Author Talk: “Huzza!” Toasting a New Nation, 1760-1815 by Timothy Symington

Raising a glass to toast someone at a wedding or birthday is a familiar and usually informal occurrence, but at one time it was a carefully orchestrated ritual. They were planned, revised, and given at an event, and then printed in newspapers.

During the tumultuous years of partisan fighting, toasts were used to spread or attack certain ideologies. The toasts became glimpses into what Americans honored at specific moments in the years from the beginning of the American Revolution to the end of the War of 1812.

"Huzza!" Toasting a New Nation, 1760-1815 is a history of the early American republic viewed through its many toasts, which were raised and published throughout the new nation. They offer a unique lens through which American history and early popular opinion can be viewed.

Timothy Symington was an educator in Massachusetts for two decades before he wrote this book, which was a happy result of his research for his master's degree in America History. Tim currently lives in Wilbraham, and is a frequent contributor to the Journal of the American Revolution. This is his first book.

Host or Publisher Parker Hill Branch - Boston Public Library