Comparison of Crèvecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer and the various essays of ThoreauSt. Jean De Crèvecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer and Henry David Thoreau's various essays and journal articles present opposing views of what it means to be American. To simplify somewhat, both authors agree that there are two types of Americans: those who are farmers and those who are not. Crèvecoeur considers farmers to be true Americans, and those who are not, such as frontiersmen, as lawless, idle and drunken wretches (266). Sixty years later, Thoreau believed the opposite: farmers were condemned and bound to their land, and free men who owned nothing possessed the only true freedom (9). Crèvecoeur and Thoreau judge men and their professions based on industry, the use of nature, freedom and legality. As America grew over these six decades, industrialization and higher education created more compact communities unable to economically meet the land needs of farmers. In Crèvecœur's America, “with the exception of a few towns, we are all tillers of the earth” (263). In 1850, Thoreau's Concord was among many towns allowing people to leave their farms for a more urban environment to house their law offices, shoe stores, or surveying businesses. The separation of farmers from the rest of society led to an intellectualization of the profession by thinkers like Thoreau. Far from the simple and arduous work of farming, it is easy for urbanized society to forget the purpose and importance of the farmer in Western civilization. Crèvecoeur affirms that “industry, which for me, who am only a farmer, is the criterion of everything” (264). Indeed, lack of industry in any vocation ultimately leads to failure. Thoreau, however, sees little value in industry...... middle of paper ...... and since Thoreau came from self-sufficient agriculture, modern America is light years away . Thoreau's ideal lifestyle is now impossible. Many Americans would be content with a no-frills life on a small farm and a clean, dry house. The day may come when [the earth] will be divided into so-called pleasure grounds, in which a few will occupy a narrow space. and exclusive pleasure only - when fences are multiplied and man-traps and other devices are invented to confine men to the public highway, and when walking on the face of God's earth is interpreted to mean entering into the domain of a gentleman. ...So let's improve our chances, before the bad days arrive. (Thoreau 667) Works cited: Crèvecoeur, J. Hector St. John de. Letters from an American Farmer and Sketches of 18th-Century America. Ed. Albert E. Stone. New York: Penguin, 1981.