The Humour of America: Selected, with an Introduction and Index of American Humorists

In Short

This volume is an expansive, representative anthology of nineteenth-century American humor, edited by James Barr and illustrated by C. E. Brock. Gathering a wide range of prose sketches, dialect poetry, social satires, and tall tales, it offers a sweeping landscape of American life—from the Creole classrooms of Louisiana and the dry plains of Ohio to bustling eastern newsrooms and rural kitchens. The collection has endured because it captures the authentic emergence of a uniquely American literary voice, defined by absurd exaggeration, sharp social critique, and irreverent daily observations.

The Story

The book opens with an analytical introduction and immediate descent into everyday absurdities, establishing a comic line that bridges small-town eccentricities with national politics. Early entries explore domestic blunders, local oddities, and childhood innocence, setting up a world where rigid formality constantly collapses under the weight of human folly. A Louisiana schoolmaster demands impossible multisyllabic spelling from bewildered students; a earnest parson gets into a physical brawl with a stubborn tom-turkey he insists must sit on eggs; and a nosy, poetic neighbor named Betsey Bobbet interrupts household chores to recite her own sentimentally bloated verse.

As the volume progresses through the middle sections, domestic satire expands into broader social and institutional parodies. Suburban rivalries take center stage as feuding mothers hurl petty insults at each other's children from their front porches, while a desperate man battles a mechanical "wake-up" bedstead that literally ejects its occupant onto the cold floor. Public institutions face equal mockery. An editor sits at his desk pretending to chase grand ideas while fielding complaints from harassed citizens, and a fierce political fanatic boards a train to Columbus, aggressively browbeating a quiet fellow passenger over the abolitionist sins of Oberlin, Ohio. Mid-19th-century frontier hijinks erupt into chaotic slapstick when a boy’s secret society initiation involving a cayenne-peppered goat spills out of the hall and knocks down parents, hired help, and a visiting minister alike.

In its concluding segments, the anthology broadens into a comprehensive historical perspective, contrasting narrative prose with verse parodies, tall tales, and detailed biographical entries. Urban legends collide with rural skepticism, illustrated by a travelling peddler investigating the rumored murder of a miser, and an arrogant art critic lecturing on a stuffed owl only for the bird to come alive and hoot in his face. The collection finishes with an exhaustive alphabetical "Index of American Humorists," detailing the careers, pseudonyms, and literary contributions of dozens of writers—from colonial satirists to 1870s newspaper columnists—bringing the evolutionary arc of American comedy to a complete and satisfying close.

How It Unfolds

A grand collection opens The book presents a vast selection of classic sketches, poems, and regional stories showcasing the unique character of American humor. It begins with playful examinations of childhood, rural life, and local eccentricities.

Spelling battles and turkey struggles Schoolchildren face daunting multisyllabic spelling tests under an intense Creole schoolmaster, while an opinionated parson hilariously tries to force an unwilling tom-turkey to incubate eggs. Domestic sanity quickly unravels in the face of rigid stubbornness.

Neighborhood feuds and mechanical traps Next door feuds erupt between mothers slinging dramatic insults through open windows, while an overly ambitious inventor gets launched out of his own automated morning bedstead. Meanwhile, intrusive local poets demand praise for their published verses.

Goat-inflicted chaos and political spats A boy's secret fraternity prank involving a cayenne-dusted goat degenerates into full-scale household mayhem, trampling parents and clergy. On a train to Columbus, an eccentric traveler harangues a stranger about the political crimes of Oberlin.

Literary legacy and biographical index Satirical poems about live owls and anti-early-rising manifestos give way to a meticulous bio-bibliographical index. The anthology concludes by cataloging the broad historical spectrum of writers who built the American comedic tradition.

The People

• Bonaventure: A passionate, dramatic Creole schoolmaster who desperately wants his young pupils to succeed in front of visitors. He is thwarted by the staggering difficulty of multi-syllable words like "ineradicability," yet remains profoundly proud of his students.
• The Parson: An opinionated minister determined to prove his theological and practical points at all costs. Stymied by a stubborn tom-turkey that refuses to set on eggs, he ends up in a physical wrestling match in the barn, emerging red-faced with his wig turned sideways.
• Betsey Bobbet: An overly sentimental local verse-writer who seeks literary validation and admiration. Impeded by pragmatic neighbors like Josiah Allen's wife—who have zero patience for romantic pretension—she relentlessly pushes her published poems on anyone within earshot.
• Mrs. Villiers and Mrs. Ransom: Two petty, hyper-competitive suburban mothers who desire social superiority over one another. Trapped in a cycle of mutual jealousy, they use their young children as verbal weapons, shouting bitter insults across the yard whenever the boys play together.

In Its Own Voice

“He gave the little book a half whirl round, and dashed forward towards the chosen scholar, crying as he came—‘In-e-rad-i-ca-bility!’”

Before a room of parents and official onlookers, a Louisiana teacher launches a dramatic spelling assault upon his frightened student.

“The old doctor was used to carryin’ his p’ints o’ doctrine; and he hadn’t fit the Arminians and Socinians to be beat by a tom-turkey...”

A stubborn minister refuses to admit defeat when attempting to force an aggressive male bird onto a nest of turkey eggs.

“Oberlin never fit for no Constooshn. Oberlin commenst this war, Oberlin wuz the prime cause uv all the trubble.”

An eccentric passenger on an Ohio train launches into an unprovoked political tirade against his quiet seatmate.

What It's Really About

Underneath the slapstick and local color, the collection explores the friction between rigid authority and human stubbornness. It examines how pretension—whether academic, religious, social, or literary—inevitably collapses when confronted with messy reality. By poking fun at small-town gossip, overzealous reformers, mechanical obsessions, and self-important authority figures, the book argues that true humor arises from accepting human fallibility. It celebrates the sharp, unpolished irreverence that allowed 19th-century Americans to mock their own institutions and construct a distinct cultural identity separate from European traditions.

Why Read It Today

This anthology is a delight for lovers of literary history, regional folklore, and period satire. Reading it feels like flipping through a dusty, forgotten trunk of 19th-century stage comedy and newspaper broadsides—full of sharp dialogue, physical antics, and surprising cultural insights. Readers who enjoy dialect humor and historical perspectives will appreciate the sheer variety of voices preserved across these pages.

The collection does carry some friction for the modern reader. The heavy reliance on phonetic rendering, period slang, and heavy regional accents (such as phonetic Creole spelling or exaggerated Midwestern dialects) requires slow, attentive reading. Additionally, 19th-century political debates and dated social attitudes crop up throughout the text. Yet, for those willing to navigate these historical quirks, the book rewards you with timeless comedy, showing that the absurdities of daily life, neighborhood rivalries, and human pomposity haven't changed much at all.