book:
Cincinnati in 1840: The Social and Functional
Organization of an Urban Community During the Pre-Civil War Period
(Urban Life and Urban Landscape)
During the pre-Civil War period, Cincinnati was the fastest growing and,
according to many contemporary observers, most interesting city in
America. This classic study, completed in the early 1970s, focusses on
the community in 1840 to explain its success but also to suggest some
broader patterns in the city's development and American
urbanization.<P>Using local census records, city directories,
Walter Stix Glazer describes the demographic, social, economic, and
political structure of the adult white male population in 1840 and then
develops a unified model of its social and functional organizations.
This analysis (based on computerized records of thousands of
Cincinnatians) also documents some broader trends between 1820 and 1860:
the volatility of Cincinnati's labor force, the career patterns of its
homeowners, and the leadership of a small group of successful citizens
active in a broad range of voluntary associations.<P>This
statistical analysis is complemented with sections of traditional
historical narrative and biographical profiles that illustrate the
general themes of the book. Glazer argues that Cincinnati's success up
to 1840 was due to a unified booster vision and a cohesive community
elite that gradually broke down, as a result of ethnic and economic
division, over the next twenty years. This story has broader
implications in terms of the character of Jacksonian democracy and
American urbanization.
- ISBN:
- 9780814250303
- Author:
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