This fascinating book is the first volume in a projected cultural history of the United States, from the earliest English settlements to our own time. It is a history of American folkways as they have changed through time, and it argues a thesis about the importance for the United States of having been British in its cultural origins.
While most people in the United States today have no British ancestors, they have assimilated regional cultures which were created by British colonists, even while preserving ethnic identities at the same time. In this sense, nearly all Americans are "Albion's Seed," no matter what their ethnicity may be. The concluding section of this remarkable book explores the ways that regional cultures have continued to dominate national politics from 1789 to 1988, and still help to shape attitudes toward education, government, gender, and violence, on which differences between American regions are greater than between European nations.
PREFACE: An Idea of Cultural History
The Exodus of the English Puritans, 1629-1641
Religious Origins of the Great Migration
Social Origins of the Puritan Migration
Regional Origins of the Puritan Migration
Regional Origins: Names on the New Land
Origins of the Massachusetts Elite
The East of England before the Great Migration
A “New Paradise” for Puritans: Massachusetts Bay
The Colonial Mood: Anxiety and Nostalgia in Massachusetts Bay
Massachusetts Speech Ways: Yankee Twang and Norfolk Whine
Massachusetts Building Ways: East Anglian and Kentish Origins of New England Houses
Massachusetts Family Ways: The Puritan Idea of the Covenanted Family
Massachusetts Marriage Ways: The Puritan Idea of Marriage as a Contract
Massachusetts Gender Ways: The Puritan Idea of a Covenant Between Unequals
Massachusetts Sex Ways: Puritan Ideas of Flesh and the Spirit
Massachusetts Child-naming Ways: Puritan Onomastics
Massachusetts Child-rearing Ways: Breaking of Will
Massachusetts Age Ways: The Puritan Idea of the Elder-Saint
Massachusetts Death Ways: The Puritan Idea of Instrumental Fatalism
Massachusetts Religious Ways: The Puritan Meeting and Lecture Style
Massachusetts Magic Ways: The Puritan Obsession with Witchcraft
Massachusetts Learning Ways: The Puritan Ethic of Learning
Massachusetts Food Ways: Origins of New England’s “Canonical Dish”
Massachusetts Dress Ways: The Puritan Taste for Simple Clothes and “Sadd” Colors
Massachusetts Sport Ways: The Puritan Idea of “Lawful Recreation”
Massachusetts Work Ways: Puritan and East Anglian Economies
Massachusetts Time Ways: The Puritan Idea of “Improving the Time”
Massachusetts Wealth Ways: Puritan Ideas of the Material Order
Massachusetts Rank Ways: A System of Truncated Orders
The Massachusetts Comity: Patterns of Migration, Settlement and Association
Massachusetts Order Ways: The Puritan Idea of Order as Unity
Massachusetts Power Ways: The Politics of Town Meeting Government
Massachusetts Freedom Ways: The Puritan Idea of Ordered Liberty
Distressed Cavaliers and Indentured Servants, 1642-75
Sir William Berkeley and Virginia’s Elite
Virginia’s Great Migration: Social Origins
Virginia’s Great Migration: Religious Origins
Virginia’s Great Migration: Regional Origins
The Cradle of Virginia: The South of England
The Colonial Mood: Virginia and the Mother Country
Virginia Speech Ways: English Origins of the Southern Accent
Virginia Building Ways: English Origins of Chesapeake Houses
Virginia Family Ways: The Anglican Idea of the Patriarchal Family
Virginia Marriage Ways: The Anglican Idea of Marriage as a Sacred Union
Virginia Gender Ways: True-born Englishmen and Spirited “She-Britons”
Virginia Sex Ways: Male Predators and Female Breeders
Virginia Naming Ways: Anglican Onomastics
Virginia Child-rearing Ways: Bending the Will
Virginia Age Ways: The Anglican Idea of the Elder-Patriarch
Virginia Death Ways: The Anglican Idea of Stoic Fatalism
Virginia Religious Ways: The Anglican Devotional-Liturgical Style
Virginia Magic Ways: The Cavalier Obsession with Fortune
Virginia Learning Ways: Anglican Traditions of Hierarchical Learning
Virginia Food Ways: Origins of Southern Cooking
Virginia Dress Ways: Cavalier Ideas of Clothing and Rank
Virginia Sport Ways: The Great Chain of Slaughter
Virginia Work Ways: The Ambivalence of the Cavalier Ethic
Virginia Time Ways: The Cavalier Idea of “Killing the Time”
Virginia Wealth Ways: Cavalier Ideas of the Material Order
Virginia Rank Ways: A System of Extended Orders
The Virginia Comity: Patterns of Migration, Settlement and Association
Virginia Order Ways: The Anglican Idea of Order as Hierarchy
Virginia Power Ways: The Politics of Court and Vestry Government
Virginia Freedom Ways: The Anglican Idea of Hegemonic Liberty
The Friends’ Migration, 1675-1725
The Friends’ Migration: Numbers and Proportions
The Friends’ Migration: Religious Origins
The Friends’ Migration: Ethnic Origins
The Friends’ Migration: Social Origins
The Friends’ Migration: Regional Origins
“The Quaker Galilee”: England’s North Midlands
The Quaker Canaan: The Delaware Valley
William Penn and the Delaware Valley: The Intent of the Founder
“Our Mob”: Origins of William Penn’s Delaware Elite
The Colonial Mood: Cultural Nostalgia in a New Environment
Delaware Speech Ways: English Origins of the American Midland Dialect
Delaware Building Ways: North Midland Origins of Quaker Houses
Delaware Family Ways: The Quaker Idea of the Family of Love
Delaware Marriage Ways: The Quaker Idea of Marriage as “Loving Agreement”
Delaware Gender Ways: The Quaker Idea of “Help-Meets for Each Other”
Delaware Sex Ways: “Not to Go into Her but for Propagation”
Delaware Child-naming Ways: Quaker Onomastics
Delaware Child-rearing Ways: Bracing the Will
Delaware Age Ways: Quaker Elders as “Nursing Fathers and Mothers”
Delaware Death Ways: The Quaker Idea of Optimistic Fatalism
Delaware Religious Ways: The Quaker Spiritist Style
Delaware Magic Ways: The Quaker Obsession with Spiritualism
Delaware Learning Ways: Quaker Ideas of Learning and the Light Within
Delaware Food Ways: Quaker Ideals and North Midland Traditions
Delaware Dress Ways: The Quaker Idea of “Going Plain in the World”
Delaware Sport Ways: The Quaker Idea of Useful Recreation
Delaware Work Ways: Quaker Ideas of Cumber and Calling
Delaware Time Ways: The Quaker Idea of “Redeeming the Time”
Delaware Wealth Ways: Quaker Ideas of the Material Order
Delaware Rank Ways: Stratification Within a Single Order
The Delaware Comity: Patterns of Migration, Settlement and Association
Delaware Order Ways: The Quaker Idea of Order as Peace
Delaware Power Ways: The Politics of Commission Government
Delaware Freedom Ways: The Quaker Idea of Reciprocal Liberty
The Flight from North Britain, 1717-1775
Social Origins: Poverty and Pride
Religious Origins: Militant Christianity
Ethnic Origins: “We Are a Mixed People”
The Backcountry “Ascendancy”: Border Origins of an American Elite
The Colonial Mood: Anxiety and Insecurity in the Back Settlements
Backcountry Speech Ways: Border Origins of Southern Highland Speech
Backcountry Building Ways: Border Origins of Cabin and Cowpen
Backcountry Family Ways: Border Ideas of Clan and Kin
Backcountry Marriage Ways: Border Origins of Bridal Customs
Backcountry Gender Ways: Border Rituals of Love and Violence
Backcountry Sex Ways: The Border Celebration of Sensuality
Backcountry Child-naming Ways: Border Onomastics
Backcountry Child-rearing Ways: Building the Will
Backcountry Age Ways: The Border Idea of the Elder-Thane
Backcountry Death Ways: The Border Idea of Nescient Fatalism
Backcountry Religious Ways: The North British Field-Meeting Style
Backcountry Magic Ways: The Border Obsession with Sorcery
Backcountry Learning Ways: North British Rituals of Schooling
Backcountry Food Ways: North British Origins of Southern Highland Cooking
Backcountry Dress Ways: Border Origins of Country Western Costume
Backcountry Sport Ways: North British Origins of Southern Highland Games
Backcountry Work Ways: Border Attitudes toward War and Work
Backcountry Time Ways: The Border Idea of “Passing the Time”
Backcountry Wealth Ways: Border Ideas of the Material Order
Backcountry Rank Ways: A System of Stratification Without Orders
The Backcountry Comity: Patterns of Migration, Settlement, and Association
Backcountry Order Ways: The Border Idea of Order as Lex Talionis
Backcountry Power Ways: The Politics of Personal Government
Backcountry Freedom Ways: The Border Idea of Natural Liberty
Genesis: The British Reconnaissance of North America
Exodus: The Four Great Migrations, 1629-1750
British Origins: The Regional Factor
British Origins: The Religious Factor
British Origins: The Factor of Social Rank
British Origins: The Factor of Generations
American Development: The Environment
American Development: The Indians
American Development: Imperial Politics
American Development: Immigration and Race
The Expansion of Four Regional Cultures
Rhythms of Regional Development
Regional Conflict in the Colonies
Regional Cultures and the Coming of Independence
The Revolution as a Rising of Regional Cultures
Regional Cultures in the New Republic: The Constitutional Coalition, 1787-95
The Persistence of Old British Cultures in the New Republic
The Hegemony of Four Cultural Regions
The Presidency as a Case Study
A National Experiment in Ordered Liberty: New England’s Hegemony in the Adams Presidency, 1797-1801
The Jeffersonian Coalition: Virginia, Pennsylvania and the Backcountry against New England, 1801-25
The Jacksonian Coalition: A Border Chieftain in the White House, 1829-37
The Civil War as a Conflict of Regional Cultures
Regional Cultures in Reconstruction, 1865-77
The Republican Coalition versus the Solid South, 1880-96
Regional Responses to Imperialism
Regional Origins of Populism and Progressivism
Woodrow Wilson: The Omnibus Reformer, 1913-20
The High Tide of Regional Politics, 1920-28
Old Folkways and the New Immigration
The New Deal Coalition: Ethnic and Regional Cultures
Regional Cultures in World War II
The Postwar Revival of Regional Politics, 1945-60
The Revolution in Regional Alignments, 1960-68
Regional Identities: America’s Mental Maps
Regional Patterns of Cultural Behavior
Persistent Regionalism: Problems of Cause
The Cultural Determinants of a Voluntary Society