In early America; traditional commercial interaction revolved around an entity known as the general store. Unfortunately; most of these elusive small-town shops disappeared from our society without leaving business-related documents behind for scholars to analyze. This gap in the historical knowledge of America has made it difficult to understand the nature of the networks and trade relationships that existed between cities and the surrounding countryside at the time.Samuel Rex; however; left behind a vastly different legacy. A country storekeeper who operated out of Schaefferstown; Pennsylvania; during the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; Rex left a surprising array of documents exposing just how he ran his business. In this book; Diane Wenger analyzes the part Rex and others like him played in the overall commercial structure of the Atlantic region.While Wenger’s book has a strong foundation as a work of local history; it draws conclusions with much broader historical implications. The rich set of documents that Samuel Rex left behind provides a means for contesting the established model of how early American commerce functioned; replacing it with a more fine-grained picture of a society in which market forces and community interests could peacefully coexist.
#1822287 in Books 1996-08-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.06 x 6.00l; 1.43 #File Name: 0271015675480 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. The author did a great job of weaving all aspects of the miners lives ...By Ronald S. KozoraI grew up not to far from Windber thus found this book very interesting. The author did a great job of weaving all aspects of the miners lives who lived under the corporate repression of that company town. By talking about the miners religion; ethnicity; family and struggles under almost slave-like rule; the author gives a real insight of what those hard working people went through to gain a "fair shake". If you ever wonder how or why unionism came to the forefront during this time period; this serves as a classic example. A fantastic read.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Life in a true mining townBy Peggy StevensExtremely well researched and written history of my home town. The hardships and abuses endured by the immigrant coal miners during the late 19th century and early 20th century makes one wonder how corporate industrialists could feel good about themselves. This book tells it like it was: the good; bad and the ugly in a true planned and controlled company town.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy JoanAs promised.
