History Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for historians and history buffs. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Reading american books about that time, (mostly Mark Twain), I often met the term "gentleman". But what did it require to be "gentleman" these times in America? Were there some official definitions of the term? Or do you know about some definition in the literature?
How non-gentleman could become a gentleman? And vice-versa.
Were there some regional differences?
(I am not talking about the times of O'Henry, for his heroes became gentlemen simply taking on a suit.)
Difficult question, and I doubt there is an objective answer. Tom Au's answer is correct, but I believe it is.... perhaps incomplete... "Gentleman" was an important cultural concept for Americans of the period, difficult to define, but very much present in social and political affairs.
I believe Gordon Wood in Revolutionary Americans characterized "Gentleman" as someone who was more independent than a tradesman. He provided the example that Benjamin Franklin sold his business(es) before entering politics. (I am paraphrasing an entire chapter of a book; this is not a direct quote)
Constitutionally, there are no gentle men or women in America. That said, much of the cultural context of the Constitutional convention was arranged around removing political power from tradesmen, and the laboring classes. America rejected the English class based society, but that was a rejection of class from birth, in favor of class based on outcome. (If I recall, this was one of the major themes of McCullogh's biography of Adams).
There was a general recognition that people who were dependent on others for their livelihood were not truly independent. Laborers, and tradesmen (historically there was a third category, but it escapes my mind) were dependent on others for their livelihood. Their opinions must never diverge too far from their customers and patrons.
Large landowners were truly independent. They did not rely on anyone, so they could be free to think deeply and to argue their opinions without fear of reprisal. (Any reading of American history will reveal that reprisal was a major force... Why was Madison not a Senator? Burr vs Hamilton? etc.)
Although America had renounced an inherited aristocracy, they still had a keen appreciation for honor. Hamilton's duel with Burr was over honor. Washington nearly refused to participate in the Constitutional Convention because he had pledged to retire from public life and going back on his word would diminish his honor. Jackson fought duels. Once you start looking, it is easy to develop additional examples. A gentleman had to behave as though he valued his honor and his reputation as a gentleman. (and only someone who was financially self-actualized could actually do that; tradesmen were perceived as unable to challenge those on whom their livelihood depended).
A Gentleman in a European country was an artifact of birth. In the US, Gentle was not a status granted by birth, but by some combination of self-actualization, wealth, education, reputation, and other factors. Lawyers considered themselves gentlemen (esquires) - likewise other prosperous professionals (who could, in theory, ignore the hostile opinions of others.)
I think this interpretation of "gentle" is more in line with the use of the term "gentleman" in Tom Sawyer - the couple of critical reviews I consulted point out that the irony is that almost all the men in Sawyer are definitely not gentlemen and would not have been treated as such by their neighbors.
Bit of an abstraction with more indirect references than I prefer in a good answer, but I think it is a useful complement to Mr. Au's.
In the 19th century U.S., there were basically two types of "gentlemen."
The first was the landed gentry. Obvious enough, the idea came from England and Europe generally. This may have represented 1% of the population.
The second type was "professional" men; doctor, lawyer, scientist, all with university degrees. These were expensive in terms of money and "time spent" that could have been used to earn money. Perhaps 2% of the population had such a degree., like Judge Thatcher in Tom Sawyer.
Basically, we're talking about 3% of the population; 5% tops. Apart from the fact that e.g. a successful gold miner in California or oil driller in Texas might be considered a gentleman "locally" (but not elsewhere until the second generation, because it was "new" money), the definition didn't vary much from region to region, but the mix did. For instance, there were more professional men in New England, and a larger proportion of landowners in the South.
So one would become a gentlemen by acquiring either a university degree and a profession, or land. "Once a gentleman, always a gentlemen," (that is professional or landowner) so this status was hard to lose, except by the next generation, or by a nouveaux riche (it was possible to lose all your gold, but not all your land).
Source: Generations, by William Strauss and Neil Howe.
