The anti-renters remind me so much of the people today who want everything for nothing! People haven't changed (There is nothing new under the sun!). Despite being written in the 19th century, I think this is very applicable to today, especially New York State!
After proofreading more than half of this for Project Gutenberg, I had to read the rest. As a novel, I found it dated, culturally insensitive, and with a blatant political agenda. As an artifact of the times in which it was written (1846), well, it reveals a lot about the mentality of the writer and perhaps the people at that point in history.