The American Civil War

Because of its position as a port in the cotton trade, Liverpool had a special role in the Civil War. This chapter considers the rival consular activities of North and South, and the secret local commissioning of battle-ships as well as the campaign by both sides to enlist British support. Henry Ward Beecher was one of the key figures in these activities.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, American Consul

This chapter focuses on the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, who served as US consul in Liverpool in the 1850s. It includes excerpts from his memoirs and those of his son Julian. In addition to describing the workings of the consulate, Hawthorne particularly focused on differences between the two cultures. He records a number of city events as well as his experiences of residence within Liverpool and on the Wirral. Like Dickens, he derived his impressions from strolls around the city, but also left on record accounts of other American travellers there.

Passionate Pilgrims

This chapter takes its title from Henry James to give examples of period tourism and visitors’ impressions, often on their way to the Continent. It includes examples from Washington Irving through to Mark Twain and demonstrates travellers’ different ways of exploring the city. These bring out the national contrasts registered by the tourists.

Herman Melville: Redburn

This chapter selects extracts from Herman Melville’s 1849 novel Redburn, which give uniquely detailed descriptions of Liverpool at mid-century. He particularly registered the poverty around the docks and the presence of beggars. The narrative constantly demonstrates the city’s development in contrast with an earlier guidebook and details the life ashore of visiting seamen.

Commercial, Diplomatic and Scientific Travellers

This chapter surveys a number of visitors to Liverpool in the early years of the century, stressing their diversity of reasons for travel. Their attention similarly varied from social observation to commercial scrutiny. The excerpts include commentary on the city layout and the state of its hotels.

Overviews of Liverpool and Public Events

This chapter concludes its survey with examples testifying to Liverpool’s established standing as one of the main sea-ports of Britain. It reflects the striking development of transatlantic cruise lines and related changes in the working of the docks. Particular examples relate to the Liverpool Exhibition of 1886 and the preparations at the turn of the century for Edward VII’s coronation.

Social Observers

By mid-century Liverpool’s place on the tourist circuit had become well-established. This chapter gives a broad range of social descriptions offered by travellers, including details from Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park. There are snapshots of key buildings and urban scenes as well as glimpses of the means of transport.

African American Campaigners, Abolition and Evangelism

This chapter demonstrates the complex legacy of Liverpool’s slavery heritage. It became a key location for fugitive slaves before the Civil War, who often left memoirs of their escapes. Famous examples include Frederick Douglass and Sarah Parker Remond, and also evangelists and missionaries who attacked slavery while in the city.

Audubon and Catlin: Artists of the American Wilderness

This chapter considers the writings of two specific visitors to Liverpool. The naturalist John James Audubon, famous for his Birds of America, recorded impressions gathered during his residence here. Secondly the showman George Catlin mounted a number of exhibitions in the city, including glimpses of Native American life. The latter was one of the earliest examples of celebrity culture in visitors to the city.

Lecturers and Reformers

As early as the 1840s Liverpool had become an important temporary base for visiting reformers from the USA, figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson who lectured in the local workmen’s institutes. The cause of abolition was represented by Louisa May Alcott, feted after the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Liverpool saw socialist and feminist campaigners delivering addresses right to the end of the century.