America of the middle of the 19th century through the eyes of the Russian historian A. Lakier (based on travel materials)

Abstract

Alexander Borisovich Lakier (1824-1870) was one of the best representatives of the Russian noble intelligentsia of the mid-nineteenth century. He is best known to the Russian scientific public as the author of the work “Russian Heraldry”, published in 1855, which was awarded the prestigious Demidov Prize for achievements in the field of science. Less well-known is his very interesting from a scientific point of view two-volume edition of his travel memoirs “Journey through the North American States, Canada and the Island of Cuba”, published in 1859. We will try to show the image of America in the middle of the 19th century, which was presented to us by A. Lakier as a result of his travels around the country.