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Everyday Life in America
Everyday Life in Early America
"In this clearly written volume, Hawke provides enlightening and colorful descriptions of early Colonial Americans and debunks many widely held assumptions about 17th century settlers."--Publishers Weekly
195 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 1988
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About the author
David Freeman Hawke
25 books4 followersDavid Freeman Hawke was professor emeritus of American history at Lehman College of the City University of New York, where he taught from 1972 until his retirement in 1986.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
June 3, 2020
I thought I knew a bit about English colonial America in the 1600's. Well, I didn't. Not until I read this little book. I've sometimes wondered what life was like for one of my early American ancesters, Elizabeth Carwithy. She was born in New York. She married William Cranmer who was a carpenter and in 1670 he was appointed town constable of Elizabeth, NJ. She must have been made of strong stuff. The way the author described everyday colonial life sounded to me more like camping than running a home. Being born in America rather than England she probably never knew anything else.
Topics in this book included "Who Came and Why?" (not just for religious freedom, especially if you were a slave), "What They Brought With Them", house floor plans, home furnishings, "What They Ate", etc. One of the new things I learned about was the girdling of trees to make farm fields. Instead of felling trees (difficult and time consuming) they girdled the trees by slashing around the trunk so the tops of the trees would die. Once the upper portion was dead the sun could shine down on their crops planted around the trunks. As a result the farm fields were really ugly but they were in a HURRY to grow food. As decades passed they eventually dug out the trees and things looked better. I could go on and on; these kinds of things fascinate me.
Topics in this book included "Who Came and Why?" (not just for religious freedom, especially if you were a slave), "What They Brought With Them", house floor plans, home furnishings, "What They Ate", etc. One of the new things I learned about was the girdling of trees to make farm fields. Instead of felling trees (difficult and time consuming) they girdled the trees by slashing around the trunk so the tops of the trees would die. Once the upper portion was dead the sun could shine down on their crops planted around the trunks. As a result the farm fields were really ugly but they were in a HURRY to grow food. As decades passed they eventually dug out the trees and things looked better. I could go on and on; these kinds of things fascinate me.
August 8, 2016
I am really fed up with anti-blackness and ahistorical white-centered nonsense in books that are supposed to be historical non-fiction. This book could have been really interesting. It also should have been named "Everyday Life for White Colonialists in Early America." And I wouldn't have had a problem with that! Nothing wrong with being upfront about whose stories you're invested in and telling.
But then I run into this: "In the South, Blacks used 'dem,' 'dey,' and 'dat,' for 'them,' 'they,' and 'that' not because they spoke the language slovenly but because they learned it from indentured servants fresh from England who talked that way. The dialect the blacks learned, Edward Eggleston has said, 'probably preserved much that was the worst in the English of the seventeenth century'."
Let's begin at the beginning. No historian of any caliber should be making value judgments about language. No academic, intellectual, anyone really, for that matter.
Next, let's talk about the anti-blackness inherent in describing "dem," "dey" and
"dat" as "slovenly," even if it is somehow meant to abscond Black Americans of the "responsibility" of linguistic origination (the "somehow" is yet to be determined; "Your dialect is the worst in all of the English language! But it's not your fault, really").
Lastly, let's talk about the chickenshit author not coming right out and saying himself that Black Americans are responsible for the continuation of the "worst" of the English language, but quoting another academic who says so. Freeman Hawke has no additional comments, leading any reasonable person to believe he has nothing to say in response; an affirmative silence.
I don't have time to get into how every portrayal of the inequalities, prejudices, violent colonialist behaviors and sufferings of colonists, enslaved peoples and indigenous Americans are always bookended with "But it wasn't that bad, really! Compared to England! Compared to now! Compared to...my self-serving ruler of what 'bad' is!" Don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining, Mr. Freeman Hawke.
Yeah, that's all I've got. You're much better off reading Howard Zinn or Ian Mortimer.
But then I run into this: "In the South, Blacks used 'dem,' 'dey,' and 'dat,' for 'them,' 'they,' and 'that' not because they spoke the language slovenly but because they learned it from indentured servants fresh from England who talked that way. The dialect the blacks learned, Edward Eggleston has said, 'probably preserved much that was the worst in the English of the seventeenth century'."
Let's begin at the beginning. No historian of any caliber should be making value judgments about language. No academic, intellectual, anyone really, for that matter.
Next, let's talk about the anti-blackness inherent in describing "dem," "dey" and
"dat" as "slovenly," even if it is somehow meant to abscond Black Americans of the "responsibility" of linguistic origination (the "somehow" is yet to be determined; "Your dialect is the worst in all of the English language! But it's not your fault, really").
Lastly, let's talk about the chickenshit author not coming right out and saying himself that Black Americans are responsible for the continuation of the "worst" of the English language, but quoting another academic who says so. Freeman Hawke has no additional comments, leading any reasonable person to believe he has nothing to say in response; an affirmative silence.
I don't have time to get into how every portrayal of the inequalities, prejudices, violent colonialist behaviors and sufferings of colonists, enslaved peoples and indigenous Americans are always bookended with "But it wasn't that bad, really! Compared to England! Compared to now! Compared to...my self-serving ruler of what 'bad' is!" Don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining, Mr. Freeman Hawke.
Yeah, that's all I've got. You're much better off reading Howard Zinn or Ian Mortimer.
August 28, 2011
I read this book for my AP US History class next year, and I understand why the book was chosen: it is very informative and makes the everyday life of the colonists easily accessible. However, the issues I had with this book made the 180-some pages seem much longer.
First, I felt it was poorly written. The author often misuses commas, and leaves out hyphens and semicolons when they are necessary. He also uses "emigrate" in place of "immigrate" a lot in the first chapter. I also felt the book was haphazardly organized and, well...sort of boring. (There is an entire chapter on the early colonists' house plans--as in, what they used their lofts for, and how they added lean-tos to their houses, etc.) The author also quoted three pages from another author's work about the Salem witch trials, rather than deigning to write about it himself. Small things, I know--but it made it difficult for me to focus on the book itself.
The thing that really put me off this book was the author's attitude. He describes women's lives in the New World (in chapter 5)--where indentured female servants who bear children out of wedlock can have their children taken away from them and sold to another family, where women work not only in the fields with men but also in the house and with the children, where women are described as taking leave of their senses if they dare to educate themselves--and then blithely agrees with a quote that describes the society as not marked by discrimination against women.
The author explicitly calls Native Americans "barbarian", "red", and writes of how they "fought with a terrifying purpose--to push the white man back into the sea" (132) as though it was completely unreasonable for the Native Americans to try to resist the colonization of the land in which they lived.
The information in the book was useful, and I do feel like I learned a lot--but I could not enjoy reading this book at all.
First, I felt it was poorly written. The author often misuses commas, and leaves out hyphens and semicolons when they are necessary. He also uses "emigrate" in place of "immigrate" a lot in the first chapter. I also felt the book was haphazardly organized and, well...sort of boring. (There is an entire chapter on the early colonists' house plans--as in, what they used their lofts for, and how they added lean-tos to their houses, etc.) The author also quoted three pages from another author's work about the Salem witch trials, rather than deigning to write about it himself. Small things, I know--but it made it difficult for me to focus on the book itself.
The thing that really put me off this book was the author's attitude. He describes women's lives in the New World (in chapter 5)--where indentured female servants who bear children out of wedlock can have their children taken away from them and sold to another family, where women work not only in the fields with men but also in the house and with the children, where women are described as taking leave of their senses if they dare to educate themselves--and then blithely agrees with a quote that describes the society as not marked by discrimination against women.
The author explicitly calls Native Americans "barbarian", "red", and writes of how they "fought with a terrifying purpose--to push the white man back into the sea" (132) as though it was completely unreasonable for the Native Americans to try to resist the colonization of the land in which they lived.
The information in the book was useful, and I do feel like I learned a lot--but I could not enjoy reading this book at all.
September 19, 2023
take the pen and paper away from him
September 2, 2024
This book purports to portray living conditions in America in the colonial days from 1600 to 1700. It is organized at first by such physical topics as the farm, the house, the town, etc. but then switches to more general subjects like health, the calendar, recreation, manners and morals, war, and slavery. In fact it jumps all over the place, repeats itself frequently and seems to wander as well into earlier and later time periods depending on no particular scheme. Despite all this, the writing is clear and often interesting.
The author makes the point that colonial America was essentially the culture of England transported across the Atlantic and modified to fit the land and conditions of the New World in three general areas: Virginia, the middle region he calls “the Chesapeake” and New England.
The book has no numbered footnotes - only a bibliography and index at the end - although numerous sources and quotes from other authors are sprinkled in the narrative - which I found unprofessional for a supposedly scholarly work by an academic historian.
This is the first volume of Harper’s six book series called “Everyday Life in America” - each by a different noted historian using his or her own format. Written in the 1990’s they include the period up to 1945.
I have them all on my bookshelf now and plan to tackle them in order and see where they take me. Let’s hope they improve.
The author makes the point that colonial America was essentially the culture of England transported across the Atlantic and modified to fit the land and conditions of the New World in three general areas: Virginia, the middle region he calls “the Chesapeake” and New England.
The book has no numbered footnotes - only a bibliography and index at the end - although numerous sources and quotes from other authors are sprinkled in the narrative - which I found unprofessional for a supposedly scholarly work by an academic historian.
This is the first volume of Harper’s six book series called “Everyday Life in America” - each by a different noted historian using his or her own format. Written in the 1990’s they include the period up to 1945.
I have them all on my bookshelf now and plan to tackle them in order and see where they take me. Let’s hope they improve.
March 19, 2016
Some interesting things I learned from this book:
Settlers would drop a chicken or two down the chimney - the panicked flapping would clean the soot from the walls.
Our American way of switching knife/fork, rather than eating "continental" style with the fork in the left hand is due to a lag in delivery of forks to go with the new butter-knives. The early settlers got used to pinning down their food with the spoon, sawing at it with the knife, then switching the spoon to the right hand to eat.
Most people didn't have a separate dining space. A board, set across a trestle, was brought out for meals. This is where "room & board" comes from. Many families just had stools or a bench; a chair was special and held for the patriarch - the chairman of the board.
Settlers would drop a chicken or two down the chimney - the panicked flapping would clean the soot from the walls.
Our American way of switching knife/fork, rather than eating "continental" style with the fork in the left hand is due to a lag in delivery of forks to go with the new butter-knives. The early settlers got used to pinning down their food with the spoon, sawing at it with the knife, then switching the spoon to the right hand to eat.
Most people didn't have a separate dining space. A board, set across a trestle, was brought out for meals. This is where "room & board" comes from. Many families just had stools or a bench; a chair was special and held for the patriarch - the chairman of the board.
February 4, 2015
I read this for my college history before 1877 class. I enjoyed reading it and it seems to bring out some of the ideas to completion that we learned in class. I kept the book and rarely keep any of the college books.
December 28, 2008
This book was awesome. It'll give you a history boner. I wish I hadn't sold it back to the university bookstore.
October 23, 2021
Makes me feel like I could live there. Every detail the author includes is precious and evocative. The difference between the societal structure of the Northern colonies and Southern colonies is especially foreboding and instructive (rigid class structure and for-profit plantation farming in the South bolstered by slaves, subsistence farming and village life with tight social fabric in the North). Where can I get a book like this for every time and place?
September 21, 2025
A surprisingly cozy read; simple information but very fascinating and well written
May 20, 2012
This was an interesting overview of the ordinary of 400 years ago. From the manner of dress to the style of war this book outlines what life was like for the ordinary citizen of what was to become the United States. I was particularly struck by the often subtle and sometimes glaring differences between life in the northern states and life in the southern states, and by the heretofore unrealized importance of the gristmill in the development of the hinterlands. This book is a must for any serious student of American History.
May 25, 2017
I have been trying to read more factual books, and less fiction. I really enjoyed this look into Early America. I had no idea, just how basic their lives were when they first arrived; how they were just trying to feed themselves and have shelter. Sleeping on the floor for years; hanging people for the craziest reasons, the men wearing wigs. Was surprised how much of England they brought with them in their chosen ways of life. I though they would want to start anew. After all, weren't they fleeing their own countries? Anyway, great read. Really enjoyed it.
November 10, 2017
Several interesting facts revealed in this book, but the sources weren't supported with footnotes.
-25% of people in England in 17th century were near starvation
-All large towns in England had free schools for the poor
-American women had bad teeth
-4 holidays in America (Lady's Day March 25, Midsummer June 24, Michaelmas Sept. 29, Christmas Dec 25)
-England adopted Julian calendar in 1752
-1/3 of women were pregnant when married
-80% of Americans had one or more horses
-Witch trials also occurred in Europe where over 500,000 were executed over a 300 year period.
-25% of people in England in 17th century were near starvation
-All large towns in England had free schools for the poor
-American women had bad teeth
-4 holidays in America (Lady's Day March 25, Midsummer June 24, Michaelmas Sept. 29, Christmas Dec 25)
-England adopted Julian calendar in 1752
-1/3 of women were pregnant when married
-80% of Americans had one or more horses
-Witch trials also occurred in Europe where over 500,000 were executed over a 300 year period.
February 12, 2013
I loved the book. It touched on the living experience in Early America.
This included how townships were made, defined. How housing started, and
then farms with explanations for migrations. The recreation, rites, ceremonies
was especially interesting as was language. Slaves, indentured servants and
Indian interactions were explained. What they ate; how they ate. How they
treated their sick. It was a very comprehensive read for a little book. Jam-
packed!
This included how townships were made, defined. How housing started, and
then farms with explanations for migrations. The recreation, rites, ceremonies
was especially interesting as was language. Slaves, indentured servants and
Indian interactions were explained. What they ate; how they ate. How they
treated their sick. It was a very comprehensive read for a little book. Jam-
packed!
August 20, 2020
When I picked this book up I thought it would be so dry it would be a struggle to get through – and I was prepared for that when I began to read it. As I got further into it, I realized that – maybe it was dry, but it was written in such a way that, at least to me, was palatable.
I’m interested in the topic for a couple of reasons – a) most history is written about wars and/or famous or infamous people and b) just like any history, it’s hard to see yourself living in that time period. The author quotes Fernand Braudel in the introduction, “the journey backward is a journey to another planet, another human universe.” That’s a good way to put it.
In early America, it was very easy to see the benefits of diversity. One example is in early Pennsylvania – the Swede’s brought the log cabin and taught others how to use an ax. The Germans bred big horses that could pull large loads. German craftsman produced a new gun for America – the rifle. Germans and Swedes worked together – to help newcomers to Pennsylvania, when someone needed help clearing a field, to erect log cabins and raise barns. It seemed by bringing their own unique ideas and sharing with others contributed to the colony of Pennsylvania’s success.
It was also easy to see the drawbacks also – the Indians gave the Americans corn and showed them how to plant it and in return they got disease, guns, alcohol, and cotton shirts.
In regards to the “melting pot” or “salad bowl” – most of early America was a “salad bowl”. People generally married people of their same religion or ethnicity. However, the melting pot that America created overnight was with black slaves. Slaves were brought from all over the world and did not share a common language or culture. “Blacks were forced to meld their origins, traditions, and languages into a single American pot.”
Farming was hard. “Clearing the ground” either took or produced a certain work ethic. A farmer was able to clear about 1 to 2 acres per year and a farm in 50 years. Farmers were mostly cutoff from society and for the most part were self-sustaining, meaning they must become a jack-of-all-trades. Every farmer grew corn because it could be used for both humans and animals, was immune to most diseases, and was easy to grow. Farmers wives kept a “kitchen garden” with vegetables for use during cooking.
The early American houses were a little different than we have today. Except for “the hall”, or living room – there were no rooms – no bedrooms, no dining rooms, no bathroom. The hall was used for everything – cooking, eating, working, praying. For a dinner table the colonists used a board which they referred to as “the board”. This is where the term “room and board” comes from. Most colonial families did not have any chairs at the board, but if they did, it was reserved for the head of the family – the “chairman of the board”. Also, forks did not appear until the 18th century and instead of beds they used a “shake down”, a bedroll that could be put away during the day.
Women were important and their grind was grueling. They ran the house and reared the children, but they also became partners with their husbands on the farms – even out in the fields they helped.
Children moved straight to adulthood – no adolescence – the phase did not exist then.
Because the colonists were so spread out, the normal publication of marriages did not work to inform friends and family of a marriage. So local government stepped in to take that on and a marriage license now would be issued by the county clerk to spread the word.
In England, gentlemen (upper class) were only allowed to have guns. In America as the militias started getting setup so that plain people could protect their communities they broke this English tradition – and now, all men had the right to bear arms.
Regarding illnesses, the belief was “Nothing got well of itself, and somewhere in nature existed a remedy to cure every illness.”
One other quote I found interesting was in regards to the Salem Witch Trials in which some people feel that the people convicted did not get a fair trial. Hawke says the accused were tried and “What is and is not fair differs in time and with those that make the judgement.” That’s true and I often wonder what future people will look back on to our current time and think “they did that?” or “I can’t believe they lived that way”.
I’m interested in the topic for a couple of reasons – a) most history is written about wars and/or famous or infamous people and b) just like any history, it’s hard to see yourself living in that time period. The author quotes Fernand Braudel in the introduction, “the journey backward is a journey to another planet, another human universe.” That’s a good way to put it.
“Many settlers found an ‘early paradise’ in America. The abundance of flora and fauna was awesome. Persimmons, a fruit new to the colonists, grew like ropes of onions and ‘the branches very often break down by the mighty weight of the fruits.’ Wild strawberries carpeted many of the burned-over glades. In the spring ‘herrings come up in such abundance into their brooks and fords to spawn that it is almost impossible to ride through without treading on them.’ Huge turkeys ran in flocks of four and five hundred. Migrating ducks blotted out the sun when they rose from a pond and made ‘a rushing and vibration fo the air like a great storm coming through the trees.'”
In early America, it was very easy to see the benefits of diversity. One example is in early Pennsylvania – the Swede’s brought the log cabin and taught others how to use an ax. The Germans bred big horses that could pull large loads. German craftsman produced a new gun for America – the rifle. Germans and Swedes worked together – to help newcomers to Pennsylvania, when someone needed help clearing a field, to erect log cabins and raise barns. It seemed by bringing their own unique ideas and sharing with others contributed to the colony of Pennsylvania’s success.
It was also easy to see the drawbacks also – the Indians gave the Americans corn and showed them how to plant it and in return they got disease, guns, alcohol, and cotton shirts.
In regards to the “melting pot” or “salad bowl” – most of early America was a “salad bowl”. People generally married people of their same religion or ethnicity. However, the melting pot that America created overnight was with black slaves. Slaves were brought from all over the world and did not share a common language or culture. “Blacks were forced to meld their origins, traditions, and languages into a single American pot.”
“Common hardships put the different races, as well as separate sexes, upon a more equal footing than they would see in subsequent generations.”
Farming was hard. “Clearing the ground” either took or produced a certain work ethic. A farmer was able to clear about 1 to 2 acres per year and a farm in 50 years. Farmers were mostly cutoff from society and for the most part were self-sustaining, meaning they must become a jack-of-all-trades. Every farmer grew corn because it could be used for both humans and animals, was immune to most diseases, and was easy to grow. Farmers wives kept a “kitchen garden” with vegetables for use during cooking.
The early American houses were a little different than we have today. Except for “the hall”, or living room – there were no rooms – no bedrooms, no dining rooms, no bathroom. The hall was used for everything – cooking, eating, working, praying. For a dinner table the colonists used a board which they referred to as “the board”. This is where the term “room and board” comes from. Most colonial families did not have any chairs at the board, but if they did, it was reserved for the head of the family – the “chairman of the board”. Also, forks did not appear until the 18th century and instead of beds they used a “shake down”, a bedroll that could be put away during the day.
Women were important and their grind was grueling. They ran the house and reared the children, but they also became partners with their husbands on the farms – even out in the fields they helped.
Children moved straight to adulthood – no adolescence – the phase did not exist then.
Because the colonists were so spread out, the normal publication of marriages did not work to inform friends and family of a marriage. So local government stepped in to take that on and a marriage license now would be issued by the county clerk to spread the word.
In England, gentlemen (upper class) were only allowed to have guns. In America as the militias started getting setup so that plain people could protect their communities they broke this English tradition – and now, all men had the right to bear arms.
Regarding illnesses, the belief was “Nothing got well of itself, and somewhere in nature existed a remedy to cure every illness.”
One other quote I found interesting was in regards to the Salem Witch Trials in which some people feel that the people convicted did not get a fair trial. Hawke says the accused were tried and “What is and is not fair differs in time and with those that make the judgement.” That’s true and I often wonder what future people will look back on to our current time and think “they did that?” or “I can’t believe they lived that way”.
Read
September 16, 2019White/colonist information... Mostly Chesapeake area and New England. No sources given. America had many immigrants at this point; their cultures are not represented.
July 21, 2022
I found Everyday Life in Early America to be an interesting, if not super deep, look at the earliest days of European settlers coming to America. Hawke covers a lot of ground here, from organization of villages and counties, to who was coming over and what they brought with them, to scientific and pseudo-scientific beliefs of the day. However, in doing so, the book feels like it's about a mile wide and an inch deep, which is my major issue with it.
In providing a high-level overview of what life was like in the early colonies, I think Everyday Life does a great job, but I guess I was hoping for a bit more out of it. I think this book could've been much longer and gone into greater depth in the various topics it covered, but given the size of the book, that could also have just been me setting my expectations too high.
Hawke does provide an extensive bibliography at the end of the book, and I think that this could be a valuable resource in finding other published work that dives a bit deeper. However, Everyday Life was written nearly 30 years ago, so I feel that it might be better to find newer and more up-to-date books to further my studies. Not that the history has changed, but the resources available to us and the lens through which we view these times have changed.
In the end, I found this to be a good starting point in learning about this time period, but it just left me wanting more.
In providing a high-level overview of what life was like in the early colonies, I think Everyday Life does a great job, but I guess I was hoping for a bit more out of it. I think this book could've been much longer and gone into greater depth in the various topics it covered, but given the size of the book, that could also have just been me setting my expectations too high.
Hawke does provide an extensive bibliography at the end of the book, and I think that this could be a valuable resource in finding other published work that dives a bit deeper. However, Everyday Life was written nearly 30 years ago, so I feel that it might be better to find newer and more up-to-date books to further my studies. Not that the history has changed, but the resources available to us and the lens through which we view these times have changed.
In the end, I found this to be a good starting point in learning about this time period, but it just left me wanting more.
February 3, 2025
This book is a good introduction to some of the general social structures that dominated 17th century America, an often forgotten part of our nation's history. If you're looking for a general overview on the social climate, and the differences between colonies throughout America, this is a good, quick read. That said, it is by no means exhaustive, and the reader who is looking for in-depth information on historical events during this period may find themselves disappointed. Important events such as the Salem Witch Trials and King Philip's War are mentioned, yet the purpose of this book is more to generate interest in the historical period it examines than to explore these events in their entirety.
Overall, if you have little background in 17th century America but are looking to expose yourself more, this book is an excellent place to start. Depending on your goals in your historical studies, you may want to supplement Everyday Life in Early America with further readings.
One thing that stands out to me is the way that Hawke makes good use of primary sources quoted in the text in order to highlight the social attitudes of 17th century America. Put together with his in-depth descriptions of everyday life, one can begin to imagine in more vivid detail what it may have been like to reside in a 17th century American colony.
Overall, if you have little background in 17th century America but are looking to expose yourself more, this book is an excellent place to start. Depending on your goals in your historical studies, you may want to supplement Everyday Life in Early America with further readings.
One thing that stands out to me is the way that Hawke makes good use of primary sources quoted in the text in order to highlight the social attitudes of 17th century America. Put together with his in-depth descriptions of everyday life, one can begin to imagine in more vivid detail what it may have been like to reside in a 17th century American colony.
June 26, 2025
I've always been a sucker for "common people's" history. This book is sort of a classic in the genre, bringing together primary source narratives that tell the day to day life of colonial settlers. It does a nice job of mixing New England and Chesapeake insights for an overall blend of life in colonial America.
I appreciate the connection between material culture comments (what they ate, wore, and did) alongside behavioral comments about how they spoke, what they believed, and the way they ordered society. It is a solid, balanced portrayal that helps the reader develop a familiarity with the people of the time.
I would definitely consider this book for a Colonial America class. It's short enough and accessible enough for undergraduates. It particularly tickled my fancy to hear some of the etymology of common phrases we still have in the United States today. It reminded me in many ways just how recent even our "distant" past was.
I appreciate the connection between material culture comments (what they ate, wore, and did) alongside behavioral comments about how they spoke, what they believed, and the way they ordered society. It is a solid, balanced portrayal that helps the reader develop a familiarity with the people of the time.
I would definitely consider this book for a Colonial America class. It's short enough and accessible enough for undergraduates. It particularly tickled my fancy to hear some of the etymology of common phrases we still have in the United States today. It reminded me in many ways just how recent even our "distant" past was.
July 22, 2022
With the keen eyes of the Hawk, the author provides analysis of early society throughout the seventeenth century in the English provinces destined to become a new republic a century later. Who came, what did they bring, and what did they find in the lands they seized and occupied? How did they adapt and what forces propeled thee new Americans into the eighteenth century? Well structured, this informative study will enhance understanding of the long road to fashioning new identities in what for them was a new land.
October 14, 2021
Well researched, clearly written, entertaining, informative, and challenging to a lot of preconceived ideas I had about very early America (and, indeed, about the Europe those early Americans departed from). I couldn't ask for much more from this popular history save that I wish it were longer and more in depth.
Definitely worth the read if you're curious at all about early America or have any interest in writing a work of fiction set in the 17th Century.
Definitely worth the read if you're curious at all about early America or have any interest in writing a work of fiction set in the 17th Century.
August 10, 2025
An easy, fast read of early colonial life in the American colonies. Previous complaints about this slim 177 page to introduction to everyday life of 1600s America seem to have expected some sort of leftist critique are a bit puzzling as the basis of the author's intent was spelled from the beginning and seem to come from people who clearly didn't read beyond the first three chapters, probably when their indignation arose. What a strange world we're living in.
May 8, 2019
This was a very interesting book about the everyday life in America during the 16th century. I found some wonderful tidbits of information that were so interesting mixed in with a thorough discussion of the lives of the people. This book does include some of the more unsavory events in our history as well, so I do recommend it for older teens and adults, as that is the target audience.
July 5, 2021
This book was interesting, but not particularly well-organized. He throws in a lot of interesting tidbits, but they were often a little *too* interesting and had me wondering what his sources were. (For example, he stated that settlers sometimes dropped chicken down their chimney when it needed cleaning and its flapping wings took care of the task…)
February 25, 2023
Clear and easy to read book that serves as an excellent intro to early American life, thought it should be noted that the book focuses mostly on English settlements. Despite its age, the book dispels many commonly held myths about early Puritan society that a modern reader may have been taught. I especially enjoyed the artifact photos and sections on home building.
July 4, 2019
I loved and hated this book, but in the end my overall impression is the author tackled a pretty huge subject fairly well. There are some interesting generalizations that are worth deeper exploration, but over all worth the read.
October 12, 2020
I had to read this for my Colonial America college class. It is very informative and provides good information on the everyday life of a white settler. I would suggest reading this to get a broad understanding on the subject.
February 25, 2025
I enjoyed this book. It went into great detail about 17th century living conditions in colonial America. And too, it described the cultural and class distinctions between the various ethnicities. Highly recommend for anyone wanting a picture of how people lived and worked in 1600's America.
April 5, 2018
It didn't give that many details about what a typical day would look like, but it gave the flavor of life in the 1600s for European settlers to America. An easy, quick history read.
July 18, 2018
I took my sweet time getting this finished. This is a good basic overview of life in the American colonies during the 17th century.
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