Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825, Vol. 1 (of 2) Or, Journal of a Voyage to the United States — Reading Notes

A Secretary's Delayed Account

Levasseur's preface is the most direct statement of his authorial position. He writes that he 'resisted the solicitations of my friends' and waited until he was 'entirely independent' before publishing. This delay—three years after the tour—means the journal was not written for immediate political effect but as a retrospective account. The translator, John D. Godman, was a Philadelphia physician, adding a medical professional's lens to the English edition.

The journal's subtitle, 'Journal of a Voyage to the United States,' signals a travel narrative, but Levasseur's role as Lafayette's secretary gives him access to official events while also allowing personal observations. He does not claim to speak for Lafayette; instead, he presents himself as a witness who can describe both ceremonies and everyday street scenes. This dual perspective—part insider, part detached observer—gives the text its particular texture.

Broadway's Contrasts and Urban Ills

Levasseur's description of Broadway is one of the most vivid passages in the excerpts. He praises its 'solidly constructed and flagged with broad stones' pavement, the 'elegance of the buildings,' and the 'ever active crowd.' But he immediately pivots to a complaint: the Trinity church graveyard, separated only by an iron railing, creates a 'painful' contrast with 'gay groups of young ladies' passing by. He even suggests the graveyard's 'putrid exhalations' could be fatal—a claim that reflects contemporary medical beliefs about miasma.

From this aesthetic observation, Levasseur moves to a broader social critique. He estimates 'more than three thousand grog-shops' in New York, retailing 'at least three millions of dollars worth of wine and strong liquors' annually. He attributes drunkenness to 'the extreme facility with which the poorest wretches acquire money' and the low price of untaxed spirits. His tone is moralistic but grounded in specific numbers, a pattern that recurs throughout the journal.

Marriage, Morality, and Lotteries

Levasseur's analysis of prostitution in New York is notable for its comparative approach. He states there are 'not more than three thousand public women,' which he calculates as 'scarcely a sixtieth part of the population.' He contrasts this with Paris and London, where he claims prostitutes form a twentieth of the population. His explanation for the lower rate is 'early and frequent marriages,' noting that men marry between twenty and twenty-five, women between sixteen and twenty. He adds that no law prevents marriage, and any minister can perform the ceremony regardless of sect.

His harshest words are reserved for lottery offices, which he calls 'bottomless gulfs' that swallow wealth and ruin character. He notes that New York state forbids new lotteries but respects existing ones due to 'privileges anterior to the constitution.' Levasseur questions this policy: 'Is not this respect for an evil consecrated by time, a culpable weakness?' This rhetorical question reveals his reformist leanings, though the excerpts do not show whether he pursues the topic further.

Readers should approach this journal as a document shaped by its author's position and timing. Levasseur writes as a secretary who chose to wait, and his observations mix admiration for American energy with sharp criticism of its social problems. The translator's medical background may influence the text's attention to public health. Those interested in early American urban life, Franco-American relations, or the genre of travel writing will find a detailed, opinionated record that rewards careful reading.

Rain fell against the window that afternoon, and I drifted through Levasseur’s careful notes on Lafayette’s American welcome. His observations of unfamiliar customs made me think of another foreign observer, one who found herself just as far from home. By dusk, I was reading The English Governess at the Siamese Court Being Recollections of Six Years in the Royal Palace at Bangkok — Background and Themes, half-lost in that other century’s gentle strangeness.