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Summary:

"Only the Clothes on Her Back tells the history of law and commerce in the United States between the Revolution and the Civil War through textiles and the legal principles associated with them. Those principles existed not in statutes or treatises, but in social and cultural practices, commonly known then, but now long forgotten, which made textiles--clothing, cloth, bedding, and accessories, such as shoes and hats--a unique form of property that people without rights could own and exchange. Textiles' value depended on law, which was what made them a secure form of property for marginalized people, who not only used these goods as currency, credit, and capital, but also as entre into the new republic's economy and governing institutions. Using original archival research, the first part of the book reconstructs the governing order in which textiles' legal principles flourished and follows the implications, recasting our understanding of production and exchange. The second part pieces together the rules that governed trade: trunks established ownership; witness testimony served instead of receipts; accounts were kept in diaries, if they were recorded at all. These practices might seem outside law, but they were not. The third part follows the legal downfall of textiles, showing how the practices associated with them became suspect as the federalism system elevated the possession of rights over other means of making property claims. By the mid--nineteenth century, textiles no longer had the legal power they once had, but most Americans had nothing to replace them"--Publisher's description.

Author/Creator:

Edwards, Laura F. , author

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

Only the clothes on her back: clothing and the hidden history of power in the nineteenth-century United States [by Edwards, L.F.]

Other Related Resources:

Print version: Only the clothes on her back [by Edwards, L.F.] (New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2022] — ISBN 9780197568576; OCLC Number 1251506372)

Subjects:

Property — United States — History — 19th century

Textile fabrics — Social aspects — United States — History — 19th century

Textile industry — Law and legislation — United States

Women — Legal status, laws, etc. — United States — History — 19th century

African Americans — Legal status, laws, etc. — History — 19th century

Poor laws — United States — History — 19th century

Law — Political aspects — United States — History — 19th century

Equality before the law — United States — History — 19th century

Clothing and dress — Social aspects — United States — History — 19th century

1800-1899

Textile fabrics — Social aspects

Textile fabrics

Textile industry — Law and legislation

Textile industry

Women — Legal status, laws, etc.

Women

African Americans — Legal status, laws, etc.

African Americans

Poor laws

Law — Political aspects

Law

Equality before the law

Clothing and dress — Social aspects

Clothing and dress

Property

United States

Genres:

History

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description based on: Online resource; title from home title page (viewed on August 25, 2022).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (457 pages) : illustrations

Digital Characteristics:

text file

Call Numbers:

KF4755 .E39 2022eb

ISBNs:

0197568599 (electronic book)
9780197568606 (electronic book)
0197568602 (electronic book)
9780197568583 (electronic bk.)
0197568580 (electronic bk.)
9780197568590 (electronic bk.)
9780197568576 [Invalid]
0197568572 [Invalid]

OCLC Numbers:

1288215404