Lably
Skip to content

Boston Brahmin

Upper class Bostonians

  • 32 min read
  • 3 chapters

Related on Lably

Through Caste system in India and President of the United States

Etymology

The phrase "Brahmin caste of New England" was coined by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., a physician and writer, in a January 1860 article in The Atlantic Monthly. The term is derived from brahmin, the chief priestly caste in the Hindu caste system. The appropriated term became shorthand to refer to the old, wealthy, and elite New England families of traditionally English Protestant origin that became influential in the development of American institutions and culture. The influence of the old American gentry has been reduced in modern times, but some vestiges remain, primarily in the institutions and the ideals that they championed in their heyday.

Sign in to keep reading

2 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Economics