32:
259:, St. John tried to leave the country to return to France because of the faltering health of his father. Accompanied by his son, he crossed British-American lines to enter British-occupied New York City, where he was imprisoned as an American spy for three months without a hearing. Eventually, he was able to sail for Britain, and was shipwrecked off the coast of Ireland. From Britain, he sailed to France, where he was briefly reunited with his father. After spending some time recovering at the family estate, he visited Paris and the salon of
333:. In 1916, Crèvecœur's first American biographer, Julia Post Mitchell, who had access to all the manuscripts, was able to make a more balanced assessment, writing that Crèvecoeur addressed "problems in political economy which European governments were trying in vain to solve." He was "...illustrating his theories from American conditions," and was not just "...a garruluous apologist of American life." The additional manuscripts were published in 1925.
346:, who, as the last royal public notary for the city and province of New York, had helped to secure his release in 1780 from the British prison in the city. Principal of the import-export mercantile firm the William Seton Company, Seton helped Crevecoeur locate his children, who were safe and living with a family in Boston. The following spring, he was able to reunite with his children. For most of the 1780s, Crèvecœur lived in New York City.
287:. His work provided useful information and understanding of the "New World" that helped create an American identity in the minds of Europeans by describing an entire country rather than another regional colony. The writing celebrated American ingenuity and the uncomplicated lifestyle. It described the acceptance of religious diversity in a society being created from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. He applied the Latin maxim "
384:, enlarged and completely rewritten in French. A three-volume version followed in 1787. Both his English and his French books were translated into several other European languages and widely disseminated throughout Europe. For many years, Crèvecœur was identified by European readers with his fictional narrator, James, the 'American farmer', and held in high esteem by readers and fellow-writers across Europe.
321:, who he said "viewed these provinces of North America in their true light, as the asylum of freedom; as the cradle of future nations, and the refuge of distressed Europeans." Plotkin notes that "extremists in the American colonies who violated this principle, incurred Crèvecœur's harshest criticism, although the severest of these criticisms were considered unsuitable for publication at the time."
709:
681:
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391:, however, his fame had faded and the damages of the French Revolution and its aftermath had made people less interested in the United States. His book was ignored. An abbreviated German translation appeared the following year. An English translation was not published until 1964. Much of de Crevecoeur's best work has been published posthumously, most recently as
100:
359:, a garden and entertainment venue located along the North River on Greenwich Street between Warren and Chambers Streets. In 1785, Portuguese consul Jose Roiz Silva, Spanish consul Tomas Stoughton and others sought to rent the vacant Exchange building and deemed Crevecoeur the best one to make the approach.
354:
At that time, New York City was the national capital and most of the resident
Catholics were connected to the diplomatic corps. Initially they met for services at the home of the Spanish consul. Their numbers increased with seafaring people, merchants, emigrants from the Spanish West Indies, and a
341:
The success of his book in France had led to his being taken up by an influential circle, and he was appointed the French consul for New York, including the areas of New Jersey and
Connecticut. Crèvecœur returned to New York City as the newly appointed French consul in November 1783. Anxious to be
416:
In 1789, during a stay in France, he was trapped by the political upheaval that was quickly turning into the French
Revolution. At risk as an aristocrat, he went into hiding, while secretly trying to gain passage to the United States. The necessary papers were finally delivered to him by the new
291:" (Where there is bread, there is my country) to early American settlers. He once praised the middle colonies for "fair cities, substantial villages, extensive fields...decent houses, good roads, orchards, meadows, and bridges, where an hundred years ago all was wild, woody, and uncultivated."
278:
The book quickly became the first literary success by an
American author in Europe and turned Crèvecœur into a celebrated figure. He was the first writer to describe to Europeans – employing many American English terms – the life on the American frontier and to explore the concept of the
302:
cause by fostering an atmosphere conducive to reconciliation." The book excluded all but one of the letters written after the beginning of the war and also earlier ones that were more critical. Crèvecœur himself sympathized with the Whig cause. His wife's family remained loyal to the
861:
324:
In 1883, his great-grandson, Robert de Crèvecoeur, published a biography for which he used previously unpublished letters and manuscripts passed down by the family. Although it received little notice in France, its existence came to the attention of W. P. Trent of
455:
Letters from an
American Farmer: Describing Certain Provincial Situations, Manners, and Customs, Not Generally Known; and Conveying Some Idea of the Late and Present Interior Circumstances of the British Colonies of North
366:. When the proposal was rejected, Crevecoeur was insulted and became very active in working for the establishment of the first Catholic church in the city. He later served as president of the first Board of Trustees of
252:. He named his farm "Pine Hill" and prospered as a farmer. He also traveled about, working as a surveyor. He started writing about life in the American colonies and the emergence of an American society.
342:
reunited with his family, he learned that his farm had been destroyed in an Indian raid, his wife was dead, and his two younger children missing. He stayed in the house of his friend
298:, was rather selective in the letters that were included, omitting those that were negative or critical. Norman A. Plotkin argues "it was intended to serve the English
236:
as a cartographer in the French
Colonial Militia, rising to the rank of lieutenant. Following the defeat of the French Army by the British in 1759, he moved to the
700:
649:
421:. At the end of his life Crèvecœur returned to France and settled permanently on land he inherited from his father. On November 12, 1813, he died in
467:
Lettres d'un cultivateur américain : écrites à W. S. (William Seton), écuyer, depuis l'année 1770 jusqu'à 1781, traduites de l'anglois par ***
957:
842:
edited by Dennis D. Moore (Harvard
University Press; 2012) 372 pages; combines an edition of the famous 1782 work with his other writings
814:
362:
Although
Crevecoeur was relatively indifferent to religion, he was sympathetic to the idea of liberty of conscience, and a friend of
463:
Letters from an
American Farmer, written to W.S. (William Seton), squire, from the year 1770 to 1781, translated from English by ***
363:
917:
870:
367:
922:
912:
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53:
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240:, where he took out citizenship, adopted the English-American name of John Hector St. John, and in 1770 married an
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380:
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20:
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woman, Mehitable Tippet, the daughter of a New York merchant. He bought a sizable farm in the
Greycourt area of
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734:
410:
942:
927:
586:
548:
393:
More Letters from the American Farmer: An edition of the Essays in English Left Unpublished by Crèvecœur
952:
783:
From the Fallen Tree: Frontier Narratives, Environmental Politics, and the Roots of a National Pastoral
295:
886:
937:
878:
815:
https://web.archive.org/web/20091012031553/http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap2/creve.html
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572:
356:
40:
249:
792:, Westport: Greenwood Press, 2008. "J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur." Thomas Patchell. 96–104.
437:
57:
233:
810:
Paul P. Reuben. "Chapter 2: Early American Literature: 1700–1800 – St. Jean De Crevecoeur",
907:
902:
288:
260:
237:
283:, portraying American society as characterized by the principles of equal opportunity and
8:
326:
256:
168:
800:
284:
856:
609:
795:
Norman A. Plotkin, "Saint-John de Crevecoeur Rediscovered: Critic or Paneygyrist?",
640:, edited by Henri L. Bourdin, H. Gabriel, and Stanley T. Williams (New Haven, 1925).
865:
530:, (ed. Raymond Trousson and Frédéric S. Eigeldinger), Paris: Champion, 1996, p. 421
304:
511:
489:
Sketches of the Eighteenth Century America: More "Letters From an American Farmer"
395:, edited by Dennis D. Moore (Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1995).
889:. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
201:
192:
852:
280:
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Sketches of Eighteenth Century America, More "Letters from an American Farmer"
596:, with a prefatory note by W. P. Trent and an introduction by Ludwig Lewisohn.
318:
896:
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311:. With regard to French politics, Crèvecœur was a liberal, a follower of the
241:
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812:
PAL: Perspectives in American Literature – A Research and Reference Guide
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313:
308:
99:
613:
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In 1782, in London, he published a volume of narrative essays entitled
883:, 1883 biography (in French) by his great grandson Robert de Crèvecœur
804:
422:
387:
By the time he published another three-volume work in 1801, entitled
196:; December 31, 1735 – November 12, 1813), naturalized in New York as
139:
473:
Memoire sur le Commerce Entre la France et les États-Unis D'Amerique
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120:
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Saint John de Crèvecoeur : sa vie et ses ouvrages (1735–1813)
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Saint John de Crèvecoeur : sa vie et ses ouvrages (1735–1813)
712:
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
684:
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
661:
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
701:
Meehan, Thomas F., "a Century of Catholic Laymen in New York",
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229:
221:
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Voyage dans la Haute-Pensylvanie et dans l'état de New-York
389:
Voyage dans la Haute-Pensylvanie et dans l'état de New-York
213:
406:(Society of the Friends of the Blacks), founded in Paris.
228:(Count and Countess of Crèvecœur). In 1755 he migrated to
512:
Moore, Andrew. "The American Farmer as French Diplomat",
16:
French-American author, diplomat, and farmer (1735–1813)
785:, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003
479:
Eighteenth-Century Travels in Pennsylvania and New York
755:
An American Farmer: The Life of St. John de Crevecoeur
475:, 1784 (manuscript rests in the U.S. Embassy, Paris).
294:
The original edition, published near the end of the
790:
Early American Writers: A Biographical Encyclopedia
378:In 1784, he published a two-volume version of his
862:Works by or about J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur
799:, vol. 3, no. 3 (Spring 1964), pp. 390–404.
514:Journal of the Western Society for French History
894:
840:Letters From an American Farmer and Other Essays
398:Particularly concerned about the condition of
731:American Philosophical Society Member History
167:Pro-American writings during the time of the
212:Crèvecœur was born on December 31, 1735, in
875:, American Studies, University of Virginia.
678:(New York: Columbia University Press, 1916)
822:"The American Beginning: The Dark Side of
232:in North America. There, he served in the
98:
853:Works by J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur
696:
694:
76:Learn how and when to remove this message
355:few Acadians. They then rented space at
349:
39:This article includes a list of general
887:J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur Papers
753:Guy Wilson Allen and Roger Asselineau,
507:
505:
895:
778:, Rheinbach-Merzbach: CMZ-Verlag, 1985
776:Crèvecoeur oder Die Erfindung Amerikas
691:
440:, is named after him, as suggested by
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329:, who in 1904 published a reprint of
191:
838:de Crevecoeur, J. Hector St. John.
652:Catholic Church in the United States
502:
25:
958:Immigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
151:Michel Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur
13:
832:
185:Michel Guillaume Jean de Crèvecœur
45:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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969:
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757:, New York: Viking Penguin, 1987
727:"Michel G. St. J. de Crevecoeur"
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193:[miʃɛlɡijomʒɑ̃dəkʁɛvkœʁ]
92:J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur
30:
872:Letters from an American Farmer
824:Letters from an American Farmer
771:, New York: Penguin Books, 1987
719:
668:
643:
628:
625:Quoted by Plotkin 1964, p. 404.
550:Letters from an American Farmer
417:American ambassador to France,
381:Letters from an American Farmer
274:Letters from an American Farmer
226:Comte and Comtesse de Crèvecœur
204:author, diplomat, and farmer.
735:American Philosophical Society
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918:18th-century American farmers
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331:Letters of an American Farmer
317:, and dedicated his book to
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923:19th-century French writers
913:18th-century French writers
828:New Republic July 18, 2013
654:, T.W. Strong, 1856, p. 354
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933:American writers in French
404:Société des Amis des Noirs
296:American Revolutionary War
21:Crèvecœur (disambiguation)
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797:French Historical Studies
634:Saint-John de Crèvecœur,
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528:Dictionnaire de Rousseau
250:Orange County, New York
60:more precise citations.
788:Daniel Patterson, ed.
676:St. Jean de Crèvecoeur
674:Mitchell, Julia Post.
438:St. Johnsbury, Vermont
948:French male essayists
563:Plotkin 1964, p. 392.
539:Plotkin 1964, p. 391.
350:St. Peter's, New York
234:French and Indian War
189:French pronunciation:
943:People of New France
928:Agricultural writers
606:St Jean de Crèvecœur
289:Ubi panis ibi patria
255:In 1779, during the
238:Province of New York
198:John Hector St. John
19:For other uses, see
370:on Barclay Street.
327:Columbia University
257:American Revolution
169:American Revolution
769:An American Farmer
762:Selected criticism
650:De Courcy, Henry.
608:, New York, 1916.
577:, 1883 (in French)
552:, 1782, Dedication
368:St. Peter's Church
307:and later fled to
285:self-determination
248:, a small town in
953:Writers from Caen
857:Project Gutenberg
774:David Eisermann:
261:Sophie d'Houdetot
182:
181:
132:November 12, 1813
117:December 31, 1735
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866:Internet Archive
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908:1813 deaths
903:1735 births
740:15 December
442:Ethan Allen
319:Abbé Raynal
314:philosophes
309:Nova Scotia
246:Chester, NY
58:introducing
897:Categories
496:References
427:Val d'Oise
374:Later life
230:New France
224:, to the
156:Occupation
113:1735-12-31
41:references
703:Messenger
423:Sarcelles
413:in 1789.
364:Lafayette
208:Biography
140:Sarcelles
590:from an
588:Letters
485:), 1801.
469:), 1784.
337:Diplomat
242:American
218:Normandy
200:, was a
142:, France
123:, France
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864:at the
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459:, 1782.
456:America
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805:285950
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431:France
400:slaves
267:Author
222:France
175:Spouse
159:Writer
43:, but
801:JSTOR
305:Crown
742:2020
610:OCLC
300:Whig
214:Caen
129:Died
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