The Three Travelers

5/3/2001 HIS 300W Erica Ellis Dr. Varela-Lago

The way three men and their pasts saw America

Erica Ellis HIS 300W Research Paper

INTRODUCTION All people; their thoughts, feelings and opinions are a direct result of the environment they are brought up to think in. These environments create a lens which they view the world through, each specific to the viewer. This idea rings true in the introduction of James Fullarton Muirheads book The Land of Contrasts: A Britons View of his American Kin. It is not everyones business, nor would it be everyones pleasure to visit the United States. More, perhaps, than in any other country that I know of will what the traveller (sic.) finds (sic.) there depend on what he brings with him.1 In this quote Muirhead means that for no matter what reason a person visits the United States, or perhaps anywhere if this were to be applied to other places, how they will see it and what they will take away from their trip is based upon their past experiences from wherever it was they came from. When Muirhead came to America, he saw the country through an English lens and with a specific purpose, to write a travel guide of the United States. Land of Contrasts, written later was a record of personal impressions.2 Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to the United States as a Frenchman looking to get away from, and find a solution to, the unrest in his home. Vladimir Mayakovsky was a
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James Fullarton Muirhead. The Land of Contrasts: A Briton's View of His American Kin . Boston: Lamson, Wolffe and Company, 1898. P. 1 2 Ibid. P. 5.

prominent figure in Communism and the Bolshevik Revolution, which forced him to view America through the lens of have and have nots of communism. Differences in backgrounds guarantee different experiences, even when the experiences are in the same place. In this paper I plan to show how the three men came from different backgrounds and that caused each of them to see the United States differently than the next. Each man had a special way of looking at the United States. De Tocqueville, the first of the three to see the United States (1830) wanted to flee France under their newly restored Orleans Monarchy, a relative of the Bourbons who led France to revolution in 1789. He felt that the democratic system in the United States could provide answers, solutions and political safety. Although he spoke of his fears about the tyranny of the majority, he was able to see applications of American life and government to France. James Fullarton Muirhead came to the United States for the second time between 1890 and 1893 to work on preparation of the famous guidebook Baedekers Handbook to the United States. It was not to write a narrative of what his saw, but rather a guide on America. His book Land of Contrasts was written later based upon his notes from this trip and later ones to the United States. Through his travels he visited most of the United States and those areas that were only territories at the time. As many Europeans began to have a more cosmopolitan outlook and began to want to travel more, the publishing house of Karl Baedeker decided to branch out in order to appeal to this new and bigger world.3 Usually Baedekers guides detailed countries in Europe but he felt the need for an American edition. This eventually expanded to

Karl Baedeker was a German publisher of prominent and authoritative guidebooks for travelers starting in 1827. He published over 100 travel guides ranging from the United States and Italy to Athens, Israel and Thailand.

many other countries around the world and even guides about specific cities in the United States and the rest of the world. Muirhead was the editor of the series and first went to the United States in 1888 for a short visit before his 1890 stay where most of the information for the guide was developed. His book, Land of Contrasts was written in his downtime in the years 1895 and 1896 while back home in England. He added to the book on other trips but mostly his notes served as the sources for his travel narrative about the United States. Land of Contrasts could also be argued as the book of details Muirhead wanted to get out, but did not and could not fit into his book with Baedeker. He traveled to America with the specific mindset to write a travel guide and so was very critical (of both good and bad) of the things he viewed which could have led to the way he seems to agonize over small details in Land of Contrasts. Both of these men saw drastically different things than Vladimir Mayakovsky did in his book. My Discovery of America examines the United States a mere 35 years after Muirhead but through the context of communism and shortly after the Russian Revolution in 1917, in which he played an important role. Mayakovsky sees things that Muirhead or de Tocqueville, with western European backgrounds, may not have even known to look for. The knowledge Mayakovsky brought with him to the United States directly impacted the experience he had while there as it did with the others, but in a different way. THREE TRAVELLERS A French Man Looking for Answers Alexis de Tocqueville was born July 29, 1805 to a wealthy aristocratic family. He was raised well-educated and studied law at university in Paris. When the Orleans monarchy took
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power in 1830, de Tocqueville refused to swear allegiance to the crown and made the choice to journey to America to study prison reform and began to look for answers to the French political turmoil in the United States democratic system.4 Alexis de Tocqueville spent his time in America examining the government and political system that was used in the United States. His status as an aristocrat back in France caused him to examine the way America was run in contrast to the way he experienced France through status and privilege. Being the only of the three to come from a genuine aristocratic background did not make him the only educated man, as all three were, it simply allowed him to apply a different type to knowledge base to the areas of the United States he felt was important or relevant to him and his goals. His education and intuition allowed him to both admire and criticize the United States. Although De Tocqueville came from an aristocratic
background, he was not always the one to proclaim that it was the best. He found parts of the American Democratic system to be quite worthwhile, and certainly preferred it to socialism. He spoke praise of the American Democracy in this quote Democracy extends the sphere of individual freedom socialism restricts it. Democracy attaches all possible value to each man; socialism makes each man a mere agent a mere number. Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude But he also had his concerns with the lower, sometimes uneducated classes having too much power. From this arose his theory of the Tyranny of the Majority, in which he states that if the masses were able to make choices for the country, that they could be exploitative to the minority. If any of these men were to be in tune with the United States, it would be de Tocqueville, as James Madison
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The Orleans family was of relation to the Bourbon Monarchy. The Bourbon Monarchy, primarily Louis XVII was the crown that caused the French Revolution in 1789. After a brief period of an attempted republic, France restored a monarchy in 1830.

expressed the same concern in his pamphlet Federalist 10 when the United States Constitution was first being called for ratification. On one hand he felt that some things being done in the United States.

On the other he felt that the inner turmoil of the nation was not healthy and effectively predicted conflicts like the Civil War.5 A Briton Doing His Job James Fullarton Muirhead was born on Christmas Day 1853 in Glasgow, Scotland to John James Muirhead and Isabella Robertson Fullarton.6 He was the oldest of John and Isabellas thirteen children. At the age of seventeen in 1871, James was a student of art. James married Helen M. Quincy, an American girl he presumably met while traveling.7 Only Muirheads father lived to see James journey to America and his book being published as he died in 1899, twentytwo years after Isabella.8 James Muirhead died on April 6, 1934 at the age of 80.9 By the Land of Contrasts, Muirhead is not simply referring to the differences between Britain and America. He is implying that the United States itself is a land of stark, staring and stimulating inconsistency.10 America is a land settled by different people with different interests, not to mention the vast changes in terrain and landscape across America bred change in the way people would move and live across the land. De Tocqueville would not have seen

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American Civil War (1861-1865) George H. Graham The Thompsons, Shipbuilders of Sunderland. February 1, 2011. members.cox.net/ggthomp/johnmuirhead1828.html (accessed 4 9, 2011). 7 George Harmon Knoles. "Baedeker's United States." Pacific Historical Review 13 (March 1944). P. 45 Helen Quincy was of the prominent family of Quincys in the United States. Her great-grandfather was Joshiah Quincy, president of Harvard University and mayor of Boston from 1873-1879. 8 James Fullarton Muirhead. The Land of Contrasts: A Briton's View of His American Kin . Boston: Lamson, Wolffe and Company, 1898. P. 7.
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Joseph A. Brandt "Literary Landmarks of 1934." Books Abroad 9 (1935). P. 23. Muirhead. The Land of Contrasts. P. 10.

such a variety in his travels because not only did he localize his route to east of the Mississippi River, but in 1830 settling of the west and moving beyond the Mississippi was still rare enough to not raise any flags. One important difference that sets Muirhead apart from the other two men is that he is from England. The United States has often been seen the cousin of England, or for some the child of England. This leaves Muirhead open to be critical where he sees differences between the United States and his home country, rather than embrace them and learn from them as de Tocqueville and Mayakovsky were more apt to do. A Communist Looking to Support His Cause Vladimir Mayakovsky was born on July 19, 1893 in Russia as the youngest of three to Ukrainian parents. As early as fourteen-years old Mayakovsky was participating in socialist movements. His early introductions to the movement bred his support of it. During a stay in prison for his political affiliations he began to write poetry and evolved into an iconic poet in the Futurist movement.11 The purpose of his travels to America was to learn the ways of a capitalist country in order to better support communism in favor of capitalism. His journey to America took him to Mexico, entering America through Laredo, Texas rather than Ellis Island due to the difficulty for the communist to obtain a visa. This difference impacts the scope of the book, My Discovery of America rather than the Unites States. This distinction allows for the part of the book about Mexico. Mayakovsky examines America as
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Background information for Vladimir Mayakovsky came from the Wikipedia page about Mayakovsky. Wikipedia: Vladimir Mayakovsky. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Mayakovsky (accessed April 20, 2011). Futurism was a movement based upon rejecting traditional ideas and methods and applying modern technology to the arts. Futurists of the age were largely Italians and Russians during the height of the movement.

something larger than the United States. The use of America must be understood by readers, as Mayakovsky isnt talking about one country as Alexis de Tocqueville does in Democracy in America (by America he means the United States). The Way Our Travelers Examined the United States Muirhead was very interested in the social aspects of the United States and was considered, by Americans at least, to be an enthusiastic interpreter of the United States to Europeans.12 Having the respect of the Americans, that he was portraying their country well gave the guide to the United States and Land of Contrasts credibility amongst readers. He made it clear that America was not a duplicate of Europe and should not be seen as such.13 It could be argued that Land of Contrasts was the book of what Muirhead wanted to say, but could not in the context of Baedekers book, which he was sent to the United States to write. Muirhead looks at an upper class society in the United States as a bit of a waste without a true aristocracy or a monarchy to back it up. Also in the United States he believes the rich feel like they are the nobles. That power and class are determined by birth and cannot be achieved through wealth and advancement. They are two entities and must remain so. In England, he says even the upper class man is below the nobleman and he knows it.14 This lack of a defined and predetermined noble class could also be the cause of the distinctly more liberal and democratic air, that the Englishman may feel when he visits America.15 De Tocqueville would certainly not feel this way. He would most likely want to support an aristocratic class, or not
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George Harmon Knoles. "Baedeker's United States." Pacific Historical Review 13 (March 1944). P. 41 Ibid. P. 49 14 James Fullarton Muirhead. The Land of Contrasts: A Briton's View of His American Kin . Boston: Lamson, Wolffe and Company, 1898. P. 27. 15 Ibid. P. 27.

look down upon it based upon his background. However, he came to the United States because he was fleeing a monarchy, thus he may not find the two to be dependent on each other. Muirheads observations on aristocracy and class in America do not show a distaste for either a monarchy or democracy but rather that there are elements of each, such as class structure that cannot be bred together in one system. This goes back to his idea that America should not be treated as a copy of Europe. It must stand by itself and by its own principles. Mayakovsky observes the lower class through the proletariat and bourgeoisie dichotomy of communism. On the boat to Mexico Mayakovsky notices three social classes. How and what they eat, where they sleep and where they puke up, 16 are divisions he makes notice of. One interesting point about Mayakovsky is that because of his status, wealth and clout as an artist and thinker in Russia he is able to travel in upper class accommodations which contradict his idea and hope of a class-less system. In New York City he makes similar comparison when he notices what people of different classes eat during breaks from work. The more they make the better they eat and the longer they have to eat. In Mexico he sees a mural which he says constitutes the worlds first Communist mural, in the way it depicts workers oppression by owners.17 The children of Mexico must sell shoe shine services in order to make money, which most of them dont.18 He says the same of people who sell lottery tickets: there

16 17 18

Vladimir Mayakovsky. My Discovery of America. Hesperus Press Limited, 2005. P. 6.

Ibid. Ibid.

are too many of them. What he views as the worker is what capitalists would call supply and demand. His views depend on the ideas and movements he brings to America with him, were he from a capitalist nation he would barely notice the way these groups interact, or how they do not. Through the book Muirhead comments on simple things or that what was once a special thing in England is now just frivolously treated in the United States. A big example of this that he points out is the way the Americans and the English treat ice cream difference. In England it is regarded as a special treat, to be eaten from silver in small amounts but in the United States it is eaten from a cone while walking through the streets. This can be brought into the bigger picture that the people of the United States are moving in different directions than Europe and how because of it, simple luxuries are now more commonplace in a modern system. It is these simple things that show his critical eye that he came to the United States with. It is important to also consider that all three men traveled to the United States at different times within a one century span. Alexis de Tocqueville was the first in 1830 followed by Muirheads visits in 1888 and 1890. Mayakovsky was the third and arrived in 1925. It is true that if all of these men were to visit the United States in the same year, they would still see America differently? Given the example year of 1850. In 1850 de Tocqueville would not be fleeing France because his trip was contingent on the change of government in 1830. Mayakovsky would not only be unborn, but in 1850 Russian Communism, the lens through which he sees America, would not exist and its predecessor, Marxism would barely be off the ground. All of these men needed to be in Europe at the times they were in order to have not

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only the backgrounds but the reasons to visit the United States. Yes, time is a factor for the way these men see America, but not because of the United States they saw. It is because of the Europe they left behind. This shows that their upbringing had more to do with determining the lens they saw the United States with, than the United States that was placed in front of them. Muirhead, de Tocqueville and Mayakovsky all journeyed to the United States for different reasons and from different places. Simply being European men was not enough to force the same conclusions based on what they saw when visiting the same place. They all saw and commented on things in different ways because they all came from different backgrounds and upbringings. The United States they saw had changed over the course of the century that passed between the visits of the three men, but more importantly was that Europe had changed and the way they dealt with those developments that made them the men they are. In almost the classic debate of nature vs. nurture it seems that culture is the nurture that affects people and their views of the world.

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Bibliography
Brandt, Joseph A. "Literary Landmarks of 1934." Books Abroad 9 (1935). Graham, George H. The Thompsons, Shipbuilders of Sunderland. February 1, 2011. members.cox.net/ggthomp/johnmuirhead1828.html (accessed 4 9, 2011). Knoles, George H. ""My American Impressions": English Criticism of American Civilization Since 1919." American Quarterly 5 (1953). Knoles, George Harmon. "Baedeker's United States." Pacific Historical Review 13 (March 1944). Mayakovsky, Vladimir. My Discovery of America. Hesperus Press Limited, 2005. Muirhead, James Fullarton. The Land of Contrasts: A Briton's View of His American Kin. Boston: Lamson, Wolffe and Company, 1898. Wikipedia- Futurism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism (accessed April 18, 2011). Wikipedia: Vladimir Mayakovsky. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Mayakovsky (accessed April 20, 2011).

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