Author: S. W. Straus
Publisher: Forgotten Books
ISBN: 9780483195998
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 270
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Book Description
Excerpt from History of the Thrift, Movement in America Here and there a man has dared assert the righteousness Of thrift and to practice its doctrine. NO man in our century has done so much toward bringing the people to a realizing sense Of the crime Of wastefulness, and Of the absolute necessity for the proper practice of economy, as has the author Of the present book. A member of a large family, and with a father who had to make his own way in the world, he early absorbed lessons Of honesty, Of industry, of tenacity of purpose, Of economy; Of making the best use of what is available, and of shaping conditions to meet future needs, such as has made him careful for himself not only, but concerned for the welfare of others. With thrift as precept and practice entering into the very warp and woof Of the commercial, the moral, the spiritual life of the man - endowed by nature as wise and far-seeing, with an inherent de sire to serve - there early came to Simon W. Straus. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Author: S. W. Straus
Publisher: Forgotten Books
ISBN: 9781330314227
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 270
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Book Description
Excerpt from History of the Thrift, Movement in America Until quite recently the term "Thrift" conveyed meagre conceptions to the average mind. There have been, it is true, individuals now and then who, because of so-called peculiar characteristics, or possessing dispositional make-up, unusual or rare, have practiced thrift. These, for the most part, however, have been looked upon as mercenary or miserly. To be thrifty was, in popular thinking, to drive a sharp bargain - to demand heavy usury. Thus, the thrifty were characterized as narrow-minded, self-centered, not always the most satisfactory community members. Society frowned upon them, and, while tolerated, they were taken into fellowship reluctantly, or not at all. Until recently, too, thrift was understood in its narrowest sense only - that of money saving. Anyone frugal in money matters was characterized as thrifty, as opposed to the wasteful or extravagant. Hence, to be thrifty implied living on the least possible, with the corresponding larger saving and investment. A close buyer, one who could drive a sharp bargain, who had foresight to invest to advantage, who managed to sell on a big margin, who spent little and saved much - such was the thrifty person. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Author: Joshua Yates
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199772959
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 633
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Book Description
Thrift is a powerful and evolving moral ideal, disposition, and practice that has indelibly marked the character of American life since its earliest days. Its surprisingly multifaceted character opens a number of expansive vistas for analysis, not only in the American past, but also in its present. Thrift remains, if perhaps in unexpected and counter-intuitive ways, intensely relevant to the complex issues of contemporary moral and economic life. Thrift and Thriving in America is a collection of groundbreaking essays from leading scholars on the seminal importance of thrift to American culture and history. From a rich diversity of disciplinary perspectives, the volume shows that far from the narrow and attenuated rendering of thrift as a synonym of saving and scrimping, thrift possess an astonishing capaciousness and dynamism, and that the idiom of thrift has, in one form or another, served as the primary language for articulating the normative dimensions of economic life throughout much of American history. The essays put thrift in a more expansive light, revealing its compelling etymology-its sense of "thriving." This deeper meaning has always operated as the subtext of thrift and at times has even been invoked to critique its more restricted notions. So understood, thrift moves beyond the instrumentalities of "more or less" and begs the question: what does it mean and take to thrive? Thoroughly examining how Americans have answered this question, Thrift and Thriving in America provides fascinating insight into evolving meanings of material wellbeing, and of the good life and the good society more generally, and will serve as a perennial resource on a notion that has and will continue to shape and define American life.
Author: David Blankenhorn
Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press
ISBN: 1599473526
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272
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Book Description
Americans today often think of thrift as a negative value—a miserly hoarding of resources and a denial of pleasure. Even more telling, many Americans don't even think of thrift at all anymore. Franklin’s Thrift challenges this state of mind by recovering the rich history of thrift as a quintessentially American virtue. The contributors to this volume trace how, from the eighteenth century on, the idea and practice of thrift has been a robust part of the American vision of economic freedom and social abundance. For Benjamin Franklin, who personified and promoted the idea, thrift meant working productively, consuming wisely, saving proportionally, and giving generously. Franklin's thrift became the cornerstone of a new kind of secular faith in the ordinary person's capacity to shape his lot and fortune in life. Later chapters document how in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, thrift moved into new domains. It became the animating idea behind social movements to promote children's school savings, create mutual savings banks and credit unions for working men and women, establish a federal savings bond program, and galvanize the nation to conserve resources during two world wars. Historians, enthusiasts of Americana or traditional American virtues, and anyone interested in resolving our society's current financial woes will find much to treasure in this diverse collection, with topics ranging from the inspirational lessons we can learn from the film It’s a Wonderful Life to a history of the roles played by mutual savings banks, credit unions, and thrift stores in America’s national thrift movement. It also includes actual policy recommendations for our present situation.
Author: Ronald Takaki
Publisher: eBookIt.com
ISBN: 1456611062
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 787
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Book Description
Takaki traces the economic and political history of Indians, African Americans, Mexicans, Japanese, Chinese, Irish, and Jewish people in America, with considerable attention given to instances and consequences of racism. The narrative is laced with short quotations, cameos of personal experiences, and excerpts from folk music and literature. Well-known occurrences, such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the Trail of Tears, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Japanese internment are included. Students may be surprised by some of the revelations, but will recognize a constant thread of rampant racism. The author concludes with a summary of today's changing economic climate and offers Rodney King's challenge to all of us to try to get along. Readers will find this overview to be an accessible, cogent jumping-off place for American history and political science plus a guide to the myriad other sources identified in the notes.
Author: Joslyn Pine
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486112446
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 224
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Book Description
This original collection of quotations cites approximately 100 well-known African Americans from all walks of life, including Maya Angelou, Louis Armstrong, Muhammad Ali, Julian Bond, George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass, and Ralph Ellison.
Author: Nat'l Museum African American Hist/Cult
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
ISBN: 158834570X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 66
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Book Description
This souvenir book showcases some of the most influential and important treasures of the National Museum of African American History and Culture's collections. These include a hymn book owned by Harriet Tubman; ankle shackles used to restrain enslaved people on ships during the Middle Passage; a dress that Rosa Parks was making shortly before she was arrested; a vintage, open-cockpit Tuskegee Airmen trainer plane; Muhammad Ali's headgear; an 1835 Bill of Sale enslaving a young girl named Polly; and Chuck Berry's Cadillac. These objects tell us the full story of African American history, of triumphs and tragedies and highs and lows. This book, like the museum it represents, uses artifacts of African American history and culture as a lens into what it means to be an American.
Author: Sara Bullard
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199762279
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 113
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Book Description
Here is an illustrated history of the civil rights movement, written and designed for ages 10 to adult, that clearly and effectively brings the turbulent years of struggle to life, and gives a vivid and powerful experience of what it was like not so very long ago. Provides a brief overview of black history in the US, discussing the civil-rights movement chronologically through stories and photos.
Author: Jennifer Le Zotte
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469631911
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 343
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Book Description
In this surprising new look at how clothing, style, and commerce came together to change American culture, Jennifer Le Zotte examines how secondhand goods sold at thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales came to be both profitable and culturally influential. Initially, selling used goods in the United States was seen as a questionable enterprise focused largely on the poor. But as the twentieth century progressed, multimillion-dollar businesses like Goodwill Industries developed, catering not only to the needy but increasingly to well-off customers looking to make a statement. Le Zotte traces the origins and meanings of "secondhand style" and explores how buying pre-owned goods went from a signifier of poverty to a declaration of rebellion. Considering buyers and sellers from across the political and economic spectrum, Le Zotte shows how conservative and progressive social activists--from religious and business leaders to anti-Vietnam protesters and drag queens--shrewdly used the exchange of secondhand goods for economic and political ends. At the same time, artists and performers, from Marcel Duchamp and Fanny Brice to Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain, all helped make secondhand style a visual marker for youth in revolt.
Author: Larry Schweikart
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101217782
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1350
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Book Description
For the past three decades, many history professors have allowed their biases to distort the way America’s past is taught. These intellectuals have searched for instances of racism, sexism, and bigotry in our history while downplaying the greatness of America’s patriots and the achievements of “dead white men.” As a result, more emphasis is placed on Harriet Tubman than on George Washington; more about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II than about D-Day or Iwo Jima; more on the dangers we faced from Joseph McCarthy than those we faced from Josef Stalin. A Patriot’s History of the United States corrects those doctrinaire biases. In this groundbreaking book, America’s discovery, founding, and development are reexamined with an appreciation for the elements of public virtue, personal liberty, and private property that make this nation uniquely successful. This book offers a long-overdue acknowledgment of America’s true and proud history.
