Dutchess County's Plain Folks: Enduring Uncertainty, Inequality, and Uneven Prosperity, 1725-1875 - Softcover

William P. McDermott

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0975460102 ISBN 13: 9780975460108

Publisher: Kerleen Press, 2004

Synopsis

Struggle and occasional success marked the lives of ordinary people during a period when America was trying to find its footing as a country of equal opportunity. A few, like two unusual women, rose above economic and culturally imposed limitations. Others, small farmers, laborers, factory workers and the like found the road to economic equality or even a reasonable standard of living more elusive. Simply buying a piece of candy for a child was for some a rare event worth celebrating. Tenant farmer protests against large landholding landlords that occasionally led to armed conflict failed because of landlord influence in government. Although tenant farmers, laborers, and the poor were free men and women, another class of individuals, slaves, was a greater part of the county history than is commonly recognized.

About this title

About the Author:

William P. McDermott has an extensive background in local history as town historian, author of several books and numerous articles, museum director, editor, and former contributing associate editor to the Encyclopedia of New York State.

Review:

"An extraordinary chronicle of ordinary peopleā€¦a non-traditional chronicle [told in] in depth biographies." - --Hudson Valley Bookshelf

About this edition

• Publisher: Kerleen Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0975460102
• ISBN 13: 9780975460108
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 258