Publisher:
David Tabler

Publication Date:
11/05/2022

Copyright Date:
N/A

ISBN:
979-8-9870006-1-8

Binding:
Paperback

U.S. SRP:
30.00

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DELAWARE BEFORE THE RAILROADS

By Dave Tabler

IR_Star-black
IR Rating:
5.0
While not a definitive history of early Delaware, Dave Tabler's DELAWARE BEFORE THE RAILROADS is well researched and photographed and brings to life the forces, factors and people who shaped the state from the 1600s through the arrival of rain transport.
IR Approved

Delaware’s development from when European traders arrived, through the secession from Pennsylvania, the Revolutionary War and the establishment of the main towns.

Part reference work, part coffee table skim through and part pictorial history, Dave Tabler’s DELAWARE BEFORE THE RAILROADS dives into the foundations of the second smallest state, backed up by plentiful background notes and explanations. The author traces the history from when Dutch and Swedish traders settled in the area in the 1600s to trade with Lenape Native Americans. The Europeans competed and fought with each other for trading rights and to develop agriculture before both were ousted by the British. Photos of original buildings, city plans, and artifacts take up two-thirds of the book, followed by supplementary notes expanding on the topics.

Tabler successfully blends Delaware’s role in the political, economic and social development of the original 13 colonies with analysis of life in the fledgling state (“the three lower counties”, as Pennsylvania sneeringly called it. New Castle, Kent and Sussex were originally part of Pennsylvania, but seceded in 1704 and became Delaware. The name comes from Baron De La Warr, one of the founders of Virginia.) The author goes into detail about crops, housing (the log cabin–seen as unique to America’s social and cultural soul–was in fact introduced by Finnish and Swedish settlers), general economics, farming, church, and maritime-based activities.

Tobacco became the main export crop until the Revolutionary War but then faded because soil became depleted. Industry got its start when the Du Pont family built their gunpowder factory. Two of the essential pillars supporting the economy were indentured labor from Europe and slavery. The book takes a balanced approach, devoting a separate section to slavery, noting that there were both supporters and opponents of the system in a state where prominent figures owned slaves. The state’s role in the Revolutionary War and heroes such as Caesar Rodney are also mentioned, as are the medical and dental practices of the day (including the common use of mercury, bloodletting, hacksaws and pliers). The sea and the development of water-borne transport were essential for the region to thrive, and the Chesapeake/Delaware Canal played a large part in this. Land transport was extremely difficult and expensive and rail transport–when it arrived–radically changed life and the whole nature of the economy.

While not a definitive history of early Delaware, Dave Tabler’s DELAWARE BEFORE THE RAILROADS is well researched and photographed and brings to life the forces, factors and people who shaped the state from the 1600s through the arrival of rain transport.

~Martin Rushmere for IndieReader

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