Laudatory and disparaging, detailed and generalizing, describing political centers and societal margins, Grattan's 1859 work vividly illustrates nineteenth-century America. Sharing eyewitness accounts and moral reflections, Volume 1 describes his first impressions of the antebellum United States, life in New England, and issues ranging from political parties to domestic servants.

Laudatory and disparaging, detailed and usefully general, of political centers and societal margins, these volumes vividly illustrate antebellum America.