If images and narratives on “Europe” have been found in literature for ages, it would be too simplistic to say that these narratives have always pictured eternal images of Europe, either attractive or repulsive. This paper aims to highlight the fact that American representations of Europe as a Self or Other were not fixed once and for all in the 19th century. Since the 1960s, much has been said on textbooks as guardians of traditions (Elson, 1964; Carpenter, 1963), as well as tools of indoctrination of national and moral values (England, 1964). Very little has been said however on the variations one can notice in the use of Europe’s images in foundational epics of Non-Europeans, and in particular in those of the U.S. republic. Our goal is therefore to explore how “Europe” has been shaped and re-negotiated through iconography in the 19th century American textbooks. Our study is based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of about 500 American schoolbooks published between throughout the 19th century. This study allows us to follow the malleable nature of Europe’s images, from the land of brave explorers to the territory of effeminate bigotry - both images doing great services to the U.S. Manifest Destiny ideologies. Through our study, we would like to highlight the other side of the story: our goal is not to study monolithic images of U.S. exceptionalism but rather to track back the changes on Europe’s images and narratives associated with the rise of Jacksonian democracy and with W.A.S.P. and non-W.A.S.P. immigration waves at the end of the 19th century.
