Amish Enterprise

by Kraybill, Donald B.; Nolt, Steven M.

• ISBN13: 9780801878053
• ISBN10: 0801878055
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-12
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr

Summary

Amish culture has been rooted in the soil since its beginnings in 1693. But what happens when members of America's oldest Amish community enter non-farm work in one generation? How will hundreds of cottage industries and micro-enterprises reshape the heart of Amish life? Will traditional eighth grade education still prove adequate? What about gender roles, child-rearing practices, leisure activities, and growing ties with outsiders? Amish Enterprise was the first book to discuss these dramatic changes that are transforming Amish communities across North America. Based on interviews with more than 150 Amish entrepreneurs, the authors trace the rise and impact of businesses in Lancaster's Amish settlement in recent decades. In this new edition, the authors update demographic and technological changes, and also describe Amish enterprises outside of Pennsylvania in a new chapter.

Author Biography

Donald B. Kraybill is Distinguished College Professor and Senior Fellow in the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania. Widely recognized for his work on Anabaptist groups, he has authored and edited many books, including The Riddle of Amish Culture and The Amish and the State, both available from Johns Hopkins. Steven M. Nolt is an associate professor of history at Goshen College, Indiana. He is the author of numerous articles and several books on Anabaptist and Pennsylvania German groups.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgments	xi
Part One: The Cultural Context
1. The Roots of Amish Life	3	(16)
Part Two: Cultural Resources for Entrepreneurship
2. From Plows to Profits	19	(17)
3. A Profile of Amish Enterprises	36	(20)
4. Homespun Entrepreneurs	56	(17)
5. Labor and Human Resources	73	(20)
Part Three: Cultural Constraints on Entrepreneurship
6. The Moral Boundaries of Business	93	(13)
7. Taming the Power of Technology	106	(19)
8. Small-Scale Limitations	125	(18)
Part Four: The Public Face of Amish Enterprise
9. Promotion and Professional Networks	143	(16)
10. Coping with Litigation and Liability	159	(14)
11. Negotiating with Caesar	173	(17)
12. Failure and Success	190	(17)
Part Five: The Transformation of Amish Society
13. The Fate of a Traditional People	207	(17)
14. National Patterns of Amish Work	224	(21)
Appendixes: Research Methods and Data Sources	245	(4)
Notes	249	(20)
References	269	(12)
Index	281