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Chasing Dirt : The American Pursuit of Cleanliness by Suellen M. Hoy is a nonfiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Chasing Dirt : The American Pursuit of Cleanliness about?

<p>Americans in the early 19th century were, as one foreign traveller bluntly put it, filthy, bordering on the beastly-perfectly at home in dirty, bug-infested, malodorous surroundings. Many a home swarmed with flies, barnyard animals, dust, and dirt; clothes were seldom washed; men hardly ever shaved or bathed. Yet gradually all this changed, and today, Americans are known worldwide for their obsession with cleanliness-for their sophisticated plumbing, daily bathing, shiny hair and teeth, and spotless clothes. In <b>Chasing Dirt</b>, Suellen Hoy provides a colorful history of this remarkable transformation from dreadfully dirty to cleaner than clean, ranging from the pre-Civil War era to the 1950s, when American's obsession with cleanliness reached its peak.<br>Hoy offers here a fascinating narrative, filled with vivid portraits of the men and especially the women who helped America come clean. She examines the work of early promoters of cleanliness, such as Catharine Beecher and Sylvester Graham; and describes how the Civil War marked a turning point in our attitudes toward cleanliness, discussing the work of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, headed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and reve

Who reads Chasing Dirt : The American Pursuit of Cleanliness?

Author

Suellen M. Hoy

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published

1996

Language

EN

ISBN

9780195094206

Category

nonfiction

Subjects

Science, History, Medical

Rating

3.33 / 5 (41 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14