Culture Change and the New Technology

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Paul A. Shackel

   Pages 1-16

3. “At the Mercy of the Capitalist”

   • Daniel Webster

   Pages 17-26

4. “The Most Eligible Spot on the Whole River”

   • George Washington

   Pages 27-58

5. “Under a Malign Influence”

   • George Talcott

   Pages 59-85

6. “Their Little Gardens”

   • Virginia Free Press

   Pages 87-109

7. “Customs and Habits Interwoven with the Very Fibers of Things”

   • Benjamin Moor

   Pages 111-145

8. “Oh! Let Oppression’s Hand Be Stay’d”

   • Virginia Free Press

   Pages 147-162

9. “Home...! Refuge from Sadness”

   • Lydia H. Sigourney

   Pages 163-176

10. Back Matter

    Pages 177-217

    PDF

Harpers Ferry was one of America's earliest and most significant industrial communities - serving as an excellent example of the changing patterns of human relations that led to dramatic progress in work life and in domestic relations in modern times. In this well-illustrated book, Paul A. Shackel investigates the historical archaeology of Harpers Ferry, revealing the culture change and influence of new technology on workers and their families. He focuses on the contributions of laborers, craftsmen, and other subordinate groups to industrial progress, and examines ethnic and interracial development in an economy that was transformed from craft-based to industrial.

• Harpers Ferry
• archaeology
• historical archaeology

“Shackel's Culture change and the new technology turns out actually to be an account of a single site: the town and national armoury at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. … The story is told clearly and accessibly, and with some style. … It is the best example I have read of a theoretically informed approach to ‘industrial archaeology’, and as such deserves to be read by industrial archaeologists everywhere.” (Matthew Johnson, Antiquity, Vol. 71, March, 1997)

`An insightful discussion about the implications of social inequality within an industrial society.'
Historical Archaeology, 32:2 (1998)

`Interesting and cogent...A useful archaeological reference for the material manifestations of early industrialisation.'
TheMidden, 30:1 (1998)

• Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Harpers Ferry, USA

  Paul A. Shackel

• University of Maryland, College Park, USA

  Paul A. Shackel

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