The Other Bostonians, Poverty and Progress in the American Metropolis, 1880-1970

by Stephan Thernstrom

Book by Thernstrom, Stephan

Genres: History, Sociology, Nonfiction, School

301 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1964

About the author

Stephan Thernstrom was an American academic and historian who was the Winthrop Research Professor of History Emeritus at Harvard University. He was a specialist in ethnic and social history and was the editor of the Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. He and his wife Abigail Thernstrom were prominent opponents of affirmative action in education and according to the New York Times, they "lead the conservative charge against racial preference in America."

Reviews

[Barb H · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago, but rediscovered it while sorting through my personal library. The subtitle, Social Mobility in a Nineteenth Century City , describes the content well. It tells of the multiple trials of workers in a factory town, Newburyport, MA, from 1850-1880. Of particular interest to me, aside from the fact that it was a telling narrative, was that I had lived in this town for about six months. It is in the northeast portion of Massachusetts, close to New Hampshire, sitting on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. When I was there, it was tired, drab and aside from a few historical buildings, had little to redeem it. Also it is located quite near Haverhill, MA, another old mill town and aptly described in the 20th century memoir, Townie, by Andre Dubus, III. In the latter book, as in Thernstrom's, one could easily sense the effects of failed mill towns in the next century.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great classic in quantitative American Social history. By entering into a computer the data from the city directories of Boston 1880 to 1970 Thermston proved that Americans were a highly mobile people as in each decade the average term at any address for a family was seven years.

Thernstrom makes the easily challenged assumption that physical mobility could he equated to upward social mobility. In other words people were constantly moving into new and better digs.

Of course some of the mobility must have been downward; i.e. the movement was from more desirable to less desirable accommodation. Nonetheless whether the mobility was upward, downward or simply bobbed like a yo-yo, Thernstrom does in fact conclusively prove that since the time of the Civil War, American society has been very mobile physically and his opinion that physical mobility can be equated with social mobility appears reasonable.

[Mark Bowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephan Thernstrom, The Other Bostonians; Poverty, in the American Metropolis, 1880-1970, (1971)
1. Demonstrates that urban population was more mobile than previously believed
2. Although rags-to-riches is a myth, socioeconomic mobility is a persistent characteristic from 1880-1970
3. Quantitative history

[Laura]

American history