Rudeness and Civility: Manners in Nineteenth-Century Urban America

by John F. Kasson

With keen insight and subtle humor, John F. Kasson explores the history and politics of etiquette from America's colonial times through the nineteenth century. He describes the transformation of our notion of "gentility," once considered a birthright to some, and the development of etiquette as a middle-class response to the new urban and industrial economy and to the excesses of democratic society.

Genres: History, Sociology, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

John F. Kasson is a professor of history and American studies at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill and the author of Amusing the Million, among many other seminal works of cultural history. He lives in Chapel Hill.

Reviews

[Susan Raines · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly researched book that explores the reasons for all those 19th century etiquette books. Very insightful writing about 19th century racism as well. Scholarly, yet highly accessible.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I'm FINALLY done with this book. It was long, the print was tiny, and the sentences were such that any miniscule distraction meant you had to start the paragraph over again. Sometimes I spent my whole lunch break on two pages.
For these reasons, the book was equal parts fascinating and frustrating. I'm all for interesting nonfiction, but isn't there some line to walk on the entertaining side of scholarly? Here's a typical sentence: "The economic and social interests of many figures lay precisely in eluding discovery in order to exploit for their own selfish ends the possibilities of unstable and illegible identity as well as the ambiguous relationship between the social exchanges of respectable society and the economic exchanges of the marketplace..."
Of course, none of those words is unintelligible on its own, but combined into a four-line sentence, followed by another four-line sentence, and another, all crammed together in one paragraph in ten point font... it's what gives nonfiction it's "bad name".
Five stars for the information and the great firsthand sources he used, and three stars for the presentation. ...Granted, it might have been much easier to follow if I'd done all my reading in a silent room after meditating.

[Anson Cassel Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

This academic book—which the author freely admits is neither exhaustive nor comprehensive—treats the rise of manners among urban middle- and upper class Americans who sought a standard by which to assess social class in an ostensibly egalitarian nation. Nevertheless, readers uninterested in Kasson’s theories can ignore them easily enough while they enjoy his succession of illustrations taken from such diverse sources as etiquette books, crime literature, and the fiction of Poe and Melville. One serious omission is Kasson’s lack of reference to contemporary religious practice, which also became more mannerly despite the rise of the urban evangelistic campaign.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating exploration of how Americans adapted to urban life in the 19th century - in order to live closely together in this strange new environment people had to develop an entire set of behaviors that would allow them to interact with one another while at the same time maintaining some sense of control over who they were perceived to be by the public and the influence the public would have over an individual's identity. The elaborate framework of good manners and proper behavior that became a hallmark of this era was the result.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a class in college but was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Full of fun stories about the development of manners in the US. It wasn't that long ago that it was totally acceptable to eat w/your hands!

[Foster Rakestraw · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book!

[Holly George]

manners have improved

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned about the history of politics of etiquette from America's colonial times through the nineteenth century.