Levy is Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is author of Quakers and the American Family: British Settlement in the Delaware Valley.

Reviews

"Deeply learned, vigorously argued, and politically engaged, Levy's robust reinterpretation of colonial New England's town-centered 'democracy' challenges reigning views of family, community, economy, and politics. The highly disciplined family labor of this region—in which children's work was vital—elevated the status and power of resident working people because, Levy argues, Puritan reformers refused to allow an indentured or enslaved labor force of 'outsiders' to shape their society. Uniquely insular, and committed to justice as well as harsh punishment, New Englanders created a remarkably distinct and influential Americana culture."—Richard D. Brown, University of Connecticut

"Levy is a master of the quotidian. In many ways and with many details, he explains how things worked on the ground, and this is a gift for which we all should be thankful."—American Historical Review

"This is New England town history with a twist. No future study of early New England economics, politics, or society will be able to ignore it."—Reviews in American History

"Town Born celebrates the democratic, egalitarian, mercantilist politics of township government in colonial New England. . . . It is bold, original, often insightful, and vigorously argued."—New England Quarterly

"Town Born is an important book that all early American historians need to read soon."—Social History

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
PART I. Foundations
Chapter one. Political Economy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	17
Chapter two. Stripes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
Chapter three. Settlement Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	84
PART II. Development
Chapter four. Political Fabric Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
Chapter five. Of Wharves and Men Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
Chapter seven. Crews Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
PART III. Town People
Chapter eight. Orphans Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	237
Chapter nine. Prodigals or Milquetoasts? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
Epilogue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	289
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	297
Selected primary sources Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	339
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	345
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	353

Language: English
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 360
Illustrations
- Other: 15 illus.
Keywords: American History; American Studies

eBook

Published: July 6, 2011
ISBN: 9780812202618