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Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America by David Hackett Fischer
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Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America

by David Hackett Fischer

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For anyone interested in the interaction between early British regional cultures and the founding settlements of America, Hackett's book is essential reading. It's a fine research and exposition of events that you imagine that you understand but really don't .
On finishing it I couldn't look at the United States ( or Great Britain ) the same way again. ( )
  Miro | May 25, 2009 |
Fischer was my prof for two history classes in undergrad. This book shows how brilliant he is at understanding history. He presents the four British "folkways" that came to America and demonstrates how they influenced American culture in four specific regions. ( )
  gaialover2 | Dec 17, 2008 |
Admittedly, I have not quite finished this, and have only been able to read it in small bits interspersed with my other books - it's a lot of information. But it's fascinating! I've seen a lot of the differences between myself (from Virginia) and my local friends (NY) explained - slang expressions, favorite foods, manners. Not to mention learned a lot about regional differences in England that I wasn't really aware of.

I also learned a lot more about early American immigrants than "they were persecuted for their religion". True in some cases, less so in others. And then some of them chose to persecute others for their religion once they got here, evidently.

All in all, a very interesting account of early immigrants to the US.
  timepiece | Sep 30, 2008 |
Excellent, excellent. Fischer makes a compelling case for why there are the regional differences found in America. Of course, I especially enjoyed reading about the influences Quakers had on American life. Fischer is very readable and makes history live.
  kaulsu | Apr 19, 2008 |
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Wikipedia in English (7)

Albion's Seed

David Hackett Fischer

Irish American

Middle Colonies

Nicholas Spencer

Robert Abell

Thou

Book description
Table of Contents (LOC):

INTRODUCTION
The Determinants of a Voluntary Society, 3

EAST ANGLIA TO MASSACHUSETTS:
The Exodus of the English Puritans, 1629-41, 13

THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND TO VIRGINIA:
Distressed Cavaliers and Indentured Servants, 1642-75, 207

NORTH MIDLANDS TO THE DELAWARE:
The Friends' Migration, 1675-1725, 419

BORDERLANDS TO THE BACKCOUNTRY:
The Flight from North Britain, 1717-1775, 605

CONCLUSION
Four British Folkways in American History:
The Origin and Persistence of Regional Cultures
in the United States, 783

Acknowledgments, 899

Abbreviations, 903

Sources for Maps, 907

Index, 911

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0195069056, Paperback)

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.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:57 -0400)

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