Richard L. BUSHMAN's Books

The Refinement of America

Persons, Houses, Cities

By: Richard Lyman Bushman

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The Refinement of America

Persons, Houses, Cities

By: Richard Lyman Bushman

This lively and authoritative volume makes clear that the quest for taste and manners in America has been essential to the serious pursuit of a democratic culture. Spanning the material world from mansions and silverware to etiquette books, city planning, and sentimental novels, Richard L. Bushman shows how a set of values originating in aristocratic court culture gradually permeated almost every stratum of American society and served to prevent the hardening of class consciousness. A work of immense and richly nuanced learning, The Refinement of America newly illuminates every facet of both our artifacts and our values.

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529

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307761606

ISBN 13

9780307761606

Believing History

Latter-day Saint Essays

By: Richard Lyman Bushman

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Believing History

Latter-day Saint Essays

By: Richard Lyman Bushman

The eminent historian Richard Bushman here reflects on his faith and the history of his religion. By describing his own struggle to find a basis for belief in a skeptical world, Bushman poses the question of how scholars are to write about subjects in which they are personally invested. Does personal commitment make objectivity impossible? Bushman explicitly, and at points confessionally, explains his own commitments and then explores Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon from the standpoint of belief. Joseph Smith cannot be dismissed as a colorful fraud, Bushman argues, nor seen only as a restorer of religious truth. Entangled in nineteenth-century Yankee culture—including the skeptical Enlightenment—Smith was nevertheless an original who cut his own path. And while there are multiple contexts from which to draw an understanding of Joseph Smith (including magic, seekers, the Second Great Awakening, communitarianism, restorationism, and more), Bushman suggests that Smith stood at the cusp of modernity and presented the possibility of belief in a time of growing skepticism. When examined carefully, the Book of Mormon is found to have intricate subplots and peculiar cultural twists. Bushman discusses the book's ambivalence toward republican government, explores the culture of the Lamanites (the enemies of the favored people), and traces the book's fascination with records, translation, and history. Yet Believing History also sheds light on the meaning of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon today. How do we situate Mormonism in American history? Is Mormonism relevant in the modern world? Believing History offers many surprises. Believers will learn that Joseph Smith is more than an icon, and non-believers will find that Mormonism cannot be summed up with a simple label. But wherever readers stand on Bushman's arguments, he provides us with a provocative and open look at a believing historian studying his own faith.

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310

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Columbia University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0231529562

ISBN 13

9780231529563

King and People in Provincial Massachusetts

By: Richard L. Bushman

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King and People in Provincial Massachusetts

By: Richard L. Bushman

The American revolutionaries themselves believed the change from monarchy to republic was the essence of the Revolution. King and People in Provincial Massachusetts explores what monarchy meant to Massachusetts under its second charter and why the momentous change to republican government came about. Richard L. Bushman argues that monarchy entailed more than having a king as head of state: it was an elaborate political culture with implications for social organization as well. Massachusetts, moreover, was entirely loyal to the king and thoroughly imbued with that culture. Why then did the colonies become republican in 1776? The change cannot be attributed to a single thinker such as John Locke or to a strain of political thought such as English country party rhetoric. Instead, it was the result of tensions ingrained in the colonial political system that surfaced with the invasion of parliamentary power into colonial affairs after 1763. The underlying weakness of monarchical government in Massachusetts was the absence of monarchical society -- the intricate web of patronage and dependence that existed in England. But the conflict came from the colonists' conception of rulers as an alien class of exploiters whose interest was the plundering of the colonies. In large part, colonial politics was the effort to restrain official avarice. The author explicates the meaning of "interest" in political discourse to show how that conception was central in the thinking of both the popular party and the British ministry. Management of the interest of royal officials was a problem that continually bedeviled both the colonists and the crown. Conflict was perennial because the colonists and the ministry pursued diverging objectives in regulating colonial officialdom. Ultimately the colonists came to see that safety against exploitation by self-interested rulers would be assured only by republican government.

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295

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UNC Press Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1469600102

ISBN 13

9781469600109

From Puritan to Yankee

Character and the Social Order in Connecticut, 1690-1765

By: Richard L. BUSHMAN

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From Puritan to Yankee

Character and the Social Order in Connecticut, 1690-1765

By: Richard L. BUSHMAN

The years from 1690 to 1765 in America have usually been considered a waiting period before the Revolution. Mr. Bushman, in his penetrating study of colonial Connecticut, takes another view. He shows how, during these years, economic ambition and religious ferment profoundly altered the structure of Puritan society, enlarging the bounds of liberty and inspiring resistance to established authority. This is an investigation of the strains that accompanied the growth of liberty in an authoritarian society. Mr. Bushman traces the deterioration of Puritan social institutions and the consequences for human character. He does this by focusing on day-to-day life in Connecticut--on the farms, in the churches, and in the town meetings. Controversies within the towns over property, money, and church discipline shook the "land of steady habits," and the mounting frustration of common needs compelled those in authority, in contradiction to Puritan assumptions, to become more responsive to popular demands. In the Puritan setting these tensions were inevitably given a moral significance. Integrating social and economic interpretations, Mr. Bushman explains the Great Awakening of the 1740's as an outgrowth of the stresses placed on the Puritan character. Men, plagued with guilt for pursuing their economic ambitions and resisting their rulers, became highly susceptible to revival preaching. The Awakening gave men a new vision of the good society. The party of the converted, the "New Lights," which also absorbed people with economic discontents, put unprecedented demands on civil and ecclesiastical authorities. The resulting dissension moved Connecticut, almost unawares, toward republican attitudes and practices. Disturbed by the turmoil, many observers were, by 1765, groping toward a new theory of social order that would reconcile traditional values with their eighteenth-century experiences. Vividly written, full of illustrative detail, the manuscript of this book has been called by Oscar Handlin one of the most important works of American history in recent years. Table of Contents: PART ONE: SOCIETY IN 1690 1. Law and Authority 2. The Town and the Economy PART TWO: LAND, 1690-1740 3. Proprietors 4. Outlivers 5. New Plantations 6. The Politics of Land PART THREE: MONEY, 1710-1750 7. New Traders 8. East versus West 9. Covetousness PART FOUR: CHURCHES, 1690-1765 10. Clerical Authority 11. Dissent 12. Awakening 13. The Church and Experimental Religion 14. Church and State PART FIVE: POLITICS, 1740-1765 15. New Lights in Politics 16. A New Social Order Appendixes Bibliographical Note List of Works Cited Index Illustrations Map of Connecticut in 1765 Map of hereditary Mohegan lands and Wabbaquasset lands Reviews of this book: Employing his special training in psychology to advantage, Bushman has skillfully woven into his description and analysis of Connecticut society in the process of change, a bold interpretation of the impact of change upon individual character formation...The author has made a signal contribution to the history of liberty in America. --William and Mary Quarterly Reviews of this book: At the heart of history lies a vague but undeniable substance known as 'national character' or 'social character'...Richard L. Bushman has had the courage to offer his version of the evolution of the social character of Connecticut...The boldness of the attempt alone would make Puritan to Yankee an important book, but it is the general accuracy of its author's perception of the way the mechanism of historical change operates and the specific accuracy 0f his assessment of the results that makes the book one of the most fruitful historical studies produced in the last few years in any field of history. --History and Theory Reviews of this book: Professor Bushman's study of eighteenth-century Connecticut is a first-rate job of social history. He deals with large questions in satisfying detail...Energy in research is combined with courage in writing. --New England Quarterly

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352

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Harvard University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0674029127

ISBN 13

9780674029125

The American Farmer in the Eighteenth Century

A Social and Cultural History

By: Richard L. Bushman

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The American Farmer in the Eighteenth Century

A Social and Cultural History

By: Richard L. Bushman

An illuminating study of America's agricultural society during the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Founding eras In the eighteenth century, three‑quarters of Americans made their living from farms. This authoritative history explores the lives, cultures, and societies of America's farmers from colonial times through the founding of the nation. Noted historian Richard Bushman explains how all farmers sought to provision themselves while still actively engaged in trade, making both subsistence and commerce vital to farm economies of all sizes. The book describes the tragic effects on the native population of farmers' efforts to provide farms for their children and examines how climate created the divide between the free North and the slave South. Bushman also traces midcentury rural violence back to the century's population explosion. An engaging work of historical scholarship, the book draws on a wealth of diaries, letters, and other writings--including the farm papers of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington--to open a window on the men, women, and children who worked the land in early America.

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391

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

030022673X

ISBN 13

9780300226737

The Refinement of America

Persons, Houses, Cities

By: Richard Lyman Bushman

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The Refinement of America

Persons, Houses, Cities

By: Richard Lyman Bushman

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529

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307761606

ISBN 13

9780307761606

Mormons in America

By: Claudia Lauper Bushman,Richard Lyman Bushman

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Mormons in America

By: Claudia Lauper Bushman,Richard Lyman Bushman

Mormonism is one of the world's fastest growing religions, doubling its membership every 15 years. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the formal denomination of the Mormon church) is now 10 million strong, with more than half of its membership coming from outside the United States. More than 88 million copies of The Book of Mormon have been printed, and it has been translated into more than 50 languages. Mormons in America tells the tumultuous story of this religious group, from its humble origins in small-town New York State in 1830 to its present heyday. Claudia and Richard Bushman introduce us to charismatic leaders like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, go deep behind Mormon rites and traditions, take us along the adventurous trail of the Mormon pioneers into the West, evoke the momentous erection of Salt Lake City in the desert, and draw us into the dozens of skirmishes, verbal attacks, and court battles between Mormons and their neighbors, other religions, the media, and the American government. Religion in American Life explores the evolution, character, and dynamic of organized religion in America from 1500 to the present day. Written by distinguished historians of religion, these books weave together the varying stories that compose the religious fabric of the United States, from Puritanism to alternative religious practices. Primary source material coupled with handsome illustrations and lucid text make these books essential in any exploration of America's diverse nature. Each book includes a chronology, suggestions for further reading, and an index.

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146

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190287756

ISBN 13

9780190287757

Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism

By: Richard L. Bushman

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Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism

By: Richard L. Bushman

The core of Mormon belief was a conviction about actual events. The test of faith was not adherence to a certain confession of faith but belief that Christ was resurrected, that Joseph Smith saw God, that the Book of Mormon was true history, and tht Peter, James, and John restored the apostleship. Mormonism was history, not philosophy. It is as history that Richard L. Bushman analyzes the emergence of Mormonism in the early nineteenth century. Bushman, however, brings to his study a unique set of credentials - he is both a prize-winning historian and a faithful member of the Latter-day Saints church. For Mormons and non-Mormons alike, then, his book provides a very special perspective on an endlessly fascinating subject. Building upon previous accounts and incorporating recently discovered contemporary sources, Bushman focuses on the first twenty-five years of Joseph Smith's life - up to his move to Kirtland, Ohio, in 1831. Bushman shows how the rural Yankee culture of New England and New York - especially evangelical revivalism, Christian rationalism, and folk magic - both influenced and hindered the formation of Smith's new religion. Mormonism, Bushman argues, must be seen not only as the product of this culture, but also as an independent creation based on the revelations of its charismatic leader. In the final analysis, it was Smith's ability to breathe new life into the ancient sacred stories and to make a sacred story out of his own life which accounted for his own extraordinary influence. By presenting Smith and his revelations as they were viewed by the early Mormons themselves, Bushman leads us to a deeper understanding of their faith.''A brilliant piece of research and writing by one of America's top historians. It is written with style and felicity, and it deals with all the difficult topics that must be probed in describing and interpreting the controversial early history of Mormonism. It is simply an outstanding work.''--Leonard J. Arrington, co-author of The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints''A brilliant piece of research and writing by one of America's top historians. It is written with style and felicity, and it deals with all the difficult topics that must be probed in describing and interpreting the controversial early history of Mormonism. It is simply an outstanding work.''--Leonard J. Arrington, co-author of The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints

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276

Publisher

University of Illinois Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0252060121

ISBN 13

9780252060120

Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism

By: Richard L. Bushman

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Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism

By: Richard L. Bushman

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276

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University of Illinois Press

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0252060121

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9780252060120

The Profane, the Civil, and the Godly

The Reformation of Manners in Orthodox New England, 1679–1749

By: Richard P. Gildrie

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The Profane, the Civil, and the Godly

The Reformation of Manners in Orthodox New England, 1679–1749

By: Richard P. Gildrie

In this prize-winning study of the sacred and profane in Puritan New England, Richard P. Gildrie seeks to understand not only the fears, aspirations, and moral theories of Puritan reformers but also the customs and attitudes they sought to transform. Topics include tavern mores, family order, witchcraft, criminality, and popular religion. Gildrie demonstrates that Puritanism succeeded in shaping regional society and culture for generations not because New Englanders knew no alternatives but because it offered a compelling vision of human dignity capable of incorporating and adapting crucial elements of popular mores and aspirations.

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229

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Penn State Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0271075414

ISBN 13

9780271075419

Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction

By: Richard L. Bushman

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Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction

By: Richard L. Bushman

This introduction covers the history of Mormonism and an analysis of Mormon beliefs, beginning with their prophet, Joseph Smith. It examines how the religion has adapted and changed since its founder's death, and answers some of the common questions people have about Mormonism.

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145

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OUP USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195310306

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9780195310306

The Birth of American Tourism

New York, the Hudson Valley, and American Culture, 1790-1830

By: Richard H. Gassan

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The Birth of American Tourism

New York, the Hudson Valley, and American Culture, 1790-1830

By: Richard H. Gassan

Today the idea of traveling within the United States for leisure purposes is so commonplace it is hard to imagine a time when tourism was not a staple of our cultural life. Yet as Richard H. Gassan persuasively demonstrates, at the beginning of the nineteenth century travel for leisure was strictly an aristocratic luxury beyond the means of ordinary Americans. It wasn't until the second decade of the century that the first middle-class tourists began to follow the lead of the well-to-do, making trips up the Hudson River valley north of New York City, and in a few cases beyond. At first just a trickle, by 1830 the tide of tourism had become a flood, a cultural change that signaled a profound societal shift as the United States stepped onto the road that would eventually lead to a modern consumer society. According to Gassan, the origins of American tourism in the Hudson Valley can be traced to a confluence of historical accidents, including the proximity of the region to the most rapidly growing financial and population center in the country, with its expanding middle class, and the remarkable beauty of the valley itself. But other developments also played a role, from the proliferation of hotels to accommodate tourists, to the construction of an efficient transportation network to get them to their destinations, to the creation of a set of cultural attractions that invested their experience with meaning. In the works of Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper and the paintings of Thomas Cole and others of the Hudson River School, travelers in the region encountered the nation's first literary and artistic movements. Tourism thus did more than provide an escape from the routines of everyday urban life; it also helped Americans of the early republic shape a sense of national identity.

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246

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Univ of Massachusetts Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1558496653

ISBN 13

9781558496651

Building the Kingdom

A History of Mormons in America

By: Claudia Lauper Bushman,Richard Lyman Bushman

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Building the Kingdom

A History of Mormons in America

By: Claudia Lauper Bushman,Richard Lyman Bushman

The authors introduce the faith's charismatic early leaders, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, delve deeply into Mormon rites and traditions, follow the adventurous trail of Mormon pioneers into the West, evoke the momentous rise of Salt Lake City, and describe the numerous skirmishes and court battles between the Mormons and their neighbors, other religions, and the American government. They describe the church's formidable institutional apparatus, the unique role of women in Mormon affairs, both before and after the Mormons' practice of polygamy, and how the church has addressed the challenges of modernity. Throughout, the Bushmans demonstrate how the rise of a small and persecuted movement intersected and even transformed the history of the American nation.

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147

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195150228

ISBN 13

9780195150223

Joseph Smith

Rough Stone Rolling

By: Richard Lyman Bushman

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Joseph Smith

Rough Stone Rolling

By: Richard Lyman Bushman

Founder of the largest indigenous Christian church in American history, Joseph Smith published the 584-page Book of Mormon when he was twenty-three and went on to organize a church, found cities, and attract thousands of followers before his violent death at age thirty-eight. Richard Bushman, an esteemed cultural historian and a practicing Mormon, moves beyond the popular stereotype of Smith as a colorful fraud to explore his personality, his relationships with others, and how he received revelations. An arresting narrative of the birth of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling also brilliantly evaluates the prophet’s bold contributions to Christian theology and his cultural place in the modern world.

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768

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Vintage

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307426483

ISBN 13

9780307426482

Believing History

Latter-day Saint Essays

By: Richard Lyman Bushman

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Believing History

Latter-day Saint Essays

By: Richard Lyman Bushman

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310

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Columbia University Press

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ISBN 10

0231529562

ISBN 13

9780231529563

King and People in Provincial Massachusetts

By: Richard L. Bushman

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King and People in Provincial Massachusetts

By: Richard L. Bushman

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298

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UNC Press Books

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0807843989

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9780807843987

Book's by Richard L. BUSHMAN

The Refinement of America

The Refinement of America

Believing History

Believing History

King and People in Provincial Massachusetts

King and People in Provincial Massachusetts

From Puritan to Yankee

From Puritan to Yankee

The American Farmer in the Eighteenth Century

The American Farmer in the Eighteenth Century

The Refinement of America

The Refinement of America

Mormons in America

Mormons in America

Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism

Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism

Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism

Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism

The Profane, the Civil, and the Godly

The Profane, the Civil, and the Godly

Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction

Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction

The Birth of American Tourism

The Birth of American Tourism

Building the Kingdom

Building the Kingdom

Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith

Believing History

Believing History

King and People in Provincial Massachusetts

King and People in Provincial Massachusetts

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