ABSTRACT
My debt to Carl Bridenbaugh, authority on American urban life in the colonial period, is overwhelming, and only less so to the other authors whose works, listed in my brief bibliography, cover shorter periods of time. In addition, my grateful thanks go to Dr Irving B. Holley of Duke University, whose critical reading of much of the text has been invaluable, and to Joseph L. Intermaggio of Washington, D.C., whose knowledge of the current urban scene has added substance to the last chapter.
