Download or read book Rudeness and Civility written by John F. Kasson and published by Hill and Wang. This book was released on 1991-09-01 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With keen insight and subtle humor, John F. Kasson explores the history and politics of etiquette from America's colonial times through the nineteenth century. He describes the transformation of our notion of "gentility," once considered a birthright to some, and the development of etiquette as a middle-class response to the new urban and industrial economy and to the excesses of democratic society.