Card Sharps and Bucket Shops | Ann Fabian

Card Sharps and Bucket Shops: Gambling in Nineteenth-Century America

Extended Synopsis

In a highly readable work that engages topics in American cultural, social, and business history, Ann Fabian details the place of gambling in industrializing America. Card Sharps and Bucket Shops investigates the relationship between gambling and other ways of making a profit, such as speculation and land investment, which became deeply entrenched during the nineteenth century. While all these undertakings ran counter to the era's strict Protestant work ethic, Fabian highlights how gambling uniquely took on a stigma that made other efforts to acquire wealth seem socially acceptable by comparison. Combining first-rate cultural analysis with rigorous research, the book delves into the reformers who sought to ban gambling, psychological explanations for deviant behavior, numbers games in the African American community, and the ongoing efforts by speculators to legitimize their own risky financial behaviors.

Author Biography

Ann Fabian: An accomplished historian and author whose work focuses on American cultural, social, and economic history. Fabian is recognized for her rigorous research into the moral anxieties, financial behaviors, and historical development of the United States during the nineteenth century.

Reader Targeting

• Students and scholars of 19th-century American history and economic development.
• Readers interested in the cultural history of gambling, speculation, and financial risk.
• Enthusiasts of sociological studies regarding the evolution of American business ethics and morality.

Accolades & Awards

Celebrated for combining rich, colorful historical anecdotes with deep academic rigor to provide a first-rate cultural analysis of America's evolving relationship with wealth and risk.

Bibliographic & Physical Specifications

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main topic of Card Sharps and Bucket Shops?
The book explores the complex social, cultural, and economic history of gambling and financial speculation in the United States during the 19th century.

How does the author view gambling in the context of business?
Ann Fabian contrasts illicit wagering with socially acceptable forms of speculation and risk-taking, examining how the lines between legitimate investing and gambling were drawn.

Are there other subjects covered in the book?
Yes, the book also covers the reformers who sought to ban gambling, the psychology of the gambler, and numbers games within the African American community.

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