Alexis de Tocqueville

Josue Franco

Mrs. Mueller

English 100, MW 8-10AM

October 6, 2003

Alexis de Tocqueville

To understand a nation, a person must first understand the denizens of a nation. To uncover the truth and expose the mechanics of the United States, Alexis de Tocqueville set out on an expedition to quench his thirst to understand the existence of Democracy in America. There are four objectives I hope to accomplish to help the reader understand Alexis de Tocqueville and his views on America. First, discuss the life of Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville and his trek through the United States. Second, unravel the outsider’s perspective documented in Democracy in America and note the historical background from which it materialized. Third, concentrate on Part Four of Volume Two, “On the Influence that Democratic Ideas and Sentiment Exert on Political Society”, in particular, the text found in the first four chapters and decipher the meaning behind each segment. Introducing critiques from the past and present, the forth and final objective is to explore the impact of Tocqueville and Democracy in America on the entire globe.

Born on July 29, 1805 in Verneuil, France, Alexis de Charles Henri Maurice Clérel de Tocqueville was born an aristocrat. Throughout his childhood, Tocqueville had a private tutor and lived in Verneuil. During 1814 to 1828, his father, Herve-Bonaventure Clerel de Tocqueville, served as a prefect, or high ranking administrative official. In 1817, his mother, Louise Le Peletier de Rosanbo relocated herself and him from the west France town of Metz to Paris. Then, during 1820 to1824, at the request of his father, Tocqueville returned to Metz and studied rhetoric and philosophy. From 1825 to 1827, Tocqueville studied law in Paris until he opted to leave France in 1831 to observe and report on the American penal structure and its possible implementations in France.

Departing from Le Harve, France, on April 2, 1831, Frenchman and student Alexis de Tocqueville ventured across the Atlantic Ocean. Arriving at Newport, Rhode Island, on May 9th, following over five weeks at sea, Tocqueville wrote to his mother the spectacle of the New World, “All this coast of America is low and little picturesque. In this country, covered by impenetrable forests two centuries ago, one has trouble finding a tree” (http://www.tocqueville.org). Tocqueville came to America at the tail end of the Industrial Revolution which started around the 1780s; it was an era of rapid technological development which propelled a fledgling American economy at the expense of mother nature.

For nine long months or two hundred and seventy-one days, Tocqueville traveled across seventeen of the twenty-four states in the Union, on all modes of transportation, ranging from foot to steamboat and totaling 7,384 miles. Traveling as far north as the Michigan Territory, as far west as the Mississippi River and down south, to New Orleans, Tocqueville was able to absorb a great deal of America. On July 22, 1831, while in Detroit, Tocqueville commented on the brilliant contrast between a Scottish guard in full dress and naked Indians with bones pierced through their noses; “On one side extreme civilization, on the other the extreme opposite” (Tocqueville, Journey to America 134).

It’s undeniable that the nation of the United States offered a pristine setting for Tocqueville to tour and assess. Tocqueville methodically documented the structure of the U.S. government, its political institutions, and the atmosphere of equivalence among the citizens. He interacted with a wide assortment of people, ranging from Native Americans, Frontier settlers, to statesmen and two U.S. Presidents.

Following his expedition throughout the United States, Tocqueville departed from New York City on February 20, 1832, and arrived in Havre, France, in late March. In January 1833, Tocqueville and his partner, Gustave de Beaumont completed their report On The Penitentiary System in the United States and Its Application in France and earned an award. Shortly after, in September, Tocqueville began writing his defining piece, Democracy in America. The first volume was published in 1835 and received widespread acclaim. Capitalizing on the success of the first, he issued the second volume in 1840. Tocqueville’s life continued, and he authored several other manuscripts, including The Old Regime and the Revolution of the French Revolution, published in 1856, but Democracy in America remained his most notable piece of literature. Suffering from tuberculosis, Alexis de Tocqueville died in Cannes, France on April 16, 1859, with his wife of twenty-four years, Mary Motley at his side.

Democracy in America arose from a turbulent time. From 1789 to 1792, the first, moderate stage of the French Revolution engulfed Europe. Ninety-five percent of the population in France, known as the Third Estate, consisting of the middle class, urban artisans and peasants, rose up against the First and Second Estates and demanded a new constitution. Following a decade of revolution filled guillotines and the Reign of Terror, France had come under the command of General Napoleon Bonaparte. But a state of peace was short lived and in late 1805, France was thrust into another war with the powers of Europe. The Napoleonic Wars ended with the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which reestablished the power of monarchies and repartitioned the nations to contain republicanism, or the concept that people should elect their rulers, which stood firm in France.

Consisting of two volumes, the first published in 1835 and the second in 1840, Democracy in America is a detailed examination of the political character of the United States. To quote Tocqueville, “I confess that in America I saw more than America; I sought the image of democracy itself, with its inclinations, its character, its prejudices, and its passions, in order to learn what we have to fear or hope from its progress” (Tocqueville, Democracy in America 13). He explored all aspects of America, from the economics to the politics and distinguished that the idea of equality reigned supreme and guided the nation and its people. In the “Editor’s Introduction,” Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba Winthrop state that the first volume was a “lively picturing of America” and became a “sensation” (Mansfield and Winthrop XLI)  which brought Tocqueville fame. However, the second volume was a “somber analysis” that seemed “to flow directly from his mind.” (Mansfield and Winthrop XLI) Elaborating further, Mansfield and Winthrop noted that Tocqueville did not compose the piece in “solitary isolation,” (Mansfield and Winthrop XLII) nor without extensive thought, research, and reference to other writings such as The Federalist.

In the first chapter, “Equality Naturally Gives Men the Taste for Free Institutions,” Tocqueville explores the principle of “equality” and how it relates to the demand of free institutions. He contends that a citizen holds a government in the highest value which he or she has elected. Forming the concept that equality leads to independence, but independence must be considered a double-edged sword. Independence promotes a democracy; however, it can also promote anarchy. If a democratic government, which is elected by the populous, fails, it will cause independent people to rise up against each other in order to maintain equality.

“That the Ideas of Democratic Peoples in the Matter of Government are Naturally Favorable to the Concentration of Powers,” the title of the second chapter, the author critiques the argument that since aristocracies are naturally formed and therefore easier to maintain according to the aristocrats in command. Tocqueville argues the opposite, that aristocracies are artificial and imposed, rather than accepted. He advances the concept of equality, introducing the notion that equality means each person must abide since the person is no higher or lower than those next to him or her. Even though individuals are “lost in the crowd,” (Tocqueville, Democracy in America 641) since each individual is equal, it allows for acceptance of a central government because it benefits the entire populace. The author continues, stating that once a government is given power, it is unlimited to the affect it can or cannot have since its power stems from the people. Tocqueville concludes the segment noting that the same idea of equality is “diffused” across Europe and that the diffusion prohibits a people-powered government and resulting in a preservation of the monarchies.

In the third chapter, “That the Sentiments of Democratic Peoples are in Accord with Their Ideas in Bringing Them to Concentrate Power,” the author continues to foster the idea of equality. Opening with the concept of individualism, the idea that a person is exclusively dependent upon his or her self and that government is an artificial device that promotes individualism, Tocqueville expands into the human mind. To enhance peace, the driving passion of an individual, he or she must surrender rights to the government in order to maintain a tranquil state. Moreover, since equality promotes independence, malice can flourish between individuals if the slightest privilege is awarded. Due to the fact that an individual has sacrificed an equal amount of liberties, becoming dependent upon the state to uphold peace, no person should have an advantage or privilege over another since each individual has forfeited an equal amount. If such a circumstance occurs, then discrimination occurs, allowing for discontent among the masses.

The forth and final chapter of examination, “On Some Particular and Accidental Causes that Serve to Bring a Democratic People to Centralize Power or Turn It Away From That,” Tocqueville constructs a case on how an absolute command is formed, maintained, and toppled, and the aftermath that ensues in which a better government is formed. Instantaneous centralization of government leads to an instilled power in a small number of individuals and in turn allow for privilege to be dispensed, but not uniformly among the masses. So to maintain control, an aristocrat must distribute power to a lower, select few. Such action leads to an upheaval of government by the lowest class in order to gain equality. An absolute government undermines its citizens and in the long run, diminishes itself, since the government fails to garner enough support to sustain its suppression of an increasing lower class. Tocqueville notes that a command government has greater success in combat, since it can designate resources without inhibition from inside or outside the national spectrum. Following the upheaval, the population petitions for peace, leading to the founding of another central government, but establishment of a democratic government is slow; Tocqueville ends, since the same aristocrats vie for power.

To close the third objective, in the opening four chapters of “On the Influence that Democratic Ideas and Sentiments Exert on Political Society,” Tocqueville affirms that equality is the paramount concept because it forges freedom. He introduces the idea that Americans are individualistic beings, demanding the most of themselves and in turn depending on a government to maintain equality amongst them. The slightest rift in a blind balance can lead to chaos, were justice is not served if privilege is bestowed and discrimination is perceived. Tocqueville closes on the concept of creative destruction in which a better government shall raise out of the ashes of another, but it can be slow to arrive.

The social, political, and historical effort of Alexis de Tocqueville has had a continuous impact since Democracy in America was published in 1835. It has influenced great intellects such as British economist-philosopher John Stuart Mill and American scholar Henry David Thoreau. It continues to impact scores of citizens, students, politicians, and scholars across the globe. According to Lee A. Jacobus, Tocqueville writes as if the argument has “already been won” (Jacobus 567), instead of an argument, it’s a presentation of given facts.  James Bryce, an English historian and statesman referred to Tocqueville as “one of the best known European authorities on political science” (http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/). Tocqueville’s exploration: the assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of democracy, the individualism it creates, the justice it serves, and the stimulus it generates, demands the attention of each human being. “The vividness of Democracy in America helped to make it one of the most widely read works of political thought ever published” (Tocqueville and Democracy Encarta).

Concentrating on the four main points, the discourse presented above has produced a dazzling picture. The first objective was to present Tocqueville and provide specifics about his life and time in America. Next, a historical setting was recounted and Tocqueville’s defining work, Democracy in America was introduced. Impossible to provide a solid interpretation of Tocqueville’s entire piece, the focus shifted to the first four chapters of the Part Four in Volume Two. A comprehensive assessment of each chapter, vital overall, was formed and summed. The final goal was to deliver closing thoughts on the subject and the legacy it left behind. It is clear that the aforementioned objectives have been met with incredible resolve. To conclude, in the Notice for Volume Two, Alexis de Tocqueville asserts, “Men do not receive the truth from their enemies, and their friends scarcely offer it to them; that is why I have spoken it” (Tocqueville Democracy in America 400). I appreciate that he has spoken the truth; Tocqueville’s understanding is a light that can guide me to develop my own understanding of Democracy in America.