Political Power in Boston, Massachusetts and Charleston, South Carolina, 1828-1843 (ICPSR 8653)
Version Date: Jan 18, 2006 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Jane H. Pease;
William H. Pease
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08653.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This study examined public records from two major port cities on the east coast of the United States in order to understand how urban centers functioned in antebellum America. The history, culture, and inhabitants of both cities were examined to compare the mechanisms of urban decision-making as they related to national economic and political circumstances. Demographic information was collected on a broad spectrum of individuals from both cities to gather as complete a picture as possible of those who wielded influence or power in the decisions undertaken in Boston and Charleston in response to the economic conditions of the period from 1828 to 1843. Variables in the dataset include the names of individuals, their gender, marital status, occupation, residence, location of business, birth and death dates, place of birth and nationality, political affiliation, church membership, fire and militia company association, professional, religious and/or philanthropic interests, business and corporate affiliations, property holdings, educational experiences, and political offices served.
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Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
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Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
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Although this collection has only two parts, one for Boston and one for Charleston, it includes nine separate groups of individuals representing the universe of elite members and a sample of non-elite members in both cities. The principal investigators emphasize that the arrangement and nature of the variables differ between the two cities.
Sample View help for Sample
All members of the elite in Boston (4,403) and in Charleston (2,308) who because of their occupation, political or social position, or wealth were likely to exercise influence and power in their communities, and a random sample of those who did not qualify as members of the elite. In Boston these included pro-Bank of the United States petitioners, anti-Bank of the United States petitioners, jurors, and firemen. In Charleston, jurors, voters, and firemen were sampled as members of the non-elite community.
Universe View help for Universe
Adult population of the cities of Boston and Charleston from 1828 to 1843.
Data Source View help for Data Source
City directories, tax rolls, probate records, and land deeds from Boston and Charleston (1828-1843), federal manuscript censuses of 1830 and 1840, various daily newspapers and municipal, church, club, philanthropic, and corporate records-both manuscript and published
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
1987-10-12
Version History View help for Version History
- Pease, Jane H., and William H. Pease. Political Power in Boston, Massachusetts and Charleston, South Carolina, 1828-1843. ICPSR08653-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1987. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08653.v1
2006-01-18 File CB8653.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.
Notes
These data are freely available to data users at ICPSR member institutions. The curation and dissemination of this study are provided by the institutional members of ICPSR. How do I access ICPSR data if I am not at a member institution?