Capital elites : high society in Washington, D.C., after the Civil War / Kathryn Allamong Jacob.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jacob, Kathryn Allamong.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Elite (Social sciences)--Washington (D.C.)--History--19th century.

Elite (Social sciences).

Upper class--Washington (D.C.)--History--19th century.

Upper class.

Washington (D.C.)--Social life and customs.

Washington (D.C.).

Manners and customs.

Genre:

Government publications -- United States.

History.

Physical Description:

x, 318 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington [D.C.] : Smithsonian Institution Press, ©1995.

Summary:

"In this social history of the nation's capital, Kathryn Allamong Jacob portrays the fancy dress balls, glittering embassy parties, and popular scandal that characterized Washington's high society during the Gilded Age. Jacob argues that the capital's social elite has always been unique because its fortunes - unlike those of aristocrats who ruled other American cities - are tied inextricably to the ubiquitous presence of the federal government."--BOOK JACKET. "Jacob shows how the Civil War affected Washington like no other city, vanquishing the hereditary elite - the Antiques - and opening the gates to new millionaires - the Parvenues - who shaped the postwar society of the capital as they shifted its center from Lafayette Square to Dupont Circle."--BOOK JACKET. "With plentiful detail about selfish First Ladies, bitter bluebloods, greedy lobbyists, and cabinet ministers who accepted bribes to support their families' social ambitions, Capital Elites describes the magnetic attraction of political power and the ways in which moneyed society affected the conduct of government during the Gilded Age."--BOOK JACKET.

Contents:

High society gets underway in the new capital: 1800-1860

Washington society transformed: the Civil War and its aftermath in the capital

The blossoming of official society: 1868-1872

Official society sullied by scandal, cleansed by time: 1873-1900

The first rich newcomers trickle into Washington: 1865-1880

A rising tide of rich newcomers floods the capital: 1881-1900

"Dying snails": the old elite withdraws into its shell.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-302) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Jacob, Kathryn Allamong. Capital elites.

ISBN:

156098354X

9781560983545

OCLC:

30319091