Traders and Gentlefolk : The Livingstons of New York, 1675-1790 / Cynthia A. Kierner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kierner, Cynthia A., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Livingston family.

Merchants--New York (State)--History--17th century.

Merchants.

Gentry--New York (State)--History--17th century.

Gentry.

Elite (Social sciences)--New York (State)--History--17th century.

Elite (Social sciences).

Merchants--New York (State)--History--18th century.

Gentry--New York (State)--History--18th century.

Elite (Social sciences)--New York (State)--History--18th century.

New York (State)--History--1775-1865.

New York (State).

New York (State)--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 283 p. :) ill., maps ;

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Including among their number a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the founder of an ironworks, the Livingstons were a prominent family in the political, economic, and social life of colonial New York. Drawing on a rich array of sources, Cynthia Kierner vividly recreates the history of four generations of Livingstons and sheds new light on the development of both the elite ideology they represented and of the wider culture of early America.Although New York's colonial elite have been considered self-interested political intriguers, Kierner contends that the Livingstons idealized gentility and public-spiritedness, industry and morality. She shows how New York's most successful traders became gentlefolk without abandoning their entrepreneurial values, how they forged a distinct culture, and how the Revolution ultimately occasioned the rejection of elite political authority.Traders and Gentlefolk focuses on the lives of four members of the family: Robert Livingston, a Scottish emigrant who, with his wife Alida Schuyler, attained substantial political influence and acquired Livingston Manor; their son Philip, whose outstanding commercial talents secured his descendants' financial security; Philip's son, William, an outspoken civic leader and energetic supporter of American independence; and Robert R. Livingston, a jurist and diplomat whose aristocratic temperament prevented him from playing a vital role in post-Revolutionary politics.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Maps and Tables

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Politics for Profit

2. The Family Business

3. The Family Land

4. Useful Gentlefolk

5. Politics and Principles

6. Aristocratic Republicans

Conclusion

Appendix: Livingston Genealogy

Bibliographical Essay

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 262-272) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jul 2019)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781501731532

150173153X

OCLC:

1132227052