Consumerism and the emergence of the middle class in Colonial America : the genteel revolution /
Hodge, Christina J.,
Consumerism and the emergence of the middle class in Colonial America : the genteel revolution / Christina J. Hodge, Peabody Museum, Harvard University. - New York : Cambridge University Press, (c)2014. - 1 online resource (xxii, 247 pages) : illustrations
Includes bibliographies and index.
Preface: vivent les revolutions -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Consuming contexts -- 3. Living spaces -- 4. At table -- 5. Keeping the shop -- 6. Legacies of the genteel revolution.
"This interdisciplinary study presents compelling evidence for a revolutionary idea: that to understand the historical entrenchment of gentility in America, we must understand its creation among non-elite people: colonial middling sorts who laid the groundwork for the later American middle class. Focusing on the daily life of Widow Elizabeth Pratt, a shopkeeper from early eighteenth-century Newport, Rhode Island, Christina J. Hodge uses material remains as a means of reconstructing not only how Mrs Pratt lived, but also how these objects reflect shifting class and gender relationships in this period. Challenging the 'emulation thesis', a common assumption that wealthy elites led fashion and culture change while middling sorts only followed, Hodge shows how middling consumers were in fact discerning cultural leaders, adopting genteel material practices early and aggressively. By focusing on the rise and emergence of the middle class, this book brings new insights into the evolution of consumerism, class, and identity in colonial America"--
9781139540612 9781139922289
Consumption (Economics)--Social aspects--History--United States--18th century.
Middle class--Economic conditions--United States--18th century.
Consumer behavior--History--United States--18th century.
Electronic Books.
HC104 / .C667 2014
Consumerism and the emergence of the middle class in Colonial America : the genteel revolution / Christina J. Hodge, Peabody Museum, Harvard University. - New York : Cambridge University Press, (c)2014. - 1 online resource (xxii, 247 pages) : illustrations
Includes bibliographies and index.
Preface: vivent les revolutions -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Consuming contexts -- 3. Living spaces -- 4. At table -- 5. Keeping the shop -- 6. Legacies of the genteel revolution.
"This interdisciplinary study presents compelling evidence for a revolutionary idea: that to understand the historical entrenchment of gentility in America, we must understand its creation among non-elite people: colonial middling sorts who laid the groundwork for the later American middle class. Focusing on the daily life of Widow Elizabeth Pratt, a shopkeeper from early eighteenth-century Newport, Rhode Island, Christina J. Hodge uses material remains as a means of reconstructing not only how Mrs Pratt lived, but also how these objects reflect shifting class and gender relationships in this period. Challenging the 'emulation thesis', a common assumption that wealthy elites led fashion and culture change while middling sorts only followed, Hodge shows how middling consumers were in fact discerning cultural leaders, adopting genteel material practices early and aggressively. By focusing on the rise and emergence of the middle class, this book brings new insights into the evolution of consumerism, class, and identity in colonial America"--
9781139540612 9781139922289
Consumption (Economics)--Social aspects--History--United States--18th century.
Middle class--Economic conditions--United States--18th century.
Consumer behavior--History--United States--18th century.
Electronic Books.
HC104 / .C667 2014