John D. Hicks (1890-1972) was a member of the history department at the University of California at Berkeley for thirty years. This book was written for college level students. He wrote several other books. His scholarship centered on the transition of the United States from the agricultural and small-town society still dominant in the Middle West of his youth, to the industrial and urban society increasingly dominant after the First World War.
Contents
Chapters: The morning of america 1492-1763 --- Founding the Nation1763-1787 --- Evolution in Democracy 1787-1818 --- The jacksonian Era1818-1837 --- Expansion and its consequences 1837-1850 --- The sectional controversy 1850-1865
Through colonial doorways.--The meschianza.--New York balls and receptions.--The American philosophical society.--The Wistar parties.--A bundle of old love letters.--The Philadelphia dancing assemblies.
xiii, [11]-248 p. front., illus., plates, ports. 21 cm.
Notes
̉ۡdition de luxe; 508 copies printed for subscribers.
Contents
CONTENTS: COLONIAL DAYS WOMEN IN THE EARLY SETTLEMENT A GROUP OF EARLY POETESSES COLONIAL DAMES. OLD LANDMARKS WEDDINGS AND MERRY-MAKINGS LEGEND AND ROMANCE
Chapters: The Meeting House Devil // Rum and Slavery // The Composite Puritan // The Personality of the Meeting House // The Summons To Worship // The Seating of the People // The Wretched Boys // Disturbers of Public Worship // The Neighbors of the Meeting House // The Comedy and Tragedy of the Pulpit // The Poor Parsons // The Notorious Ministers // The Simple Evangelist // The Muse of Choral Song // The Bible and the Confessional // The Hour Glass
Summary
The author uses the Colonial Meeting House as a central focus of the New England town and from it looks to other practices and customs to better illuminate life in the town and New England.