Dr Bob Nicholson 28 January 2013
Dr Nicholson began by illustrating how a slang word in a newspaper article on the American civil caused a sensation in Victorian Britain – the word – “skedaddle”! It became fashionable to adopt the new words from America such as whole hog, eye opener, high fallutin’, globe trotter and strike out.
Transatlantic travel was becoming safer and more reliable with the new steamships and the rich could travel in luxury and enjoy package holidays in the form of rail tours at a cost of £100,000! American tourists came to visit London and Liverpool and were followed by performers including Buffalo Bill who brought their hugely popular stage shows to mass audiences and adoring fans.
Humorous writers such as Mark Twain and Artemus Ward completed lecture tours and the new cheap books available at W H Smith and newspapers created interest in all things American. The completion of the Atlantic telegraph in the 1860s allowed news stories to be transmitted in hours instead of weeks and the tabloid press flourished. Popular topics were jokes and among others, the undertaker notice “you kick the bucket, we do the rest “ has been found in local papers throughout America before arriving here.
In general all things american were new, popular and trend setting.
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