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19th Century America

In the 19th Century, the United States of America attracted emigrants looking for new opportunities, visitors touring the country with friends and family, and students drawn by the reputation of the country's universities.

A picture of Cincinnati in the early 1840s provides the heading to a long letter from Emma Alderson, who had emigrated to Ohio. She writes to her mother, Ann Botham, in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire.

Alderson was the sister of the Quaker writer Mary Howitt among whose papers her American correspondence survives.

Henry Norman was studying at Harvard when in April 1878 he visited Washington. The family connections of his host enabled him to attend the House of Representatives and the Senate and to meet some of the most prominent political figures. "...the time will come when America will no longer be a republic", was his hopeful claim to his mother after this experience.

A satirical poem about Abraham Lincoln was sent to the Duke of Newcastle by his son, Lord Edward Clinton, apparently in December 1863.

Lord Edward gave his father a long account of his experiences during his American visit, including current Northern views on the abolition of slavery and the progress of the war.

Further sources relating to this subject area are held by Manuscripts and Special Collections at King's Meadow Campus. See our website for information about our collections and catalogues.