Liberty on the Waterfront: American Maritime Culture in the Age of Revolution (Early American Studies) [Hardcover]

Paul A. Gilje (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0812237560 | ISBN-13: 978-0812237566 | Publication Date: November 14, 2003

Through careful research and colorful accounts, historian Paul A. Gilje discovers what liberty meant to an important group of common men in American society, those who lived and worked on the waterfront and aboard ships. In the process he reveals that the idealized vision of liberty associated with the Founding Fathers had a much more immediate and complex meaning than previously thought.

In Liberty on the Waterfront: American Maritime Culture in the Age of Revolution, life aboard warships, merchantmen, and whalers, as well as the interactions of mariners and others on shore, is recreated in absorbing detail. Describing the important contributions of sailors to the resistance movement against Great Britain and their experiences during the Revolutionary War, Gilje demonstrates that, while sailors recognized the ideals of the Revolution, their idea of liberty was far more individual in nature—often expressed through hard drinking and womanizing or joining a ship of their choice.

Gilje continues the story into the post-Revolutionary world highlighted by the Quasi War with France, the confrontation with the Barbary Pirates, and the War of 1812.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In its ambitious sweep and encyclopedic detail, Gilje's rendering of American maritime culture during the tumultuous century from 1750 to 1850 is unlikely to be surpassed."—William and Mary Quarterly

"Liberty on the Waterfront dramatically alters past perceptions of sailors and their worlds afloat and ashore. . . . A broad-based and skillfully crafted piece of social history."—Journal of American History

"This well-written, well-illustrated volume should become the standard, most accessible single source on seamen in antebellum America for many years to come."—Reviews in American History

About the Author

Paul A. Gilje is Professor of History at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of Rioting in America and The Road to Mobocracy: Popular Disorder in New York City, 1763-1834.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (November 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812237560
• ISBN-13: 978-0812237566
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,500,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The waterfront is teeming with unused primary sources, March 24, 2005

By 

Sam "Liberty" (Charleston, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Liberty on the Waterfront: American Maritime Culture in the Age of Revolution (Early American Studies) (Hardcover)

Maritime history is one of those sub-fields of history that still has room for fresh interpretation and analysis, which is one thing you can't say about many areas of historical research. Recent scholarly works from Maritime historians have greatly increased our understanding of the American Revolutionary experience; and Gilje's work is no exception.
He presents the American Revolution, the early federalist period, the War of 1812 and the years after the war up to 1850 through the eyes of American sailors. "Liberty on the Waterfront" is one in a series of monographs that focus on neglected issues in American history. Since most histories of the American Revolution focus on the land, Gilje's work begins to fill in the gaps left by such an approach.
From the outset "Liberty on the Waterfront" takes the reader into the heart of a sailor's experience from 1750-1850. He explores the complex and dynamic meanings of liberty to sailors and how those constructs reflected or did not reflect the larger, land-oriented political meaning of freedom and liberty.
Gilje draws on personal writings, such as journals and letters of sailors to uncover their meaning of liberty. Gilje demonstrates that liberty to many sailors in early America had little to do with grand notions of political independence from an Empire, but rather couched itself in an unrestrained personal liberty ashore. The ability to blow an entire journey's earnings on booze, women and gambling constituted freedom to many sailors. After months bound up on ships in which martial law reigned, many sailors compared their lot to slaves and rejoiced when they reached port and the liberty the soil offered. He also contrasts the forecastle with the quarterdeck and draws on the imagery of authority and deference to show the subtle shades of liberty and slavery experienced by sailors.
While the various journals and letters of the sailors are informative and very interesting, Liberty on the Waterfront is redundant in some areas. It also covers a large portion of history from 1750-1850. This large span of time tends to muddle Gilje's arguments and contributes to broad generalizations about the life of Jack Tar. The first portion of his book assumes sailor's lives, motivations for sailing and sense of liberty remained constant over a hundred-year period. Despite these drawbacks, "Liberty on the Waterfront" gives a much needed and entertaining glimpse into the culture of early American sailors, as it recognizes their role in key periods of American history.