" . . . a sweeping, analytical synethsis of collective violence from the colonial experience to the present." -American Studies "Gilje has written 'the book' on rioting throughout American history." -The Historian ." . . a thorough, illuminating, and at times harrowing account of man's inhumanity to man." -William and Mary Quarterly " . . . fulfills its title's promise as an encyclopedic study . . . an impressive accomplishment and required reading for anyone interested in America's contentious past." -Journal of the Early Republic "Gilje has written a thought-provoking survey of the social...

The Road to Mobocracy is the first major study of public disorder in New York City from the Revolutionary period through the Jacksonian era. During that time, the mob lost its traditional, institutional role as corporate safety valve and social corrective, tolerated by public officials. It became autonomous, a violent menace to individual and public good expressing the discordant urges and fears of a pluralistic society. Indeed, it tested the premises of democratic government.

Paul Gilje relates the practices of New York mobs to their American and European roots and uses both...

Liberty on the Waterfront American Maritime Culture in the Age of Revolution Paul A. Gilje Winner of the 2005 SHEAR Book Prize Winner of the 2004 John Lyman Book Award for U.S. Maritime History from the North American Society for Oceanic History "In its ambitious sweep and encyclopedic detail, Gilje's rendering of American maritime culture during the tumultuous century from 1750 to 1850 is unlikely to be surpassed."--William and Mary Quarterly "Liberty on the Waterfront dramatically alters past perceptions of sailors and their worlds afloat and ashore. . . . A broad-based and...

America between the Revolution and the Civil War was a society in full adolescence. Vibrant, cocky, feeling its own strength, and ready to take on the world, America was driven by an upstart economy and a capitalist bravado. The early republic, argues Paul Gilje in his cogent introduction, was the crucial period in the development of that trademark characteristic of American society--modern capitalism. In this collection of essays, eight social and economic historians consider the rise of capitalism in the early American republic. Expanding upon traditional interpretations of economic...

The American Revolution is one of the most studied time periods in U.S. history and a substantial part of the history curriculum in schools. The new three-volume Encyclopedia of Revolutionary America is the definitive reference to everything students need to know about this pivotal moment in American history. Written by a preeminent scholar in the field, with a foreword by the esteemed Gary B. Nash, this comprehensive A-to-Z encyclopedia not only includes discussion of the continental U.S., but contains coverage of the Atlantic world and the North American continent as well.

In this book a rich selection of documents captures the work experience of ordinary, previously anonymous New Yorkers in the early years of the...

On July 2, 1812, Captain David Porter raised a banner on the USS Essex proclaiming A free trade and sailors rights, thus creating a political slogan that explained the War of 1812. Free trade demanded the protection of American commerce, while sailors' rights insisted that the British end the impressment of seamen from American ships. Repeated for decades in Congress and in taverns, the slogan reminds us today that our second war with Great Britain was not a mistake. It was a contest for the ideals of the American Revolution bringing together both the high culture of the Enlightenment to...

This book explores American maritime world, including cursing, language, logbooks, storytelling, sailor songs, reading, and material culture.

This book explores American maritime world, including cursing, language, logbooks, storytelling, sailor songs, reading, and material culture.