The importance of gunsmithing in Virginia during the colonial period is clear. Gunsmiths were found nearly everywhere: in port towns along the coast, in settled inland areas, and - probably the busiest ones - on the frontier. As with most craftsmen, many of these men remain obscure. They left little trace and the records reveal their names only incidentally. With the revolutionary war, gunsmiths of unusual ability appeared.
Although called gunsmiths, they rarely labored on guns during colonial times. An important part of the community, the gunsmith most likely focused on other types of metal work, but occasionally assembled firearms. This historical volume chronicles the formative years of the United States through the activities and occupations of its most important community members. It explore the everyday life, responsibilities, social life, and the affect the gunsmith had on the colonial American way of life. Hands-on activities and recipes, sidebars detailing the history and evolution of the profession, and key social studies words are defined in the glossary.
The years between 1450 and 1550 marked the end of one era in world history and the beginning of another. Most importantly, the focus of global commerce and power shifted from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, largely because of the discovery ofthe New World. The New World was more than a geographic novelty. It opened the way for new human possibilities, possibilities that were first fulfilled by the British colonies of North America, nearly 100 years after Columbus landed in the Bahamas. TheHistorical Dictionary of Colonial America covers America's history from the first settlements to the end and immediate aftermath of the French and Indian War. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, an extensive bibliography, and over 400 cross-referenced dictionary entries on the various colonies, which were founded and how they became those which declared independence. Religious, political, economic, and family life; important people; warfare; and relations between British, French, Spanish, and Dutch colonies are also among the topics covered. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Colonial America.
The development of many artisans in the fine arts, textiles, furniture, clocks, rifles, ironwork, and pottery is traced from 1750 through the post-Civil War years.
Books on Early American History and Culture, 1971-1980: An Annotated Bibliography continues a series of bibliographies listing book-length works on North America and the Caribbean prior to 1815. Essential for scholars, librarians, and students of early America, the book surveys nearly 1,200 monographs, essay collections, exhibition catalogues, and reference works published between 1971 and 1980. In addition to bibliographic information each entry includes brief annotations, which describe the scope and approach to each item and the book's main thesis. Also included are lists of journals where each work has been reviewed and the number of times the book has been cited in professional literature, and the number of OCLC member libraries holding the work. In 31 thematic sections, the book covers such topics as: exploration and colonialization, Native Americans, the American Revolutionary War, the Constitution, race and slavery, gender, religion.
Special sections on tools and materials, craft techniques, and firearm safety, restoration, and preservation are included in a comprehensive guide to gunsmithing and gunmaking
George Washington insisted that his portrait be painted with one. Daniel Boone created a legend with one. Abraham Lincoln shot them on the White House lawn. And Teddy Roosevelt had his specially customized. In this first-of-its-kind book, historian Alexander Rose delivers a colorful, engrossing biography of an American icon: the rifle. Drawing on the words of foot soldiers, inventors, and presidents, based on extensive new research, and spanning from the Revolution to the present day, American Rifle is a balanced, wonderfully entertaining history of the rifle and its place in American culture.
Science and technology are central to history of the United States, and this is true of the Colonial period as well. Although considered by Europeans as a backwater, the people living in the American colonies had advanced notions of agriculture, surveying, architecture, and other technologies. In areas of natural philosophy—what we call science—such figures as Benjamin Franklin were admired and respected in the scientific capitals of Europe. This book covers all aspects of how science and technology impacted the everyday life of Americans of all classes and cultures. Science and Technology in Everyday Life in Colonial America covers a wide range of topics that will interest students of American history and the history of science and technology: * Domestic technology—how colonial women devised new strategies for day-to-day survival * Agricultural—how Native Americans and African slaves influenced the development of a American system of agriculture * War—how the frequent battles during the colonial period changed how industry made consumer goods This volume includes myriad examples of the impact science and technology had on the lives of individual who lived in the New World.
