Harry Perry Robinson - The Twentieth Century American

The Twentieth Century American Being a Comparative Study of the Peoples of the Two Great Anglo-Saxon Nations by Harry Perry Robinson If I can say anything to show that my name is really Makepeace, and to increase the source of love between the two countries, then please, God, I will.-W. M. Thackeray, in Letters to an American Family. Certainly there is nothing like England, and there never has been anything like England in the world. Her wonderful history, her wonderful literature, her beautiful architecture, the historic and poetic associations which cluster about every street and river and mountain and valley, her vigorous life, the sweetness and beauty of her women, the superb manhood of her men, her Navy, her gracious hospitality, and her lofty pride-although some single race of men may have excelled her in some single particular-make up a combination never equalled in the world.-The late United States Senator Hoar, in An Autobiography of Seventy Years. The result of the organisation of the American colonies into a state, and of the bringing together of the diverse communities contained in these colonies, was the creation not merely of a new nation, but of a new temperament. How far this temperament was to arise from a change of climate, and how far from a new political organisation, no one could then foresee, nor is its origin yet fully analysed; but the fact itself is now coming to be more and more recognised. It may be that Nature said at about that time: Thus far the English is my best race; but we have had Englishmen enough; now for another turning of the globe, and for a further novelty. We need something with a little more buoyancy than the Englishman; let us lighten the structure, even at some peril in the process. Put in one drop more of nervous fluid and make the American. With that drop, a new range of promise opened on the human race, and a lighter, finer, more highly organised type of mankind was born.-Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Atlantic Monthly, 1886. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.