Mori Arinori's life and resources in America

About this book

"Mori Arinori's Life and Resources in America was written by the young, educated ex-samurai the Japanese government selected as its first diplomatic representative in the United States. Originally published in English in Washington, D.C., in 1871, this book sheds much light on the shape of an American society, government, and economy recovering from the Civil War. Like earlier philosopher-tourists such as Alexis de Tocqueville and Harriet Martineau, Mori understands the United States as a stage upon which an important experiment in democracy, pluralism, and liberalism is unfolding. Life and Resources in America is distinct for its view from the Reconstruction period by a non-European observer. Historian John E. Van Sant has annotated and lightly edited this text, making it readily accessible to the contemporary audience it deserves."--Jacket.