Introduction

Anglophilia was, at its simplest, a cultural appreciation of Englishness encouraged by the traditional patterning of American domestic life on the English example. Local newspapers and magazines kept English fashion and high society gossip, alongside a liberal dose of political news and opinion, in front of a clamouring American public. The term 'Anglophile' was usually applied to political conservatives and the so-called American 'aristocracy' who supported the Federalist Party. The aristocracy in America was composed of a peculiar mixture of nationalities, old respected families and the nouveau riche, political and cultural elites, southern planters and northern businessmen, but when it came to politics, the aristocratic label could be disastrous. Post-revolutionary society was in a state of social, economic and political dislocation. The call for a strong and well-defined Federal government was an attempt by Conservatives to force some order and control on unparalleled political upheaval.