Rum Punch & Revolution: Taverngoing & Public Life in Eighteenth Century Philadelphia (Early American Studies) (Paperback)

by Peter Thompson (Author) "AS HE CONSIDERED THE PLACE of taverns in the development of his colony, William Penn was ever mindful of the biblical injunction "righteousness exalts a..." (more)
Key Phrases: tavern sociability, women tavernkeepers, tavern encounters, City Tavern, Indian King, Bradford's Old London Coffeehouse (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A gold mine. . . . The author creates a fascinating story, rich in tidbits and anecdotes."--Choice

"A marvelous book about an important, interesting, and diverting subject." --American Historical Review

"Thompson is surely right about the long term change: the class stratification of tavern culture did cause some people to stop hearing voices with contrary opinions."--William and Mary Quarterly

Product Description

'Twas Honest old Noah first planted the Vine
And mended his morals by drinking its Wine.
--from a drinking song by Benjamin Franklin

There were, Peter Thompson notes, some one hundred and fifty synonyms for inebriation in common use in colonial Philadelphia and, on the eve of the Revolution, just as many licensed drinking establishments. Clearly, eighteenth-century Philadelphians were drawn to the tavern. In addition to the obvious lure of the liquor, taverns offered overnight accommodations, meals, and stabling for visitors. They also served as places to gossip, gamble, find work, make trades, and gather news.

In Rum Punch and Revolution, Thompson shows how the public houses provided a setting in which Philadelphians from all walks of life revealed their characters and ideas as nowhere else. He takes the reader into the cramped confines of the colonial bar room, describing the friendships, misunderstandings and conflicts which were generated among the city's drinkers and investigates the profitability of running a tavern in a city which, until independence, set maximum prices on the cost of drinks and services in its public houses.

Taverngoing, Thompson writes, fostered a sense of citizenship that influenced political debate in colonial Philadelphia and became an issue in the city's revolution. Opinionated and profoundly undeferential, taverngoers did more than drink; they forced their political leaders to consider whether and how public opinion could be represented in the counsels of a newly independent nation.

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• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (December 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812216644
• ISBN-13: 978-0812216646
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #957,935 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
  
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• Also Available in: Hardcover  |  All Editions