Title: What Life Was Like in 1776 | RealClearPolitics
Headings: What Life Was Like in 1776
What Life Was Like in 1776
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The Blue Anchor Inn, Philadelphia, Pa., 1776
America in 1776 was also a diverse nation. The first census, taken in 1790, revealed that only about 60% of the people came from England. The rest were German, Irish, Dutch, Scottish, Swedish and African. Men wore clothes that were as colorful as the ladies' garb. One male fashion plate in New York ordered a suit of "superfine scarlet plush and a vest of light blue plush." Among the ladies, the beauty business was already a major force in the economy. " Fashion dolls" wearing the latest styles circulated through the city and the country. Women regularly spent a half day getting their hair "permanented" for a ball. Ladies seeking to preserve the sheen of youth spent a fortune on "paints" from China and lip salves from India. Molly Tilghman of Chestertown, Md., summed up the prevailing opinion when she told her cousin Polly Pearce: "