Aristocracy in America. From the sketch-book of a German nobleman. vol. 2 (of 2)

A series of travel sketches and social observations by a visiting observer concentrates on the manners and pretensions of the American upper classes in Boston and Philadelphia. Through portrayals of hotels, public walks, civic monuments, literary and religious gatherings, and charitable institutions, the narrator contrasts local notions of aristocracy with European models, traces interactions between elites and ordinary citizens, and collects anecdotes about exclusiveness, patronage, economy, and taste. Chapters also consider the press, pulpit, Quaker and Unitarian circles, and offer reflections on democracy, social mobility, and the distinctive place of women in New England society.