Despite Fanny Trollope's dismissal of Americans as tobacco chewing, patriotic boors, travelers have a long history of commenting on American friendliness. Alexis De Tocqueville observed that their sociability made Americans more akin to the French than the "unfriendly disposition of the English." And Rudyard Kipling remarked, "it is perfectly impossible to go to war with these people, whatever they may do. They are much too nice." Although it often goes unnamed as a pattern of behavior, niceness pervades the assumptions, discourses, and the everyday conduct of and about Americans. But how and when did Americans become associated with being nice? Carrie Tirado Bramen explores how niceness became an indispensable part of a democratic personality that was friendly and accessible, free from the Old World snobbery. Beginning with Samoset greeting the Pilgrims in 1621 by saying “Welcome, Englishman” and concluding with the Forgiveness Ceremony at Standing Rock in 2016, this talk will explore the many roles niceness has played in the social and political landscape of the United States. Presented by Vermont Humanities. Watch at home on the following Zoom link:
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