Sketches of America. Narrative of a Journey of Five Thousand Miles through the Eastern and Western States of America

8vo later blue calf, 462 pp. Slight separation of front endpaper and title page, some minor aging. Nice copy; very good or better. Fearon came to America on sort of a fact-finding tour to inspect agricultural possibilities for people that were interested in coming to America. The information he provides on all sorts of economic issues is impressive. Since farming was a keen interest to him and the people he represented, he gives a lot of information on the differences in agricultural land prices of various places. While Fearon does mention some good things about America, much of his commentary is negative. Fearon had a strongly negative reaction to slavery, and talks about it in much detail. He even argues that in the so-called free states, freedom was a myth for Blacks. “Although New York is a free state, it is such only on parchment: Black Americans are in it practically and politically slaves.” Fearon’s characterizations of Americans are also interesting. On Kentuckians, he writes, “they drink a great deal, swear a great deal, and gamble a great deal.” He viewed New Yorkers as careless, lazy and indifferent; well I guess not much has changed over the years. Howes F65.