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Short Essay #1

Alexis de Tocqueville’s commentary and analysis on American society in his given time period have been quite extreme and biased. The advancements that have launched our society to where it is today would definitely generate different forms of productive thinking in relation to contemporary problems than that of Tocqueville’s.  Tocqueville has touched on various topics throughout several of his writings: this includes, How Equality Suggests to the Americans the Indefinite Perfectibility of Man, The Exterior form of North America, and The Present and Probably Future Condition of the Three Races that Inhabit the Territory of the United States. Much has changed since the time that Tocqueville has spoken on the circumstances of America: human nature has developed, the land has been developed, and social equality is an area of major focus. Tocqueville’s thinking and methodology have expired due to the progression of America.

            The reading, How Equality Suggests to the Americans the Idea of the Indefinite Perfectibility of Man was relatively interesting to me. Based off of the title, ‘time’ stuck out to me most. The reason being is because different generations that derive from different periods of time offer different perspectives. In other words, humanity is always changing, to some, it may seem for the better, but to others, it could be for the worse.  Tocqueville brings up an example of a sailor and why his ship is only meant to last for so long. Ships are only occupied for so long due to the progress that scientists and engineers are able to make. As time goes on, it can be inferred that certain things advance and in this case, it is the development of ships. Democratic nations are said to be responsible for this as progression is accepted and encouraged. Generations of time are said to be building off of one another.

            The reading, The Exterior Form of North America by Tocqueville lies out and describes what America looked like geographically before it was settled. North America was known as a hotbed for opportunity at the time and land was extremely valuable. As many individuals know, there was a sense of rivalry between the settlers and Indigenous population. Tocqueville goes on to emphasize how they basically take up space on this newly founded land and do not develop it, but rather uses its’ resources. Contrary to popular belief, the Indigenous appreciated what they had as they used forms of religion and farming to show this. Many Indigenous were confused as to why they were being treated in such a harsh way. The reason being is because the whites felt as though they were missing out, or would not get the opportunity to do what they wished with this land. Native Americans were seen as ‘savages’ by the whites and not much could persuade or convince them otherwise. Obviously, though, there are exceptions to the stereotypes that loomed America at the time and people did not entirely agree with the majority. Without the Indigenous, early land development would not have taken place the same way it was without them.

            In The Present and Probably Future Condition of the Three Races that Inhabit the Territory of the United States by Tocqueville, there is a heavy emphasis on the three groups that occupied North America at the time: the Indigenous people, African Americans, and the Europeans. The Indigenous people along with the blacks faced much of the systematic influences that were being pressured upon them by the Europeans. The Indigenous were seen as useless to the development of American land and the blacks were used as slaves under European rule. Racism is a reoccurring theme that takes place in this chapter, but the focus is more intended towards blacks than the Indigenous. Tocqueville disapproves of African Americans; the ideas of coexistence between blacks and whites are not present in Tocqueville’s eyes. In today’s terms, coexistence is stressed, but not always occurring.

            To an extent, American society and culture can learn from Tocqueville’s thinking. Building off of past experiences is critical to the development of new ideologies. Despite the fact that Tocqueville’s thinking is heavily outdated, he could assist the ways in which society functions today. Modern individuals have the ability and potential to grow and move beyond his ways; therefore, to a minor extent, Tocqueville can provoke American society to productively think about how to address contemporary problems.

2 replies on “Short Essay #1”

I find that this is a great essay and I agree with all of the points that were made. My only suggestion is that you could have used quotes or specific in-text examples from Toqcuevilles writing and examples in our modern-day world that demonstrate why his writing either relates or does not relate. Specifically, in the third body paragraph, you could have gone further in applying how coexistence is not consistently occurring. Specifically, I find that relating an example discussing current immigration policy would be a great example to add as the United States could be more consistently open to the diversity brought by positive immigration policy reforms.

Overall, this essay was very good and I agree with the majority of your ideas. I particularly liked how your argument was clearly organized as well as your analysis of Tocqueville’s writing. One way to improve your essay could include using quotes to help further explain your argument. Additionally, you could use more specific examples to help explain why you think Tocqueville’s work may not apply to our society today. A potential example of this could be when you discuss the paragraph about race you may want to say how diverse our community is today, unlike how Tocqueville said it was 150 years ago. Furthermore, there are certainly issues with race in society today, but you could argue that these issues are to a much lesser degree. Therefore, you may argue that you come across people of different races whether at work, in your neighborhood, or in other parts of your everyday life.

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