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Only the Clothes on Her Back: Clothing and the Hidden History of Power in the Nineteenth-Century United States

Laura F. Edwards reveals how clothing and textiles functioned as valuable property for people whom nineteenth-century law denied many formal rights. Dresses, cloth, shoes, and linens could be owned, exchanged, hidden, inherited, or defended in court by women, enslaved people, and other marginalized Americans. Following these everyday objects through legal records, Edwards uncovers forms of economic authority often missed by histories centered on land and contracts. The book offers a material history of power that changes how we understand property, gender, slavery, and law.

Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication date: 2022-02-24
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 456
ISBN: 9780197568576

Subjects

History / United States / 19th Century Law / Legal History Social Science / Material Culture

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Interview with the Author

2 available interview links

1. HistoryExtra — Power Dressing: The Hidden Value of Clothes in Nineteenth-Century AmericaChecked

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2. New Books in Economic and Business History — Only the Clothes on Her Back with Laura F. EdwardsChecked

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