Democracy in America (Reeve)

by Alexis de Tocqueville

DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA.

BY

ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE,

MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, AND OF THE CHAMBER
OF DEPUTIES, ETC., ETC.

TRANSLATED BY HENRY REEVE, ESQ.

WITH AN ORIGINAL PREFACE AND NOTES BY

JOHN C. SPENCER,

COUNSELLOR AT LAW.

EIGHTH EDITION,

REVISED AND CORRECTED FROM THE EIGHTH PARIS EDITION.

COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME.

NEW YORK:

PUBLISHED BY PRATT, WOODFORD, & CO.

1848.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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	Page
Preface by the American Editor	iii
Introduction	1
CHAPTER I.
Exterior form of North America	17
CHAPTER II.
Origin of the Anglo-Americans, and its Importance in Relation to their future Condition	26
Reasons of certain Anomalies which the Laws and Customs of the Anglo-Americans present	44
CHAPTER III.
Social Condition of the Anglo-Americans	47
The striking Characteristic of the social Condition of the Anglo-Americans is its essential Democracy	47
Political Consequences of the social Condition of the Anglo-Americans	55
CHAPTER IV.
The Principle of the Sovereignty of the People in America	57
CHAPTER V.
Necessity of examining the Condition of the States before that of the Union at large	60
The American System of Townships and municipal Bodies	61
Limits of the Townships	63
Authorities of the Township in New England	63
Existence of the Township	66
Public Spirit of the Townships of New England	68
The Counties of New England	71
Administration in New England	72
General Remarks on the Administration of the United States	81
Of the State	85
Legislative Power of the State	86
The executive Power of the State	87
Political Effects of the System of local Administration in the United States	88
CHAPTER VI.
Judicial Power in the United States, and its Influence on political Society	101
Other Powers granted to the American Judges	107
CHAPTER VII.
Political Jurisdiction in the United States	109
CHAPTER VIII.
The federal Constitution	115
History of the federal Constitution	115
Summary of the federal Constitution	117
Prerogative of the federal Government	119
Federal Powers	121
Legislative Powers	121
A farther Difference between the Senate and the House of Representatives	124
The executive Power	124
Differences between the Position of the President of the United States and that of a constitutional King of France	126
Accidental Causes which may increase the Influence of the executive Government	130
Why the President of the United States does not require the Majority of the two Houses in Order to carry on the Government	131
Election of the President	132
Mode of Election	137
Crisis of the Election	140
Re-election of the President	141
Federal Courts	145
Means of determining the Jurisdiction of the federal Courts	148
Different Cases of Jurisdiction	150
Procedure of the federal Courts	156
High Rank of the supreme Courts among the great Powers of the State	159
In what Respects the federal Constitution is superior to that of the States	161
Characteristics which distinguish the federal Constitution of the United States of America from all other federal Constitutions	166
Advantages of the federal System in General, and its special Utility in America	169
Why the federal System is not adapted to all Peoples, and how the Anglo-Americans were enabled to adopt it	177
CHAPTER IX.
Why the People may strictly be said to govern in the United States	184
CHAPTER X.
Parties in the United States	186
Remains of the aristocratic Party in the United States	191
CHAPTER XI.
Liberty of the Press in the United States	194
CHAPTER XII.
Political Associations in the United States	204
CHAPTER XIII.
Government of the Democracy in America	213
Universal Suffrage	213
Choice of the People, and instinctive Preferences of the American Democracy	214
Causes which may partly correct the Tendencies of the Democracy	217
Influence which the American Democracy has exercised on the Laws relating to Elections	221
Public Officers under the control of the Democracy in America	229
Arbitrary Power of Magistrates under the rule of the American Democracy	225
Instability of the Administration in the United States	228
Charges levied by the State under the rule of the American Democracy	230
Tendencies of the American Democracy as regards the Salaries of public Officers	234
Difficulty of distinguishing the Causes which contribute to the Economy of the American Government	237
Whether the Expenditure of the United States can be compared to that of France	238
Corruption and vices of the Rulers in a Democracy, and consequent Effects upon public Morality	243
Efforts of which a Democracy is capable	245
Self-control of the American Democracy	249
Conduct of foreign Affairs, by the American Democracy	251
CHAPTER XIV.
What the real Advantages are which American Society derives from the Government of the Democracy	257
General Tendency of the Laws under the Rule of the American Democracy, and Habits of those who apply them	257
Public Spirit in the United States	262
Notion of Rights in the United States	265
Respect for the Law in the United States	268
Activity which pervades all the Branches of the Body politic in the United States; Influence which it exercises upon Society	270
CHAPTER XV.
Unlimited Power of the Majority in the United States, and its Consequences	275
How the unlimited Power of the Majority increases in America, the Instability of Legislation inherent in Democracy	278
Tyranny of the Majority	280
Effects of the unlimited Power of the Majority upon the arbitrary Authority of the American public Officers	283
Power exercised by the Majority in America upon public Opinion	284
Effects of the Tyranny of the Majority upon the national Character of the Americans	287
The greatest Dangers of the American Republics proceed from the unlimited Power of the Majority	292
CHAPTER XVI.
Causes which Mitigate the Tyranny of the Majority in the United States	295
Absence of central Administration	295
The Profession of the Law in the United States serves to Counterpoise the Democracy	297
Trial by Jury in the United States considered as a political Institution	307
CHAPTER XVII.
Principal Causes which tend to maintain the democratic Republic in the United States	315
Accidental or providential Causes which contribute to the Maintenance of the democratic Republic in the United States	316
Influence of the Laws upon the Maintenance of the democratic Republic in the United States	326
Influence of Manners upon the Maintenance of the democratic Republic in the United States	327
Religion considered as a political Institution, which powerfully Contributes to the Maintenance of the democratic Republic among the Americans	328
Indirect Influence of religious Opinions upon political Society in the United States	331
Principal Causes which render Religion powerful in America	386
How the Instruction, the Habits, and the practical Experience of the Americans, promote the Success of their democratic Institutions	343
The Laws contribute more to the Maintenance of the democratic Republic in the United States than the physical Circumstances of the Country, and the Manners more than the Laws	348
Whether Laws and Manners are sufficient to maintain democratic Institutions in other Countries beside America	353
Importance of what precedes with respect to the State of Europe	356
CHAPTER XVIII.
The present and probable future Condition of the three Races which Inhabit the Territory of the United States	361
The present and probable future Condition of the Indian Tribes which Inhabit the Territory possessed by the Union	367
Situation of the black Population in the United States, and Dangers with which its Presence threatens the Whites	386
What are the Chances in favour of the Duration of the American Union, and what Dangers threaten it	413
Of the republican Institutions of the United States, and what their Chances of Duration are	450
Reflections on the Causes of the commercial Prosperity of the United States	457
Conclusion	465
Appendix	475

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OF

THE SECOND PART.

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FIRST BOOK.

INFLUENCE OF DEMOCRACY ON THE PROGRESS OF OPINION IN THE UNITED STATES.

	Page
CHAPTER I.
Philosophical method among the Americans	1
CHAPTER II.
Of the principal source of belief among democratic nations	7
CHAPTER III.
Why the Americans display more readiness and more taste for general ideas than their forefathers the English	12
CHAPTER IV.
Why the Americans have never been so eager as the French for general ideas in political matters	18
CHAPTER V.
Of the manner in which religion in the United States avails itself of democratic tendencies	20
CHAPTER VI.
Of the progress of Roman Catholicism in the United States	29
CHAPTER VII.
Of the cause of a leaning to Pantheism among democratic nations	31
CHAPTER VIII.
The principle of equality suggests to the Americans the idea of the indefinite perfectibility of man	33
CHAPTER IX.
The example of the Americans does not prove that a democratic people can have no aptitude and no taste for science, literature, or art	35
CHAPTER X.
Why the Americans are more addicted to practical than to theoretical science	41
CHAPTER XI.
Concerning the spirit in which the Americans cultivate the arts	49
CHAPTER XII.
Why the Americans raise some monuments so insignificant and others so important	55
CHAPTER XIII.
Literary characteristic of democratic ages	57
CHAPTER XIV.
The trade of literature	63
CHAPTER XV.
The study of Greek and Latin literature peculiarly useful in democratic communities	64
CHAPTER XVI.
The effect of democracy on language	67
CHAPTER XVII.
Of some of the sources of poetry among democratic nations	75
CHAPTER XVIII.
Of the inflated style of American writers and orators	82
CHAPTER XIX.
Some observations on the Drama among democratic nations	84
CHAPTER XX.
Characteristics of historians in democratic ages	90
CHAPTER XXI.
Of parliamentary eloquence in the United States	94

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SECOND BOOK.

INFLUENCE OF DEMOCRACY ON THE FEELINGS OF THE AMERICANS.

CHAPTER I.
Why democratic nations show a more ardent and enduring love of equality than of liberty	99
CHAPTER II.
Of individualism in democratic communities	104
CHAPTER III.
Individualism stronger at the close of a democratic revolution than at other periods	107
CHAPTER IV.
That the Americans combat the effects of individualism by free institutions	109
CHAPTER V.
Of the use which the Americans make of public associations in civil life	115
CHAPTER VI.
Of the relation between public associations and newspapers	119
CHAPTER VII.
Connexion of civil and political associations	123
CHAPTER VIII.
The Americans combat individualism by the principle of interest rightly understood	129
CHAPTER IX.
That the Americans apply the principle of interest rightly understood to religious matters	133
CHAPTER X.
Of the taste for physical well-being in America	136
CHAPTER XI.
Peculiar effects of the love of physical gratifications in democratic ages	139
CHAPTER XII.
Causes of fanatical enthusiasm in some Americans	141
CHAPTER XIII.
Causes of the restless spirit of the Americans in the midst of their prosperity	144
CHAPTER XIV.
Taste for physical gratifications united in America to love of freedom and attention to public affairs	148
CHAPTER XV.
That religious belief sometimes turns the Americans to immaterial pleasures	152
CHAPTER XVI.
That excessive care of worldly welfare may impair that welfare	157
CHAPTER XVII.
That at times marked by equality of conditions it is important to remove to a distance the object of human actions	159
CHAPTER XVIII.
That among the Americans all honest callings are honourable	162
CHAPTER XIX.
What leads almost all the Americans to follow industrial callings	164
CHAPTER XX.
That aristocracy may be engendered by manufactures	169

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THIRD BOOK.

INFLUENCE OF DEMOCRACY ON MANNERS, PROPERLY SO CALLED.

CHAPTER I.
That manners are softened as social conditions become more equal	173
CHAPTER II.
That democracy renders the habitual intercourse of the Americans simple and easy	178
CHAPTER III.
Why the Americans show so little sensitiveness in their own country, and are so sensitive in Europe	181
CHAPTER IV.
Consequences of the three preceding chapters	185
CHAPTER V.
How democracy affects the relation of masters and servants	187
CHAPTER VI.
That democratic institutions and manners tend to raise rents and shorten the terms of leases	196
CHAPTER VII.
Influence of democracy on wages	199
CHAPTER VIII.
Influence of democracy on kindred	202
CHAPTER IX.
Education of young women in the United States	209
CHAPTER X.
The young woman in the character of a wife	212
CHAPTER XI.
That the equality of conditions contributes to the maintenance of good morals in America	217
CHAPTER XII.
How the Americans understand the equality of the sexes	224
CHAPTER XIII.
That the principle of equality naturally divides the Americans into a number of small private circles	228
CHAPTER XIV.
Some reflections on American manners	230
CHAPTER XV.
Of the gravity of the Americans, and why it does not prevent them from often committing inconsiderate actions	234
CHAPTER XVI.
Why the national vanity of the Americans is more restless and less captious than that of the English	238
CHAPTER XVII.
That the aspect of society in the United States is at once excited and monotonous	242
CHAPTER XVIII.
Of honour in the United States and in democratic communities	245
CHAPTER XIX.
Why so many ambitious men, and so little lofty ambition, are to be found in the United States	258
CHAPTER XX.
The trade of place-hunting in certain democratic countries	265
CHAPTER XXI
Why great revolutions will become more rare	267
CHAPTER XXII.
Why democratic nations are naturally desirous of peace, and democratic armies of war	280
CHAPTER XXIII.
Which is the most warlike and most revolutionary class in democratic armies	287
CHAPTER XXIV.
Causes which render democratic armies weaker than other armies at the outset of a campaign, and more formidable in protracted warfare	291
CHAPTER XXV.
Of discipline in democratic armies	296
CHAPTER XXVI.
Some considerations on war in democratic communities	298

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FOURTH BOOK.

INFLUENCE OF DEMOCRATIC OPINIONS AND SENTIMENTS ON POLITICAL SOCIETY.

	Page
CHAPTER I.
That equality naturally gives men a taste for free institutions	306
CHAPTER II.
That the notions of democratic nations on government are naturally favourable to the concentration of power	308
CHAPTER III.
That the sentiments of democratic nations accord with their opinions in leading them to concentrate political power	312
CHAPTER IV.
Of certain peculiar and accidental causes which either lead a people to complete centralization of government, or which divert them from it	317
CHAPTER V.
That among the European governments of our time the power of governments is increasing although the persons who govern are less stable	323
CHAPTER VI.
What sort of despotism democratic nations have to fear	336
CHAPTER VII.
Continuation of the preceding chapters	345
CHAPTER VIII.
General survey of the subject	352