Journey in North America
Journey in North America (original Hungarian title: Utazás Észak-Amerikában) is a book by Sándor Bölöni Farkas published in 1834.
The author, travelling in the United States of America (New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and New Jersey) and in Canada (Québec and Ontario) paid special attention to the social relations of these countries, which he put as an example to the feudalistic Hungary of that time.
The book inspired several young reformers (Ferenc Pulszky, Ágoston Trefort, László Szalay, Pál Hunfalvy, Bertalan Szemere, István Gorove, Lőrinc Tóth, József Irinyi) to travel and to write about their experiences abroad.
Still, on December 20, 1833, he got the answer that the German censors were told to stop at the border every Hungarian book published abroad, to examine, and give it back to the owner only if the content was not subject to censorship.
[5] In September 1835, the Government of Transylvania received the list of prohibited books in which the work of Bölöni Farkas was classified as "readable only by special permission."
"[6] Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este, governor of Transylvania, started an investigation on 26 April 1836 at the command of the Habsburg emperor to determine how the publishing of the work had been possible under the control of the Transylvanian Censorship.
Abbot János Szabó excused himself, saying that he read only the parts proposed for deletion by Professor Méhes and, on that basis, gave his opinion to the office.
From the third chapter on, the events of the journey are presented together with the description and history of the notable places visited and a specific social or economic issue.
The work, which appeared before Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (La Démocratie en Amérique, 1835–39) in most cases idealizes American society as one based on social equality and justice, the realization of the ideas of Classical liberalism, an example worth following.
The journal Jelenkor published the part about George Washington and his home and recommended the book to the readers in a special note.
In 1842, the advocate István Éllássy attacked the author, asking, "How far will the venom of reformism drag the nation if the followers of the vainglorious North American traveller are permitted to impact the essence of the country's laws?
"[17] The travel of Bölöni Farkas ‑ together with the travel of Miklós Wesselényi to England in 1822 ‑ encouraged several young reformers to travel and to write about their experiences abroad Ferenc Pulszky (Uti vázolatok, 1836), Ágoston Trefort (Utazási töredékek, 1836), László Szalay (Uti naplómból, 1839), Pál Hunfalvy (Drezdai levelek, 1839), Bertalan Szemere (Utazás külföldön, 1840), István Gorove (Nyugat, 1844), Lőrinc Tóth (Uti tárcza, 1844), József Irinyi (Német-, francia- és angolországi úti jegyzetek, 1846).
