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Early American StudiesVol. 4 Iss. 2 (2006)

Women's Trading Networks and Dangerous Economies in Eighteenth-Century New York City

Serena Zabin

While towards the end of her interesting and well researched essay on female traders and merchants in New York, Zabin explores the possible dangers of the vocation in eighteenth-century New York, her primary focus is on the convergence of gender issues and the marketplace.

"She Said She did not Know Money": Urban Women and Atlantic Markets in the Revolutionary Era

Ellen Hartigan-O'Connor

Using Newport, RI and Charleston, SC as representative cities, the author explores how women in the revolutionary era were economically influenced by the Atlantic trade routes. Hartigan-O'Connor succeeds in explaining how this market moved women from economies of the household to economies of the outside world.

Female Consumerism and Household Authority in Early National New England

Mary Beth Stevens

Through the examination of newspaper advertisements detailing household debt, Stevens examines the rise of the accusation that women were ruining the household through spendthrift practices. Stevens successfully argues that husbands might have been more concerned about the loss of patriarchal rule than financial ruin.

The Last Mantuamaker: Craft Tradition and Commercial Change in Boston, 1760-1845

Marla R. Miller

Miller's excellent article discusses the craft tradition of mantua (a type of form-fitting overcoat) making in relation to women's businesses and trade in Boston. The author weaves a brilliant tale describing the craftswoman's evolution in the economic market from 1760 to 1845.

"Divers Debts": Women's Participation in the Local Economy, Albemarle, North Carolina, 1663-1729

Kristi Rutz-Robbins

While the author thoroughly outlines Albemarle court records for debt suits involving women, Rutz-Robbins provides an ineffectual conclusion. After an exhaustive description of Diana White's debts and business, she reasons that Diana's story "permit[s] a measure of understanding about the diversity of those experiences."

Gender and the Structure of Planter Households in the Eighteenth-Century Chesapeake: Harford County, Maryland, in 1776

Kathleen Fawver

Fawver uses Harford County to explore Daniel Scott Smith's notion of the importance of studying "female headship" in colonial North America. Through court records Fawver effectively vindicates Smith's argument.

The Night the Yankees Burned Broadway: The New York City Fire of 1776

Benjamin L. Carp

For years, the New York City fire of 1776 was thought to be accidental. In this accomplished essay, Carp expertly argues that the Patriots might have deliberately started the fire and then proceeds in examining how a cover-up was necessary to avoid political disaster.

"Your Affectionate Brother": Complementary Manhoods in the Letters of John and Timothy Pickering

John Gilbert McCurdy

While the Pickering letters have been previously studied, McCurdy explores a new topic from the correspondence: manhood in the later 1700s and early 1800s and adeptly contrasts the two brother's lives, thus shedding light on the concept of manhood.

REVIEWED BY

Caroline Harting

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