Some Impressions Of The United States (1883)

SOME IMPRESSIONS OF THF, UNITED STATES KDWAIti A. FliEEMAN, D. C. L., LL. D. HoXiHtABY KXl. l. O. V OP TIUNITY OOLLBaB, OXFORD LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 1883 PBBFAOE. THIS small book is founded on four articles which have appeared in the c Fortnightly Re view for August and September 18 82 and in Longmans Magazine for November 1882 and January 1883. The substance of those articles is here, together with an amount of new matter at least as large as the articles them selves. They represent observations made in the United States during a stay which lasted from October 1881 to April 1882. In the course of that stay I saw something of most of the chief Northern States but I did not get further west than St. Louis, or further south than the northern part of Virginia. vi PREFACE. The f impressions are of course those of one who looks at things for his own purposes and from his own point of view. I have, I hopo, never forgotten that there are many other points of view from which the same things may be looked at. But I believe that each man does best by keeping to his own line, and not meddling with inquiries foreign to that line and in which he would most likely gn wrong. SSOMERLEAZE, February 16, 1883. CONTENTS. Difference between old and new countries closer con nexion of past and present in the new 2-4 New things and old in America . 5 American interest in British opinion its working in different ways 6-9 Tendency to imagine slights 8 Likeness and unlikeness points of unlikeness strike most where there is general likeness America less different from England than Scotland is, and why 10, 11 America and Ireland 11-14 The authors own position 15, 16 Unity of the English folk 16 Receptionof the doctrine in America .... 1 620 The word foreign. ........ 18, 19 Effects of old grudges ....... 2023 Effects of the existence of dependent colonies . . 23, 24 Analogy with old Greece 24, 25 The word Anglo-Saxon 25, 26 The word American its use by Wesley . . .26, 27 English and British l 27-29 Briton and Britisher 29 Two uses of the word American . . . . . 2931 Need of a name for the United States 6 Fredonia . 81, 32 Foreign infusions in the United States . . . 33-35 The old Dutch and French settlements analogy with Romance Switzerland ...... 3538 Vlll CONTENTS. PAGK Suggested order of travelling 38-4O Mutual ignorance in England and America . . . 42, 43 Forgetfulness of past history ...... 44 Defects in teaching American ignorance of English geography ......... 45-47 The English settlements in Britain and in America . 47, 48 1 Americanisms wnd Scotticisms in language . . 49-52 Opposite tendencies in colonies, to go on and to stand still 52-54 Conservative elements in the United States ... 53 Dialect and local usage ....... 54-57 Scottish English strictly a dialect 54, 55 No strictly American dialect dialects in America . . 55, 56 Railway language ........ 67-61 Other cases of local usage store, shop, c. . . . 61-64 Local usage to be kept ....... 05, 60 Slang, philosophical and vulgar ..... 67-7O Use of technical words ....... 69, 7O Local nomenclature ....... . 7077 Older American names ....... 71-74 Modern American names pseudo-olasttical names . . 75-77 American pronunciation ....... 77, 78 Clerk, c 79-83 Zed or zee f ......... 83, 84 Intonation or twang . . . . . . . 84-8G American spelling ..... ... 8688 General character of Americanisms 88-90 American law and lawyersidentity of English and American law ........ 90-9 5 American courts and judges ...... 92-94 Trial of Guiteau 95-97 Local administration the Justice of the Peace . . 96-99 Outrages against law case of Sergeant Mason . . 100102 Causes of such outrages the true democratic standard weakness of administration in America . . 10U-106 An insurrection and a civil war .... . J 06, 1 07 Political Parties Republicans and Democrats . . 1O7-109 Necessity of the federal system State sovereignty . 110-112 Federal and National Ministry f and Govern ment 113, 114 CONTENTS...