Albion's Seed
Encyclopedia
Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America
(ISBN 0-19-506905-6) is a 1989 book by David Hackett Fischer
which describes four regional British cultures or ‘folkways’ which, the author argues, were transplanted to North America during the large-scale migrations of the 17th and 18th Centuries. Fischer postulates that these cultures have persisted, providing the origin or ‘hearth’ of four regional cultures now found throughout much of the modern United States, and that the friction between these cultures has been one of the decisive forces in American political and social history since the mid 18th Century.
Albion's Seed utilizes an approach developed by the French school of the Annales
begun by Georges Dumezil
and developed further by Fernand Braudel
that concentrates on both continuity and change over long periods of time.
The book's descriptions of the four folkways grounding American society is one of the most comprehensive, almost encyclopedic, guide to the origins of colonial American culture. According to Fischer, the foundation of American culture was formed from four mass emigrations from four different regions of the British Isles by four different socio-religious groups. New England's constitutional period occurred between 1629 and 1640 when Puritans, most from East Anglia, settled there.
The next mass migration was of southern and western English cavaliers and their servants to the Chesapeake Bay region between 1640 and 1675. Then, between 1675 and 1725 thousands of primarily English and Welsh Quakers led by William Penn
, along with large numbers of Germans who strongly sympathized with the Quakers, settled the Delaware Valley. Finally, North British borderers from Northern Ireland and the Anglo-Scottish border counties migrated to Appalachia
between 1717 and 1775. Fischer argues that each of these migrations produced a distinct regional culture which can still be seen in the United States today. The four migrations are discussed in the four main chapters of the book:
Fischer brings back from recent oblivion the colorful regional stereotypes of American history. New Englanders really were puritanical; Southern gentlemen genuine aristocrats; Quakers were very pious; and Ulster Protestants, Northern English and Lowland Scots Borderland
clans
feuded
as they had in the old country.
(ISBN 0-19-506905-6) is a 1989 book by David Hackett Fischer
David Hackett Fischer
David Hackett Fischer is University Professor and Earl Warren Professor of History at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have tackled everything from large macroeconomic and cultural trends to narrative histories of significant events to explorations of...
which describes four regional British cultures or ‘folkways’ which, the author argues, were transplanted to North America during the large-scale migrations of the 17th and 18th Centuries. Fischer postulates that these cultures have persisted, providing the origin or ‘hearth’ of four regional cultures now found throughout much of the modern United States, and that the friction between these cultures has been one of the decisive forces in American political and social history since the mid 18th Century.
Albion's Seed utilizes an approach developed by the French school of the Annales
Annales School
The Annales School is a group of historians associated with a style of historiography developed by French historians in the 20th century. It is named after its scholarly journal Annales d'histoire économique et sociale, which remains the main source of scholarship, along with many books and...
begun by Georges Dumezil
Georges Dumézil
Georges Dumézil was a French comparative philologist best known for his analysis of sovereignty and power in Proto-Indo-European religion and society...
and developed further by Fernand Braudel
Fernand Braudel
Fernand Braudel was a French historian and a leader of the Annales School. His scholarship focused on three main projects, each representing several decades of intense study: The Mediterranean , Civilization and Capitalism , and the unfinished Identity of France...
that concentrates on both continuity and change over long periods of time.
Four Migrations
By writing about the four migrations as discussed in the four main chapters of the book his book is easily contrasted with that of other American historians of the 20th century who have written history that is almost exclusively concerned with the new. One of the unique contributions Fischer's book makes is a total, or unified social history rather than a compartmentalized fragment. As the author explains in the preface:- Instead of becoming a synthesizing discipline it [U.S. social history] disintegrated into many special fields--women's history, labor history, environmental history, the history of aging, the history of child abuse, and even gay history--in which the work became increasingly shrill and polemical. (p. ix).
The book's descriptions of the four folkways grounding American society is one of the most comprehensive, almost encyclopedic, guide to the origins of colonial American culture. According to Fischer, the foundation of American culture was formed from four mass emigrations from four different regions of the British Isles by four different socio-religious groups. New England's constitutional period occurred between 1629 and 1640 when Puritans, most from East Anglia, settled there.
The next mass migration was of southern and western English cavaliers and their servants to the Chesapeake Bay region between 1640 and 1675. Then, between 1675 and 1725 thousands of primarily English and Welsh Quakers led by William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
, along with large numbers of Germans who strongly sympathized with the Quakers, settled the Delaware Valley. Finally, North British borderers from Northern Ireland and the Anglo-Scottish border counties migrated to Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
between 1717 and 1775. Fischer argues that each of these migrations produced a distinct regional culture which can still be seen in the United States today. The four migrations are discussed in the four main chapters of the book:
- East AngliaEast AngliaEast Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
to MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
- The Exodus of the English Puritans
- The South of EnglandWessexThe Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
to VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
- The South of England
- Distressed Cavaliers and Indentured ServantsIndentured servantIndentured servitude refers to the historical practice of contracting to work for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during the term of indenture. Usually the father made the arrangements and signed...
- North MidlandsMerciaMercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
to the DelawareDelaware ValleyThe Delaware Valley is a term used to refer to the valley where the Delaware River flows, along with the surrounding communities. This includes the metropolitan area centered on the city of Philadelphia. Such educational institutions as Delaware Valley Regional High School in Alexandria Township...
- North Midlands
- The Friends' Migration
- BorderlandsNorthumbriaNorthumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
to the BackcountryAppalachiaAppalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
- Borderlands
- The Flight from Middle Britain and Northern Ireland
Fischer brings back from recent oblivion the colorful regional stereotypes of American history. New Englanders really were puritanical; Southern gentlemen genuine aristocrats; Quakers were very pious; and Ulster Protestants, Northern English and Lowland Scots Borderland
Anglo-Scottish border
The Anglo-Scottish border is the official border and mark of entry between Scotland and England. It runs for 154 km between the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. It is Scotland's only land border...
clans
Border Reivers
Border Reivers were raiders along the Anglo–Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. Their ranks consisted of both Scottish and English families, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality...
feuded
Hatfield-McCoy feud
The Hatfield–McCoy feud involved two families of the West Virginia–Kentucky back country along the Tug Fork, off the Big Sandy River. The Hatfields of West Virginia were led by William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield while the McCoys of Kentucky under the leadership of Randolph "Ole Ran'l" McCoy....
as they had in the old country.
External links
- Albion's Seed Grows in the Cumberland Gap, by the University of VirginiaUniversity of VirginiaThe University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...