Paths of Resistance-A Book Report
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Paths of Resistance
This book gives insight as to how Missouri's rural society was transformed by industrialization. It shows how a society used past values and their dignity to respond to a diminishing of traditional ways of life and culture. With the new market economy forced on them, among the ways Missourians resisted was by striking, vigilantism, banditry, and rising an oppositional culture. Shedding light on the years between the 1850's and 1920's Thelen explores how Missourians showed strength in the face of adversity.
Many things defined Missourians' pasts but maybe none more so than rivers. After all, it was the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers that made the land so very prominent and helped established trading posts and towns along their banks. And these are just two of several rivers in a river wealthy state. Rivers offered a source of trade, food, and water power for the mills that processed agricultural products. Everyone had a use for the rivers, and they belonged to everyone. This idea of sharing the rivers with your neighbors helped bring about a sense of community and tradition...