''Letters from an American Farmer'' is a series of letters written by
French American
French Americans or Franco-Americans (french: Franco-Américains), are citizens or nationals of the United States who identify themselves with having full or partial French or French-Canadian heritage, ethnicity and/or ancestral ties. ...
writer
J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur, first published in
1782
Events
January–March
* January 7 – The first American commercial bank (Bank of North America) opens.
* January 15 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the United States Congress to recommend establish ...
. The considerably longer title under which it was originally published is ''Letters from an American Farmer; Describing Certain Provincial Situations, Manners, and Customs not Generally Known; and Conveying Some Idea of the Late and Present Interior Circumstances of the British Colonies in North America''. The twelve letters cover a wide range of topics, from the emergence of an American identity to the
slave trade
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
.
Crèvecœur wrote ''Letters'' during a period of seven years prior to the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, while farming in the fertile Greycourt, blackdirt region of
Chester, NY, a small town in
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798.
Orange ...
. It is told from the viewpoint of a fictional narrator in correspondence with an English gentleman, and each letter concerns a different aspect of life or location in the
British colonies of America. The work incorporates a number of styles and genres, including documentary, as well as
sociological
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
observations.
Although only moderately successful in America, ''Letters'' was immediately popular in Europe upon its publication in 1782. Prompted by high demand, Crèvecœur produced an expanded French version that was published two years later. The work is recognised as being one of the first in the
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
of
American literature
American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...
, and has influenced a diverse range of subsequent works.
Biographical background
![Hectorstjohncrevecoeur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Hectorstjohncrevecoeur.jpg)
Born in
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,[Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...]
to an aristocratic family,
Michel-Guillaume Hector St. John de Crèvecœur received a
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
education at the Jesuit Collège Royal de Bourbon. In 1754, having left school, Crèvecœur visited relatives in England where he became engaged; this visit would mark the beginning of a lifelong admiration for the culture and politics of the country. Shortly after this, possibly due to the death of his fiancée, he joined a French regiment in Canada engaged in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
(1754–1763). After being wounded in the
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...
(1759), Crèvecœur resigned his commission and began traveling widely across
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
[Manning 1997, p. ix.][Saar 1994, pp. 819–20.]
In 1765, Crèvecœur became an official resident of New York and naturalized as a British subject, adopting the name J. Hector St. John. After working as a surveyor and trader during the subsequent four years, in which he traveled extensively, he purchased
farmland
Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...
in
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798.
Orange ...
and married Mehitabel Tippett. During the following seven years, Crèvecœur wrote ''Letters from an American Farmer'' and corresponded with William Seton (possibly referenced in the book as "Mr F. B.", and to whom the French edition was dedicated).
[Manning 1997, p. 227.]
As local hostilities between the
loyalists
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
and
revolutionaries
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.
...
escalated in the build-up to the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
(1775–1783), Crèvecœur decided to return to France; scholars have suggested that he did so in order to secure his legal claim to his
patrimony. Upon his arrival in New York City in 1778, Crèvecœur found himself under suspicion of being a Revolutionary spy and was detained; whilst in detention, he suffered a
nervous collapse. He was released to travel in September 1780, and traveled to London after landing in Ireland. There, he sold the manuscript of ''Letters'' to publishers Davies & Davis before leaving for France.
[Manning 1997, p. xlv.][Grabo 1991, p. 159.]
Summary
*Letter I: "Introduction" — Introduction of the fictional persona of James, an American farmer, and the commencement of his correspondence via letters with 'Mr F. B.', an English gentleman. Doubting his writing abilities, he receives advice from his wife and the local minister.
*Letter II: "On the Situation, Feelings, and Pleasures of an American Farmer" — Description of the creatures, plants, and activities on and around the farm owned by James. It comments on the differences between the American model of society and that of European countries.
*Letter III: "What Is an American?" — Comparison between the physical environment and the societies that emerge from it. Explores the conditions and aspects of the
new American country and what constitutes the identity of its citizens.
*Letters IV – VIII — Widely referred to as the "
Nantucket
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
sequence" or "Nantucket letters".
[Carew-Miller 1993, p. 242–3.][Philbrick 1991, pp. 414–32.] These letters describe various aspects of the
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
society on the island of Nantucket and
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...
:
**Letter IV: "Description of the island of Nantucket; with the manners, customs, policy and trade, of the inhabitants"
**Letter V: "Customary education and employment of the inhabitants of Nantucket"
**Letter VI: "Description of the island of Martha's Vineyard, and of the whale-fishery"
**Letter VII: "Manners and customs at Nantucket"
**Letter VIII: "Peculiar customs at Nantucket"
*Letter IX: "Description of Charles Town; Thoughts on Slavery; on Physical Evil; a Melancholy Scene" — An account of "Charles Town" (now
Charleston), particularly on the institution of slavery in the town and in the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. It argues about the destruction that revolves around the slave-master relationships and makes an appeal to the North, in particular, that slavery is a truly evil practice in the midst of the new nation of America.
*Letter X: "On snakes and on the humming-bird" — Extensive detailing of a wide variety of snakes, including the cultural practices surrounding them; it also mentions their habits and stories that have been told in America, warning people about certain ones. At the end of this letter, the discussion turns to the hummingbirds found around James' land and their habits and varieties.
*Letter XI: "From Mr. Iw——n Al——z, a Russian gentleman describing a visit he paid, at my request, to Mr. John Bertram, the celebreated Pennsylvanian botanist" — Narrated by a Russian gentleman, describing his visit to the famous Pennsylvanian botanist, Mr.
John Bertram
John Bertram (16 October 1837 – 28 November 1904) was a businessman and a Member of Parliament in Canada.
Bertram was born at Fenton Barns, near Dirleton, Scotland, to Hugh Bertram and Isabella Mack. Bertram emigrated to Canada in 1860 ...
. The narrator tells of the new methods of fertilizing and irrigation that Bertram has invented and used on his own plants.
*Letter XII: "Distresses of a Frontier Man" — Description of the impending
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
and James' turmoil at being caught between forces—American and British—beyond his own control, including anxiety over to whom he owes his allegiance. Also considered is the way of life of
Native Americans, with whom James and his family intend to live at the close of the book.
Structure, genre and style
![Nantucket map-fi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Nantucket_map-fi.png)
''Letters'' is structured around the fictional correspondence via letters between James—an American farmer living in the Quaker colony of Pennsylvania—and an English gentleman, Mr F. B. However, it's only James' letters that are presented, as the addressee's answers are absent.
[Beranger 1977, pp. 73, 85.] The work consists of twelve letters that address a wide range of issues concerning life in the British colonies in America in the years prior to the American Revolutionary War. The "Introductory Letter" (Letter I) introduces the fictional narrator James, and each subsequent letter takes as its subject matter either a certain topic (Letter III "What is an American?") or a particular location that James visits (Letters IV, VI and IX describe Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and Charles Town respectively),
[Manning 1997, p. xvi.] though certain themes span or are referred to within several letters. The exception to this is Letter XI, which is written by a Russian gentleman ("Mr. Iw——n Al——z") describing his visit to the botanist John Bartram,
[Ben-Zvi 2007, p. 74.] but who is presumed to also be writing to Mr F. B.
[Beranger 1977, p. 82.] Arranged as a series of discontinuous letters, the work can appear superficially disconnected,
[Grabo 1991, p. 167.] although critics have identified various levels of coherence and organization.
[Grabo 1991, pp. 167–8, 172.]
The text incorporates a broad range of genres, ranging from documentary on local agricultural practices to
sociological
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
observations of the places visited and their inhabitants;
[Manning 1997, p. xvii.] Norman Grabo describes it as "an example of the American tradition of book-as-anthology and authorship-as-editing".
Whereas early readings of the text tended to consider it "as a straightforward natural and social history of young America",
[Winston 1985, p. 249.] critics now see it as combining elements of fiction and non-fiction in what Thomas Philbrick has termed a "complex artistry".
[Holbo 1997, p. 59.] In addition to its usual classification as a form of
epistolary
Epistolary means "in the form of a letter or letters", and may refer to:
* Epistolary ( la, epistolarium), a Christian liturgical book containing set readings for church services from the New Testament Epistles
* Epistolary novel
* Epistolary poem ...
, philosophical
travel narrative
The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs.
One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern period ...
—comparable to
Montesquieu
Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher.
He is the principa ...
's ''
Persian Letters
''Persian Letters'' (french: Lettres persanes) is a literary work, published in 1721, by Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu, recounting the experiences of two fictional Persian noblemen, Usbek and Rica, who spend several years in France ...
''
—the text has been considered as a novel,
[Larkin 2006, p. 2.] and as a
romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
.
[Carlson 2003, Note 4.]
Themes
Shift of tone
''Letters'' has been said to exhibit a "model of decline",
[Holbo 1997, p. 20.] as the optimistic tone of the early letters is disrupted and the text become increasingly pessimistic; there is a movement from a "joy, pride, wonder" at the spectacle of America,
[Saar 1987, p. 192.] to the "images of the inhuman brutality of slavery".
[Robinson 1981, p. 552.] However, there is disagreement over whether this model of decline is produced by James' own disillusionment, or whether it is evidence of Crèvecœur's voice interceding into the narrative;
further, critics disagree over where in the narrative the disillusionment occurs, variably placing it in the third, eighth and ninth letters.
[Holbo 1997, p. 58.]
Relationship with the environment
Among the most significant and recurring themes of ''Letters'' is that of the individual and society's relationship with their environment; the work has been read as an "impassioned, unqualified defense of American
agrarianism
Agrarianism is a political and social philosophy that has promoted subsistence agriculture, smallholdings, and egalitarianism, with agrarian political parties normally supporting the rights and sustainability of small farmers and poor peasants ...
".
[Machor 1982, p. 73.] The theme appears especially in Letter II, III and in the letters describing Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, where James' views are expressive of the doctrine of
environmental determinism
Environmental determinism (also known as climatic determinism or geographical determinism) is the study of how the physical environment predisposes societies and states towards particular development trajectories. Jared Diamond, Jeffrey Herbst, ...
,
that human growth, development and activities are controlled by the physical environment.
In Letter III he says:
*Men are like plants: the goodness and flavour of the fruit proceeds from the peculiar soil and exposition in which they grow. We are nothing but what we derive from the air we breathe, the climate we inhabit, the government we obey, the system of religion we profess, and the nature of our employment.
[Crèvecœur 1997, p. 45.]
Anna Carew-Miller suggests that what the text articulates on this subject is "the
ulturalmyth that a man's relationship with the land confirms his masculinity and dignity as a citizen."
[Carew-Miller 1997, p. 242.]
Reception and legacy
When Crèvecœur offered his manuscript essays to the London publishers Davies & Davis in 1782, they were initially skeptical about the potential for the ''Letters'' to be successful. However, the work proved to be instantly popular in England for a variety of reasons. Proponents of political reform such as
William Godwin
William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for ...
and
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
approved of the radical anti-government implications of its message.
Romantic writers admired, and were influenced by,
[Saar 1994, p. 820.] its evocation of the natural landscape and the individual's relationship to it. More widely, in the final years of the Revolutionary War, the public was eager for the documentary detail ''Letters'' provided about America. The popularity of the book led to a second edition being called for only a year later.
[Manning 1997, p. xxxviii.]
In continental Europe, ''Letters'' proved equally popular. Dutch and German translations were rapidly produced, and prompted by constant demand, editions appeared in such places as Dublin, Paris and Maastricht.
In lieu of a second volume of letters, Crèvecœur produced an expanded French version (''Lettres d'un cultivateur américain'') that was published in 1784.
The French version, which removed the fictional persona of James, is presented as a series of documents that have been neutrally edited, providing greater documentary detail but at the expense of artistry.
[Manning 1997, p. xxxiii.]
In the twentieth century there was a revival of interest in the text. Critic David Carlson suggests that it was "Not aesthetics, but the politics of nationalism appears to have been the primary force behind Crevecoeur's critical resurrection"—the ''Letters'' being among the first works to depict an American "
melting pot
The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throug ...
".
[Carlson 2003, p. 257] ''Letters'', particularly Letter III ("What is an American?"), is frequently
anthologized, and the work is recognized as being one of the first in the
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
of
American literature
American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...
.
[Saar 1994, p. 820–50.][Manning 1997, p. viii.][Carew-Miller 1993, p. 242.]
See also
*''
Letters on the English
''Letters on the English'' (or ''Letters Concerning the English Nation''; French: ''Lettres philosophiques'') is a series of essays written by Voltaire based on his experiences living in Great Britain between 1726 and 1729. It was published first ...
'' (''Lettres philosophiques'') by
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
, and ''
Persian Letters
''Persian Letters'' (french: Lettres persanes) is a literary work, published in 1721, by Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu, recounting the experiences of two fictional Persian noblemen, Usbek and Rica, who spend several years in France ...
'' (''Lettres persanes'') by
Montesquieu
Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher.
He is the principa ...
, two works in the same literary tradition.
*
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
, an English philosopher whose ideas on
Social Contract
In moral and political philosophy
Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships betw ...
theory inform the views expressed in ''Letters''.
Notes
Bibliography
Modern editions
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Secondary sources
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External links
''Letters from an American Farmer''at
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...
*
''Studies in Classic American Literature Chapter 3 Hector St. John de Crevecoeur'' by
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
{{Authority control
1782 novels
Epistolary novels
Philosophical novels
Fiction set in the 1780s
18th-century French novels
18th-century American novels