Throughout her travel journal, Trollope examined some of the larger themes of her time period. Upon entering America to later leaving America, Trollope was very expressive about her distaste for the way women were treated and the clear separation of sexes. Also, Trollope detested the patriotic tendencies of Americans and their distinct ideology that “all men are born free and created equal”. Subsequently, when one reads Trollope’s journal, one can easily determine that Trollope strongly disliked Jefferson and his principles. Trollope believed the expression “all men are born free and created equal” was a “false and futile axiom, which has done, is doing, and will do so much harm to this fine country” (Trollope 71). Additionally, Trollope’s…show more content… As a result, Trollope often loathed the American people because they did not use their common sense and dismiss Jefferson’s ideas as hollow and unsound like she did. Likewise, she despised the “I’m as good you” attitude of Americans that resulted from the Jefferson belief that people derive their importance from believing that none are above them. Moreover, it was common practice for all ranks of people in the United States to address other people familiarly, which caused Trollope much distress because it was so presumptuous. Americans addressed others as their equal because of the republican equality idea, this idea Trollope despised, but it was so deeply ingrained within Americans that she could hardly ever escape it. More importantly, Trollope noted that the “equality of rank is affectedly acknowledged by the rich, and clamorously claimed by the poor” (Trollope 75). The previous conclusion is proven repeatedly throughout the journal wherein the poor Americans vigorously declared their equality and the wealthy simply avoided the subject. Specifically, Trollope had a very difficult time hiring a servant because Americans believed so wholeheartedly that…show more content… Often, the wives and daughters of farmers and cottagers had to perform most of the upkeep work. Many families lived solely off of what they produced and most of the products needed to survive were made by the women. These brave women often led lives of great “hardship, privation, and labour” (Trollope 117). The hard labor placed upon the women aged them very quickly and many of them died young. To illustrate, Trollope visited a family where the husband was a drunk and rarely worked, so the mother had to work harder than a slave to take care of her twelve children. In addition, any money that was scrounged up was spent by father on whiskey and chewing tobacco because the man had control of the money. This sad predicament was very common among American farmers. It is quite apparent that the expectations of an American woman were immense. As a result, the burdens of household tasks were placed upon the women in poor families, and even the women in the opulent families of free states performed this household drudgery. Conversely, the women in wealthy families of slave states shared the household tasks with their slaves, but they still occupied themselves with household concerns. Most of the time, women were so busy caring for their households that they did not actually leave their houses that often. Subsequently, when the rare occasion arose for women to
