Themes Of William Cooper's Town Power And Persuasion

William Cooper’s Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early Republic is an amazing piece of historical writing. Alan Taylor, the author of this non-fiction work, engages the reader with detailed descriptions and thoroughly researched facts, bringing the society of New York in the 1780’s and 1790’s to life. The book portrays the true story of William Cooper and his American dream-come-true. William Cooper, the main character, is the middle child of a poor Quaker farming family, who lived in Byberry, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From such meager beginnings, he slowly climbs the social hierarchy to become a prominent land owner and a U.S. congressman. Alan Taylor uses the events of William Cooper’s life to portray important
The fight over political offices are a major theme in the book. Alan Taylor ties William’s life to the theme by tying the marriage of William to a rich Quaker farmer’s daughter. The author expresses these themes through the character of William Cooper by using events in his life to reflect the book’s theme. For example, William strives to become an elite because he wants to have a position in the government. This reflects the struggle over political offices during the American revolution because William realizes that relating with common people will not benefit him and it will be better to achieve his final goal of becoming a figure in the government by becoming an elite so he can relate to other elites that will vote for
The books he read made him more alike to elites because he could now read well as an educated elite should. In Cooper’s time in Burlington, he also received a political education and became a leader of a Quaker community. The education he got contributed greatly to him becoming an elite, but, equally important was becoming a leader in the Quaker community. Becoming a leading citizen in the Quaker community made William Cooper popular amongst the Quaker community. When the amount of land required to vote was taken off the population, being popular amongst the regular people is more beneficial for Cooper because if he is liked by them then he will gain more votes. William Cooper makes elite friends at the library that work with him to achieve a common goal, such as the men who helped him by investing money in land with him. But William Cooper also makes enemies who compete for the same positions that he is running for such as Jedidiah Palc, a republican. These republican foes that he makes create complications and competition for William because he is running for offices as a federalist.
Overall, Alan Taylor takes every detail in William Cooper’s Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early Republic and ties it back to the thesis in some way. The author uses William Cooper’s life to show the important shifts in American society, such as the emergence of a more