{"product_id":"beechers-stowes-and-yankee-strangers-john-t-foster-9780813080901","title":"Beechers, Stowes, and Yankee Strangers: The Transformation of Florida","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe story of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Charles Beecher in Reconstruction Florida\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eModern Florida--a world of tourists, retirees from the\u003cbr\u003e North, and novel agricultural crops--began among a group of Yankee \u003cbr\u003ereformers at the end of the Civil War, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, \u003cbr\u003eauthor of \u003cem\u003eUncle Tom's Cabin\u003c\/em\u003e, and her brother, Charles, who \u003cbr\u003elived in Florida between 1867 and 1885. This book tells the story of the\u003cbr\u003e group--and their designs for a postwar Florida--with the action, \u003cbr\u003eatmosphere, and insight of a good novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArriving in \u003cbr\u003eFlorida nearly two decades ahead of Henry Flagler, the Beechers found a \u003cbr\u003ewild and inaccessible state with small remnants of a slave economy. As \u003cbr\u003epart of the work of Reconstruction, they dreamed of making the state a \u003cbr\u003ehaven for freedmen and progressive northerners unhampered by the rest of\u003cbr\u003e the South's racial divisions. Settling near Tallahassee and \u003cbr\u003eJacksonville, they worked with Florida's First Lady, Chloe Merrick Reed, \u003cbr\u003e to better education, religion, economics, social and racial \u003cbr\u003erelationships, and politics, and they were instrumental in the \u003cbr\u003etransformation of Jacksonville from a small seaport to a vibrant city. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDespite\u003cbr\u003e continuing interest in Harriet Beecher Stowe, her years in Florida have\u003cbr\u003e remained obscure; even less is known about Charles Beecher during this \u003cbr\u003eperiod. Using fresh materials that have never been recorded by the Stowe\u003cbr\u003e Center (a major repository of Stowe's works), John and Sarah Foster \u003cbr\u003efill an important gap in the lives of these celebrated reformers and \u003cbr\u003eshed new light on Florida's history during Reconstruction and the Gilded\u003cbr\u003e Age.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e John T. Foster, Sarah Whitmer Foster\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0813080908\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780813080901\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Florida\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/12\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 184\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs","brand":"John T. Foster","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46070571467007,"sku":"9780813080901","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_46875221-b95d-400e-94fe-b247651c4705.jpg?v=1724243665","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/beechers-stowes-and-yankee-strangers-john-t-foster-9780813080901","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}