• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • RSS
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

New Book Explores Class Conflict in Eighteenth Century NYC

June 18, 2017 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Who Rules at HomeIn Who Should Rule at Home? (Cornell University Press, 2017) Joyce D. Goodfriend argues that the high-ranking gentlemen who figure so prominently in most accounts of New York City’s evolution from 1664, when the English captured the small Dutch outpost of New Amsterdam, to the eve of American Independence in 1776, were far from invincible and that the degree of cultural power they held has been exaggerated.

Goodfriend explains how the urban elite experienced challenges to its cultural authority at different times, from different groups, and in a variety of settings.

Goodfriend illuminates the conflicts that pitted the privileged few against the socially anonymous many who mobilized their modest resources to creatively resist domination.

Critics of orthodox religious practice took to heart the message of spiritual rebirth brought to New York City by the famed evangelist George Whitefield and were empowered to make independent religious choices.

Wives deserted husbands and took charge of their own futures. Indentured servants complained or simply ran away. Enslaved women and men carved out spaces where they could control their own lives and salvage their dignity. Impoverished individuals, including prostitutes, chose not to bow to the dictates of the elite, even though it meant being cut off from the sources of charity.

Among those who confronted the elite were descendants of the early Dutch settlers — by clinging to their native language and traditional faith they preserved a crucial sense of autonomy.

Note: Books noticed on The New York History Blog have been provided by their publishers. Purchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: Cornell University Press, Cultural History, New Netherland, New York City, NYC, Social History

Please Support The New York Almanack

About Editorial Staff

Stories written under the Editorial Staff byline are drawn from press releases and other notices. Submit your news to New York Almanack here.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Help Support The Almanack

PayPal, CashApp $NewYorkAlmanack orVenmo @John-Warren-363
Subscribe to New York Almanack

Recent Comments

  • Reese Satin on Bill the Butcher: A Nativist ‘Know Nothing’ Movement Martyr
  • Helen on Chinatown’s Mosco Street: A Last Remnant of the Five Points
  • Charles Yaple on New York’s Oldest Standing Log Cabin?
  • Ken Sacharin on Bill the Butcher: A Nativist ‘Know Nothing’ Movement Martyr
  • James Arnold on Bill the Butcher: A Nativist ‘Know Nothing’ Movement Martyr
  • Joseph Fratta on Chinatown’s Mosco Street: A Last Remnant of the Five Points
  • Frank Mosco on Chinatown’s Mosco Street: A Last Remnant of the Five Points
  • John DiNuzzo on Benedict Arnold Program Set for Lake George Village
  • Gene Porter on Benedict Arnold Program Set for Lake George Village
  • Gene Porter on The Road to Ticonderoga: The Campaign of 1758 in the Champlain Valley

Recent New York Books

Whites of Their Eyes
Radicals and Rogues: The Women Who Made New York Modern
Road to Ticonderoga Campaign 1758 Champlain Valley
Birds of Happiness Aren’t Blue
The mayflower Rebecca Fraser
deep history
The Trials of Madame Restell
Made in New York by Frank Vizard
God Save Benedict Arnold by Jack Kelly
By The Shores of Solon Pond

Secondary Sidebar

It's That Time of YearWe Can't Publish Without Your Support

New York Almanack delivers to you each day.

We receive no public funds - we're supported only by readers like you.

If you enjoy reading the Almanack - if you find yourself more informed or entertained, please donate now at

Rally.org, via PayPal, CashApp $NewYorkAlmanack, Venmo @John-Warren-363

Or send a check to:

New York Almanack
7269 State Route 9
Chestertown, NY 12817

*Donations are not tax deductible.

Give Now

Don't Show Me This Message Again.