The period after the War of 1812 is a challenging time as an educator; at least it is for me. The excitement of the late 18th Century creates a lull that is hard to get out of and even the anticipation of the upcoming Civil War does not always help to generate enough interested in my students for the early 19th Century. Nonetheless, this time period is very important and offers numerous developments that of course lend to our understanding of cause and effect when it comes to the Civil War.
This is also a time period that is crucial in my personal quest for preserving American Exceptionalism. One of the things that is being confused centers on American Exceptionalism as promoting, for example, the Puritans as a “Citty on the Hill” community, Manifest Destiny as exceptional, “White Man’s Burgen” as honorable or whatever. As you can see this would be absurd. We teach that this was how THEY saw themselves and then perhaps the reasons why. We seek understanding and we do so without using presentism whereby we become social activitists. As I have stated numerous times (here and here), there is no way any one of us could not have been a racists had we lived in 1830s America. As an educator we can take an emphasis that focuses on understanding the past or we can use the past to promote social change (New Left Historians).
America was considered by many at the time to be a “utopia,” because it was. And indeed it was an experimental society and the leader in republicanism and self-government. It had the widest suffrage of any nation at the time and its commitment to the rule of law and equality for all white men made it the most democratic place on earth. This is undisputed. This is also exceptional.
As for American Exceptionalism that I am interested in here, the teaching of United States history from the perspective of an observer of history seeking understanding. Perhaps the best way to get a sense for America at this time is by reading what foreign observers documented. It would be easy to quote Marquis de Lafayette during his 1824-25 visit or of course Alexis de Tocqueville, who was more a cheerleader than an observer. However, there are better and more balanced observers.
German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel visited American in the early 1800s and declared that America was “the land of the future” and proclaimed that “in the time to come, the center of world historical importance will be revealed there.” Yet that is too easy.
I want to look at two European women who visited the United States in the early part of the 1800s. Harriet Martineau was a nearly deaf English woman of some fame, contemporaries dubbed her as the “fist woman sociologist.” She spent 2 years in America and afterward wrote a book about her experiences titled, “Society in America” (1837). It was a massive 3 volume work. Was she impressed with America, yes? Was she also critical, most certainly.
Martineau noted early one observation that struck her as incredible, “Throughout the prodigious expanse of that country, I saw no poor men, except a few intemperate ones. I saw some very poor women; but God and man know that the time has not come for women to make their injuries even heard of. I saw no beggars but two professional ones, who are making their fortunes in the streets of Washington. I saw no table spread, in the lowest order of houses, that had not meat and bread on it Every factory child carries its umbrella; and pigdrivers wear spectacles.” ["Society in America" (1837). I, p. 12]
However, as she traveled more she saw the social ills that plagued America (and other nations) in the “political non-existence” of women. If this was the land of equality where was the equality of women? A progressive stance that the world was not, unfortunately, ready for including America. Of course the likes of Abagail Adams were bemoaning this well before Martineau. But most importantly, she called America out for its hypocritical stance on liberty and equality and yet the existence of Slavery. She came to the just conclusion, “Americans have realized and things for which the rest of the world is still struggling … [yet] the civilization and morals of the Americans fall far below their own principles.” [Ibid, Vol. III, 179-205]
Americans enjoyed a lifestyle and standard of living that far exceed most European societies. As an instructor I can make sure to discuss how America was seen as an exceptional place, as well as discuss the different ways Americans saw themselves as exceptional. Within the dichotomy of what was or was not exceptional, we can teach a balanced and objective view of America.
Part II: Francis Wright’s views on America as expressed in her 1825 book, “Plan for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery in the United States without Danger of Loss to the Citizens of the South.”
