A Shopkeeper's Millennium by Paul E. Johnson

Johnson here assigns to this deceptively simple story all its deserved richness, revealing in its many characters and social settings a fresh, well-rounded portrait of Jacksonian America.

The distinguished social historian Paul E. When in 1827 he repeated the stunt in Patterson, New Jersey, another mill town, an even larger audience gathered to cheer on the daredevil they would call the 'Jersey Jumper.' Inevitably, he went to Niagara Falls, where in 1829 he jumped not once but twice in front of thousands who had paid for a good view. He made a name for himself one day by jumping nearly one hundred feet into the tumultuous waters below Pawtucket Falls. In the 1820s, there was a fellow named Sam Patch who worked (when he wasn't drinking) in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, as a mill hand for one of America's new textile companies. Johnson, professor of history at the University of South Carolina, is the author of A Shopkeeper's Millennium and coauthor, with Sean Wilentz, of The Kingdom of Matthias. This is innovative American history at its best. In his shrewd and powerful analysis, Johnson casts new light on aspects of American society that we may have overlooked or underestimated. He also relates the real jumper to the mythic Sam Patch who turned up as a daring moral hero in the works of Hawthorne and Melville, in London plays and pantomimes, and in the spotlight with Davy Crockett-a Sam Patch who became the namesake of Andrew Jackson's favorite horse. Johnson gives this deceptively simple story all its deserved richness, revealing in its characters and social settings a virtual microcosm of Jacksonian America. When in 1827 he repeated the stunt in Paterson, New Jersey, another mill town, an even larger audience gathered to cheer on the daredevil they would call the 'Jersey Jumper.' Inevitably, he went to Niagara Falls, where in 1829 he jumped not once but twice in front of thousands who had paid for a good view. Sam made a name for himself one day by jumping seventy feet into the tumultuous waters below Pawtucket Falls. Summary: The true history of a legendary American folk heroIn the 1820s, a fellow named Sam Patch grew up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, working there (when he wasn't drinking) as a mill hand for one of America's new textile companies. Subject: Patch, Sam (1807-1829) -Daredevils -United States -Biography. Includes bibliographical references and index. 8vo 8' - 9' tall 240 pages Physical desc. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dw, now mylar-sleeved.

A Shopkeeper's Millennium by Paul E. Johnson