IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 1.25 I^|2j8 125 1^ Kii II 2.2 ui Hi lit lU ■it 1.4 U4 Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 \ ;v ^ SJ <^ 6^ <<^J^ 4^ % CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographlcally unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D V D D D D Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagie Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurie et/ou pelliculAe □ Cover title missing/ Letit titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes giographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serrde peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intirieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela Atait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmdes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppldmentaires; L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methods normale de filmage sont indiquis ci-dessous. I I Coloured pages/ v/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagies □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restauries et/ou pelliculdes Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages ddcoiordes, tachetdes ou piqu( Pages Pages Pages ddtach^es piqudes I I Pages detached/ Showthrough/ Transparence I I Quality of print varies/ Quality indgale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du matdriel supplementaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible T s T v« l\/ t b( ri{ re nfi Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 film6es d nouveau de facon h obtenir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmi au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X 1 1 ■ • 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X ire details les du modifier ler une filmage es The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: National Library of Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol —»> (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire film6 f ut reproduit grflce d la g6n6rosit6 de: Bibliothdque nationale du Canada Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avsc le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet6 de I'exempiaire film6, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimde sont filmds en commen^ant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont fiimds en commengant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre fiimds d des taux de reduction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est film6 d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. errata to I pelure, }n d n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 m M i r ^mjvi^jwwwwwww ^mmw\i^j^/ww^w^^W'^3J^ ^;^' f THE WORLDS GREAT CLASSICS (s Timothy Dwighx D.D. LLD. Richard Henry5toddard Arthvr Richmond Marsh. AB. Pavlvan Dyke.D.D. Albert Ellery Bergh ^^ ITH.NFADIY TNX'O- yp: V •ILLV5TRATED • WITH- NEARLY TWO- •HVNDREDPHOTOCRAVVRE5 • ETCH= •INCS COLOREDPLATE5AND FVLL- • PAGE- P0RTRAIT50F GREAT- AVTH0R5 • Clarence Cook Art Editor. *-,; o •the -COLONIAL- PRESS • NEW-YORK ^fe, MDCCCXCIX 'l^ax^^(^ca\(C^(G^rn^(ci^C(t^(c ^ Cii\fdhC^ ^ / A/JSXIS DR TOCQUEVILLE. Photogravure from a sh\l ct^raviii,^. } -n uiS ;-*«f _i'-. eO ^ i^( JUN 18 1901 V-^ >^'A^2) ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE (Translated by Henry Reeve) WITH SPECIAL INTRODUCTIONS BY HON. JOHN T. MORGAN SENATOR FROM ALABAMA AND HON. JOHN J. INGALLS, LL.a EX-SENATOR FROM KANSAS REVISED EDITION r>miixifim.\uism. lc I DC.€^ IE U/ J~l.£ n i CopvRinHT, 1899, Bv THE COLONIAL PRKSS. SPECIAL INTRODUCTION IN the eleven years that separated the Declaration of the Independence of the United States from the completion of that act in the ordination of our written Constitution, the great minds of America were bent upon the study of the principles of government that were essential to the preserva- tion of the liberties which had been won at great cost and with heroic labors and sacrifices. Their studies were conducted in view of the imperfections that experience had developed in the government of the Confederation, and they were, therefore, practical and thorough. When the Constitution was thus perfected and established, a new form of government was created, but it was neither spec- ulative nor experimental as to the principles on which it was based. If they were true principles, as they were, the govern- ment founded upon them was destined to a life and an influence that would continue while the liberties it was intended to pre- serve should be valued by the human family. Those liberties had been wrung from reluctant monarchs in many contests, in many countries, and were grouped into creeds and established in ordinances sealed with blood, in many great struggles of the people. They were not new to the people. They were conse- crated theories, but no government had been previously estab- lished for the great purpose of their preservation and enforce- ment. That which was experimental in our plan of govern- ment was the question whether democratic rule could be so organizcil and conducted that it would not degenerate into li- cense and result in the tyranny of absolutism, without saving to the people the power so often found necessary of repressing or destroying their enemy, when he was found in the person of a single despot. When, in 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville came to study Democ- racy in America, the trial of nearly a half-century of the work- iii ■li«lW»n IV DE TOCQUEVILLE ing of our system had been made, and it had been proved, by many crucial tests, to be a government of " liberty regulated by law," with such results in the development of strength, in popu- lation, wealth, and military and commercial power, as no age had ever witnessed. De Tocqueville had a special inquiry to prosecute, in his visit to America, in which his generous and faithful soul and the powers of his great intellect were engaged in the patriotic effort to secure to the people of France the blessings that De- mocracy in America had ordained and established throughout nearly the entire Western Hemisphere. He had read the story of the French Revolution, much of which had been recently written in the blood of men and women of great distinction who were his progenitors; and had witnessed the agitations and terrors of the Restoration and of the Second Republic, fruitful in crime and sacrifice, and barren of any good to mankind. He had just witnessed the sprcLd of republican government through all the vast continental possessions of Spain in Amer- ica, and the loss of her great colonies. He had seen that these revolutions were accomplished almost without the shedding of blood, and he was filled with anxiety to learn the causes that had placed republican government, in France, in such contrast with Democracy in America. De Tocqueville was scarcely thirty years old when he began his studies of Democracy in America. It was a bold effort for one who had no special training in government, or in the study of political economy, but he had the example of Lafayette in establishing the military foundation of these liberties, and of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton, all of whom were young men, in building upon the Independence of the United States that wisest and best plan of general govern- ment that was ever devised for a free people. He found that the American people, through their chosen representatives who were instructed by their wisdom and ex- perience and were supported by their virtues — cultivated, puri- fied and ennobled by self-reliance and the love of God — had matured, in the excellent wisdom of their counsels, a new plan of government, which embraced every security for their liber- ties and equal rights and privileges to all in the pursuit of happiness. He came as an honest and impartial student and SPECIAL INTRODUCTION his great commentary, like those of Paul, was written for the benefit of all nations and people and in vindication of truths that will stand for their deliverance from monarchical rule, while time shall last. A French aristocrat of the purest strain of blood and of the most honorable lineage, whose family influence was coveted by crowned heads ; who had no quarrel with the rulers of the nation, and was secure against want by his inherited estates; was moved by the agitations that compelled France to attempt to grasp suddenly the liberties and happiness we had gained in our revolution and, by his devout love of France, to search out and subject to the test of reason the basic principles of free government that had been embodied in our Constitution. This was the mission of De Tocqueville, and no mission was ever more honorably or justly conducted, or concluded with greater eclat, or better results for the welfare of mankind. His researches were logical and exhaustive. They included every phase of every question that then seemed to be apposite to the great inquiry he was making. The judgment of all who have studied his commentaries seems to have been unanimous, that his talents and learning were fully equal to his task. He began with the physical geog- raphy of this country, and examined the characteristics of the people, of all races and conditions, their social and religious sen- timents, their education and tastes ; their industries, their com- merce, their local governments, their passions and prejudices, and their ethics and literature ; leaving nothing unnoticed that might afford an argument to prove that our plan and form of government was or was not adapted especially to a peculiar people, or that it would be impracticable in any different coun- try, or among any different people. The pride and comfort that the American people enjoy in the great commentaries of De Tocqueville are far removed from the selfish adulation that comes from a great and singular success. It is the consciousness of victory over a false theory of govern- ment which has aflfilicted mankind for many ages, that gives joy to the true American, as it did to De Tocqueville in his great triumph. When De Tocqueville wrote, we had lived less than fifty years under our Constitution. In that time no great national commotion had occurred that tested its strength, or its power ^ VI DE TOCQUEVILLE of resistance to internal strife, such as had converted his be- loved P'rance into fields of slaughter torn by tempests of wrath. He had a strong conviction that no government could be ordained that could resist these internal forces, when, they are directed to its destruction by bad men, or unreasoning mobs, and many then believed, as some yet believe, that our govern- ment is unequal to such pressure, when the assault is thor- oughly desperate. Had De Tocqueville lived to examine the history of the United States from i860 to 1870, his misgivings as to this power of self-preservation would, probably, have been cleared off. He would have seen that, at the end of the most de- structive civil war that ever occurred, when animosities of the bitterest sort had banished all good feeling from the hearts of our people, the States of the American Union, still in complete organization and equipped with all their official entourage, aligned themselves in their places and took up the powers and duties of local government in perfect order and without em- barrassment. This would have dispelled his apprehensions, if he had any, about the power of the United States to with- stand the severest shocks of civil war. Could he have, traced the further course of events until they open the portals of the twentieth century, he would have cast away his fears of our ability to restore peace, order, and prosperity, in the face of any difficulties, and would have rejoiced to find in the Constitution of the United States the remedy that is provided for the healing of the nation. De Tocqueville examined, with the care that is worthy the importance of the subject, the nature and value of the system of " local self-government," as we style this most important feature of our plan, and (as has often happened) when this or any subject has become a matter of anxious concern, his treatment of the questions is found to have been masterly and his preconceptions almost prophetic. We are frequently indebted to him for able expositions and true doctrines relating to subjects that have slumbered in the minds of the people until they were suddenly forced on our at- tention by unexpected events. In his introductory chapter, M. De Toci 'eville says: " Amongst the novel objects that attracted my atu ntion during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly SPECIAL INTRODUCTION vii than the general equaUty of conditions." He referred, doubt- less, to social and political conditions among the people of the white race, who are described as " We, the people," in the open- ing sentence of the Constitution. The last three amendments of the Constitution have so changed this, that those who were then negro slaves are clothed with the rights of citizenship, including the right of suffrage. This was a political party movement, intended to be radical and revolutionary, but it will, ultimately, react because it has not the sanction of public opinion. If M. De Tocqueville could now search for a law that would negative this provision in its effect upon social equality, he would fail to find it. But he would find it in the unwritten law of the natural aversion of the races. He would find it in public opinion, which is the vital force in every law in a free govern- ment. This is a subject that our Constitution failed to regulate, because it was not contemplated by its authors. It is a question that will settle itself, without serious difficulty. The equality in the suffrage, thus guaranteed to the negro race, alone — for it was not intended to include other colored races — creates a new phase of political conditions that M. De Tocqueville could not foresee. Yet, in his commendation of the local town and county governments, he applauds and sustains that elementary feature of our political organization which, in the end, will render harmless this wide departure from the original plan and purpose of American Democracy. " Local Self-Govem- ment," independent of general control, except for general pur- poses, is the root and origin of all free republican government, and is the antagonist of all great political combinations that threaten the rights of minorities. It is the public opinion formed in the independent expressions of tOAvns and other small civil districts that is the real conservatism of free gov- ernment. It is equally the enemy of that dangerous evil, the corruption of the ballot-box, from which it is now apprehended that one of our greatest troubles is to arise. The voter is selected, under our laws, because he has cer- tain physical qualifications — ^age and sex. His disqualifications, when any are imposed, relate to his education or property, and to the fact that he has not been convicted of crime. Of all men he should be most directly amenable to public opinion. The test of moral character and devotion to the duties of vl • •• VIU DE TOCQUEVILLE / good citizenship are ignored in the laws, because the courts can seldom deal with such questions in a uniform and satisfactory way, under rules that apply alike to all. Thus the voter, se- lected by law to represent himself and four other non-voting citizens, is often a person who is unfit for any public duty or trust. In a town government, having a small area of jurisdic- tion, where the voice of the majority of qualified voters is conclusive, the fitness of the person who is to exercise that high representative privilege can be determined by his neigh- bors and acquaintances, and, in the great majority of cases, it will be decided honestly and for the good of the country. In such meetings, there is always a spirit of loyalty to the State, because that is loyalty to the people, and a reverence for God that gives weight to the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. M. De Tocqueville found in these minor local jurisdictions the theoretical conservatism which, in the aggregate, is the safest reliance of the State. So we have found them, in practice, the true protectors of the purity of the ballot, without which all free government will degenerate into absolutism. In the future of the Republic, we must encounter many diffi- cult and dangerous situations, but the principles established in the Constitution and the check upon hasty or inconsiderate legislation, and upon executive action, and the supreme arbitra- ment of the courts, will be found sufficient for the safety of personal rights, and for the safety of the government, and the prophetic outlook of M. De Tocqueville will be fully realized through the influence of Democracy in America. Each suc- ceeding generation of Americans will find in the pure and im- partial reflections of De Tocqueville a new source of pride in our institutions of government, and sound reasons for patriotic effort to preserve them and to inculcate their teachings. They have mastered the power of monarchical rule in the American Hemisphere, freeing religion from all shackles, and will spread, by a quiet but resistless influence, through the islands of the seas to other lands, where the appeals of De Tocqueville for human rights and liberties have already inspired the souls of the people. j^. i tn SPECIAL INTRODUCTION NEARLY two-thirds of a century has elapsed since the appearance of " Democracy in America," by Alexis Charles Henri Clerel de Tocqueville, a French noble- man, born at Paris, July 29, 1805. Bred to the law, he exhibited an early predilection for philosophy and political economy, and at twenty-two was appointed judge-auditor at the tribunal of Versailles. In 183 1, commissioned ostensibly to investigate the peni- tentiary system of the United States, he visited this country, with his friend, Gustave de Beaumont, travelling extensively through those parts of the Republic then subdued to settle- ment, studying the methods of local. State, and national ad- ministration, and observing the manners and habits, the daily life, the business, the industries and occupations of the people. " Democracy in America," the first of four volumes upon "American Institutions and their Influence," was published in 1835. It was received at once by the scholars and thinkers of Europe as a profound, impartial, and entertaining exposi- tion of the principles of popular, representative self-govern- ment. Napoleon, " the mighty somnambulist of a vanished dream," had abolished feudalism and absolutism, made monarchs and dynasties obsolete, and substituted for the divine right of kings the sovereignty of the people. Although by birth and sympathies an aristocrat, M. de Tocqueville saw that the reign of tradition and privilege at last was ended. He perceived that civilization, after many bloody centuries, had entered a new epoch. He beheld, and deplored, the excesses that had attended the genesis of the democratic spirit in France, and while he loved liberty, he detested the crimes that had been committed in its name. Be- longing neither to the class which regarded the social revolu- iX N DE TOCQUEVILLE li 7 ' !l I tion as an innovation to be resisted, nor to that which con- sidered political equality the universal panacea for the evils of humanity, he resolved by personal observation of the re- sults of democracy in the New World to ascertain its natural consequences, and to learn what the nations of Europe had to hope or fear from its final supremacy. That a youth of twenty-six should entertain a design so broad and bold implies singular intellectual intrepidity. He had neither model nor precedent. The vastness and novelty of the undertaking increase admiration for the remarkable ability with which the task was performed. Were literary excellence the sole claim of " Democracy in America " to distinction, the splendor of its composition alone would entitle it to high place among the masterpieces of the century. The first chapter, upon the exterior form of North America, as the theatre upon which the great drama is to be enacted, for graphic and picturesque description of the physical characteristics of the continent is not surpassed in literature: nor is there any subdivision of the work in which the severest philosophy is not invested with the grace of poetry, and the driest statistics with the charm of romance. Western emigra- tion seemed commonplace and prosaic till M. de Tocqueville said, " This gradual and continuous progress of the European race toward the Rocky Mountains has the solemnity of a providential event; it is like a deluge of men rising un- abatedly, and daily driven onward by the hand of God ! " The mind of M. de Tocqueville had the candor of the photo- graphic camera. It recorded impressions with the impartiality of nature. The image was sometimes distorted, and the perspective was not always true, but he was neither a pane- gyrist, nor an advocate, nor a critic. He observed American phenomena as illustrations, not as proof nor arguments; and although it is apparent that the tendency of his mind was not wholly favorable to the democratic principle, yet those who dissent from his conclusions must commend the ability and courage with which they are expressed. Though not originally written for Americans, " Democracy in America " must always remain a work of engrossing and constantly increasing interest to citizens of the United States as the first philosophic and comprehensive view of our so- ciety, institutions, and destiny. No one can rise even from SPECIAL INTRODUCTION XI the most cursory perusal without clearer insight and more patriotic appreciation of the blessings of liberty protected by law, nor without encouragement for the stability and per- petuity of the Republic. The causes which appeared to M. de Tocqueville to menace both, have gone. The despotism of public opinion, the tyranny of majorities, the absence of in- tellectual freedom which seemed to him to degrade adminis- tration and bring statesmanship, learning, and literature to the level of the lowest, are no longer considered. The violence of party spirit has been mitigated, and the judgment of the wise is not subordinated to the prejudices of the ignorant. Other dangers have come. Equality of conditions no longer exists. Prophets of evil predict the downfall of democracy, but the student of M. de Tocqueville will find consolation and encouragement in the reflection that the same spirit which has vanquished the perils of the past, which he foresaw, will be equally prepared for the responsibilities of the present and the future. The last of the four volumes of M. de Tocqueville's work upon American institutions appeared in 1840. In 1838 he was chosen member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences. In 1839 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. He became a member of the French Academy in 1841. In 1848 he was in the Assembly, and from June 2nd to Oc- tober 31st he was Minister of Foreign Affairs. The coup d'etat of December 2, 185 1 drove him from the public service. In 1856 he published "The Old Regime and the Revolution." He died at Cannes, April 15, 1859, at the age of fifty-four. 5^€^«^*^ J^^^iM- \\ I CONTENTS 99 THE FIRST PART PACK Introductory chapter 3 CHAPTER I Exterior form of North America 17 CHAPTER n 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 43 CHAPTER HI Social condition of the Anglo-Americans 46 The striking characteristic of the social condition of the Anglo- Americann is its essential democracy 46 Political consequences of the social condition of the Anglo- Americans S3 CHAPTER IV The principle of the sovereignty of the people in America 55 CHAPTER V Necessity of examining the condition of the States before that of the Union at large 58 The American system of townships and municipal bodies 59 Limits of the township 61 Authorities of the township in New England 61 Existence of the township 63 Public spirit of the townships of New England 65 The counties of New England 68 Administration in New England 69 General remarks on the administration of the United States ... 77 Of the State 81 xiii ,1 Xiv hl<. KKUUIsVII.I.I'. LriiiNlitllvr iinwrr of llic Slati' ..,,, ,,,,. Hi 'lilt' rmrillivr piiwt'l ii( ||i«< SliiU- H,\ J'dlilit'iil t'lfi'dt m( (lie NyNlnii n( Itu-iil itiliiiiiii>t|niliiiii in Ili«< UiiikHl SlulcN 84 CIIAITI'U VI Jit«lt«'litl |i(iw«'i' ill llio UiiilrtI SliUcN, ami iU iiill^U'iUT mi iMililical Mitt icly i/i Oilier iiowcrN Hriiiiloil In Aiiiciit'iiii JiiiIkc'* 101 IIIAI'II'.U VII Polilicill Jllli!(«llclillll III llU< dllilCll SllllOH Il).t t'llAI'TKU VIII 'I'lio I'Vtlcriil I'onsliMilinii 1 ki llisloiy of llic I'Vilt'i'til ('oiiNliliiliiMi no Siniiiiiuiy of tlio I'VtInal (oiiMlilnlion , uj l'ivio)(i«tivi< of llu' I'Vilnal (iovcninu'iil 1 ij l'\'owoi?« 115 I.CItisllklivC (tOWCIN \\\, A fiiillici ililTnriKT hclwccii (lie Sciialc aiul llii' lioiisc «»( K«'p iTsoiitrtlivcs I iH Tlio cxcoiUivc v»»w»r 1 K) DitToiTiUTs liolwiHMi (lie position of (lu< I'lcsiiK'iil of llu< UiiiU-d StuloN aiitl lliiit of a C'oiistiliitioiial KIiik of iMaiuc 1 ji Awiilctital caiisrs wtiicli may iiu'ioasc tlio iiilliicitcc «i( tlic l<'x- tvntivo (ioviMiiiiU'iil I j.| Why tlio I'losiiloiit of tho UiiitotI Statos «Iooh not roqniro llio iiiitjoiity of tlio two IloiiKOH in «)nlor to carry on tlio (iovorn IllOIlt Uf, Ivtoctioii t»f tlio I'rositlonI tj() Moilo of olootioii i,iirts. ., . 141 DitToront cases of inris«tiction 14J l*rocoilnro of tho I'V«loral courts 14(1 llinh rank of tho Supremo Court anuHiRst tho mroat powers of State 141) In what respects the Fe«leral Constitution is superior to that of the States 151 Characteristics which (listiuRuish t!io I'Vderal Constitution of the I'nited States of America from all other I'Vtleral Ci>n- stitutions 155 Ailvantages of the Federal system in K^^iteral, ami its special utility in America 158 Why tlie Foilcral system is not ada|>le»l to all peoples, ami how the Anglo- Americans were onablcil to adopt it 164 CONTENTS XV CHAI'TKk IX fAOII Wliy llir pniplc limy Htriclly Iw Niiid lo Knvcrri in tht Uiiilcil SuttH. 173 CHAI'TKK X I'arlii'H ill llir I liijicd SIiiIi-h 174 Ui-iiiiiiii>4 of ihf ariKlocrulic piiriy in the United SttttcH 17<> CIIAI'TICk XI l.ilicriy of llitr preNn in the United StalcH iKi CIIAI'TKU XII .. l*otilirid nsHocinlionH in the United StutcH lyi CIIAl'IKK XIII (ioveriiiiient of the deiiioeruey in Atiieriea m)i> I IniverHal siilTiiiKe aoo Choice of (he peopK", and iiisliiu-tive prefereiieeH r)f (he Aincri- cnii denioeraey ;joi Causes which may partly correct these tendencies of the «le- iiiocracy 204 Inlliience which the American ■ Mnnfrcdus Bonus dc Montis Frrrato at X'cnice in 1512. A copy of tlic work i> [jrcbervcd in the liiblioteca Marciana, f ' Ml % Abzo M l^crcgrino Tlouamc^ re ^inpjelTocrcdiUto alia fuafinccritacofitavi* tatJdloBii' ctoic, Dilvo itiio (c afpcrtiiito o reiccro fotKs'&C' re poterai:lecrojc.1Hbnle circrniinio oc'Croia.inoIefoitucocl^oma.lHd li erro:i oc ^litc. rOa oe vno pudi coAmo;€lQ biftoziflpozro e.narro IJbcrbo fccuro vcngo pcrcbe amoic c pietadcincfannola fcbo«a'<€tfc oclfcriproie parole intende refpodc re porerjJh '^aco/iio jCamc.ico 0.1 ipsa r ma fidclc rccira/ to:e viiict valc' <€t come iiircfc fcripfe. C^'/^ S#*5 Manfredus Bonum de Moaii»F(«ni*. 1 I "I (I ! [fit 4' m ILLUSTRATIONS PACING PAGB FronHsfUci xvm 54 Alexis de Tocqueville .... Photogravure from a steel engraving Early Venetian Printing Fac-simile from a Book printed in 15 12 Teiresias and Odysseus .... Photo-engraving from the original marble relief Portions of Pages from the First English Prayer- book . . . . . . . , , .172 Fac-simile example of Printing in the Sixteenth Century Diana Photo-engraving from the original marble statue 274 if I DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA FIRST PART I'' I Ul!' ■l i ,!!«■ INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER AMONGST the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of condi- tions. I readily discovered the prodigious influence which this primary fact exercises on the whole course of society, by giving a certain direction to public opinion, and a certain tenor to the laws ; by imparting new maxims to the governing powers, and peculiar habits to the governed. I speedily perceived that the influence of this fact extends far beyond the political character and the laws of the country, and that it has no less empire over civil society than over the Government; it creates opinions, engenders sentiments, suggests the ordinary practices of life, and modifies whatever it does not produce. The more I ad- vanced in the study of American society, the more I perceived that the equality of conditions is the fundamental fact from which all others seem to be derived, and the central point at which all my observations constantly terminated. I then turned my thoughts to our own hemisphere, where I imagined that I discerned something analogous to the spectacle which the New World presented to me. I observed that the equality of conditions is daily progressing towards those ex- treme limits which it seems to have reached in the United States, and that the democracy which governs the American communi- ties appears to be rapidly rising into power in Europe. I hence conceived the idea of the book which is now before the reader. It is evident to all alike that a great democratic revolution is going on amongst us ; but there are two opinions as to its nature and consequences. To some it appears to be a novel accident, which as such may still be checked ; to others it seems irresistible, because it is the most uniform, the most ancient, and the most permanent tendency which is to be found in his- tory. Let us recollect the situation of France seven hundred years ago, when the territory was divided amongst a small 3 fl ¥ 'I \ 1 ¥ !^* 1 I I I •< tl 4 DE TOCQUEVILLE number of families, who were the owners of the soil and the rulers of the inhabitants; the right of governing descended with the family inheritance from generation to generation; force was the only means by which man could act on man, and landed property was the sole source of power. Soon, however, the political power of the clergy was founded, and began to exert itself: the clergy opened its ranks to all classes, to the poor and the rich, the villein and the lord ; equality penetrated into the Government through the Church, and the being who as a serf must have vegetated in perpetual bondage took his place as a priest in the midst of nobles, and not infrequently above the heads of kings. The different relations of men became more complicated and more numerous as society gradually became more stable and more civilized. Thence the want of civil laws was felt; and the order of legal functionaries soon rose from the obscurity of the tribunals and their dusty chambers, to appear at the court of the monarch, by the side of the feudal barons in their ermine and their mail. Whilst the kings were ruining themselves by their great enterprises, and the nobles exhausting their re- sources by private wars, the lower orders were enriching them- selves by commerce. The influence of money began to be per- ceptible in State affairs. The transactions of business opened a new road to power, and the financier rose to a station of politi- cal influence in which he was at once flattered and despised. Gradually the spread of mental acquirements, and the increas- ing taste for literature and art, opened chances of success to talent; science became a means of government, intelligence led to social power, and the man of letters took a part in the affairs of the State. The value attached to the privileges of birth decreased in the exact proportion in which new paths were struck out to advancement. In the eleventh century nobility was beyond all price ; in the thirteenth it might be purchased ; it was conferred for the first time in 1270; and equality was thus introduced into the Government by the aristocracy itself. In the course of these seven hundred years it sometimes hap- pened that in order to resist the authority of the Crown, or to diminish the power of their rivals, the nobles granted a certain share of political rights to the people. Or, more frequently, the king permitted the lower orders to enjoy a degree of power, with the intention of repressing the aristocracy. In France the i/v 1^' DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA kings have always been the most active and the most constant of levellers. When they were strong and ambitious they spared no pains to raise the people to the level of the nobles; when they were temperate or weak they allowed the pec to rise above themselves. Some assisted the democracy by ^neir tal- ents, others by their vices. Louis XI and Louis XIV reduced every rank beneath the throne to the same subjection; Louis XV descended, himself and all his Court, into the dust. As soon as land was held on any other than a feudal tenure, and personal property began in its turn to confer influence and power, every improvement which was introduced in commerce or manufacture was a fresh element of the equality of condi- tions. Henceforward every new discovery, every new want which it engendered, and every new desire which craved satis- faction, was a step towards the universal level. The taste for luxury, the love of war, the sway of fashion, and the most superficial as well as the deepest passions of the human heart, co-operated to enrich the poor and to impoverish the rich. From the time when the exercise of the intellect became the source of strength and of wealth, it is impossible not to con- sider every addition to science, every fresh truth, and everv new idea as a germ of power placed within the reach of the people. Poetry, eloquence, and memory, the grace of wit, the glow of imagination, the depth of thought, and all the gifts which are bestowed by Providence with an equal hand, turned to the advantage of the democracy ; and even when they were in the possession of its adversaries they still served its cause by throwing into relief the natural greatness of man ; its con- quests spread, therefore, with those of civilization and knowl- edge, and literature became an arsenal where the poorest and the weakest could always find weapons to their hand. In perusing the pages of our history, we shall scarcely meet with a single great event, in the lapse of seven hundred years, which has not turned to the advantage of equality. The Cru- sades and the wars of the English decimated the nobles and divided their possessions; the erection of communities intro- duced an element of democratic liberty into the bosom of feudal monarchy ; the invention of fire-arms equalized the villein and the noble on the field of battle; printing opened the same re- sources to the minds of all classes ; the post was organized so as to bring the same information to the door of the poor man's I*; ft ' I; i:! !^ 6 DE TOCQUEVILLE cottage and to the gate of the palace ; and Protestantism pro- claimed that all men are alike able to find the road to heaven. The discovery of America offered a thousand new paths to fortune, and placed riches and power within the reach of the adventurous and the obscure. If we examine what has hap- pened in France at intervals of fifty years, beginning with the eleventh century, we shall invariably perceive that a twofold revolution has taken place in the state of society. The noble has gone down on the social ladder, and the roturier has gone up; the one descends as the other rises. Every half century brings them nearer to each other, and they will very shortly meet. Nor is this phenomenon at all peculiar to France. Whither- soever we turn our eyes we shall witness the same continual revolution throughout the whole of Christendom. The various occurrences of national existence have everywhere turned to the advantage of democracy ; all men have aided it by their ex- ertions : those who have intentionally labored in its •.^use, and those who have served it unwittingly ; those who ha"e fought for it and those who have declared themselves its opponents, have all been driven along in the same track, have all labored to one end, some ignorantly and some unwillingly ; all have been blind instruments in the hands of God. The gradual development of the equality of conditions is therefore a providential fact, and it possesses all the characteris- tics of a divine decree : it is universal, v' '"s durable, it constantly eludes all human interference, and all events as well as all men contribute to its progress. Would it, then, be wise to imagine that a social impulse which dates from so far back can be checked by the efforts of a generation ? Is it credible that the democracy which has annihilated the feudal system and vanquished kings will respect the citizen and the capitalist? Will it stop now that it has grown so strong and its adversaries so weak ? None can say which way we are going, for all terms of comparison are wanting: the equality of conditions is more complete in the Christian countries of the present day than it has been at any time or in any part of the world ; so that the extent of what al- ready exists prevents us from foreseeing what may be yet to come. The whole book which is here offered to the public has been written under the impression of a kind of religious dread pro- ', \ DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA 1 duced in the author's mind by the contemplati(/ of so in - sistible a revolution, which has advanced for centuries in spite ui such amazing obstacles, and which is still proceeding in the midst of the ruins it has made. It is not necessary that God himself should speak in order to disclose to us the unquestion- able signs of His will; we can discern them in the habitual course of nature, and in the invariable tendency of events : I know, without a special revelation, that the planets move in the orbits traced by the Creator's finger. If the men of our time were led by attentive observation and by sincere reflection to acknowledge that the gradual and progressive development of social equality is at once the past and future of their history, this solitary truth would confer the sacred character of a Divine decree upon the change. To attempt to check democracy would be in that case to resist the will of God ; and the nations would then be constrained to make the best of the social lot awarded to them by Providence. The Christian nations of our age seem to me to present a most alarming spectacle; the impulse which is bearing them along is so strong that it cannot be stopped, but it is not yet so rapid that it cannot be guided : their fate is in their hands ; yet a little while and it may be so no longer. The first duty which is at this time imposed upon those who direct our affairs is to educate the democracy ; to warm its faith, if that be possible ; to purify its morals; to direct its energies; to substitute a knowledge of business for its inexperience, and an acquaintance with its true interests for its blind propensities ; to adapt its government to time and place, and to modify it in compliance with the occur- rences and the actors of the age. A new science of politics is in- dispensable to a new world. This, however, is what we think of least ; launched in the middle of a rapid stream, we obsti- nately fix our eyes on the ruins which may still be described upon the shore we have left, whilst the current sweeps us along, and drives us backwards towards the gulf. In no country in Europe has the great social revolution which I have been describing made such rapid progress as in France ; but it has always been borne on by chance. The heads of the State have never had any forethought for its exigencies, and its victories have been obtained without their consent or with- out their knowledge. The most powerful, the most intelligent, and the most moral classes of the nation have never attempted to |l y Li ft \ 8 DE TOCQUEVILLE I ( \\^i^. •t r i fl connect themselves with it in order to guide it. The people has consequently been abandoned to its wild propensities, and it has grown up like those outcasts who receive their education in the public streets, and who arc unacquainted with aught but the vices and wretchedness of society. The existence of a de- mocracy was seemingly unknown, when on a sudden it took possession of the supreme power. Everything was then sub- mitted to its caprices ; it was worshipped as the idol of strength ; until, when it was enfeebled by its own excesses, the legislator conceived the rash project of annihilating its power, instead of instructing it and correcting its vices;, no attempt was made to fit it to govern, but all were bent on excluding it from the gov- ernment. The consequence of this has been that the democratic revolu- tion has been effected only in the material parts of society, with- out that concomitant change in laws, ideas, customs, and man- ners which Was necessary to render such a revolution beneficial. We have gotten a democracy, but without the conditions which lessen its vices and render its natural advantages more promi- nent ; and although we already perceive the evils it brings, we are ignorant of the benefits it may confer. While the power of the Crown, supported by the aristocracy, peaceably governed the nations of Europe, society possessed, in the midst of its wretchedness, several different advantages which can now scarcely be appreciated or conceived. The power of a part of his subjects was an insurmountable barrier to the tyranny of the prince; and the monarch, who felt the almost divine character which he enjoyed in the eyes of the multitude, derived a motive for the just use of his power from the respect which he inspired. High as they were placed above the people, the nobles could not but take that calm and benevolent interest in its fate which the shepherd feels towards his flock ; and with- out acknowledging the poor as their equals, they watched over the destiny of those whose welfare Providence had entrusted to their care. The people never having conceived the idea of a social condition different from its own, and entertaining no expectation of ever ranking with its chiefs, received benefits from them without discussing their rights. It grew attached to them when they were clement and just, and it submitted with- out resistance or servility to their exactions, as to the inevit- able visitations of the arm of God. Custom, and the manners :^ji DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA of the time, had moreover created a species of law in the midst of violence, and established certain limits to oppression. As the noble never suspected that anyone would attempt to deprive him of the privileges which he believed to be legitimate, and as the serf looked upon his own inferiority as a consequence of the immutable order of nature, it is easy to imagine that a mutual exchange of good-will took place between two classes so diflfer- ently j;iftcd by fate. Inequality and wretchedness were then to be found in society ; but the souls of neither rank of men were degraded. Men are not corrupted by the exercise of power or debased by the habit of obedience, but by the exercise of a power which they believe to be illegal and by obedience to a rule which they consider to be usurped and oppressive. On one side was wealth, strength, and leisure, accompanied by the refinements of luxury, the elegance of taste, the pleasures of wit, and the re- ligion of art. On the other was labor and a rude ignorance ; but in the midst of this coarse and ignorant multitude it was not un- common to meet with energetic passions, generous sentiments, profound religious convictions, and independent virtues. The body of a State thus organized might boast of its stability, its power, and, above all, of its glory. But the scene is now changed, and gradually the two ranks mingle ; the divisions which once severed mankind are lowered, property is divided, power is held in common, the light of intelli- gence spreads, and the capacities of all classes are equally culti- vated ; the State becomes democratic, and the empire of de- mocracy is slowly and peaceably introduced into the institutions and the manners of the nation. I can conceive a society in which all men would profess an equal attachment and respect for the laws of which they are the common authors ; in which the au- thority of the State would be respected as necessary, though not as divine ; and the loyalty of the subject to its chief magis- trate would not be a passion, but a quiet and rational persua- sion. Every individual being, in the possession of rights which he is sure to retain, a kind of manly reliance and reciprocal courtesy would arise between all classes, alike removed from pride and meanness. The people, well acquainted with its true intcvests, would allow that in order to profit by the advantages of society it is necessary to satisfy its demands. In this state of things the voluntary association of the citizens might supply "/ K I: lO DE TOCQUEVILLE the individual exertions of the nobles, and the community would be alike protected from anarchy and from oppression. I admit that, in a democratic State thus constituted, society will not be stationary ; but the impulses of the social body may be regulated and directed forwards; if there be less splendor than in the li ills of an aristocracy, the contrast of misery will be less frequent also; the pleasures of enjoyment may be less excessive, but those of comfort will be more general ; the sci- ences may be less perfectly cultivated, but ignorance will be less common ; the impetuosity of the feelings will be repressed, and the habits of the nation softened ; there will be more vices and fewer crimes. In the absence of enthusiasm and of an ardent faith, great sacrifices may be obtained from the members of a commonwealth by an appeal to their understandings and their experience ; each individual will feel the same necessity for unit- ing with his fellow-citizens to protect his own weakness ; and as he knows that if they are to assist he must co-operate, he will readily perceive that his personal interest is identified with the interest of the community. The nation, taken as a whole, will be less brilliant, less glorious, and perhaps less strong; but the majority of the citizens will enjoy a greater degree of pros- perity, and the people will remain quiet, not because it despairs of amelioration, but because it is conscious of the advantages of its condition. If all the consequences of this state of things were not good or useful, society would at least have appropri- ated all such as were useful and good ; and having once and for ever renounced the social advantages of aristocracy, mankind would enter into possession of all the benefits which democracy can afiford. But here it may be asked what we have adopted in the place of those institutions, those ideas, and those customs of our fore- fathers which we have abandoned. The spell of royalty is broken, but it has not been succeeded by the majesty of the laws ; the people has learned to despise all authority, but fear now ex- torts a larger tribute of obedience than that which was formerly paid by reverence and by love. I perceive that we have destroyed those independent beings which were able to cope with tyranny single-handed ; but it is the Government that has inherited the privileges of which fam- ilies, corporations, and individuals have been deprived ; the weakness of the whole community has therefore succeeded that DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA II influence of a small body of citizens, which, if it was sometimes oppressive, was often conservative. The division of property has lessened the distance which separated the rich from the poor ; but it would seem that the nearer they draw to each other, the greater is their mutual hatred, and the more vehement the envy and the dread with which they resist each other's claims to power ; the notion of Right is alike insensible to both classes, and Force affords to both the only argument for the present, and the only guarantee for the future. The poor man retains the prejudices of his forefathers without their faith, and their ig- norance without their virtues ; he has adopted the doctrine of self-interest as the rule of his actions, without understanding the science which controls it, and his egotism is no less blind than his devotedness was formerly. If society is tranquil, it is not because it relies upon its strength and its well-being, but because it knows its weakness and its infirmities ; a single eflfort may cost it its life; everybody feels the evil, but no one has courage or energy enough to seek the cure; the desires, the regret, the sorrows, and the joys of the time produce nothing that is visible or permanent, like the passions of old men which terminate in impotence. We have, then, abandoned whatever advantages the old state of things aflforded, without receiving any compensation from our present condition ; we have destroyed an aristocracy, and we seem inclined to survey its ruins with complacency, and to fix our abode in the midst of them. The phenomena which the intellectual world presents are not less deplorable. The democracy of France, checked in its course or abandoned to its lawless passions, has overthrown whatever crossed its path, and has shaken all that it has not destroyed. Its empire on society has not been gradually introduced or peaceably established, but it has constantly advanced in the midst of disorder and the agitation of a conflict. In the heat of the struggle each partisan is hurried beyond the limits of his opinions by the opinions and the excesses of his opponents, un- til he loses sight of the end of his exertions, and holds a language which disguises his real sentiments or secret instincts. Hence arises the strange confusion which we are witnessing. I can- not recall to my mind a passage in history more worthy of sor- row and of pity than the scenes which are happening under our eyes ; it is as if the natural bond which unites the opinions of Ml » f )i III As .r: 1 if i M \(\ V* .'.». 12 DE TOCQUEVILLE man to his tastes and his actions to his principles was now broken ; the sympathy which has always been acknowledged be- tween the feelings and the ideas of mankind appears to be dis- solved, and all the laws of moral analogy to be abolished. Zealous Christians may be found amongst us whose minds are nurtured in the love and knowledge of a future life, and who readily espouse the cause of human liberty as the source of all moral greatness. Christianity, which has declared that all men are equal in the sight of God, will not refuse to acknowl- edge that all citizens are equal in the eye of the law. But, by a singular concourse of events, religion is entangled in those insti- tutions which democracy assails, and it is not unfrequently brought to reject the equality it loves, and to curse that cause of liberty as a foe which it might hallow by its alliance. By the side of these religious men I discern others whose looks are turned to the earth more than to Heaven ; they are the partisans of liberty, not only as the source of the noblest virtues, but more especially as the root of all solid advantages ; and they sincerely desire to extend its sway, and to impart its blessings to mankind. It is natural that they should hasten to invoke the assistance of religion, for they must know that liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith ; but they have seen religion in the ranks of their adver- saries, and they inquire no further; some of them attack it openly, and the remainder are afraid to defend it. In former ages slavery has been advocated by the venal and slavish-minded, whilst the independent and the warm-hearted were struggling without hope to save the liberties of mankind. But men of high and generous characters are now to be met with, whose opinions are at variance with their inclinations, and who praise that servility which they have themselves never known. Others, on the contrary, speak in the name of liberty, as if they were able to feel its sanctity and its majesty, and loudly claim for humanity those rights which they have always disowned. There are virtuous and peaceful individuals whose pure morality, quiet habits, affluence, and talents fit them to be the leaders of the surrounding population ; their love of their country is sincere, and they are prepared to make the greatest sacrifices to its welfare, but they confound the abuses of civiliza- tion with its benefits, and the idea of evil is inseparable in their minds from that of novelty. DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA 13 Not far from this class is another party, whose object is to materialize mankind, to hit upon what is expedient without heeding what is just, to acquire knowledge without faith, and prosperity apart from virtue ; assuming the title of the cham- pions of modern civilization, and placing themselves in a station which they usurp with insolence, and from which they are driven by their own unworthiness. Where are we then? The religionists are the enemies of liberty, and the friends of liberty attack religion; the high-minded and the noble advocate sub- jection, and the meanest and most servile minds preach inde- pendence; honest and enlightened citizens are opposed to all progress, whilst men without patriotism and without principles are the apostles of civilization and of intelligence. Has such been the fate of the centuries which have preceded our own? and has man always inhabited a world like the present, where nothing is linked together, where virtue is without genius, and genius without honor; where the love of order is confounded with a taste for oppression, and the holy rites of freedom with a contempt of law ; where the light thrown by conscience on hu- man actions is dim, and where nothing seems to be any longer forbidden or allowed, honorable or shameful, false or true? I cannot, however, believe that the Creator made man to leave him in an endless struggle with the intellectual miseries which sur- round us : God destines a calmer and a more certain future to the communities of Europe ; I am unacquainted with His de- signs, but I shall not cease to believe in them because I cannot fathom them, and I had rather mistrust my own capacity than His justice. There is a country in the world where the great revolution which I am speaking of seems nearly to have reached its natural limits ; it has been effected with ease and simplicity, say rather that this country has attained the consequences of the demo- cratic revolution which we are undergoing without having experienced the revolution itself. The emigrants who fixed themselves on the shores of America in the beginning of the seventeenth century severed the democratic principle from all the principles which repressed it in the old communities of Eu- rope, and transplanted it unalloyed to the New World. It has there been allowed to spread in perfect freedom, and to put forth its consequences in the laws by influencing the manners of the country. f r hi 11 '^ ■,13 i '% 1 V7J 14 DE TOCQUEVILLE It appears to me beyond a doubt that sooner or later we shall arrive, like the Americans, at an almost complete equality of conditions. But I do not conclude from this that we shall ever be necessarily led to draw the same political consequences which the Americans have derived from a similar social organization. I am far from supposing that they have chosen the only form of government which a democracy may adopt ; but the identity of the efficient cause of laws and manners in the two countries is sufficient to account for the immense interest we have in becom- ing acquainted with its effects in each of them. It is not, then, merely to satisfy a legitimate curiosity that I have examined America ; my wish has been to find instruction by which we may ourselves profit. Whoever should imagine that I have intended to write a panegyric will perceive that such was not my design ; nor has it been my object to advocate any form of government in particular, for I am of opinion that ab- solute excellence is rarely to be found in any legislation ; I have not even affected to discuss whether the social revolution, which I believe to be irresistible, is advantageous or prejudicial to man- kind; I have acknowledged this revolution as a fact already accomplished or on the eve of its accomplishment ; and I have selected the nation, from amongst those which have undergone it, in which its development has been the most peaceful and the most complete, in order to discern its natural consequences, and, if it be possible, to distinguish the means by which it may be rendered profitable. I confess that in America I saw more than America ; I sought the image of democracy itself, with its in- clinations, its character, its prejudices, and its passions, in or- der to learn what we have to fear or to hope from its progress. In the first part of this work I have attempted to show the te dency given to the laws by the democracy of America, which is abandoned almost without restraint to its instinctive propen- sities, and to exhibit the course it prescribes to the Government and the influence it exercises on affairs. I have sought to dis- cover the evils and the advantages which it produces. I have examined the precautions used by the Americans to direct it, as well as those which they have not adopted, and I have under- taken to point out the causes which enable it to govern so- ciety. I do not know whether I have succeeded in making known what I saw in America, but I am certain that such has DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA 15 been my sincere desire, and that I have never, knowingly, moulded facts to ideas, instead of ideas to facts. Whenever a point could be established by the aid of written documents, I have had recourse to the original text, and to the most authentic and approved works, I have cited my au- thorities in the notes, and anyone may refer to them. Whenever an opinion, a political custom, or a remark on the manners of the country was concerned, I endeavored to consult the most enlightened men I met with. If the point in question was im- portant or doubtful, I was not satisfied with one testimony, but I formed my opinion on the evidence of several witnesses. Here the reader must necessarily believe me upon my word. I could frequently have quoted names which are either known to him, or which deserve to be so, in proof of what I advance | but I have carefully abstained from this practice. A stranger fre- quently hears important truths at the fire-side of his host, which the latter would perhaps conceal from the ear of friendship ; he consoles himself with his guest for the silence to which he is restricted, and the shortness of the traveller's stay takes away all fear of his indiscretion. I carefully noted every conversation of this nature as soon as it occurred, but these notes will never leave my writing-case; I had rather injure the success of my statements than add my name to the list of those strangers who repay the generous hospitality they have received by subsequent chagrin and annoyance. I am aware that, notwithstanding my care, nothing will be easier than to criticise this book, if anyone ever chooses to criti- cise it. Those readers who may examine it closely will discover the fundamental idea which connects the several parts together. But the diversity of the subjects I have had to treat is exceed- ingly great, and it will not be difficult to oppose an isolated fact to the body of facts which I quote, or an isolated idea to the body of ideas I put forth. I hope to be read in the spirit which has guided my labors, and that my book may be judged by the gen- eral impression it leaves, as I have formed my own judgment not on any single reason, but upon the mass of evidence. It must not be forgotten that the author who wishes to be understood is obliged to push all his ideas to their utmost theoretical conse- quences, and often to the verge of what is false or impractic- able ; for if it be necessary sometimes to quit the rules of logic in active life, such is not the case in discourse, and a man finds ■I ill 'I V. m % k I ' I! r i',: II 1; II I6 f* I ti! DE TOCQUEVILLE that almost as many difficulties spring from inconsistency of language as usually arise from inconsistency of conduct. I conclude by pointing out myself what many readers will consider the principal defect of the work. This book is written to favor no particular views, and in composing it I have enter- tained no designs of serving or attacking any party; I have undertaken not to see differently, but to look further than par- ties, and whilst they are busied for the morrow I have turned my thoughts to the Future. I) \ .^:^ :i CHAPTER I EXTERIOR FORM OF NORTH AMERICA North America divided into two vast regions, one inclining towards the Pole, the other towards the Equator — Valley of the Mississippi — Traces of the Revolutions of the Globe — Shore of the Atlantic Ocean where the English Colonies were founded — Difference in the appearance of North and of South America at ti.e time of their Discovery — Forests of North America — Prairies — Wandering Tribes of Natives — Their outward appearance, manners, and lan- guage — Traces of an unknown people. NORTH AMERICA presents in its external form certain general features which it is easy to discriminate at the first glance. A sort of methodical order seems to have regulated the separation of land and water, mountains and val- leys. A simple, but grand, arrangement is discoverable amidst the confusion of objects and the prodigious variety of scenes. This continent is divided, almost equally, into two vast regions, one of which is bounded on the north by the Arctic Pole, and by the two great oceans on the east and west. It stretches towards the south, forming a triangle whose irregular sides meet at length below the great lakes of Canada. The second region begins where the other terminates, and includes all the re- mainder of the continent. The one slopes gently towards the Pole, the other towards the Equator. The territory comprehended in the first region descends towards the north with so imperceptible a slope that it may almost be said to form a level plain. Within the bounds of this immense tract of country there are neither high mountains nor deep valleys. Streams meander through it irregularly : great rivers mix their currents, separate and meet again, disperse and form vast marshes, losing all trace of their channels in the laby- rinth of waters they have themselves created ; and thus, at length, after innumerable windings, fall into the Polar Seas. The great lakes which bound this first region are not walled in, Vol. I. — 2 17 '^1 \ h^' ,1 il rhH -*) Wi' m i8 DE TOCQUEVILLE like most of those in the Old World, between hills and rocks. Their banks are flat, and rise but a few feet above the level of their waters ; each of them thus forming a vast bowl filled to the brim. The slightest change in the structure of the globe would cause their waters to rush either towards the Pole or to the tropical sea. The second region is more varied on its surface, and better suited for the habitation of man. Two long chains of moun- tains divide it from one extreme to the other ; the Alleghany ridge takes the form of the shores of the Atlantic Ocean ; the other is parallel with the Pacific. The space which lies between these two chains of mountains contains 1,341,649 square miles.o Its surface is therefore about six times as great as that of France. This vast territory, however, forms a single valley, one side of which descends gradually from the rounded sum- mits of the Alleghanies, while the other rises in an uninter- rupted course towards the tops of the Rocky Mountains. At the bottom of the valley flows an immense river, into which the various streams issuing from the mountains fall from all parts. In memory of their native land, the French formerly called this river the St. Louis. The Indians, in their pompous language, have named it the Father of Waters, or the Missis- sippi. The Mississippi takes its source above the limit of the two great regions of which I have spoken, not far from the highest point of the table-land where they unite. Near the same spot rises another river,& which empties itself into the Polar seas. The course of the Mississippi is at first dubious: it winds several times towards the north, from whence it rose; and at leiiglh, after having been delayed in lakes and marshes, it flows slowly onwards to the south. Sometimes quietly gliding along the argillaceous bed which nature has assigned to it, some- times swollen by storms, the Mississippi waters 2,500 miles in its course.c At the distance of 1,364 miles from its mouth this river attains an average depth of fifteen feet ; and it is navigated by vessels of 300 tons burden for a course of nearly 500 miles. Fifty-seven large navigable rivers contribute to swell the waters of the Mississ''^ipi ; amongst others, the Missouri, which trav- erses a space of 2,500 miles ; the Arkansas of 1,300 miles, the View of the United __f Warden's _ " Description of the a Darby's States." bThe Red River. f Warden's United States.' \ I,'.. (1 ii DEMOCRACY IN AMI lUCA »9 Red River i,ooo miles, four whose course is from 800 to 1,000 miles in length, viz., the Illinois, the St. Peter's, the St. Francis, and the Moingona; besides a countless multitude of rivulets which unite from all parts their tributary streams. The valley which is watered by the Mississippi seems formed to be the bed of this mighty river, which, like a god of antiquity, dispenses both good and evil in its course. On the shores of the stream nature displays an inexhaustible fertility; in propor- tion as you recede from its banks, the powers of vegetation languish, the soil becomes poor, and the plants that survive have a sickly growth. Nowhere have the great convulsions of the globe left more evident traces than in the valley of the Mis- sissippi ; the whole aspect of the country shows the powerful effects of water, both by its fertility and by its barrenness. The waters of the primeval ocean accumulated enormous beds of vegetable mould in the valley, which they levelled as they retired. Upon the right shore of the river are seen immense plains, as smooth as if the husbandman had passed over them with his roller. As you approach the mountains the soil becomes more and more unequal and sterile ; the ground is, as it were, pierced in a thousand places by primitive rocks, which appear like the bones of a skeleton whose flesh is partly consumed. The sur- face of the earth is covered with a granite sand and huge irreg- ular masses of stone, among which a few plants force their growth, and give the appearance of a green field covered with the ruins of a vast edifice. These stones and this sand discover, on examination, a perfect analogy with those which compose the arid and broken summits of the Rocky Mountains. The flood of waters which washed the soil to the bottom of the val- ley afterwards carried away portions of the rocks themselves; and these, dashed and bruised against the neighboring cliffs, were left scattered like wrecks at their feet.d The valley of the Mississippi is, upon the whole, the most magnificent dwell- ing-place prepared by God for man's abode; and yet it may be said that at present it is but a mighty desert. On the eastern side of the Alleghanies, between the base of these mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, there lies a long ridge of rocks and sand, which the sea appears to have left behind as it retired. The mean breadth of this territory does not exceed one hundred miles ; but it is about nine hundred miles in length. d See Appendix, A. i I''' 1,1 •■ It 1! li riscS?SKii^f2*rrTKfjn«M vU 20 DE TOCQUEVILLE . i This part of the American continent has a soil which offers every obstacle to the husbandman, and its vegetation is scanty and unvaried. Upon this inhospitable coast the first united efforts of human industry were made. The tongue of arid land was the cradle of those English colonies which were destined one day to become the United States of America. The centre of power still re- mains here; whilst in the backwoods the true elements of the great people to whom the future control of the continent be- longs are gathering almost in secrecy together. When the Europeans first landed on the shores of the West Indies, and afterwards on the coast of South America, they thought themselves transported into those fabulous regions of which poets had sung. The sea sparkled with phosphoric light, and the extraordinary transparency of its waters dis- covered to the view of the navigator all that had hitherto been hidden in the deep abyss.^ Here and there appeared little islands perfumed with odoriferous plants, and resembling bask- ets of flowers floating on the tranquil surface of the ocean. Every object which met the sight, in this enchanting region, seemed prepared to satisfy the wants or contribute to the pleas- ures of man. Almost all the trees were loaded with nourishing fruits, and those which were useless as food delighted the eye by the brilliancy and variety of their colors. In groves of fragrant lemon-trees, wild figs, flowering myrtles, acacias, and oleanders, which were hung with festoons of various climbing plants, covered with flowers, a multitude of birds unknown in Europe displayed their bright plumage, glittering with purple and azure, and mingled their warbling with the harmony of a world teeming with life and motion.^ Underneath this brilliant exterior death was concealed. But the air of these climates had so enervating an influence that man, absorbed by present enjoy- ment, was rendered regardless of the future. North America appeared under a very different aspect ; there everything was grave, serious, and solemn: it seemed created to be the domain of intelligence, as the South was that of sensual delight. A turbulent and foggy ocean washed its e Malte Brun tells us (vol. v. p. 726) that the water of the Caribbean Sea is so transparent that corals and fish are discernible at a depth of sixty fathoms. The ship seemerl to float in air, the navi- gator became giddy as his eye pene- trated through the crystal flood, and beheld submarine gardens, or beds of shells, or gilded fishes gliding among tufts and thickets of seaweed. / See Appendix, B. I DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA •I V shores. It was girt round by a belt of granite rocks, or by wide tracts of sand. The foliage of its woods was dark and gloomy, for they were composed of firs, larches, evergreen oaks, wild olive-trees, and laurels. Beyond this outer belt lay the thick shades of the central forest, where the largest trees which are produced in the two hemispheres grow side by side. The plane, the catalpa, the sugar-maple, and the Vir ginian poplar mingled their branches with those of the oak, the beech, and the lime. In these, as in the forests of the Old World, destruction was perpetually going on. The ruins of vegetation were heaped upon each other; but there was no laboring h?:id to remove them, and their decay was not rapid enough to make room for the continual work of reproduction. Climbing plants, grasses, and other herbs forced their way through the mass of dying trees ; they crept along their bend - ing trui>ks, found nourishment in their dusty cavities, and a passage beneath the lifeless bark. Thus decay gave its assist- ance to life, and their respective productions were mingled together. The depths of these forests were gloomy and ob- scure, and a thousand rivulets, undirected in their course by human industry, preserved in them a constant moisture. It was rare to meet with flowers, wild fruits, or birds beneath their shades. The fall of a tree overthrown by age, the rushing tor- rent of a cataract, the lowing of the buffalo, and the howling of the wind were the only sounds which broke the silence of nature. To the east of the great river, the woods almost disappeared : in their stead were seen prairies of immense extent. Whether Nature in her infinite variety had denied the germs of trees to these fertile plains, or whether they had once been covered with forests, subsequently destroyed by the hand of man, is a question which neither tradition nor scientific research has been able to resolve. These immense deserts were not, however, devoid of human inhabitants. Some wandering tribes had been for ages scat- tered among the forest shades or the green pastures of the prairie. From the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the delta of the Mississippi, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, these savages possessed certain points of resemblance which bore witness of their common origin ; but at the same time they (ill 1 1 I I i M i2 DE TOCQUEVILLR t^ ' l.fr (lifTcrcd from all other known races of men :g they were neither white like the ICuropcans, nor yellow like most of the Asiatics, nor black like the negroes. Their skin was reddish brown, their hair long and shining, their lips thin, and their cheek- bones very prominent. The languages spoken by the North American tribes are various as far as regarded their words, but they were subject to the same grammatical rules. These rules differed in several points from such as had been observed to govern the origin of language. The idiom of the Americans .seemed to be the product of new combinations, and !)espoke an efifort of the understanding of which the Indians of our days would be incapable.* The social state of these tribes differed also in many respects from all that was seen in the Old World. They seemed to have multiplied freely in the midst of their deserts without coming in contact with other races more civilized than their own. Ac- cordingly, they exhibited none of those indistinct, incoherent notions of right and wrong, none of that deep corruption of manners, which is usually joined with ignorance and rudeness among nations which, after advancing to civilization, have re- lapsed into a state of barbarism. The Indian was indebted to no one but himself; his virtues, his vices, and his prejudices were his own work ; he had grown up in the wild independence of his nature. Tf, in polished countries, the lowest of the people are rude and uncivil, it is not merely because they are poor and ignorant, but that, being so, they are in daily contact with rich and en- lightened men. The sight of their own hard lot and of their weakness, which is daily contrasted with the happiness and power of some of their fellow-creatures, excites in their hearts at the same time the sentiments of anger and of fear : the con- sciousness of their inferiority and of their dependence irritates while it humiliates them. This state of mind displays itself in their manners and language; they are at once insolent and servile. The truth of this is easily proved by observation ; g With the progress of discovery some resemblance has been found to exist be- tween the physical conformation, the language, and the habits of the Indians of North America, and those of the Tongous, Mantchous, Mongols, Tar- tars, and other wandering tribes of Asia. The land occupied by these tribes is not very distant from Behring's Strait, which allows of the supposition. that at a remote period they gave in- habitants to the desert continent of America. But this is a point which has not yet been clearly elucidated by science. See Malte Brun, vol. v.; the works of Humboldt; Fischer, "Conjec- ture sur rOrigine des Americains"; Adair, " History of the American In* dians." h See Appendix, C. il'l DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA •3 the people arc more rude in aristocratic countries than else- where, in opulent cities than in rural districts. In those places where the rich and powerful are assembled together the weak and the indigent feel themselves oppressed by their inferior condition. Unable to perceive a single chance of regaining their equality, they give up to