Trazee In-Depth: Renegade History

So much of American history is based on rebellion, idealism and the bigger, better mentality. From the fight for the five-day workweek and establishing a labor union to the single, independent woman movement and refusing to assimilate, the American way began with a few groups of insubordinate individuals.

Historian and writer Thaddeus Russell breaks down the incredible and uncommon history that built the United States in his book A Renegade History of the United States, explaining the unconventional ways Americans got their start and ultimately changed history.

The book opens with the American Revolution and the all the same players you already know like John Adams and the Founding Fathers, along with a few you may not expect. Chapter one, titled Drunkards, Laggards, Prostitutes, Pirates and Other Heroes of the American Revolution, goes into great and shocking detail of the bawdy goings-on of the leaders of the free world.

With the exception of Benjamin Franklin, most of the Founding Fathers and freedom rebels of the time were in their early to mid-twenties, and with more drinking establishments than Philadelphia residents, there was bound to be some debauchery along their walks to and from work — or at what we now know as Independence Hall.

According to Russell, Americans drank about 6.6 gallons of pure alcohol each year during the War of Independence — and for the population at that time, it would equal 5.8 shot glasses of 80-proof liquor a day. At the time, there was no documented form of punishment for public drunkenness, lewd behavior or disruption, so the drinking could seemingly go on forever, day and night. The amount of drinking the common folk, upper class and everyone in between did leads Russell, and many other historians, to believe our Founding Fathers were often drunk, even while plotting the future of the free world.

After strict Puritan principles and ruling in England, the American way of cutting loose was a bawdy version of freedom. The free spirit of the American people spilled over into their work life, which brought about eventual changes for the working class, some of which we still abide by today.

In early American industry and economy, workers dictated everything. From the time they worked to the time they left and how long their lunch break, the employees had full control. Employees worked seven days a week, typically drinking while working. A typical week for workers usually resulted in a Friday night and Saturday night visit to the tavern where they would spend their pay and stay long into the night and early the next morning. Beyond religious reasons, Sunday became a day of rest and, sometimes even, Monday, know as Saint Monday. This complete disregard for authority went into the 1800s when the Industrial Revolution took over and shook up the American economy even more. The 40-hour workweek was eventually instituted after countless workers’ strikes and contempt.

Clearly the uncertain times and lack of rules and regulation left Americans with more freedom than they knew what to do with. Citizens of the colonies and eventually states began to express their wants and needs in a way they hadn’t been able to before. Although the freedom we enjoy now is a far cry from the one the first Americans had, there is a bit about our everyday we can attribute to them.

Russell also goes into detail about the working girl and modern woman that crashed the scene in the early 1900s. Women were making more of a name for themselves in the world and were less willing to take the expectations put on them. Emboldened women were waiting longer to get married and choosing men for what was important to them, not their parents. Russell goes into detail about the life of German immigrant Agnes M who loved to dance and felt no need to settle down — making her a renegade in her own time. She and her friends went dancing with men, worked and made their own choices without the permission of others or a care. This was a rarity in her time, but Agnes was quickly one of the more independent women of the American world.

During that time, 60 percent of young women aged 16–20 in New York City were working outside of the home, living independently and single. They were the first generation of women to live their lives following any semblance of freedom and by their own code. To follow fun, pleasure and independence was something new for women, thanks to just a few free spirits.

Women also began to see fashion as something they could choose. The heavy fabrics, immobile undergarments and unrealistic silks were clearly decided for women by those who were not women. The styles quickly changed to be more freeing and functional, as women were much more mobile and breaking into the working world.

So many of our day-to-day rights were once privileges fought for by Americans, whether or not the rebels even knew they were doing it.