· 2021
Sydney George Fisher's 'The Quaker Colonies: A Chronicle of the Proprietors of the Delaware' is a detailed and scholarly exploration of the role played by Quaker proprietors in the establishment and development of the Delaware colonies. Fisher's writing style is both informative and engaging, providing readers with a rich historical context of the Quaker influence on the region. Through meticulous research and attention to detail, Fisher paints a vivid picture of the early settlements and the Quaker values that shaped their development. Sydney George Fisher, a renowned historian and author, was uniquely positioned to write this book due to his deep knowledge of colonial American history. His expertise in the subject matter shines through in 'The Quaker Colonies', showcasing his passion for uncovering lesser-known historical narratives. Fisher's dedication to highlighting the Quaker contributions to the Delaware colonies makes this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in early American history. I highly recommend 'The Quaker Colonies' to readers who are eager to delve into the intricate history of the Delaware colonies and the significant impact of Quaker proprietors. Fisher's meticulous research and scholarly approach make this book a must-read for history enthusiasts and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of colonial America.
· 2024
George Fisher seeks the moral roots of America's antidrug regime and challenges claims that early antidrug laws arose from racial animus. Those moral roots trace to early Christian sexual strictures, which later influenced Puritan condemnations of drunkenness, and ultimately shaped the early American drug war. Early laws against opium dens, cocaine, and cannabis rarely rose from racial strife, but sprang from the traditional moral censure of intoxication and perceived threats to respectable white women and youth. The book closes with an examination of cannabis legalization, driven in part by the movement for racial justice.
· 1993
A selection of the best from the Arkansas cartoonists offers readers Fisher's unique insights on a great variety of topics--from Orval Faubus to Bill Clinton. By the author of There You Go Again. Simultaneous.
· 2015
“In travelling from Massachusetts to the Carolinas one passed through communities of such distinct individuality that they were almost like different nations,” writes author Sidney George Fisher in his preface to Men, Women & Manners in Colonial Times, in which he presented the history and culture of colonial America to his Gilded Age contemporaries, who he felt had lost an appreciation of the fascinating circumstances that created the Founding Fathers and the Revolution. In the almost two hundred years of colonial life preceding the Revolution, the colonies displayed a remarkable variety, from their religion, politics, and countries of origin, to their dress, lifestyles, and character. Fisher cites primary documents such as colonial newspapers and the diaries of common men and women as well as famous political figures. He addresses the credibility of legends of our forefathers still told today (George Washington “was an extremely sociable man, and he could not have lived in Virginia and been otherwise”) and the riveting colonial folklore lost to the ages (for instance, “John Randolph, of Virginia, who, seeing a drove of mules passing through Washington on their way to the South, said to Marcy, of Connecticut, ‘There go some of your constituents.’ ‘Yes,’ said Marcy, ‘going to Virginia to teach school.’ ”). Discover colonial architecture, illustrated here with photogravures, and colonial pastimes, including the favorites of George Washington and much of colonial Virginia: card playing and foxhunting. Learn the outstanding literary tradition of Massachusetts, the regularity of fighting off bears in New Hampshire, the popularity of horseracing in Maryland, Blackbeard’s headquarters in North Carolina, the women who ran the South Carolina plantations, the cleanliness of the New York Dutch as they contemplated “their comfort and prosperity while they smoked their pipes . . . willing that the rest of the world would enjoy the same pleasure.”
· 2017
Benjamin Franklin FRS, FRSE (January 17, 1706 - April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a renowned polymath and a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions. He facilitated many civic organizations, including Philadelphia's fire department and the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution. Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, initially as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. As the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation.
· 2003
Though originally an interloper in a system of justice mediated by courtroom battles, plea bargaining now dominates American criminal justice. This book traces the evolution of plea bargaining from its beginnings in the early nineteenth century to its present pervasive role. Through the first three quarters of the nineteenth century, judges showed far less enthusiasm for plea bargaining than did prosecutors. After all, plea bargaining did not assure judges “victory”; judges did not suffer under the workload that prosecutors faced; and judges had principled objections to dickering for justice and to sharing sentencing authority with prosecutors. The revolution in tort law, however, brought on a flood of complex civil cases, which persuaded judges of the wisdom of efficient settlement of criminal cases. Having secured the patronage of both prosecutors and judges, plea bargaining quickly grew to be the dominant institution of American criminal procedure. Indeed, it is difficult to name a single innovation in criminal procedure during the last 150 years that has been incompatible with plea bargaining’s progress and survived.