Love and the Working Class: The Inner Worlds of Nineteenth Century Americans
Love and the Working Class: The Inner Worlds of Nineteenth Century Americans
Cite
Abstract
Based on over five thousand letters written by both Black and white working-class Americans in the period 1830–1880, Love and the Working Class features the personal expression of ordinary Americans as they find a mate, joke or boast about sex, argue with their spouse, and express their feelings of attachment in both prose and poetry. Most of the letter writers had no more than a third- or fourth-grade education, and some of them were illiterate. Yet they or their scribe took pen and pencil in hand, often sounding out words as they wrote. Readers can “hear” them speak to each other as they expressed their sense of intimacy within the collective relationships of their local community or tribe. Their sense of community included an almost universally accepted yet unspoken demand for racial homogeneity in courtship and marriage. Love and the Working Class makes an innovative and distinctive contribution to the history of emotions as well as American social and cultural history. The focus on courtship and marriage includes an original analysis of nonromantic love. Poetry, letter-writing, and the range of emotions surrounding death are also featured. Working-class feelings are interpreted in response to a wide-range of nineteenth-century experiences, including the Civil War. It is through the lens of personal letters that poor, unschooled Americans show us how they felt about love and how they created meaningful attachments in their uncertain lives.
-
Front Matter
- Introduction: Emotion and History: Working-class Feeling in an Age of Letters
- 1 “Please Excuse All Mistakes”: Letter-Writing, Shame, and Social Connection
- 2 Working-Class Americans Choose a Mate: Nonromantic Courtship and Tribal Intimacy
- 3 The Love Continuum: Understanding Romantic and Nonromantic Attachment
- 4 Sex Talk, Humor, and Fear of Ridicule: Desire and Self-Protection
- 5 Love to All Inquiring Friends: Sustaining Communal Ties in Nonromantic Marriage
- 6 Fighting to Stay Together: Unhappy Spouses and Their Struggles
- 7 Roses Are Red / Violets Are Blue: Emotional History in Rhyme
- 8 Imagining the Eternal Village: Death, Longing, and Loss
- Epilogue
-
End Matter
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
May 2024 | 2 |
May 2024 | 4 |
May 2024 | 2 |
May 2024 | 2 |
May 2024 | 4 |
May 2024 | 4 |
May 2024 | 4 |
May 2024 | 2 |
May 2024 | 6 |
May 2024 | 4 |
May 2024 | 4 |
May 2024 | 4 |
May 2024 | 4 |
May 2024 | 4 |
May 2024 | 4 |
May 2024 | 4 |
June 2024 | 1 |
June 2024 | 1 |
June 2024 | 1 |
June 2024 | 3 |
June 2024 | 1 |
July 2024 | 1 |
July 2024 | 3 |
July 2024 | 1 |
July 2024 | 1 |
July 2024 | 1 |
July 2024 | 1 |
July 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 2 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 3 |
August 2024 | 3 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 2 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 3 |
August 2024 | 4 |
August 2024 | 3 |
August 2024 | 3 |
August 2024 | 3 |
August 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 3 |
September 2024 | 4 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 1 |
September 2024 | 3 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 4 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 4 |
September 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
October 2024 | 4 |
October 2024 | 3 |
October 2024 | 3 |
October 2024 | 6 |
October 2024 | 3 |
October 2024 | 5 |
October 2024 | 5 |
October 2024 | 3 |
October 2024 | 3 |
October 2024 | 3 |
October 2024 | 3 |
October 2024 | 3 |
October 2024 | 6 |
October 2024 | 3 |
October 2024 | 7 |
November 2024 | 1 |
November 2024 | 5 |
November 2024 | 1 |
November 2024 | 3 |
November 2024 | 1 |
November 2024 | 3 |
November 2024 | 3 |
December 2024 | 2 |
January 2025 | 1 |
January 2025 | 3 |
January 2025 | 1 |
January 2025 | 1 |
January 2025 | 2 |
January 2025 | 3 |
January 2025 | 3 |
January 2025 | 2 |
February 2025 | 6 |
February 2025 | 2 |
March 2025 | 1 |
March 2025 | 2 |
March 2025 | 1 |
April 2025 | 2 |
April 2025 | 1 |
April 2025 | 2 |
April 2025 | 4 |
April 2025 | 2 |
April 2025 | 2 |
April 2025 | 4 |
April 2025 | 4 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.