Trollope describes her travels to America in the 1830's. She travelled there with her son Henry, and upon her return, wrote this book, criticizing the mannerless Americans and their various indulgences.
Trollope does not enjoy her trip to America. She finds herself disturbed by the absolute mannerless-ness of the people. She also notices that Americans seem to be poorly educated, or uninterested in learning or something. She does not believe they are very bright.
Other aspects of American life that Trollope doesn't like include the newly founded American evangelical movement, which has a personality and theological flavor that Trollope just detests. She also cannot believe America still owns slaves, and she is disturbed by the common acceptance of slavery in the American south. Also, Americans are very indulgent in her opinion, and she does not like the common southern habit of chewing tobacco. She says she even saw people who spit their tobacco spit on their own carpet in their own home.
Now, Trollope admits that she was also unhappy when she visited America (apparently she was fighting a lot with her husband at that time). She admits that her financial and familial issues kept her from having a good time, but in either case, she finds American culture, religion, and government to be simply appalling. She is not a fan of American life.
