To judge at least by the treatment of such men as Henry Clay, and others of his stamp, it would appear as if real merit were a hindrance rather than a help to the attainment of the highest offices in America.((It is not meant here to obtrude special views of politics, or to maintain that democratic principles have naturally this tendency; but it may help to explain why so little is heard or known in England of the better class of Americans. Their unobtrusive mode of life entirely accounts for this, and it is to be regretted that it is the noisy demagogue who forms the type of the American as known to the generality of the European public.))
Ms. Trotter and her companion are visiting the Governor of Ohio, after spending time at an asylum for feeble minded youth. (According to this overview, Columbus, Ohio once had the largest insane asylum in the world.) She was quite impressed that the children could be taught to read. I chose this excerpt because it sounds a familiar lament.