Essay 86: Some Reflections On American Manners (Vol. 2 Pt. 3 Ch. 14)
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 578 (start at chapter 14 heading) – 581 of this edition of Democracy in America.
Alexis de Tocqueville was a French aristocrat and historian who endeavored to understand more concerning the United States of America’s distinct culture. The Frenchman wrote Democracy in America, rather it was published, in 1835. Remaining true to his noble identity, he traveled to America and traveled its landscape and observed its sub-cultures. To him, the experience was intellectually inspiring yet challenging.
His beginning question, more or less, was the following: Are people born refined or taught to be so? It was a conundrum for him. Some people are born so wealthy that they don’t care for others with less economic means. Those not at the “foremost” of society yet have means of wealth continually strive to move up the social ladder. Therefore, their public manners often include nothing more than envy of the higher level and contempt of the lower class.
De Tocqueville is an observer of his near past and current time. To him, manners were cultivated within the aristocracy and became hereditary. A monarchy, to be sure, can be overthrown, but De Tocqueville wonders what will replace an aristocracy’s manners. His concern reminds me of two sayings. G.K. Chesterton advises, “Don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.” A Bantu proverb warns, “If a man . . . throws away his good customs, he had better first make certain that he has something of value to replace them.”
Democracies have more individualistic manners. There is not an “ideal model” to follow. Manners are based on the “feelings and notions of each individual.” If an aristocracy disappears, De Tocqueville writes that “one still remembers that a precise code of politeness existed,” but a “common law of manners” no longer exists.
According to De Tocqueville, outsiders consider American manners to be the same for all Americans. Not true, the Frenchman counters. If one has ever traveled across the nation, one observes differences within an overall subscription to American ideas. In other words, one can notice peculiarities. Think of America as Niccolo Paganini’s “Variations on a Theme.” It is the same song, yet expressed in various passionate ways.
De Tocqueville’s statement reminds me of a book, There Are Many Souths. When people say the “South,” for instance, they think of a monolithic place. Yet, it is a diverse region with various dialects and colloquialisms and even barbecue preferences.
De Tocqueville counters British criticisms of American manners by pointing out that the English of his time needed to look at themselves. In many cases, they are what they criticize. The American problems, De Tocqueville claimed, were projections of what existed in Britain.
A benefit to a democracy with American manners, writes the French aristocrat, is that people can be themselves. Actions and social customs (or lack thereof) might not be as refined, yet manners tended to be more sincere: In De Tocqueville’s words, “in democratic peoples, manners are neither so learned nor so regular; but they are often more sincere.”
When comparing an aristocracy with a democracy, De Tocqueville makes a poignant observation. Although good manners are appreciated, actions can be a façade and a cover for cruel intentions. He writes, “great external appearances can often hide very base hearts.” In contrast, an unrefined person can have the best and most sincere intentions.
In short, De Tocqueville appreciates a uniform code of manners yet hopes it is constantly infused with genuineness.
Troy Kickler is Founding Director of the North Carolina History Project and Editor of northcarolinahistory.org. He holds an M.S. in Social Studies Education from North Carolina A&T State University and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Tennessee.
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Hello! I’m Janine Turner, founder of Constituting America!
“When comparing an aristocracy with a democracy, De Tocqueville makes a poignant observation. Although good manners are appreciated, actions can be a façade and a cover for cruel intentions. He writes, “great external appearances can often hide very base hearts.” In contrast, an unrefined person can have the best and most sincere intentions.”
Which would you rather? A person with no manners but is sincere or a person with impeccable manners but is insincere? Where does having a Civil Civic Conversation fit into this narrative?