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Bestseller
BestsellerE-book
Author Hershock, Martin J., 1962-

Title A New England prison diary : slander, religion, and markets in early America / Martin J. Hershock.

Publication Info. Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 2012.

Item Status

Description 1 online resource (x, 238 pages)
data file
Physical Medium polychrome
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents "A stranger of good address and personal appearance" -- "The distracted state of my affairs" -- "If I spend my days in prison I still will be a Democrat" -- "Having God for my friend what more do I want?" -- "Adieu ye damp solitary walls" -- Diaries, dead ends, and discoveries.
Summary In 1812, New Hampshire shopkeeper Timothy M. Joy abandoned his young family, fleeing the creditors who threatened to imprison him. Within days, he found himself in a Massachusetts jailhouse, charged with defamation of a prominent politician. During the months of his incarceration, Joy kept a remarkable journal that recounts his personal, anguished path toward spiritual redemption. Martin J. Hershock situates Joy's account in the context of the pugnacious politics of the early republic, giving context to a common citizen's perspective on partisanship and the fate of an unfortunate shopkeeper swept along in the transition to market capitalism. In addition to this close-up view of an ordinary person's experience of a transformative period, Hershock reflects on his own work as a historian. In the final chapter, he discusses the value of diaries as historical sources, the choices he made in telling Joy's story, alternative interpretations of the diary, and other contexts in which he might have placed Joy's experiences. The appendix reproduces Joy's original journal so that readers can develop their own skills using a primary source.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Language English.
Subject Joy, Timothy Meader, 1789-1813.
Joy, Timothy Meader, 1789-1813.
Joy, Timothy Meader, 1789-1813 -- Diaries.
Genre/Form Diaries.
Subject Pickering, Timothy, 1745-1829 -- Adversaries.
Pickering, Timothy, 1745-1829.
Enemies.
Prisoners -- Massachusetts -- Biography.
Prisoners.
Massachusetts.
Prisoners -- Massachusetts -- Diaries.
Libel and slander -- Massachusetts -- History -- 19th century.
Libel and slander.
History.
Chronological Term 19th century
Subject Massachusetts -- Social conditions -- 19th century.
Social conditions.
Chronological Term 1800-1899
Genre/Form Electronic book.
Biographies.
Electronic books.
History.
Biographies.
Diaries.
Other Form: Print version: Hershock, Martin J., 1962- New England prison diary. Ann Arbor : The University of Michigan Press, 2012 9780472071814 (DLC) 2012011071 (OCoLC)784447091
ISBN 9780472028528 (electronic book)
0472028529 (electronic book)
1280880473
9781280880476
0472051814
9780472051816
0472071815
9780472071814
9786613721785
6613721786
Standard No. ebc3415071
10.3998/mpub.4437410