Houses of the Founding Fathers - Hardcover

Howard, Hugh

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1579652751 ISBN 13: 9781579652753

Publisher: Artisan, 2007

Synopsis

When they declared independence in Philadelphia in 1776, they changed the course of Western history. But the patriots—landowners, merchants, and professional men who hailed from towns, cities, and plantations scattered along the eastern seaboard—had private lives too, quite apart from the public deeds we know so well. In this breathtaking volume, historian Hugh Howard and photographer Roger Straus examine the everyday lives of the Founding Fathers. Houses of the Founding Fathers takes us on an eye-opening tour of forty stately eighteenth-century houses. We see the mansions of such legendary figures as Jefferson, Washington, Adams, and Hamilton, along with the homes of many other signers of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. At sites from Maine to Georgia, with stops in each of the thirteen colonies, the grand story of the Revolution emerges from unique and individual domestic perspectives. Houses overlooking the sea, in busy townscapes, or atop mountains reveal these patriots’ tastes in architecture, furniture, and horticulture. There are tales of friends and enemies, murderous relatives, reluctant revolutionaries, adoring wives, and runaway servants. The founding families are brought to life in the rituals of birth and death, the food they ate, the archaic medical practices they endured, their household arrangements, and the way their slaves lived. 

Houses of the Founding Fathers offers a penetrating look at the private lives of the men whose ideas ignited an insurrection against England—and who helped create the modern world.

About this title

Book Description:

A riveting look at the domestic world of the Founding Fathers — their private lives, families, passions, culture, aspirations.

When they declared independence in Philadelphia in 1776, they changed the course of Western history. But the patriots—a mix of landowners, merchants, and professionals— had private lives too, quite apart from the public personae presented in textbooks. In this breathtaking volume, historian Hugh Howard and photographer Roger Straus examine the everyday lives of the Founding Fathers.

This book takes us on an eye-opening tour of 40 stately 18th-century houses. We see the mansions of such legendary figures as Jefferson, Washington, Adams, and Hamilton, along with the homes of many other signers of the Declaration of Independence or Constitution. With stops in each of the 13 colonies, the grand story of the Revolution emerges from individual domestic perspectives.

These pages are peopled with the wives, children, servants, and slaves of the Founding Fathers. Homes overlooking the sea, in busy towns, or atop mountains reveal these patriots' tastes in architecture, furniture, and horticulture. The text is chock-full of fascinating historical details, from what George Washington ate for dinner to how Alexander Hamilton shopped for a bride.

The result is a penetrating look at the private lives of the men whose ideas ignited an insurrection against England—and who helped create the modern world.

About the Author:

Roger Straus III spent thirty years working in book publishing before leaving to devote himself full-time to photography. His work has been featured in ten books, including America’s Great Railroad Stations, and his latest book with Hugh Howard, Houses of the Presidents, will be published in October 2012 by Little Brown. He lives in North Salem, New York. 

About this edition

• Publisher: Artisan
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1579652751
• ISBN 13: 9781579652753
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 354