Abstract
What They Saw in America gives accounts of journeys taken by four prominent thinkers from four different countries during four different time periods in American history. The subjects and their experiences, observations, and critiques allow the reader to view America through the perspective of a critical foreign observer. To quote Tocqueville, this narrative is important, as “only foreigners or experience can make certain truths reach [Americans’] ears.” The attention paid to the experiences of the four visitors provides context for the praise and criticism from each.
Chapters One and Two detail Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont’s exploration of America beginning in 1831. The French aristocrats came to the United States after receiving a contract from the French government to study the penitentiary system in America. Over the course of nine months and over 7,000 miles, Tocqueville pens his observations on subjects ranging from the natural beauty of the wilderness to the American sense of pride and his unfavorable opinions of President Andrew Jackson.
Chapters Three and Four tell of Max Weber, who, along with his wife Marianne, journeyed to the United States in 1904 from Germany. Weber’s time in the United States was spent exploring the capitalistic cities the United States had to offer, though he, like Tocqueville, was enthralled by the beauty of the American frontier. Weber provides thoughts ranging from the role of Protestantism in secularization, to the university system, to America’s color line. After his trip, Weber became quite critical of several aspects of American society, including the problem of race.
Chapters Five and Six focus on Englishman G. K. Chesterton’s visits to America in 1921 and 1930. During Chesterton’s stay, he offered opinions on subjects as banal as hotels, which he did not enjoy, as well as more abstract subjects like individualism, industrialism, and distributism. In editorials and invited lectures, Chesterton comments on his version of the ideal democracy and the role religion must play in a democracy.
The final subject of the book, in Chapters Seven and Eight, is Egyptian Sayyid Qutb. Qutb was sent to America in 1948 by the Egyptian government to study the American educational system. Qutb was known to possess anti-western beliefs that became more pronounced during reissues of the book he published during his stay in America (Social Justice in Islam). Qutb views the culture of the United States as materialistic and hedonistic. During his travels to universities in Colorado and California, Qutb offers his critiques of activities ranging from football to church services.