SAM PATCH, THE FAMOUS JUMPER

Johnson, Paul E.

ISBN 10: 0809083884 / ISBN 13: 9780809083886

Published by Hill and Wang, 2004

About this Item

Cover Case has some rubbing and edgewear. Access codes, CD's, slipcovers and other accessories may not be included.

Seller Inventory # 2Y6JCV000MKM_ns

Bibliographic Details

• Title: SAM PATCH, THE FAMOUS JUMPER
• Publisher: Hill and Wang
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0809083884
• ISBN 13: 9780809083886
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: good

About this title

Synopsis

The true history of a legendary American folk hero

In the 1820s, a fellow named Sam Patch grew up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, working there (when he wasn't drinking) as a mill hand for one of America's new textile companies. Sam made a name for himself one day by jumping seventy feet into the tumultuous waters below Pawtucket Falls. When in 1827 he repeated the stunt in Paterson, New Jersey, another mill town, an even larger audience gathered to cheer on the daredevil they would call the "Jersey Jumper." Inevitably, he went to Niagara Falls, where in 1829 he jumped not once but twice in front of thousands who had paid for a good view.

The distinguished social historian Paul E. Johnson gives this deceptively simple story all its deserved richness, revealing in its characters and social settings a virtual microcosm of Jacksonian America. He also relates the real jumper to the mythic Sam Patch who turned up as a daring moral hero in the works of Hawthorne and Melville, in London plays and pantomimes, and in the spotlight with Davy Crockett-a Sam Patch who became the namesake of Andrew Jackson's favorite horse.

In his shrewd and powerful analysis, Johnson casts new light on aspects of American society that we may have overlooked or underestimated. This is innovative American history at its best.

About the Author

Paul E. Johnson, professor of history at the University of South Carolina, is the author of A Shopkeeper's Millennium, Sam Patch, the Famous Jumper and coauthor, with Sean Wilentz, of The Kingdom of Matthias. He lives in Columbia, South Carolina, and Onancock, Virginia.