Yes, waaay back. Charles Dickens' described the US as a nation of self-satisfied slobs (with the possible exception of New England) in writing about his first visit to the US in American Notes (1842). He was particularly disgusted by ubiquitous practice of spitting in public. Even the carpets in the White House, he noted, were stained with spit. Here's his description of rail travel in the US:
"The journey from New York to Philadelphia, is made by railroad, and two ferries; and usually occupies between five and six hours. It was a fine evening when we were passengers in the train: and watching the bright sunset from a little window near the door by which we sat, my attention was attracted to a remarkable appearance issuing from the windows of the gentleman's car immediately in front of us, which I supposed for some time was occasioned by a number of industrious persons inside, ripping open feather-beds, and giving the feathers to the wind. At length it occurred to me that they were only spitting, which was indeed the case; though how any number of passengers which it was possible for that car to contain, could have maintained such a playful and incessant shower of expectoration, I am still at a loss to understand: notwithstanding the experience in all salivatory phenomena which I afterwards acquired."
Carl