BOOK REVIEWS
Small Town America... ...continued from page 93
He also includes descriptions of mining camps and cow towns in WKH:HVWSUDLULHVLQWKH*UHDW3ODLQVFDVWHVDQGFODVVHVLQ$PHULFDQ WRZQVWKHHPHUJHQFHRIIDFWRULHVDQG LQGXVWULDOL]DWLRQDQGKLVSHU - sonal +RPHWRZQ-RXUQH\ Epilogue. As a so-called display of wealth, even many church ministers owned slaves. Details of migrating settlers in search of land, struggles for eq- uitable access to the land, how towns and laws emerged amid natural and manmade barriers, and how we got to where we are today are cov- ered in this well-written and gripping human drama. Richard Linge- man has provided us with an in-depth, easy-to-read, important lesson in American history. $O\FH2UWX]DULVDIUHHODQFHPHGLFDODQGVRFLDOVFLHQFHUHVHDUFKHUZULWHU DQGHGLWRUOLYLQJLQ0RQWJRPHU\&RXQW\0DU\ODQG6KHUXQVWKH:HOO0LQG $VVRFLDWLRQ RI*UHDWHU:DVKLQJWRQ D KROLVWLFPHGLFLQH LQIRUPDWLRQ FOHDU - LQJKRXVH WKDW IRFXVHV RQ HQYLURQPHQWDO DQG QXWULWLRQDO LQÀXHQFHV RQ RXU PHQWDODQGSK\VLFDOZHOOEHLQJ)RU¿YH\HDUVVKHHGLWHGWKH866XUJHRQ *HQHUDO VVPRNLQJDQGKHDOWKUHSRUWV6KHFDQEHUHDFKHGDW DQGE\HPDLODWDO\FHRUWX]DU#JPDLOFRP
The Town Meeting 7RZQPHHWLQJVZHUHYLHZHGDVPRUHFRQYHQLHQWDQGPRUHH̆HFWLYH venues for resolving daily complaints relating to fences, roads, and VWUD\LQJ DQLPDOV WKDQZHUH WKH ³UHPRWH FRORQLDO OHJLVODWXUHV´7RZQ PHHWLQJV WRRNSODFH DW ³WKHPHHWLQJKRXVHRQ WKHKLOO7KH HYROXWLRQ of the town meeting is the story of an evolution from oligarchy to de- PRFUDF\´ ,QLWLDOO\YRWLQJDW WKHVHPHHWLQJVZDV OLPLWHG WRSURSHUW\ owners and church members. However, leaving so many residents out SURYHG WR EH EXUGHQVRPH DQG FRXQWHUSURGXFWLYH ³(YHQWXDOO\ RQO\ minors, women, tenants, and persons who had not been accepted as LQKDELWDQWVZHUHH[FOXGHG´IURPWRZQPHHWLQJV'HPRFUDF\DVZHHQ - vision it today was still sorely lacking. Migrating West /LQJHPDQ¶VGHVFULSWLRQRIWKH³RUGHUO\VHWWOHPHQWRI1HZ(QJODQG E\KRPRJHQRXVJURXSV´LQWRZQVUXQXQGHUWKHDXVSLFHVRIWKH3XUL - tan church — with some Federal government supervision — is a sharp FRQWUDVWWRWKHYHU\GL̆HUHQWZHVWZDUGPLJUDWLRQ³3DUWSHOOPHOODQ - archy, wave after wave of all manner of people, rich and poor, skilled and unskilled, churched and unchurched, foreign and native, New En- JODQGDQG0LGGOH$WODQWLFDQGVRXWKHUQ,WEHJDQZLWKWKHXELTXLWRXV VTXDWWHUV´ Hardships and Prejudices Along the Frontier No one could go it alone on the frontier, thus necessitating helping others to ensure that everyone had help when needed. It was almost D ³FRPSXOVRU\ IRUP RI QHLJKERUO\ DVVLVWDQFH´ 1RW FRQIRUPLQJ ZDV DOVR FRQVLGHUHG D VLQ RI SULGH0RUPRQV IRU H[DPSOH HQFRXQWHUHG hostility for clinging to their unique beliefs and practices. And except for towns settled by New Englanders with strong abolitionist senti- ments, racism also prevailed. There was an urban race riot in 1841 in &LQFLQQDWLDJURZLQJ2KLRFLW\(YHQWKRXJK%ODFNVOLYHGLQWKHLURZQ sections of the city, they were attacked by a group of Irish thugs — a group almost as poor as the blacks were. <HWWKHDXWKRUUHPLQGVUHDGHUVWKDWLWZDVDOVRLQ2KLRZKHUH2EHU - OLQ&ROOHJHZDVHVWDEOLVKHGLQ/LEHUDOLQHYHU\VHQVHRIWKHZRUG WKH FROOHJH WUHDWHG DOO JURXSV DV HTXDOV:RPHQ ZHUH DGPLWWHG ³RQ HTXDOIRRWLQJZLWKPHQ´DVZHUH³FRORUHGSHUVRQVRQWHUPVRIHTXDOLW\ DQGEURWKHUKRRG´WKDW³ZDVXQKHDUGRIDWWKHWLPH´ Descriptions of the Migrations The author also provides thorough details of migrations along with SRSXODWLRQQXPEHUV ³%HWZHHQ DQG WKHSRSXODWLRQRI ,OOL - QRLVLQFUHDVHGIURPWRZKLOHLPPLJUDQWVHQ - WHUHG,QGLDQDLQDORQH%\2KLR¶VSRSXODWLRQZDVQHDUO\D PLOOLRQDQG LWKDGEHFRPHDPDMRUVWDWH LQ WKH8QLRQ´/DQGVFDPV were also widespread. Lingeman notes that land sale advertisements LQHDVWHUQDQGORFDOQHZVSDSHUVLQFRUSRUDWHGLPDJLQDWLRQZLWDQG³D IHZFUXPEVRIQHFHVVDU\WUXWK´ 0DQ\ZLYHVZHUH VXSSRVHGO\ZLOOLQJ WR IROORZ WKHLUKXVEDQGV WR WKH ZHVW/LQJHPDQZULWHVWKDW³7KHSLRQHHUZLIHPD\KDYHEHHQVXEVHU - vient to her husband, eating last, carrying the bundles, and getting up ¿UVW LQ WKHPRUQLQJ WR OD\ WKH¿UHPLON WKH FRZVGR WKHJDUGHQLQJ but she had respect due to one who pulls her own weight, and she KDG DXWKRULW\ZLWKLQ KHU RZQ FRQVLGHUDEOH VSKHUH´5HDGHUV VKRXOG remember that Lingeman is also a satirist.
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94—PATHWAYS—Fall 21
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