Life And Liberty In America Or Sketches Of A Tour In The United States And Canada In 1857 8

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Written by the acclaimed journalist and poet Charles Mackay, this book is an account of his travels in the United States and Canada in the late 1850s. Mackay provides a fascinating look at the social and cultural landscape of the time, revealing the tensions that threatened the union in the years preceding the Civil War. His incisive observations and elegant prose make this book a must-read for anyone interested in 19th century American history and culture. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

In visiting a rice plantation, my object was not so much to satisfy myself that the slave-owners of America are kind to their negroes, as to satisfy the public opinion of Charleston that English travelers are not prejudiced against Southern proprietors...-from "A Rice Plantation"Life and Liberty in America in America. The title is intentionally ironic-Charles Mackay was well aware of the paradox of studying liberty in a slave-holding nation; his biting wit and extraordinarily opinionated personality shines through in this intriguing work. Subtitled "Sketches of a Tour in the United States and Canada in 1857-8" and first published in 1860, Mackay's impressions span the continent, from New York's Broadway at night-which is far less the boulevard of vice Mackay expected, and nothing, he assures, to compare to the decadence of London or Paris-to the Mormons of Utah-McKay bitterly wonders why America's freedom of religion should extend to a faith he deems "superstitious." As a document of America just prior to the Civil War, seen through the eyes of an outsider, this is a fascinating and historically important book.Also available from Cosimo Classics: Mackay's Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.Scottish journalist CHARLES MACKAY (1814-1889) held an honorary law degree from Glasgow University, as well as a doctorate in literature. A renowned poet and songwriter, he also authored a Dictionary of Lowland Scotch.