Ties That Buy

Ellen Hartigan-O'Connor is Professor of History at the University of California, Davis.

"This fascinating and well-researched book challenges our assumptions at every turn. Because Hartigan-O'Connor shifts our focus from the countryside to the city, she forces historians to rethink their fundamental precepts concerning the 'capitalist transformation.' . . . This is a book that all scholars of the early Republic-whether or not they focus on issues of gender-will ignore at their own peril." (Eighteenth-Century Studies) "In this nuanced and innovative book, Ellen Hartigan-O'Connor moves female economic life from the margins of society to the center-where it belongs. Instead of focusing on the great merchants, she explains how and why women of all ranks were central to economic development. And by taking a new and intriguing approach to consumerism, she shows how the production and importation of goods transformed women's lives. This is a creative and important work." (Elaine Forman Crane, Fordham University) "The Ties That Buy challenges our assumptions about the eighteenth-century American marketplace and the world of commerce. In the author's eyes, this world was not a male-defined or even male-dominated space. Poor, middling, and elite women as well as free and enslaved African American women were a significant presence as savvy entrepreneurs, producers, and consumers who knew about commodities. They also knew about money-how to get it, how to use it, how to spend it. I know of no other book that covers these themes in such a succinct and interesting way." (Susan Branson, Syracuse University) "Through an examination of residence, work, credit, circulation of money, and shopping patterns, Hartigan-O'Connor has created a detailed account of the colonial women who helped shape the vocabulary of commerce with their economic networks. This book provides insight into the everyday practices of women and a meticulous look at the economic implications of everyday life in the era explored." (Women's Studies)

• Introduction1. Urban Housefuls2. Work in the Atlantic Service Economy3. Family Credit and Shared Debts4. Translating Money5. Shopping Networks and Consumption as Collaboration6. The Republic of GoodsConclusionNotesIndexAcknowledgments