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 AmericanNotes
for General Circulationby Charles Dickens
 A Penn StateElectronic ClassicsSeries
 
 American Notes for General Circulation
by CharlesDickens
 
is a publication of the Pennsylvania StateUniversity. This Portable Document file is furnishedfree and without any charge of any kind. Any personusing this document file, for any purpose, and in any  way does so at his or her own risk. Neither the Penn-sylvania State University nor Jim Manis, Faculty Edi-tor, nor anyone associated with the Pennsylvania StateUniversity assumes any responsibility for the materialcontained within the document or for the file as anelectronic transmission, in any way.
 American Notes for General Circulation
by CharlesDickens
,
the Pennsylvania State University,
Electronic Classics Series 
, Jim Manis, Faculty Editor, Hazleton, PA 18201-1291 is a Portable Document File produced aspart of an ongoing student publication project tobring classical works of literature, in English, to freeand easy access of those wishing to make use of them.Copyright © 2007 The Pennsylvania State University 
The Pennsylvania State University is an equal opportunity University.
 
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Dickens 
 American Notes forGeneral Circulation
by Charles Dickens
PREFACE TO THE FIRST CHEAP EDITION OF“AMERICAN NOTES”
It is nearly eight years since this book was first published. I present it,unaltered, in the Cheap Edition; and such of my opinions as it expresses,are quite unaltered too.My readers have opportunities of judging for themselves whether theinfluences and tendencies which I distrust in America, have any existencenot in my imagination. They can examine for themselves whether therehas been anything in the public career of that country during these pasteight years, or whether there is anything in its present position, at homeor abroad, which suggests that those influences and tendencies really doexist. As they find the fact, they will judge me. If they discern any evi-dences of wrong-going in any direction that I have indicated, they willacknowledge that I had reason in what I wrote. If they discern no suchthing, they will consider me altogether mistaken.Prejudiced, I never have been otherwise than in favour of the UnitedStates. No visitor can ever have set foot on those shores, with a strongerfaith in the Republic than I had, when I landed in America.I purposely abstain from extending these observations to any length. Ihave nothing to defend, or to explain away. The truth is the truth; andneither childish absurdities, nor unscrupulous contradictions, can makeit otherwise. The earth would still move round the sun, though the whole Catholic Church said No.
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