ABSTRACT
Duringthethree-quartersofacenturythatfollowedtheDeclarationof Independence,certainstereotypesofBritishandAmericanlifeemerged oneithersideoftheAtlantic.Manyconcernedthemake-upofsociety, itscodesofbehaviouranditsinteractions.Thesemaybecrudelysummarized.InAmericaneyesBritishsocietywasincorrigiblyaristocratic, boundbyrigidupper-classrules,preservedbycringinglower-classservilityandservedbyinstitutionalconservatism.InBritisheyesAmerican societywasdangerouslyegalitarian,conductedaccordingtobarbaric ideas,governedbyunprincipleddemocratsandbereftofdecorumand order.Putsimply,Americawastoodemocratictobegenteel,andBritainwastoogenteeltobedemocratic.Thesewere,ofcourse,merely bassnotesforcontinuoplayers.Onthemcouldbecomposedchords offeringvariations.Andfromtimetotimeothertunesmightbeheard. Butthebasicpatternofperceptionsineachdirectionisremarkably consistentandcoherent.WhenEmersonpraisedEnglishtraitsand Hawthornedamnedthem,theywereoftenagreeingonimpressionsonly todifferintheiropinionofthem.1Andthesamemightbesaidwhen FrancesWrightapplaudedAmericanmannersandMrsTrollopedenigratedthem.2
