Introduction: Intellectual and Social context
Harriet Martineau was born in England at a time when traditional religious values were being challenged by those who believed that empirical investigation and scientific study were better options to provide answers to the problems faced by society. The Enlightenment period had fostered new philosophies about society and governing that had led to revolution in France and the United States bringing new forms of government and social rights (Zeitlin 2001). The industrial revolution brought urbanization to England and evolution from an agrarian to industrial society fueled by technological advances. Social changes included a rising middle class, and a lower class that lived under appalling sanitary and working conditions with few rights. In England, there were two distinct classes, the privileged upper class and an uneducated lower class that lived in servitude (Zeitlin 2001). Within these two groups, women were more oppressed and had significantly less rights than men. They could not vote or own property. They were not expected to pursue a formal education or have a career (Zeitlin 2001). Men were responsible for making all important decisions and women were considered intellectually inferior. Fortunately, Martineau's considerable talents as a writer and observer of human behaviour offered her an opportunity to earn a living that was not available to many women at the time. Although widely respected as a distinguished female journalist she earned further recognition after introducing a scientific methodology for evaluating the social, economic and political issues within the American social context of a democratic republic run by an elected common man. The belief at the time in Europe was that the common man was incapable of self-governing (Vetter 2008).
General Intents and Purposes
Harriet Martineau was a prolific writer as well as a social activist who dedicated herself to educating others in very practical and instructive ways on a variety of topics. She was a strong advocate for educating women and giving them equal rights to men. She was an abolitionist who believed slavery and gender inequality were inconsistent with the professed American values of justice and equality. Yet, she was clearly intrigued by the concept and promise of a democratic government ruled by the common man and its ability to address what she considered to be the anomalies of slavery and gender inequality. She was impressed with the efficiency of dividing federal and state authority which gave states the power to manage local affairs and serve the needs of its citizens without constant federal involvement and oversight (Martineau 1842). Her observations in America provided insightful social contrasts between American and English society on matters such as the concept of love and marriage, the value and importance of property rights held by citizens and the sense that the American working class had a better standard of living as well as greater economic opportunity than their English counterparts (Vetter 2008). "I had been less than three weeks in the country and was in a state of awe at the prevalence of, not only external competence, but intellectual ability. The striking effect upon a stranger of witnessing, for the first time, the absence of poverty, of gross ignorance, of all of servility, of all insolence of manner, cannot be exaggerated by description."(Martineau 1842, 14). Clearly this comment reflects as much about the author's hopefulness in the promise of America as it does with her dissatisfaction with the state of English society. This paper will examine Martineau's observations within How to Observe; Morals and Manners(1838) and Society in America (1842). The first publication offers a methodological blueprint for observing and reporting on the social, political and economic conditions of life in America while the second examines how closely its citizenry live up to the stated principals in which the country was founded and its capacity for social reform when correcting moral injustices within a democratic political system.
Important Questions and Insights
Martineau was an abolitionist and strong supporter of women's rights and understood that the preamble to the Declaration of Independence was incompatible with slavery and the oppression of women (Vetter 2008). Clearly all men were not created equal nor were they free to follow the pursuit of happiness. In her publication, Society in America (1842), she considers these contradictions to be unacceptable anomalies that would inevitably be stamped out through the will of the majority. However, she decries the agreement that requires non-slave states to return runaway slaves (Martineau 1842, 17). Martineau cites South Carolina's failed attempt at nullifying tariffs and the Supreme Court upholding of the Cherokee Treaty as examples of America's system of government working as the will of the majority ultimately checks the power of individual states (Martineau 1842, 17). Through the application of sympathy and discourse Martineau gains a thorough understanding of the arguments in favour of slavery. Her methodology allows the observer to get a clearer picture of the socioeconomic and political issues related to slavery at a level not available to a casual observer. She understands that whites in slave owning southern states perceive labour as inconsistent with their position in society (Martineau 1842). She recognizes the societal tensions caused by slavery and points out in her writing that it is a minority of wealthy Northerners in cooperation with southern slave states that she considers to be undermining and usurping the will of the majority (Martineau 1842, 17). By using sympathy and discourse to gain a thorough understanding of the effects of slavery, Martineau is able to make compelling arguments that slavery is politically, socially and economically damaging to the Union although she does not anticipate the civil war that eventually comes.
Methodological and Theoretical Approach
Martineau applies a sociological approach while utilizing a scientific methodology to the study of America's economic, political and social institutions and society. She begins by informing the observer of the philosophical requisites needed in order to make unbiased recordings of observations while suspending personal judgments on the morals and manners being witnessed (Martineau 1838). Under Martineau's moral theory, behaviours and interactions occurring within a society generally reflect the pursuit of happiness being sought by its members (Martineau 1838). "To test the morals and manners of a nation by a reference to human happiness is to strike at once to the centre, and to see things as they are".( Martineau 1838, 26). According to Martineau, travelers need to suspend judgment on the morality of the actions witnessed in order to fully understand and relate how a society functions. By applying formal rules for observing human behaviour, Martineau avoids making generalizations and imposing her own morality on what she is observing (Zeitlin 2001). Instead, she gathers a solid factual understanding of the societal conditions before she engages with others and employs sympathy and discourse as a tool to elicit frank and insightful conversations with those she meets (Martineau 1838, 41). She travels extensively throughout America and visits with individuals from every walk of life, social and economic circumstance to glean as much as possible from these formal and informal encounters (Zeitlin 2001). She employs a journal to document her findings but suspends judgement on her initial observations as a way of maintaining a clear and unbiased account of what she learns (Zeitlin 2001). It is only after removing herself from what she has observed does she recommend relaying what she has learned. When she finally reports on her observations she is able to draw on a reservoir of anecdotal information and conversations that give the reader an intimate look at the social conditions and interactions of those being observed. This process offers a compelling means to assess the pulse of a society while providing valuable insight into the dynamic relationship between political, economic and social institutions.
Contemporary Sociological Issue
Harriet Martineau believed that slavery and gender inequality were fundamental aberrations of American Society that would be eliminated over the course of time as these anomalies were inconsistent with the stated principles of the United States. One can only imagine what Harriet Martineau would think if she were alive today: Two terms of office for an intelligent, articulate, black president who, by any measure lived up to the very highest standards of office. A new president, white, morally conflicted, displaying misogynist, racist and bigoted behaviour and elected while losing the popular vote to an arguably more qualified female candidate. The ability to self-correct is surely being tested now in an environment that is extremely partisan and polarized. Prior to the election, during the primary process, the current president was considered unfit to serve by many republicans and democrats alike. And yet, his nativist, anti-immigrant, anti-globalist message worked. According to Martineau, "If there be any anomaly among the institutions of a republic, the function of the law is certain to be disturbed, sooner or later; and that disturbance is usually the symptom, by the exhibition of which the anomaly is first detected, and then cured." (Martineau 1842, 91). It can be argued that the Mueller investigation involving the FBI and Justice department is the response to the disturbance and the disturbance is the suspected Russian interference and possible collusion with a US president to win the election. This president is a verifiable serial liar, admitted sexual predator and immigrant bashing bigot who garnered more than 80% of the white evangelical vote (Smith and MartÃnez 2016). "The worldly interests of the minority, of perhaps a single class are bound up with the anomaly…" (Martineau 1842, 91) Martineau's feelings here towards Northern merchants benefitting from the slave trade, can also be applied to the self-serving desires of white evangelicals who ignored the unchristian, ethical and moral lapses of their candidate in return for promises made. Presidential surrogates are calling for the FBI investigation to be shut down and the institutions designed to protect the population from despotic rule are being undermined and threatened by presidential actions and empowered by a majority in the house of representatives and senate that are willing to do the president's bidding. While these bodies are required to prevent encroachments and abuses of power by the president, they are in fact working in concert either limit or end the work of investigative institutions (Martineau 1842, 29). Martineau further explains that "The principle which is professed in the appointment of a chief magistrate in the United States is, that his removal is to be as easy as possible and affected without disturbing for a moment the proceedings of government." (Martineau 1842, 36) Given that this president has the power to start war that can end life on this planet it is essential that he be investigated without interference and removed from office if found to have broken the law or continues to exhibit signs of mental imbalance. Clearly this presidency is a dangerous anomaly and a four-year waiting period may be too late to correct it.
Conclusion
Martineau provides a useful scientific methodology for studying societies, its institutions and populations. Her guidance with regard to morals and manners allows those observing to get an intimate feel for the society being examined and the related institutions that make it work. The use of discourse and sympathy has allowed her to provide insights into the thoughts and feelings of individuals that offer a measurement on the overall social health of a nation and the stresses on the social fabric than can affect its institutions. I would argue that use of discourse and sympathy today when used later to influence others may be limited due the constant bombardment of messages through social media and other forms of communication that did not exist during her time.