- Also called:
- Hector Saint John de Crèvecoeur or (especially in America) J. Hector St. John
- Died:
- November 12, 1813, Sarcelles (aged 78)
- Notable Works:
- “Letters from an American Farmer”
Michel-Guillaume-Saint-Jean de Crèvecoeur
-
Who was Michel-Guillaume-Saint-Jean de Crèvecoeur?
Michel-Guillaume-Saint-Jean de Crèvecoeur (1735–1813) was a French American author who provided a broad picture of life in the New World. After working as an officer and mapmaker in Canada, he became a farmer in New York in 1765 and married Mehitable Tippet in 1769, with whom he had three children. During the American Revolution, he was persecuted by both sides and imprisoned by the British army. He sailed for Europe in 1780. In London, he published 12 essays called Letters from an American Farmer in 1782, using his American name, J. Hector St. John. The book was charmingly written, optimistic, and timely and made him famous. He was appointed as French consul to three of the new states in America in 1784.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Where was Crèvecoeur born and where did he live?
Michel-Guillaume-Saint-Jean de Crèvecoeur was born in Caen, France, on January 31, 1735. After studying at Jesuit schools, he became an officer and mapmaker in Canada for four years. In 1759, he chose to stay in the New World, traveling through the Ohio and Great Lakes region. By 1765, he became a citizen of New York and a farmer in Orange County. Crèvecoeur lived quietly in France and Germany until he died on November 12, 1813, in Sarcelles.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is Crèvecoeur best known for writing?
Michel-Guillaume-Saint-Jean de Crèvecœur, also known as J. Hector St. John, was a French American author celebrated for his Letters from an American Farmer (1782). This collection of essays offered a broad and optimistic view of life in the New World, outlining the experiences of immigrants and analyzing the religious landscape. Crèvecœur's work explored the life of colonial farmers, their psychology, and daily routines, more comprehensively than other writings of the time. His famous "melting pot" theory, which answers the question, "What is an American?", is widely quoted.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why is his book 'Letters from an American Farmer' important?
Letters from an American Farmer by Michel-Guillaume-Saint-Jean de Crèvecoeur is important because it offers a broad and optimistic view of life in the New World, capturing the colonial farmer's life, psychology, and daily existence more completely than other writings of the time.
Crèvecoeur's work analyzes the religious issues of the New World, outlines the experiences of new immigrants, describes the life of Nantucket whalers, reveals details about the Indians and the horrors of the Revolution, and includes his widely quoted "melting pot" theory, answering the question "What is an American?". His documented account of the evolution from log cabin to opulent farmhouse is heavily relied upon by historians of the frontier. His style, perspective, and simple philosophy are admired.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Crèvecoeur describe life in America during the 18th century?
Michel-Guillaume-Saint-Jean de Crèvecoeur, a French-American author, offered a broad view of life in the New World in the 18th century. His writings trace immigrants' journeys, examine New World religious issues, and detail the lives of Nantucket whalers.
Crèvecoeur's work sheds light on Native Americans, the American Revolution's horrors, and colonial farmers' daily lives and psychology. His "melting pot" theory is widely quoted, and his documented account of the log cabin's evolution into the opulent farmhouse is invaluable to frontier historians.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did Crèvecoeur's experiences as both a Frenchman and an American shape his writing?
Michel-Guillaume-Saint-Jean de Crèvecœur, a French American author, used his experiences in his writing to provide a broad picture of life in the New World. After living in New France (Canada) and then becoming a citizen and farmer in New York, he found himself in an untenable position at the outbreak of the American Revolution because his wife was from a loyalist family, but he also had friends among the opposite faction.
His writings analyze the religious problems of the New World, describe the life of the whalers of Nantucket, reveal much about the Indians and the horrors of the Revolution, and present the colonial farmer and his daily existence more completely than any contemporaneous writings were able to do.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Michel-Guillaume-Saint-Jean de Crèvecoeur (born January 31, 1735, Caen, France—died November 12, 1813, Sarcelles) was a French American author whose work provided a broad picture of life in the New World.
After study in Jesuit schools and four years as an officer and mapmaker in Canada, Crèvecoeur chose in 1759 to remain in the New World. He wandered the Ohio and Great Lakes region, took out citizenship papers in New York in 1765, became a farmer in Orange county, and in 1769 married Mehitable Tippet, with whom he had three children.
When the American Revolution broke out, Crèvecoeur found himself in an untenable position: his wife was from a loyalist family and he had friends and neighbours among the opposite faction. Persecuted by both sides, he left rebel country only to languish for months in a British army prison in New York City before sailing for Europe in 1780, accompanied by one son. In London, using his American name, J. Hector St. John, he arranged for the publication in 1782 of 12 essays called Letters from an American Farmer.
Within two years this book—charmingly written, optimistic, and timely—saw eight editions in five countries and made its author famous, gaining him such influential patrons as the naturalist the comte de Buffon and Benjamin Franklin, a membership in France’s Academy of Sciences, and an appointment as French consul to three of the new states in America. Before assuming his consular duties in 1784, Crèvecoeur translated and added to the original 12 essays, in Lettres d’un cultivateur Américain, 2 vol. (Paris, 1784).
In America again, Crèvecoeur found his home burned, his wife dead, and his daughter and second son with strangers in Boston. Reunited with his children, he set about organizing a packet service between the United States and France, continued an interest in botany, and published articles on agriculture and medicine. A two-year furlough in Europe resulted in a larger, second edition of the French Lettres, 3 vol. (1790). Recalled from his consulship in 1790, Crèvecoeur wrote one other book on America, Voyage dans la haute Pennsylvanie et dans l’État de New York, 3 vol. (1801; Travels in Upper Pennsylvania and New York, 1961). He lived quietly in France and Germany until his death.
Because of his letters, Crèvecoeur was not only for a while the most widely read commentator on America but also a great favourite with such Romantics as Charles Lamb and Thomas Campbell and with the revolutionist Jacques-Pierre Brissot. His reputation was further increased in the 1920s when a bundle of his unpublished English essays was discovered in an attic in France. These were brought out as Sketches of Eighteenth Century America, or More Letters from an American Farmer (1925). Crèvecoeur’s books outline the steps through which new immigrants passed, analyze the religious problems of the New World, describe the life of the whalers of Nantucket, reveal much about the Indians and the horrors of the Revolution, and present the colonial farmer—his psychology and his daily existence—more completely than any contemporaneous writings were able to do. The passage containing his “melting pot” theory and answering the question “What is an American?” is widely quoted, and historians of the frontier depend heavily on his documented account of the stages by which the log cabin became the opulent farmhouse. His charming style, keen eye, and simple philosophy are universally admired.