84 REFORM AND DEMOCRACY 



attracting wide-spread attention at once in 

 Great Britain, gave strong support to the revi 

 sion of opinion concerning the American democ 

 racy. On the other side Mrs. Trollope s &quot;Do 

 mestic Life of the Americans/ published in 

 1832, with its clever and cattish caricatures, 

 inflamed the old animosities, which a never- 

 ending train of Tory travellers, with far less of 

 vivacity and of malice, contributed to keep 

 glowing. Finally, it is to be noted that in 1835 

 appeared the first important literary produc 

 tion of Richard Cobden, treating the economic 

 forces of the United States with much analytic 

 power and from a novel point of view. His 

 vision of the transforming influence of American 

 agriculture and commerce, as well as of manufac 

 tures when once the initial obstacles should be 

 overcome, was not confused by suspicions as 

 to the religious, moral, or political soundness 

 of the people. He was by training one of the 

 middle class of English society, a Manchester 

 manufacturer, and the lack of culture that 

 disturbed so many British observers in America 

 did not affect Cobden s perception of the eco 

 nomic strength that was developing. The thesis 

 of his essay was that Great Britain s leading 

 position among the powers of the world was in 



