1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910466182603321

Autore

Goodfriend Joyce D.

Titolo

Who should rule at home? : confronting the elite in British New York City / / Joyce D. Goodfriend

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Ithaca, New York ; ; London, [England] : , : Cornell University Press, , 2017

©2017

ISBN

1-5017-0803-1

1-5017-0804-X

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (296 pages) : illustrations, map, photographs

Disciplina

974.7/02

Soggetti

British - New York (State) - New York - History - 18th century

Social classes - New York (State) - New York - History - 18th century

Electronic books.

New York (N.Y.) Social conditions 18th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Previously issued in print: 2017.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction: The Pan-ethnic Elite and the Problem of Cultural Authority -- Part One: The Indigestible Dutch -- 1. The Crystallization of an Anti-Dutch Narrative -- 2. From Nation to Linguistic Community -- Part Two: Pious Commoners -- 3. George Whitefield Awakens New York City -- 4. Becoming Religious Consumers -- Part Three: Defiant Dependents -- 5. "Master of the House"? -- 6. Attached to the Household -- 7. Sabotaging the Civilizers -- Conclusion: Tipping the Cultural Scales -- Notes -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

In Who Should Rule at Home? Joyce D. Goodfriend argues that the high-ranking gentlemen who figure so prominently in most accounts of New York City's evolution from 1664, when the English captured the small Dutch outpost of New Amsterdam, to the eve of American independence in 1776 were far from invincible and that the degree of cultural power they held has been exaggerated. The urban elite experienced challenges to its cultural authority at different times, from different groups, and in a variety of settings. Goodfriend illuminates the conflicts that pitted the privileged few against the socially



anonymous many who mobilized their modest resources to creatively resist domination. Critics of orthodox religious practice took to heart the message of spiritual rebirth brought to New York City by the famed evangelist George Whitefield and were empowered to make independent religious choices. Wives deserted husbands and took charge of their own futures. Indentured servants complained or simply ran away. Enslaved women and men carved out spaces where they could control their own lives and salvage their dignity. Impoverished individuals, including prostitutes, chose not to bow to the dictates of the elite, even though it meant being cut off from the sources of charity. Among those who confronted the elite were descendants of the early Dutch settlers; by clinging to their native language and traditional faith they preserved a crucial sense of autonomy.