Letters From An American Farmer

“Who would have thought that because I received you with hospitality and kindness, you should imagine me capable of writing with propriety and perspicuity?”

James’s first letter is characterized by extreme modesty. This applies both to his hospitality, which he dismisses as simply the standard generosity of all Americans, and to his ability to write engaging and informative letters. Interestingly, this lack of faith in his writing skills seems to be a result of him being intimidated by Mr. F.B.’s status as an educated Englishman.

“Misguided religion, tyranny, and absurd laws everywhere depress and afflict mankind. Here we have in some measure regained the ancient dignity of our species: our laws are simple and just; we are a race of cultivators; our cultivation is unrestrained; and therefore everything is prosperous and flourishing.”

Many of the early celebrations of America come from the minister’s declarations. He lays out several of the points that James will later discuss, including the idea that America is free of the exploitation found in Europe and the importance of living a “natural” life. He even draws on the symbolic connections between thriving fauna and thriving communities that appear throughout the book.

“I trace their various inclinations and the different effects of their passions, which are exactly the same as among men; the law is to us precisely what I am in my barn-yard, a bridle and check to prevent the strong and greedy from oppressing the timid and weak.”

James is highly critical of the use of coercive power and of the limits to freedom occasioned by laws that are too rigid, too restrictive, or too numerous and far-reaching. However, he also believes that there must be some simple laws and non-intrusive government to protect the weak from the strong, who might otherwise exploit the weak and take from them. He utilizes his own experiences of managing his cattle to highlight the importance of such benevolent governance.