In pursuit of privilege : a history of New York City's upper class and the making of a Metropolis / Clifton Hood.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hood, Clifton, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

National Book Committee.

Economic conditions.

Manners and customs.

History.

Rich people.

Elite (Social sciences).

Upper class.

Civilization.

New York (N.Y.)--Civilization.

New York (N.Y.).

Upper class--New York (State)--New York--History.

Elite (Social sciences)--New York (State)--New York--History.

Rich people--New York (State)--New York--History.

New York (N.Y.)--Social life and customs--History.

New York (N.Y.)--Economic conditions.

Economic history.

New York (State)--New York.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xviii, 488 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Upper class and the making of New York City, since 1753

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2016]

Summary:

"Clifton Hood traces the history of the elite class of New York City and the institutions they created in their relentless pursuit of privilege. While they were responsible for the creation of intuitions such as Columbia University, the New York Public Library system, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and provided skilled leadership in eras of immense turmoil, the idea of a privileged class clashes with the American democratic ideal. And, in fact, this upper class clashed with the rising professional class of bankers, lawyers, and other executives who increasingly rose in prestige and power as time rolled on. In Pursuit of Privilege traces the history of this elite class over two centuries, focusing on decades of upheaval and great change (such as the wars of the 1780s, 1860s, 1940s and the urban upheaval in the 1820s and 1970s), and argues the upper class was not born in the Gilded Age, but that the late nineteenth century was one of many periods where the elites wielded great power and influence and profoundly shaped, for better and for worse, the history of New York and America."--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: The upper class is a foreign country

"The best mart on the continent:" The 1750s and 1760s

Uncertain adjustments: The 1780s and 1790s

Immense wealth: The 1820s & beyond

All for the union: The 1860s

A dynamic businessmen's aristocracy: The 1890s

The ways of millionaireville: The 1890s

Making spaces of their own: The 1940s

The anti-elitist elite: the 1970s & beyond

Conclusion: The limits of anti-elitism.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780231172165

0231172168

OCLC:

950448545