Crevecoeur's Letters From An American Farmer

We have seen in the writings of many of the author's that explore the idea of "What is American" the celebration of immigration such as in The New Colossus or in Crevecouer's Letters from an American Farmer. However, in the excerpts from the Book of Unknown Americans, Henriquez explores those immigrants as themselves Americans, not just as an American idea. This piece provides a window into their reasons for coming to America and their exploration of many of the ideals that we consider American.

Often times people believe that where someone comes from defines a person. J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur was a french aristocrat who wrote a passage from his collection of essays called “Letters from an American Farmer.” He has traveled across many American colonies and has a strong knowledge of versatile backgrounds. Crevecoeur uses his use of language to persuade others how Europeans are true Americans.

In 1630, John Winthrop dreamt that America was a “City on the Hill”, predestined for preeminence. In 1776, the American Colonies proclaimed independence with the affirmation that all men are equal, free, and blessed with the sacred rights to life, liberty, and happiness. These uniquely American ideals ideals characterized the young democracy in contrast to the oppressive monarchies of Europe. European citizens saw the correlation between America’s greatness and its democratic principles. The liberties that America furnished to all men, regardless of status, gave citizens pride in their nation and drew envy from constituents of tyrannical monarchies. The notions of equality and freedom, however, did not extend to all of America’s population;

“What is American” by Hector St. John de Crevecoeur was an advertisement for America. America is explained as a beautiful and structured place that came to be after work was done to a wild woody place. The text stated “ he beholds air cities, substantial villages, extensive fields, an immense country filled with decent houses, good roads, orchards, meadows, and bridges, where an hundred years ago all was wild , woody and uncultivated!” Another point that was made that America was the land of free. He, as Hector calls America , was free of many things. One major thing he was free of was monarchy. The selling point hector used was there was no one person or power in control. Those who came to America would not

As a young child growing up through grade school I've always heard that Thomas Paine’s writing, “Common Sense,” was a very integral part of the founding of our nation. However, we never really expanded much past that. I cannot believe it has taken me twenty-five years for me to read this amazingly moving piece of literature! After reading through the collection of authors we were provided this week, I found J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur’s writing, “Letters from an American Farmer, Letter III What Is an American,” almost as equally compelling.

Letters From an American Farmer : Letter III - What Is An American accurately describes the give and take relationship which should be expected of all peoples living within United States of America. St John de Crevecoeur summarizes this relationship by stating, "If thou wilt work, I have bread for thee; if thou wilt be honest, sober, and industrious, I have greater rewards to confer on thee--ease and independence." (de Crevecoeur) De Crevecoeur deftly itemizes what the land will provide to migrants as well as what is expected of the migrants once they arrive.

J. Hector St. John de Crévecoeur, a French aristocrat who traveled across the American colonies and purchased a farm in New York, defines Americans in a passage from his 1782 collection of essays entitled Letters from an American Farmer. To the readers of this passage from Letters, Crévecoeur argues for colonial American society and handles this topic with a subjective and passionate tone.

Since 1893, when Fredrick Jackson Turner announced that the American identity was not a byproduct of the first colonists, but that it emerged out of the wilderness and only grew with the surfacing of the frontier, America has placed a great emphasis on the notion of a national identity. However, the paradox of the American identity is that although the United States is a melting pot of many different traditions, motives, and ideals, there are nevertheless, distinctive qualities that define the "American." It usually takes a crisis to cause an individual, or a nation, to renew itself. However, sometimes it takes a fight for survival to induce it.

In Letters from an American Farmer, Michael-Guillaume Jean de Crevecoeur indicates the social contract between the government and the citizens. The author establishes the social contract by saying, “Formerly they were not numbered in any civil lists of their country, except in those of the poor; here they rank as citizens.” -Crevecoeur. This quote shows that in their former countries, they were considered burdens more than citizens. Then, once they immigrated to America, they were considered citizens and were allowed to work and gain status. This cornerstone is demonstrated through the belief that the government should allow its citizens to take advantage of opportunities and grow in status and wealth. Michael-Guillaume Jean de Crevecoeur

In an excerpt from “What is an American?,” Jean de Crèvecœur outlines various ideals and beliefs that would later create the foundation of the United States. Many ideals comprise American ideology; however, enterprise is the one value that allows America to preserve a society with greater freedoms. De Crèvecœur depicts how industry was and continues to be a crucial component of American society. American explorers such as de Crèvecœur and Bradford are among the first to describe the colonists’ industry aiding in building America. Furthermore, Americans today work ethic, as it is the backbone of American ideology.

The definition of what America is, and furthermore what an American is, has been eternally elusive. However, it can be reasonably said that the vision of America rests upon freedom of expression, the right to property, and self-determination. These ideas are explored in one European’s examination of American agricultural society in the late 18th century. Letters from an American Farmer by J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur illustrates the gilded nature of the early vision of America; one that appears to be simplistic and based in freedom, but lies on a foundation of oppression and greed.

John Hector St. John de Crevecoeur was a naturalized French-American writer authored the 1782 essay Series, ‘Letters to an American Farmer’ which were presented as a book; the narratives of the collective essays describing and giving rise to what can now be determined as ‘American Ideals’ His through his ‘letters’ used American-English slang as they were used in the frontier; the American ideals of self-determinism, principles of equality & liberalism were ever present and exemplified in the narrative. Together with detailed descriptions of daily lives from farms, towns cities & villages, the 1782 release

In the poem “A Political Litany”, Philip Freneau argues American culture is one full of self-righteousness and freedom: freedom from those “who fight against freedom/ Who still follow on where delusion shall lead them” and freedom from “fools that are waiting for further submissions” (5-6, 8). American culture holds itself above other countries because Americans deduce their actions, beliefs, and morals to be unerring. This mindset has shaped American culture into a culture of egotistical, self righteous, and pretentious beliefs. While many forms of American literature can atest to this view, the film April Morning by Howard Fast brings a contradictory positive light to the stereotype that is American culture. At the time before the civil war, life revolved around the idea that America was a growing, progressive country that held new opportunities for the common man. These opportunities made the American way of life, or American culture, seem that much more inviting and prosperous. Fast uses the coming of age story of young Adam Cooper during the civil war to create a metaphor for the growth and maturity American culture has gone through to achieve its progressive stereotype: “We had won the battle, but there is less joy in winning the battle than the history books tell you”.

Keene, J., Cornell, S., & O'Donnell, E. (2013). Visions of America: A history of the United States. (2nd ed.) Upper Saddle, NJ:

Well into the early 19th Century the idea of ‘The American’ was far reserved from what we recognize now, due in a large part to the the lack of a credible sense of culture and history emitted from the settlers. Whilst the Revolution had asserted their independence from Great Britain and the rest of Europe, they still fundamentally relied on their exports for culture, and in particular their literature. This presented an odd dichotomy for the American