Culture Change and the New Technology: An Archaeology of the Early American Industrial Era / Edition 1

by Paul A. Shackel

Overview

Harpers Ferry was one of America's earliest and most significant industrial communities - serving as an excellent example of the changing patterns of human relations that led to dramatic progress in work life and in domestic relations in modern times. In this well-illustrated book, Paul A. Shackel investigates the historical archaeology of Harpers Ferry, revealing the culture change and influence of new technology on workers and their families. He focuses on the contributions of laborers, craftsmen, and other subordinate groups to industrial progress, and examines ethnic and interracial development in an economy that was transformed from craft-based to industrial.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306453335
Publisher:	Springer US
Publication date:	07/31/1996
Series:	Contributions To Global Historical Archaeology
Edition description:	1996
Pages:	217
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.36(d)

Table of Contents

Industry and Interpreting the Past.- 1. “At the Mercy of the Capitalist”.- 2. “The Most Eligible Spot on the Whole River”: Harpers Ferry—The Early Years.- 3. “Under a Malign Influence”: Factory Discipline, Political Factionalism, Corruption, and the New Technology.- 4. “Their Little Gardens”: Landscapes in an Armory Town.- 5. “Customs and Habits Interwoven with the Very Fibers of Things”: Consumerism among Armory Households.- 6. “Oh! Let Oppression’s Hand Be Stay’d”: The Transformation from Craft to Wage Labor.- 7. “Home...! Refuge from Sadness”.- Appendix: Interviews with Armory Workers, 1842.- References.

Editorial Reviews

Shackel's Culture change and the new technology turns out actually to be an account of a single site: the town and national armoury at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. … The story is told clearly and accessibly, and with some style. … It is the best example I have read of a theoretically informed approach to ‘industrial archaeology’, and as such deserves to be read by industrial archaeologists everywhere.” (Matthew Johnson, Antiquity, Vol. 71, March, 1997)

‘An insightful discussion about the implications of social inequality within an industrial society.'
Historical Archaeology, 32:2 (1998)

‘Interesting and cogent...A useful archaeological reference for the material manifestations of early industrialisation.'
TheMidden, 30:1 (1998)

From the Publisher

Investigates the rise of industry at Harper's Ferry, now in West Virginia, during the 19th century and its impact on working life and domestic relations. Examines the shift of the economy from craft-based to industry-based, the establishment of the national armory that was raided by abolitionist John Brown, and the contribution to economic development of laborers, craftsmen, and other subordinate groups. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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