Rip Van Winkle's Neighbors: The Transformation of Rural Society in the Hudson River Valley, 1720-1850 (American Region Hudson Valley) - Softcover

Wermuth, Thomas S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0791450848 ISBN 13: 9780791450840

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 2001

Synopsis

Explores the social and economic transformations of the mid-Hudson River Valley during the key expansionist period in American history.

Although Rip Van Winkle was a fictional character, his community in the mid-Hudson Valley of New York State was very real. Thomas S. Wermuth's book shows that the popular view of Hudson Valley farmers as self-sufficient, independent, and free of governmental authority is as fictional as the character of Rip Van Winkle himself. In fact these mid-Hudson farmers lived in villages where economic practices and behavior were regulated by civil authorities as well as neighborhood concerns, and where acquisitive practices that were believed to endanger the public good were forbidden.

Based on extensive research into previously unused town records and commercial accounts, this book challenges the belief that the early valley was a capitalist society, arguing that the beliefs and practices associated with modern capitalism developed slowly and unevenly, and were not always welcomed by valley families.

About this title

About the Author

Thomas S. Wermuth is Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Director of the Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College. He is also Associate Editor of the Encyclopedia of New York State.

From the Back Cover

Although Rip Van Winkle was a fictional character, his community in the mid-Hudson Valley of New York State was very real. Thomas S. Wermuth's book shows that the popular view of Hudson Valley farmers as self-sufficient, independent, and free of governmental authority is as fictional as the character of Rip Van Winkle himself. In fact these mid-Hudson farmers lived in villages where economic practices and behavior were regulated by civil authorities as well as neighborhood concerns, and where acquisitive practices that were believed to endanger the public good were forbidden.

Based on extensive research into previously unused town records and commercial accounts, this book challenges the belief that the early valley was a capitalist society, arguing that the beliefs and practices associated with modern capitalism developed slowly and unevenly, and were not always welcomed by valley families.

Edition details

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0791450848
• ISBN 13: 9780791450840
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 198