Description
Book SynopsisRanging 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.
Trade Review"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 *
"
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 *
"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 *
"Town Born is an important book that all early American historians need to read soon." *
Social History *
"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 *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
PART I. FOUNDATIONS
1. Political Economy
2. Stripes
3. Settlement
PART II. DEVELOPMENT
4. Political Fabric
5. Of Wharves and Men
6. Rural Shipbuilding
7. Crews
PART III. TOWN PEOPLE
8. Orphans
9. Prodigals or Milquetoasts?
Epilogue
Notes
Selected Primary Sources
Index
Acknowledgements
