The Reshaping of Everyday Life:
1790-1840 (Everyday Life in America)
by Jack Larkin
Every Man Was An Island
Compact and insightful. --New York Times Book Review Jack Larkin has
retrieved the irretrievable; the intimate facts of everyday life that defined
what people were really like.--American Heritage
Personal Review: The Reshaping of Everyday Life: 1790-1840
(Everyday Life in America) by Jack Larkin
History is not just about great men and wars; as this book astutely
illustrates, it's also about the daily lives of the majority of the people.
Dealing with the time period 1790-1840, a pre-industrialized era for the
most part, Jack Larkin examines what life was like for most Americans at
that time. Housing, occupations, entertainments, and family life are
described; what it was like to travel, what happened when one got sick, the
life of children, and how holidays were celebrated are also dealt with.
Somewhat unique for a book like this, a long chapter concerns itself with

the "private" lives of people: dating, marriage, sexual relations,
pregnancies and child bearing, the role of the privy and chamber pot all get
their due. Larkin's book is a compendium of facts and information
regarding everyday life, including those for slaves, urban and rural
dwellers, rich and poor - and is fascinating in that regard. It would be
difficult to think of those times as "the good old days," though many old-
timers of the day probably did, as, for example, "simple" chores (to most of
us) such as washing clothes took all day and could exhaust many a hardy
woman, not to mention the disease and filth that seemed to be
everywhere. But by 1840 older citizens could detect changes (mainly new
inventions and techniques) that reduced socializing and diminished
craftsmanship, and mourned a way of life that was passing away. Progress
has its penalties for every generation, and Larkin's book offers a glimpse at
a way of life long since eclipsed by newer ways. There was actually life
before TV (not to mention electricity and plumbing) - yikes!
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