The Consolations of Amero-Teutonism: E. A. Freeman’s Tour of the United States, 1881–2
The Consolations of Amero-Teutonism: E. A. Freeman’s Tour of the United States, 1881–2
In 1881, E. A. Freeman sailed across the Atlantic, one of a number of British historians, scientists, and literary figures to tour the United States in the period between the Civil War and 1900. For Freeman the financial rewards of touring were balanced by onerous press scrutiny and unwelcome competition from rival celebrities, notably Oscar Wilde. Freeman’s lectures were intended to remind his American audiences of what he insisted was a shared Anglo-American history, one founded in racialist celebration of the birthright of free Teutons. Although resisted by Irish-Americans and those who insisted on American exceptionalism, Freeman’s views were shared by fellow Britons such as James Bryce and Charles Kingsley, as well as by founding fathers of the history as an academic discipline in the United States. This view reassured Britons concerned at the rise of the United States and shaped the understanding of the ‘special relationship’ in both countries.
Keywords: special relationship, Anglo-American relations, speaking tours, Oscar Wilde
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