Quote:
Originally Posted by Docere
Was it?
There's a book called Puritan Boston and Quaker Philadelphia which suggests the opposite. It was written by the University of Pennsylvania sociologist Digby Baltzell.
|
I know of the book and the main point was the Purtians felt the need to instill their values into others and make it prevalent in their communities. Where the Quakers believed more in a 'live and let be' type of governing. Tracing the origins of the 'rugged individualism' I think there is a strong case that in the end, the idea of 'live in and let be' or 'you can do what you want as long as it doesn't effect me' won out.
Beyond the 17th/18th century stuff though, it was clear by the industrial revolution and the era of railroads, the mid-Atlantic states were exporting tons more culture to the rest of the country than New England.
The general American accent was born out of a combination of midland and northern accents that originated around NYC and Philadelphia
