Rum Punch and Revolution Taverngoing and Public Life in
Eighteenth-Century Philadelphia Peter Thompson "A gold mine. . . .
The author creates a fascinating story, rich in tidbits and
anecdotes."--"Choice" "A marvelous book about an important,
interesting, and diverting subject."--"American Historical Review"
"Thompson is surely right about the long term change: the class
stratification of tavern culture did cause some people to stop
hearing voices with contrary opinions."--"William and Mary
Quarterly" "An important, provocative book."--"Labour/Le Travail"
'Twas Honest old Noah first planted the Vine And mended his morals
by drinking its Wine. --from a drinking song by Benjamin Franklin
There were, Peter Thompson notes, some one hundred and fifty
synonyms for inebriation in common use in colonial Philadelphia
and, on the eve of the Revolution, just as many licensed drinking
establishments. Clearly, eighteenth-century Philadelphians were
drawn to the tavern. In addition to the obvious lure of the liquor,
taverns offered overnight accommodations, meals, and stabling for
visitors. They also served as places to gossip, gamble, find work,
make trades, and gather news. In "Rum Punch and Revolution,"
Thompson shows how the public houses provided a setting in which
Philadelphians from all walks of life revealed their characters and
ideas as nowhere else. He takes the reader into the cramped
confines of the colonial bar room, describing the friendships,
misunderstandings and conflicts which were generated among the
city's drinkers and investigates the profitability of running a
tavern in a city which, until independence, set maximum prices on
the cost of drinks and services in its public houses. Taverngoing,
Thompson writes, fostered a sense of citizenship that influenced
political debate in colonial Philadelphia and became an issue in
the city's revolution. Opinionated and profoundly undeferential,
taverngoers did more than drink; they forced their political
leaders to consider whether and how public opinion could be
represented in the counsels of a newly independent nation. Peter
Thompson is Sydney Mayer Lecturer in Early American History at the
University of Oxford and a Fellow of St. Cross College. Early
American Studies 1998 296 pages 6 x 9 21 illus. ISBN
978-0-8122-1664-6 Paper $26.50s 17.50 World Rights American History
Short copy: Opinionated and profoundly undeferential, taverngoers
did more than drink; they forced their political leaders to
consider whether and how public opinion could be represented in the
counsels of a newly independent nation.
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