The Best Poor Man's Country: A Geographical Study of Early Southeastern Pennsylvania
by James T. Lemon
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In many respects early Pennsylvania was the prototype of North American development. Its conservative defense of liberal individualism, its population of mixed national and religious origins, its dispersed farms, county seats, and farm-service villages, and its mixed crop and livestock agriculture served as models for much of the rural Middle West. To many western Europeans in the eighteenth century, life in early Pennsylvania offered a veritable paradise and refuge from oppression. Some show more called it "the best poor man's country in the world." The role of cultural backgrounds is important in this study of the development of early southeastern Pennsylvania, and as important is the interplay of people with the land. Lemon discusses the settlement of the land by western Europeans; the geographical and social mobility of the people; territorial organizations of farmlands, towns, and counties; and regional variations in land use, especially farming practices. Providing deeper access into the processes of social change, The Best Poor Man's Country remains a significant addition to the literature on colonial American historiography. show lessTags
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In many respects Pennsylvania was the prototype of North America. Its geography, mixed national and religious groups, dispersed villages and mixed agricultural and livestock farming served as models for the Middle West. Pennsylvania offered a veritable paradise and freedom from oppression. This book is a fie example of historical geography as a method of understanding our past.
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Author Information
3+ Works 86 Members
James T. Lemon is a professor emeritus of geography at the University of Toronto.
Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Best Poor Man's Country: A Geographical Study of Early Southeastern Pennsylvania
- Original publication date
- 1972
- Important places
- Pennsylvania, USA
- Dedication
- For Carolyn
- First words
- Frederick Brown was a typical (if hypothetical) early Pennsylvanian.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Today "Penn's woods" is anything but the best poor man's country in the world.
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- Subtitle varies: A Geographical Study of Early Southeastern Pennsylvania (1972); Early Southeastern Pennsylvania (2002)
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Statistics
- Members
- 83
- Popularity
- 380,503
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.58)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 2
