Essay 36: The Main Causes Which Tend To Maintain A Democratic Republic In The United States (Vol. 1 Pt. 2 Ch. 9, Subch. 1)

Essay Read by Constituting America Founder, Actress Janine Turner

The essays in our study reference the following edition of Democracy In America: University of Chicago Press – 1st edition translated by Harvey Mansfield and Delba Winthrop. Today’s essay references pages 264 (start at chapter 9 heading) – 274 (stop at heading “On the Influence of the Laws…”) of this edition of Democracy in America.

The Main Causes Which Tend To Maintain a Democratic Republic in the United States

The United States exists today as a federal democratic republic, which was part of the Founders’ plan to create the unique and effective system of government that we have lived under for 237 years. Our democratic republic has two elements to it. First, in our form of democracy, we let the citizens rule under majority rule in certain elections, as well as adhering to the concept of popular sovereignty: government that is based on the supremacy of the people. Second, in our republic, we give power to our representatives, who govern for their constituents. We have elements of both a democracy and a republic, balanced within our system of government, which was the Founders’ intent.

In the first part of Chapter 9, De Tocqueville examines the main reasons and causes of the democratic republic existing within the United States in 1831-32. Throughout his book, De Tocqueville states that his primary goal was to explain these reasons and causes. He believed that the main causes for them could be narrowed down to three main causes.

1. The situation that God (Providence) placed Americans
2. Our laws
3. Our habits and norms

This section looks at the main factors in maintaining our democratic republic. De Tocqueville narrows down the list of “a thousand circumstances” for the unique situation of the United States democratic republic to the main ones. He felt that as we had no neighbors around us who served as a military threat, we did not need to fear war or the possibility of conquest from neighboring nations. He believed that military glory and the need for conquest were fatal to past republics, but were not a concern to ours in the 1830s.

When De Tocqueville visited, the United States had a small capitol city that was not dominant over the entire nation’s politics yet. It was not controlling the lives of the citizens and making itself felt everywhere. U.S. citizens ruled themselves in small assemblies and participated within direct democracies to determine most of their day to day lives and issues. The people were allowed to be stewards of themselves. De Tocqueville felt it would be a breach of the representative system if the national capital ever tried to usurp the local control.

De Tocqueville speaks throughout his book of the “point of departure” of our nation from others, when the Puritans combined religious and personal liberty, bringing “equality of conditions and of intelligence” to our shores that would become the natural fabric from which our democratic republic would emerge. God also graced us with a natural place to foster this type of government.

He next speaks of Americans having a general “well-being” that exists here, due to the incredible riches that exist on the North American continent, which was described as a blank canvas waiting for emigrants to discover and farm upon. It creates a peaceful and content mindset, which runs contrary to societies that are angry and discontent and those feelings often come out as resistance and overthrow of governments. In the United States of 1831, De Tocqueville felt we did not have to worry about such things because we were so content.

God gave us this land in a pristine state, De Tocqueville notes, which was just sitting there waiting to be cultivated by future successful farmers.

He then discusses that most of the emigrants in the American West do not come directly from Europe there. Most European immigrants, in De Tocqueville’s observations, stayed along the Atlantic coast until they were able to be successful enough to move on to greener pastures of the West. This trend continued as settlers moved into the Ohio Territory. Many in Ohio and the former Northwest Territory also waited to accumulate personal wealth before moving West.

These emigration patterns led to a new type of primogeniture in the United States—one that did not exist by name, but because of condition. As families become more prosperous, the eldest will generally take the land in the East and the younger siblings go West to seek their fortune. This helps to keep large estates in the family and not parceled up among the family. De Tocqueville notes that this does not offend anyone and goes on without complaint. He cites enormous numbers that leave homes in the East and move West.

These situations God provided, along with a series of laws and habits that Americans naturally had during his visit in 1831-32 allowed for our nation to exist to be a perfect land for a democratic republic, according to De Tocqueville.

Val Crofts began his teaching career in 2001 at Westosha Central High School in Paddock Lake, Wisconsin, and is currently employed as the Chief Education and Programs Officer at the American Village in Montevallo, Alabama. He previously taught at Milton High School in Milton, Wisconsin, for 17 years and worked as a teaching consultant for the Wisconsin Virtual School for nine years.
He shared his passion for learning by teaching AP Government and Politics, AP Human Geography, AP Comparative Government, AP U.S. History, U.S. History, and U.S. Military History. In his current role at the American Village, he works to create an engaging curriculum to help assist teachers and students of all ages to learn about American history, America’s Founders, and the legacy that they left for future generations.
In 2008, Crofts founded the Discovering Democracy program at Milton High School. Discovering Democracy immersed hundreds of students into government through public policy research and culminated with a weeklong field study in Washington D.C. His students were privileged to meet with top policy experts and national leaders such as then-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and former Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.
Crofts was recognized for his teaching efforts in 2013 when he received the Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence. He was also selected as the Wisconsin DAR Outstanding Teacher of U.S. History in 2020.

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