The Spirit of New York

Bruce W. Dearstyne

Description

Winner of the 2016 Award for Merit presented by the American Association for State and Local History

In this lively and engaging book, Bruce W. Dearstyne presents New York State history by exploring sixteen dramatic events. From the launch of the state government in April 1777 to the tragedy of September 11, 2001, these events altered the course of state and US history. Chapters describe great political changes, historical turning points, and struggles for social, racial, and environmental reform. The book includes daring acts of courage and against-the-odds stories of struggle and triumph. Dearstyne puts the fascinating people who made history at the center of the story, including John Jay, the lead writer of the first state constitution; Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the irrepressible crusader for women's rights; Glenn Curtiss, New York's aviation pioneer; and Robert Moses, controversial president of the 1964 New York World's Fair. This book makes history come alive. The momentous events illustrate the "spirit" of New York—the elusive traits that make New York State unique and a leader among the fifty states—and the complexity of its history.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. April 22, 1777: New York State Begins

2. February 4, 1826: Fiction Trumps History

3. July 4, 1839: The Farmers’ Rebellion

4. July 20, 1848: A Demand for Equal Rights

5. October 1, 1851: Striking a Blow for Freedom

6. March 30, 1899: Pollution and Politics

7. April 15, 1903: Intervening for the Children

8. May 29, 1910: First in the Air

9. March 25 and 29, 1911: Fires Change History

10. February 14, 1924: Leading into the Information Age

11. April 15, 1947: Breaking the Color Line

12. June 24, 1954: A New Enterprise for Moving around New York

13. April 22, 1964: The World’s Fair Opens in New York

14. August 2, 1978: Environmental Crisis and Citizen Activism

15. September 11, 2001: New York’s Resilence

Bibliography
About the Author
Index

Sujets

• Local history
• Region
• History of the Americas
• Regional

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 24 mars 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438456591
• Langue: English

Extrait

Words of Praise
“Bruce Dearstyne brings a fine narrative style and superb storytelling to The Spirit of New York . Readers will learn about New York politics, the state’s role in racial conflict, recasting the role of women in New York, and far more. The book is about the people of New York responding individually and collectively to the opportunities, problems, and tragedies that have punctuated the history of the Empire State from its beginnings to the present.”
— Warren Roberts, author of A Place in History: Albany in the Age of Revolution, 1775–1825
“This book offers a fascinating odyssey through New York’s past by using examples of its national leadership, ranging from the state’s early women’s rights movements to Jackie Robinson’s historic integration of major league baseball, and from aviation pioneer Glenn Curtis to the construction of a landmark superhighway, the New York State Thruway. Dearstyne presents fresh insight into several salient events that made New York the Empire State. In doing so, he comes as close to a recent general history of the state as currently exists.”
— F. Daniel Larkin, State University of New York at Oneonta
The Spirit of New York
The Spirit of New York
Defining Events in the Empire State’s History
BRUCE W. DEARSTYNE
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2015 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
Excelsior Editions is an imprint of State University of New York Press
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production, Jenn Bennett
Marketing, Michael Campochiaro
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dearstyne, Bruce W. (Bruce William), 1944-
The spirit of New York : defining events in the Empire State’s history / Bruce W. Dearstyne.
pages cm. — (Excelsior editions)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-5658-4 (pbk.) — ISBN 978-1-4384-5659-1 (e-book)
1. New York (State)—History. I. Title. F116.D43 2015 974.7—dc23 2014027594
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
C ONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. April 22, 1777: New York State Begins
2. February 4, 1826: Fiction Trumps History
3. July 4, 1839: The Farmers’ Rebellion
4. July 20, 1848: A Demand for Equal Rights
5. October 1, 1851: Striking a Blow for Freedom
6. March 30, 1899: Pollution and Politics
7. April 15, 1903: Intervening for the Children
8. May 29, 1910: First in the Air
9. March 25 and 29, 1911: Fires Change History
10. February 14, 1924: Leading into the Information Age
11. April 15, 1947: Breaking the Color Line
12. June 24, 1954: A New Enterprise for Moving around New York
13. April 22, 1964: The World’s Fair Opens in New York
14. August 2, 1978: Environmental Crisis and Citizen Activism
15. September 11, 2001: New York’s Resilience
Bibliography
About the Author
Index
I LLUSTRATIONS
Chapter 1. April 22, 1777: New York State Begins
The first state constitution, drafted in haste under wartime conditions, included crossed-out words and interlinear substitutions but launched the new state of New York in 1777.
Chapter 2. February 4, 1826: Fiction Trumps History
James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Last of the Mohicans was widely read and often reprinted. This is an illustration by Frank T. Merrill from the 1896 edition.
Chapter 3. July 4, 1839: The Farmers’ Rebellion
Rebellious tenant farmers wore disguises in their campaigns to resist collection of rents by estate owners in the two decades after 1839. The July 4, 1839, Berne “Declaration of Independence” was issued by tenant farmers meeting in this Lutheran church.
Chapter 4. July 20, 1848: A Demand for Equal Rights
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony collaborated on women’s rights and other reform issues for half a century.
Chapter 5. October 1, 1851: Striking a Blow for Freedom
Image from Jeremy Wesley Loguen’s 1859 autobiography, The Rev. J. W. Loguen, as a Slave and as a Freeman , where he recounted his role as a leader in the rescue of fugitive slave William “Jerry” Henry.
Chapter 6. March 30, 1899: Pollution and Politics
Theodore Roosevelt and his family hiking near their home at Sagamore Hill, Long Island. Roosevelt enjoyed hiking and hunting and wanted to preserve the natural environment. But his record as governor on the issue of water pollution was mixed, presaging New York’s ambivalent and inconsistent water pollution policy over the next half century.
Chapter 7. April 15, 1903: Intervening for the Children
Lillian Wald and Florence Kelley, tireless and highly effective advocates for child labor reform in New York.
Chapter 8. May 29, 1910: First in the Air
New York aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss at the controls of his plane the June Bug , which made the first publically announced airplane flight on July 4, 1908, in Hammondsport, two years before Curtiss’s pioneering flight from Albany to New York City.
Chapter 9. March 25 and 29, 1911: Fires Change History
The New York State Factory Investigating Commission, established as a result of the Triangle Fire, documented industrial working conditions through the state. A commission photographer took this portrait of workers outside an International Harvester twine works factory in Auburn in 1912 and two photos inside, where the work was dirty, hot, and heavy and fire a constant menace. The origins of New York’s modern labor and industrial code can be traced to the commission’s work.
Chapter 10. February 14, 1924: Leading into the Information Age
Thomas J. Watson Sr., shown in the photo shortly after being appointed general manager of Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in 1914, became president of the company the next year and changed the company’s name to International Business Machines in 1924. During the next three decades, Watson built IBM into one of the nation’s leading corporations.
Chapter 11. April 15, 1947: Breaking the Color Line
Jackie Robinson was a model of courage, determination, resilience, and athletic skills.
Chapter 12. June 24, 1954: A New Enterprise for Moving around New York
Governor Thomas E. Dewey on a bulldozer at the groundbreaking for the New York State Thruway at Liverpool, July 1946.
Chapter 13. April 22, 1964: The World’s Fair Opens in New York
The Unisphere and the New York State Pavilion, shown in this 2006 photo, symbolized the World’s Fair’s global theme but also New York’s leadership.
Chapter 14. August 2, 1978: Environmental Crisis and Citizen Activism
Lois Gibbs, president of the Love Canal Homeowners Association, discusses the Love Canal health crisis with Governor Hugh Carey in 1978.
Chapter 15. September 11, 2001: New York’s Resilience
New York City firefighters on 9/11 displayed the resilience that characterized their agency throughout its history.
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
T his book could not have been completed without the generous advice and support of many individuals.
My wife Susan identified many of the sources, worked on the research, read drafts of each chapter of the manuscript, and prepared the index. Her patience, wisdom, and insights have inspired and sustained my life and work for more than four decades. Her love of New York State history is, hopefully, represented in the book.
My editor at State University of New York Press, Ms. Amanda Lanne-Camilli, helped shape the original proposal, guided me through the writing and review process, and provided many insightful suggestions along the way. I am very grateful for her guidance and enthusiastic support over the several years that the book was under development.
Ms. Maria Buhl, librarian at the Guilderland Public Library, secured dozens of books through interlibrary loan. Without her tireless work, and the library’s outstanding services, this book could not have been completed. Cyra Nealon, my sister-in-law, carefully read the entire manuscript and identified a number of corrections and changes that significantly improved the final product.
I am grateful to three anonymous reviewers who made very helpful suggestions for strengthening the original manuscript.
Staff at the following institutions were helpful in providing tours of their sites, access to their materials, copies of photographs, or advice:

Fire Department of the City of New York
Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, Hammondsport
IBM Corporate Archives, Somers
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown
New York State Archives, Albany
New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown
New York State Library, Albany
Onondaga Historical Association, Syracuse
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, National Park Service, Oyster Bay
SUNY Buffalo Archives
U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama
Women’s Rights National