Ready-made democracy : a history of men's dress in the American Republic, 1760-1860 / Michael Zakim.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zakim, Michael.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Men's clothing--United States--History.

Men's clothing.

Costume--Symbolic aspects--United States.

Costume.

Costume--United States--Psychological aspects.

Costume--Symbolic aspects.

History.

United States.

Psychological aspects.

Political culture--United States.

Political culture.

Capitalism--United States.

Capitalism.

United States--Politics and government.

Politics and government.

United States--Social life and customs.

Manners and customs.

Physical Description:

x, 296 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Summary:

Ready-Made Democracy explores the history of men's dress in America to consider how capitalism and democracy emerged at the center of American life during the century between the Revolution and the Civil War. Michael Zakim demonstrates how clothing initially attained a significant place in the American political imagination on the eye of Independence. At a time when household production was a popular expression of civic virtue, homespun clothing was widely regarded as a reflection of America's most cherished republican values: simplicity, industriousness, frugality, and independence.

By the early nineteenth century, homespun began to disappear from the American material landscape. Exhortations of industry and modesty, however, remained a common fixture of public life. In fact, they found expression in the form of the business suit. Here, Zakim traces the evolution of homespun clothing into its ostensible opposite -- the woolen coats, vests, and pantaloons that were "ready-made" for sale and wear across the country. In doing so, he demonstrates how traditional notions of work and property actually helped give birth to the modern industrial order. For Zakim, the history of men's dress in America mirrored this transformation of the nation's social and material landscape profit-seeking in newly expanded markets, organizing a waged labor system in the city, shopping at "single-prices," and standardizing a business persona.

In illuminating the critical links between politics, economics, and fashion in antebellum America, Ready-Made Democracy will prove essential to anyone interested in the history of the United States and in the creation of modern culture in general.

Contents:

Introduction: Sartorial Politics 1

1 A Homespun Ideology 11

2 A Clothing Business 37

3 The Reinvention of Tailoring 69

4 Dressing for Work 96

5 Ready-Made Labor 127

6 The Seamstress 157

7 A Fashion Regime 185.

Notes:

Originally presented as the author's doctoral dissertation, Columbia University.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [221]-288) and index.

ISBN:

0226977935

OCLC:

52182529