British Travelers in the United States, 1835-1870

The following detailed account of social, economic, and political conditions in the United States from 1835 to 1870, as gleaned from the writings of British travelers who visited this country during that period, attempts to supplement Miss Jane L. Mesick's most admirable work, "The English Traveler in Americas 1785-1835." It is hoped that the study will be not only interesting but constitute a real contribution to the historiography of the Nation.The three and one-half decades under discussion were replete with swiftly moving, kaleidoscopic changes for the stripling Nation, to say nothing of the cataclysmic upheaval and reconstruction that took place within it near the end of the period. English visitors during this adolescent time were legion, and their recorded opinions as free and nearly as limitless as radio programs are to the modern listener. Some writings, like those of Miss Martineau, Captain Marryat, Charles Mackay, Charles Dickens, Francis Trollope, Charles Lyell, and Edward Dicey, most often drawn upon by the author, are veritable treasure chests running over with information; whereas others, not so satisfying, nevertheless give up a rare nugget now and again. The appended list of source material, used by the author, will furnish sailing directions and soundings for any further similar venture the reader may wish to take into this subject.