The Twentieth Century American - Being a Comparative Study of the Peoples of the Two Great - Anglo-Saxon Nations

Harry Perry Robinson

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Project Gutenberg's The Twentieth Century American, by H. Perry RobinsonThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.orgTitle: The Twentieth Century AmericanBeing a Comparative Study of the Peoples of the Two GreatAnglo-Saxon NationsAuthor: H. Perry RobinsonRelease Date: November 26, 2009 [EBook #30549]Language: EN*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICAN ***Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Michael Zeug, Lisa Reigel,and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team athttp://www.pgdp.netTranscriber's Notes: Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been left as in the original.Some typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected. A complete list follows thetext. Ellipses match the original.Click on the page number to see an image of the page. The TwentiethCentury AmericanBeingA Comparative Study of the Peoples ofthe Two Great Anglo-Saxon Nations BYH. PERRY ROBINSONAUTHOR OF "MEN BORN EQUAL," "THE AUTOBIOGRAPHYOF A BLACK BEAR," ETC.bookplate titled The Many not the Few The Chautauqua PressCHAUTAUQUA, NEW YORKMCMXICopyright, 1908BYG. P. PUTNAM'S SONS The Knickerbocker Press, New YorkToThose Readers,Whether English or American,whoagree with whatever is said in thefollowing pages in laudation oftheir ...

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• Publié par: voik
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 39
• Langue: English

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Project Gutenberg's The Twentieth Century American,
by H. Perry Robinson
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no
cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,
give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg
License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Twentieth Century American
Being a Comparative Study of the Peoples of the Two
Great
Anglo-Saxon Nations
Author: H. Perry Robinson
Release Date: November 26, 2009 [EBook #30549]
Language: EN
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICAN ***
Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Michael Zeug, Lisa
Reigel,Reigel,
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net
Transcriber's Notes: Variations in spelling and
hyphenation have been left as in the original. Some
typographical and punctuation errors have been
corrected. A complete list follows the text. Ellipses
match the original.
Click on the page number to see an image of the
page.

The Twentieth
Century American
Being
A Comparative Study of the Peoples of
the Two Great Anglo-Saxon Nations

BY
H. PERRY ROBINSONAUTHOR OF "MEN BORN EQUAL," "THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF A BLACK BEAR," ETC.
bookplate titled The Many not the Few

The Chautauqua Press
CHAUTAUQUA, NEW YORK
MCMXI
Copyright, 1908
BY
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

The Knickerbocker Press, New York
To
Those Readers,
Whether English or American,
who
agree with whatever is said in the
following pages in laudation oftheir own Country
This Book
is Inscribed in the hope
that they will be equally ready to accept
whatever they find in praise
of
The Other.
map of The British Isles and the United States
The British Isles and the United States.
A Comparison (see Chapter IV.)
PREFATORY NOTE
There are already many books about America; but the
majority of these have been written by Englishmen
after so brief an acquaintance with the country that it
is doubtful whether they contribute much to English
knowledge of the subject.
My reason for adding another volume to the list is the
hope of being able to do something to promote a
better understanding between the peoples, having as
an excuse the fact that I have lived in the United
States for nearly twenty years, under conditions which
have given rather exceptional opportunities of intimacy
with the people of various parts of the country socially,in business, and in politics. Wherever my judgment is
wrong it is not from lack of abundant chance to learn
the truth.
Except in one instance—very early in the book—I
have avoided the use of statistics, in spite of frequent
temptation to refer to them to fortify arguments which
must without them appear to be merely the expression
of an individual opinion.
H. P. R.
February, 1908.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
An Anglo-American Alliance 5
The Avoidance of Entangling Alliances—What the I
njunction Meant—What it Cannot Mean To-day—T
he Interests of the United States, no less than thos
e of England, Demand an Alliance—But Larger Inte
rests than those of the Two Peoples are Involved—
American Responsiveness to Ideals—The Greatest
Ideal of All, Universal Peace: the Practicability of its
Attainment—America's Responsibility—Misconcepti
ons of the British Empire—Germany's Position—A
merican Susceptibilities.
CHAPTER II
3
The Difference in Point of View
5
The Anglo-Saxon Family Likeness—How Frenchme
n and Germans View it—Englishmen, Americans, a
nd "Foreigners"—An Echo of the War of 1812—An
Anglo-American Conflict Unthinkable—American Fe
eling for England—The Venezuelan Incident—The
Pilgrims and Some Secret History—Why Americans
still Hate England—Great Britain's Nearness to the
United States Geographically—Commercially—Hist
orically—England's Foreign Ill-wishers in America.

CHAPTER III
6
Two Sides of the American Character
0
Europe's Undervaluation of America's Fighting Pow
er—The Americans as Sailors—The Nation's Great
est Asset—Self-reliance of the People—The Makin
g of a Doctor—And of a Surveyor—Society in the R
ough—New York and the Country—An Anglo-Saxo
n Trait—America's Unpreparedness—American Co
nsuls and Diplomats—A Homogeneous People—Th
e Value of a Common Speech—America more Angl
o-Saxon than Britain—Mr. Wells and the Future in
America.

CHAPTER IV9
Mutual Misunderstandings
4
America's Bigness—A New Atlantis—The Effect of
Expansion on a People—A Family Estranged—Pars
nips—An American Woman in England—An English
man in America—International Caricatures—Shibbo
leths: dropped H's and a "twang"—Matthew Arnold'
s Clothes—The Honourable S—— B——.

CHAPTER V
1
The American Attitude towards Women 1
1
The Isolation of the United States—American Ignor
ance of the World—Sensitiveness to Criticism—Exa
ggeration of their Own Virtues—The Myth of Ameri
can Chivalrousness—Whence it Originated—The Cl
imatic Myth—International Marriages—English Man
ners and American—The View of Womanhood in Y
outh—Co-education of the Sexes—Conjugal Moralit
y—The Artistic Sense in American Women—Two S
tenographers—An Incident of Camp-Life—"Molly-b
e-damned"—A Nice Way of Travelling—How do the
y do it?—Women in Public Life—The Conditions wh
ich Co-operate—The Anglo-Saxon Spirit again.

CHAPTER VI1
English Humour and American Art 4
5
American Insularity—A Conkling Story—English Hu
mour and American Critics—American Literature an
d English Critics—The American Novel in England
—And American Art—Wanted, an American Exhibiti
on—The Revolution in the American Point of View
—"Raining in London"—Domestic and Imported Go
ods.

CHAPTER VII
1
English and American Education 6
6
The Rhodes Scholarships—"Pullulating Colleges"—
Are American Colleges Superior to Oxford or Camb
ridge?—Other Educational Forces—The Postal Law
s—Ten-cent Magazines and Cheap Books—Pigs in
Chicago—The Press of England and America Com
pared—Mixed Society—Educated Women—Gener
als as Booksellers—And as Farmhands—The Value
of War to a People.

CHAPTER VIII
1
A Comparison in Culture 9
1The Advantage of Youth—Japanese Eclecticism an
d American—The Craving for the Best—Cyrano de
Bergerac—Verestschagin—Culture by Paroxysms
—Mr. Gladstone and the Japanese—Anglo-Saxon
Crichtons—Americans as Linguists—England's Pas
t and America's Future—Americanisms in Speech
—Why They are Disappearing in America—And Ap
pearing in England—The Press and the Copyright L
aws—A Look into the Future.

CHAPTER IX
2
Politics and Politicians 2
6
The "English-American" Vote—The Best People in
Politics—What Politics Means in America—Where
Corruption Creeps in—The Danger in England—A
Presidential Nomination for Sale—Buying Legislatio
n—Could it Occur in England?—A Delectable Alder
man—Taxation while you Wait—Perils that England
Escapes—The Morality of Congress—Political Corr
uption of the Irish—Democrat and Republican.

CHAPTER X
2
American Politics in England 6
0