“Indispensable for understanding the origins of the American Civil War” As someone with a keen interest in the American Civil War and its origins, I found Fischer’s Albion’s Seed to be extremely valuable. Although the period it describes is mostly colonial leading up to the American war for independence from England, the four folkways documented therein clearly delineate the religious, cultural, economic and even environmental forces that lined up to bring about that most seminal event for modern America, the war of 1861-1865.

The origins of slavery and why it took hold in tidewater Chesapeake areas and not Massachusetts are described by Fischer not only in terms of religious and social values but environmental as well in terms of differing mortality rates between African slaves in the two regions, thereby making slavery more economically feasible in Virginia. The regional culture of tidewater Chesapeake created slavery, not the other way around.

The controversy of territorial expansion of the United States in mid-nineteenth centur…

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This fascinating book is the first volume in a projected cultural history of the United States, from the earliest English settlements to our own time. Itis a history of American folkways as they have changed through time, and it argues a thesis about the importance for the United States of having been British in its cultural origins.

Albion’s Seed
Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: a Cultural History)What an informative book about our early Colonial American history as we relate to our British ancestors. It has given me much insight about the lifestyle of my Colonial ancestors. It is also well-documented, which I appreciate. I feel that I am getting to know my British as well as my American ancestors much better….more info

More than history — valuable for understanding the present
Albion’s Seed details the “folkways” of four groups of people that moved from distinct regions of England to the US. The premise is that ther culture of each of the groups persisted and that these cultures provide the basis for the modern United States. The folkways are the cultural beliefs in religion, magic, child raising, family, age,food and other interesting things. Since reading the book I have been asking everyone I spend any time with about their background and quizzing them about beliefs. The book has opened up a whole new world to me about the types of things Fischer discusses in his book. Traces of the cultures he describes are still very much with us and I am finding it remarkable the degree that you can predict the overall pattern of a person’s beliefs based on their background. Another aspect of the book is that though it is 900 pages of text, it never got boring to me. By talking about people and how they lived it brings them to life as well as any novel….more info

Fastest 900 pages I ever read
I found this book impossible to put down. While reading about one of the four folkways, I found myself anxious to get on to the next ones to compare and contrast it with the others. For such a large, encompassing social history of the U.S., its prose is amazingly readable, filled with interesting anecdotes. From Fischer’s excellent book, I gained new insights into the folkways of my own family, which had its early roots in the Southern Highlands and Virginia Cavalier folkways. In addition, I gained a whole new respect for the Quakers’ important contributions to the nation. I’m amazed that such an enlightened group has dwindled to sect status today. Fianlly, I’ll chime in with a couple of other reviewers here whose biggest complaint was that the author hasn’t yet published his next book in this series, the volume on plantation life….more info

Ambitious!
I give this book high marks just for its very ambition! A must read for those interested in early US history. This is the longest book I have ever read without a narrative!…more info