Signs of Americanization: The United States and the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867

On the occasion of the Exposition universelle of 1867 the term Americanization first appeared in France. Jules and Edmond Goncourt feared that the exhibition would lead to “the Americanization of France”. My article explores the opposition between the rather unspectacular US-section at the exhibition on the one hand, and the image of an emerging world power on the other. I argue that the notion of Americanization had a threefold function. Firstly, it did not refer to a specific geographic zone, but served as a master discourse absorbing all the phenomena of unfolding French modernity. Secondly, the concept of Americanization transferred the fears, apprehensions and uncertainties of this French modernity outside of France and turned the USA into a culprit for the apparent rationalization of French culture. Third, in claiming Americanization was the key to economic success, the process of industrialization was accelerated and French ambition for leadership over the world reaffirmed.