American humor began when jokes brought to the New World were modified to suit the conditions here. Contrary to Dickens statement, in early America books like American Broad Grins and Sketches and Eccentricities (by Davy Crockett) were selling well. And many of the imported jokes were taking on a unique American slant.

A husband and wife on their way to town are arguing about the value of the horse that's pulling their wagon. Suddenly, the horse stumbles and falls. The husband steps down from the wagon and begins to yell at the horse. "Git up, ya ol' flea bag! Or I'll sell ya fer glue!"

The horse struggles to his feet and the husband steps forward and looks him in the eye. "That's one," he says.

The wife turns to the husband and begins to chide him, telling him he shouldn't treat the horse that way, that he's a terrible man, and he should be more considerate of poor dumb animals.

Suddenly, the horse falls again. This time the husband leaps from the wagon and runs to the horse and kicks him. "You stupid nag! Yer a worthless bag a crap. I should leave ya right here! And that's what ah'm gonna do if you don't get yer durn'd ass up off'n the ground right now!"

The horse sighs and slowly raises himself up on all fours, but is wobbly and breathing heavily as the husband walks over, looks him in the eye and says "That's two."

Climbing back to his seat on the wagon, he's immediately chided again by his wife. "Why do you do that! That horse is all we got! You can't be treatin' that horse that'a'way…" But before she can go any further, the horse falls a third time, at which the husband grabs his shotgun, leaps from the wagon, goes to the horse, and shoots him. Then he leans down and just as the horse draws its final breath he says "That's three."

The wife, completely aghast at this, screams at her husband "What did you do that for! Now what're we gonna do! How stupid can you be!"

The husband steps back onto the wagon, turns to his wife, looks her in the eye and says "That's one."

Another joke whose earliest origins can be found in Chaucer's "Wife of Bath" tale appears to have come from Ireland and went through many variations before arriving in America where it was told and retold, the most recent variation appearing in Still More Playboy's Party Jokes:

An executive who has lost his job, whose wife has left him, and whose stock has plummeted is on the verge of a nervous breakdown and is about to kill himself by jumping off a bridge when he is stopped by an ugly old hag. "I'm a witch," she says. "I work magic and I'll conjure away each of your troubles for a night of lovemaking."

And so, they spend three nights in a sleazy motel and after the first night she waves her hands and says "Abra Cadabra" and tells him that he has his job back. After the second night she waves her hands and says "Abra Cadabra" and tells him that his wife has returned. And after the third night she waves her hands and says "Abra Cadabra" and tells him that his stock has doubled in value.

As he's getting ready to leave she asks him "How old are you?"

"Thirty-five," he says.

"And you still believe that nonsense about witchcraft?"