Literary Parlor – Domestic Manners in America

Domestic Manners of the Americans is a 2-volume 1832 travel book by Frances Trollope, which follows her travels through America. The book created a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic, as Frances Trollope had a caustic view of Americans and found America strongly lacking in manners and learning.  She was appalled by America’s egalitarian middle-class and by the influence of evangelism that was emerging during the Second Great Awakening. Trollope was also harshly critical of slavery of African Americans in the United States, and by the popularity of tobacco chewing, and the consequent spitting, even on carpets. After seeing much of what the United States had to offer, her overall impression was not favorable.