Crevecoeur and the American society

J. Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur was born in 1735 in Caen, Normandy. In 1754, he was sent to live with family in England, where he learned English. Crevecoeur left England right after he finished his education and moved to America when the French and Indian War started. Crevecoeur joined the Canadian military and did fine, however he got injured while protecting Quebec and was hospitalized. In 1759, Crevecoeur moved to New York City, where he became a new man. He later spent his time exploring North America, and wrote about his travels in his first writings. In 1765, he became a citizen of New York and met his first wife, Mehitable Tippet, the mother of three children. He then bought 120 acres in Orange County where he established his home called “Pine Hill” and became a farmer.

Crevecoeur wrote, from 1774 to 1776, about Americans and their lives, and the experience that he gained from his stay in America. In “Letters from an American Farmer” that was first published in 1782 while in France, Crevecoeur writes about the impact that America has on European immigrants, and what an American is. “There is no wonder that this country has so many charms, and presents to Europeans so many temptations to remain in it” (Crevecoeur 35). In addition, Crevecoeur talks about how religions and cultures are diverse and that people are indifferent, and very accepting. “Thus all sects are mixed as well as all nations; thus religious inference is imperceptibly disseminated from one end of the continent to the other; which is at present one of the strongest characteristics of the Americans”(Crevecoeur 31). The letters written by Crevecoeur are significant because they describe the tolerance that Americans have for cultural and religious diversity, and describes the American civilization as the ideal society; Crevecoeur also portrays America as a completely different environment from Europe, with many charms and appeal.

Works Cited:

Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 2: St. Jean De Crevecoeur." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap2/creve.html, September 7, 2009

Crevecoeur, J. Hector St. John de "Letters from and American Farmer" ; introduction and notes by Warren Barton Blake; New York, Dover Publications