Introduction to Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville: Why Every American Should Read a Book by a Frenchman
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. Leave a comment in the blog below and automatically be entered in our weekly drawing for a free copy of the book!
In the introduction to their translation of Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, the renowned Harvard historian, Harvey Mansfield, and his late wife, Delba Winthrop, describe the volume as “at once the best book ever written on democracy and the best book ever written on America.” Though written almost two centuries ago, the book’s insights on American culture and exceptionalism could not be more timely. Though coming in at 700+ pages in the Mansfield/Winthrop edited edition, it’s well worth an investment of time and study by every American.
Alexis De Tocqueville was a French aristocrat and government official who landed in the United States in 1831 with his friend, Gustave de Beaumont, ostensibly to study America’s prison system, but his plans soon change as he encounters a culture so different than his own. In the first paragraph of the book, De Tocqueville lays the foundation for his overarching argument about the country’s exceptional nature by declaring that what struck him most about America in those first few days of the visit was the “equality of conditions”. He goes on to argue that “this enormous influence this primary fact exerts on the course of society; it gives a certain direction to public spirit, a certain turn to the laws…and particular habits to the governed.” By “equality of conditions”, De Tocqueville did not mean to say that everyone lived in equal circumstances, but something closer to “equality of opportunity.”
From this firm foundation, De Tocqueville perceives the major cultural factor (what he calls “mores”) that appears to be necessary to support a country where equal opportunity reigned as the central economic dynamic. He quickly discovers that Americans hold to a doctrine he calls “self-interest rightly understood” – a worldview that dictates a certain degree of reliance on neighbors and community in order to accomplish tasks ranging from building churches to roadways. Remember, at this stage in America’s history, the federal government had little power to determine local affairs. As De Tocqueville writes, “they show with complacency how an enlightened regard for themselves constantly prompts them to assist each other, and inclines them willingly to sacrifice a portion of their time and property,” for the common good.
Comparing with his native Europe, De Tocqueville is also shocked to see religion and government mix in a way that’s actually beneficial rather than a source of bloody conflict. Unlike Europe, America did not have a national religion, but ironically, this contributed to a flourishing of faith in the country. From developing Americans’ political skills by serving in local church administrative councils, to working with faith-based nonprofits, De Tocqueville concludes, “Religion, which, among Americans, never mixes directly in the government of society should therefore be considered as the first of their political institutions; for if it does not give them the taste for freedom, it singularly facilitates their use of it.”
This willingness of Americans to collaborate through nonprofit and ad hoc civic organizations is what De Tocqueville describes as “associativeness”, and it’s a major distinction between this burgeoning republic and Europe. From temperance associations to foreign missionary support organizations, De Tocqueville sees Americans put their faith into action even as they respond to local needs that would have been the purview of government in Europe. He observes, “Everywhere that, at the head of a new undertaking, you see the government in France and a great lord in England, count on it that you will perceive an association in the United States.”
As we conclude our whirlwind review of Democracy in America, it’s worth noting that De Tocqueville’s last chapters in the book can be seen as prophetic in describing the future of American (and other democracies’) society. It’s not an optimistic perspective, and one grounded in the Frenchman’s belief that with the increasing wealth he foresees coming to this country, Americans will gradually withdraw from their associations, their faith, and the community-spirit. De Tocqueville looks to the future: “There is, in fact, a very perilous passage in the life of democratic peoples. When the taste for material enjoyments develops in one of these peoples more rapidly than enlightenment and the habits of freedom.”
De Tocqueville fears that as Americans earn the material benefits of freedom, they will look to government not to protect our liberties, but to protect our “stuff”. He describes this dynamic: “each of them desires that it [central government] aid him as an exception in the special affair that reoccupies him, and he seeks to attract the action of the government to his side, all the while wanting to shrink it for everyone else.”
It is here where De Tocqueville wonders whether the “self-interest rightly understood”, which drew Americans into civil society and community would become “self-interest wrongly understood”- a selfishness and withdrawal from the public square. For future leaders, De Tocqueville sees that “individual independence and local liberties will always be the product of art.” Are we seeing these trendlines today? I think these concerns, and the importance of citizen engagement are vital to consider during this election year, and beyond.
Pete Peterson is the Braun Family Dean’s Chair of Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy. Prior to that he was the executive director of the School’s Davenport Institute, which trains local government officials to improve their public meeting processes. Pete speaks and writes widely on civic participation, viewpoint diversity in higher education, and the increasing role of technology in local government.
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Hello! Happy Labor Day and welcome to Constituting America’s annual scholastic study, “History Holds the Key to the Future!” I am Janine Turner, founder of Constituting America.
I will be blogging with you during each essay! I look forward to our academically inspiring peek into Alexis De Tocqueville’s, and our guest scholars’, profound perspectives into the “toddler years” of our exceptional country!
Today’s premiere essay deals with an overview of Democracy in America by the esteemed Dean Pete Peterson, but also naturally flows into the first chapter where De Toqueville is describing America’s vast and beautiful land! Imagine how lush it was then! The ingenuity and industry that has enveloped our verdant valleys would certainly create a sense of awe if De Toqueville were to visit again today! What would he think?
As a nature lover, who daily inhales her peace and patience and is invigorated by the perfume of the air, the melody of the birds and the charm of the wildlife within the bosom and bottom of her branches, yet who also benefits and respects the industry that has propelled and enlightened us to higher levels, I ponder upon the balance. How have we done? Have we prospered from and yet protected the land? This is the challenge, is it not? Balance.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this and on any other aspects you glean from our study today! Please share this essay and help us grow our reach —both for education’s sake and for our blog!
‘Till next essay!
All my best, Janine
Thanks Janine. I’m excited to follow the discussion. What great comments are already posted. It’s a pleasure to have CA lead thought provoking reading to encourage us all to be life long learners of our great American heritage.
Thank you Hope! We are so glad you are following the study!
Hi Hope – I’m excited to let you know that you were the winner of this week’s drawing for the free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America! Thank you for your blog comments! We encourage everyone to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We enter all of our blog commenters into a drawing each week for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, as long as supplies last!
We will have another winner Friday, September 13! Watch our blog for details!
You ask: “Are we seeing these trendlines today?” I’ve recently completed studying Montesquieu’s Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and Their Decline (written in the mid-18th century). Montesquieu’s study of the decline of the Roman Republic reaches the same conclusion, that greatly increasing wealth leads to self-centeredness and the desire for pleasure as the source of happiness. We see this reflected today in our society where our own formerly highly respected voluntary associations, including Christian churches, have lost a large percentage of their members and have divided over spiritual and cultural matters over the past several decades and that civic virtue has become less highly prized by Americans.
Thank you, Ron! As a blog commenter, we entered you into a drawing for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. While you didn’t win this week, we encourage you to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We will have another drawing this Friday, September 13!
Great study and delighted that Constituting America has undertaken this endeavor! Constituting America always brings great, interesting topics to the forefront for study and discussion.
Thank you, Lee Anne! We appreciate your kind words. As a blog commenter, we entered you into a drawing for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. While you didn’t win this week, we encourage you to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We will have another drawing this Friday, September 13!
Great article. Looking forward to seeing more of these!
Thank you, Brandon! We appreciate your kind words! As a blog commenter, we entered you into a drawing for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. While you didn’t win this week, we encourage you to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We will have another drawing this Friday, September 13!
It seems that we have become a highly individualized society today and have lost the beauty of faith based teachings and a collective effort to help our fellow man. In my opinion, as government does ever more for its citizens it becomes ever more powerful and controlling. How then does a county decentralize?
Thank you, Linda! We appreciate your thoughts! As a blog commenter, we entered you into a drawing for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. While you didn’t win this week, we encourage you to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We will have another drawing this Friday, September 13!
When De Tocqueville wandered our country it was an agriculturally based. The economy was based on farming and taming the land. Moving huge rocks and dropping towering trees then removing the stumps they left. To do this they, at times asked for help from neighbors and friends. We can still see that spirit in the Amish and Mennonites today. Americans, at the infancy of our country, gathered in churches and Grange Halls where they visited, exchanged ideas and techniques. Though at this time people lived remotely from each other they were close knit.
Today, we do embrace what De Tocqueville feared, we like our stuff. Acquiring stuff is important to us. For many stuff defines who they are. Yet, when crisis hits, we come together and help our friends and neighbors and even complete strangers.
As much as we Americans enjoy our independence we also recognize our dependence on each other.
There are those that resent others have more and feel there should be equality and to achieve this goal they believe an over-all government should control many, if not all aspects of our lives. This concept is counter to the independence that our country is based on.
The United States started out agriculturally, then Eli Whitney thought up the Cotton Gin and water power and steam were harnessed and our country became industrial. With the innovations of Nicola Tesla, Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, electricity has driven the country forward into the future.
Today, technology is the bases our culture. Would De Tocqueville recognize the country he toured so long ago? No, of course not. Would he find the uniqueness of America he discovered and amazed him? Yes. No matter what when the chips are down we Americans always come together.
Thank you, Robert! As a blog commenter, we entered you into a drawing for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. While you didn’t win this week, we encourage you to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We will have another drawing this Friday, September 13!
Benjamin Rush, a founding father, “Patriotism is as much a virtue as justice, and is as necessary for the support of societies as natural affection is for the support of families. The amor patriae (love of country) is both a moral and a religious DUTY. It comprehends not only the love of our neighbors but of millions of our fellow creatures, not only of the present but of future generations.
Thank you, Rene! As a blog commenter, we entered you into a drawing for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. While you didn’t win this week, we encourage you to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We will have another drawing this Friday, September 13!
A wonderfully written essay. As to the book and its author I have to now read it as the sections quoted are extremely compelling. I totally agree in our “classless” society. I have seen and been the recipient of the American belief, that wherever your born, the wealth or lack thereof of your family, conditions that you grew up under, do not set your future in stone. Any American can succeed through hard work and dedication. Also our strength as De Tocqueville states is in community, faith and willingness to help our neighbors. Of course pessimists will take De Tocqueville final thoughts as prophecy while I believe it is a warning. We should clearly look at ourselves with that in mind and make an effort to not let this come to pass.
Thank you, Paul! As a blog commenter, we entered you into a drawing for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. While you didn’t win this week, we encourage you to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We will have another drawing this Friday, September 13!
You bet.
I love the insight of community and the strength it gave to our forefathers. I believe over time we have lost sight of how important individual responsibility is. The importance of each individual coming together to help each other. This is how we strengthen each other and our communities. I believe we can start with ourselves and reach out to each other and correct the course our nation is on. We only need to look back at our beginning for our example of how to move forward.
Now I want to read the book to not miss other insights. Thank you.
Thank you Annetta! We will put you in our drawing we will hold each Friday for all our essay commenters, to win a free copy of the book and let you know the results! Update: As a blog commenter, we entered you into a drawing for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. While you didn’t win this week, we encourage you to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We will have another drawing this Friday, September 13!
What a wonderful study! Thank you, Janine, for sharing this. This was extremely well-written and insightful. You are absolutely right! This is such an important work for understanding our world today.
Thank you Lindsey! As a blog commenter, we entered you into a drawing for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. While you didn’t win this week, we encourage you to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We will have another drawing this Friday, September 13!
Great essay. I agree that we have become too selfish and too apathetic! I see in America we have a great need a revival of faith, a turning back toward God, a renewing of our minds…in order to restore sanity, put an end to the chaos, confusion, violence, etc. and to also restore the notion of being a self-governed people UNDER God’s law, natural law, as was stated in our Declaration of Independence. We have certainly become too material and neglected our duties as “We the People”. I hope to see a resurgence of “habits of freedom” in the near future! Let us continue to study our great Constitution from the Founder’s perspective and remember our TRUE history – lest we repeat!
Thank you Tyler! We appreciate your thoughts! Please help us spread the word about our study! As a blog commenter, we entered you into a drawing for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. While you didn’t win this week, we encourage you to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We will have another drawing this Friday, September 13!
I took a class on Tocqueville in college at Hillsdale and it was one of the best courses I took in my four years there! Every American should read him. Not only is Democracy in America a beautiful analysis of our country and culture from an outsiders’ perspective, but it’s also remained incredibly relevant with important warnings for today. Especially love Tocqueville’s discussion of women in America and the uniquely American habit of self-reliance and community organizations.
Thank you Madeline – well said! As a blog commenter, we entered you into a drawing for a free copy of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. While you didn’t win this week, we encourage you to keep commenting on each day’s essay! We will have another drawing this Friday, September 13!