Debates and protests over the toxic traits of capitalism are not uniquely modern phenomena. Eighteenth-century New Englanders were torn over what type of society they wanted to live in: a more traditional moral economy, or the increased wealth and comfort of the emerging market economy. For example, public debates over preserving the annual fish runs versus damming the rivers to power large mills were frequent. [Read more…] about Why We Should Blame New England’s Fish for Capitalism
Food
Adirondack Town Gets Community Composter
AdkAction and the Compost for Good (CfG) team have announced that they have selected the Town of Newcomb in Essex County as the recipient of a high flow drum composter as part of a USDA Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG).
Newcomb was selected upon recommendation from a local advisory committee through a competitive application process based on the Town’s long standing interest in community scale composting, its strong collaborative team, and the educational opportunities it will provide. [Read more…] about Adirondack Town Gets Community Composter
Chinese Restaurant History in New York City
The first known Chinese restaurant in America, Canton Restaurant, is believed to have opened in San Francisco in 1849. Today, according to the Chinese American Restaurant Association, more than 45,000 Chinese restaurants operate across the United States, more than all the McDonald’s, KFCs, Pizza Huts, Taco Bells and Wendy’s combined.
Their story begins with Chinese immigrants to California in the mid-nineteenth century — mostly from Canton province — drawn by the Gold Rush of 1849 and fleeing economic problems and famine in China. Though some headed to the gold fields, most Chinese immigrants to the San Francisco Bay area provided services for the miners as traders, grocers, merchants and restaurant owners. [Read more…] about Chinese Restaurant History in New York City
The Sugar Act and the American Revolution
The initial Sugar Act of 1733 — also known as the Molasses Act — was designed to secure and encourage the trade of British colonies in the West Indies by placing prohibitive duties on the products of competing foreign colonies. The dramatic revision to that act in 1764 imposed duties for both revenue and trade regulation, in addition strengthening the laws of trade so as to tighten the connection between Great Britain and the colonies. [Read more…] about The Sugar Act and the American Revolution
The Queen of Greenwich Village: Romany Marie Marchand
The coffee habit was introduced into Western Europe in the mid-seventeenth century. The emergence of the London coffeehouse transformed various aspects of intellectual and commercial life. Lloyd’s insurance, the postal system and the auction house are some of the institutions that trace their origins back to the coffeehouse.
At a time that journalism was in its infancy, the coffeehouse provided a center of communication and news dissemination. It served as a forum of discussion, often becoming a hotbed of political strife and faction. Coffeehouse culture helped shape the public sphere of the Enlightenment. [Read more…] about The Queen of Greenwich Village: Romany Marie Marchand
Chinese Tea in Early America
The Massachusetts Historical Society will host “Physicians advise the use of it: Chinese Tea in Early America,” a program with Yiyun Huang, University of Tennessee, Knoxville with comment by Rebecca Tannenbaum, Yale University, set for Tuesday, January 10th. [Read more…] about Chinese Tea in Early America
Dutch History of Christmas Treats With Peter Rose
Undoubtedly, you have heard or read Clement Moore’s famous poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (1822), but have you ever wondered where the traditions of stockings, presents, and cookies come from? And what about jolly old Saint Nick? Who was he and why do we call him Santa Claus?
In this episode of the “Ben Franklin’s World” podcast, Peter G. Rose, culinary historian of Dutch foodways in North America and author of Delicious December: How the Dutch Brought Us Santa, Presents, and Treats (SUNY Press, 2014), joins me to discuss the origins of Santa Claus, cookies, and more in the United States. [Read more…] about Dutch History of Christmas Treats With Peter Rose
Dear Santa: Send Candy, Nuts, and Fruit (Christmas Gifts of the Past)
Children’s Christmas wishes and expectations years ago were much different from today’s world of high technology. I was so struck by this—the simplicity and innocence—that I included a chapter entitled Letters to Santa in a recent book on the history of Churubusco, New York.
The sample letters below were published in newspapers of Northern New York from 1920–1940. They portray the sharp contrast to the modern holiday, where expensive gifts have become the disproportionate norm. [Read more…] about Dear Santa: Send Candy, Nuts, and Fruit (Christmas Gifts of the Past)
A Dutch Holiday Traditions Podcast
On the December 2022 Crossroads of Rockland History, Jennifer Brooks, Public Education and Outreach Coordinator at the Historical Society of Rockland County, joined host Clare Sheridan to discuss Dutch Holiday Traditions.
They traced the line between the traditions of early Dutch settlers in Rockland County and surrounding areas to the growth of our modern American Christmas and explored the history behind our holiday traditions. Where did they come from? Who is Saint Nicholas, and how did he become Santa Claus? Why is the December season known for gift-giving and charity? What’s with the tree and the chimney? And what does any of this have to do with religion? [Read more…] about A Dutch Holiday Traditions Podcast
Mayonnaise, Hollandaise, Huguenots and Nostalgia: A Culinary History
What and where a person eats, suggests togetherness with one community and dis-identification with another and is therefore a factor that affects all migrant communities. Consumption conveys an idea of public identity.
Food can also serve as a psychological stimulus by unlocking emotional childhood reminiscences. Such experiences have frequently been expressed creatively. There are, for example, the uncooked wrinkled French prunes for Tolstoy’s Ivan Il’ich or the famous “petites madeleines” for Marcel Proust’s Swann that recapture vivid images of early years. [Read more…] about Mayonnaise, Hollandaise, Huguenots and Nostalgia: A Culinary History