Tocqueville wrote about his discoveries almost two centuries ago. His language is quite different than what we use today but he’s able to illustrate America back then very well. He breaks down the democratic structure of the nation. Although technology has advanced and so has the human race, Tocqueville’s observations of early America can help us with the contemporary problems we face.
In his findings about the three races in early America, he breaks down how the Native Americans and slaves have nothing in common but still are inferior to the white race and in some way this will always continue even when slavery is over. Tocqueville is hundred percent correct. There is still discrimination in current day and even hate groups still exist. The past cannot be reversed and it is another reason why with advancements things may be better but cultural and structural things will have the same conflicts from the past. We will rely on what our ancestors did: living off the natural resources. For example, communities around the Mississippi River use it for its resources like water supply. Still to this day perfectibility will never be fully obtained and that goes as well with equality. Even with the improvements this country has experienced like having one of the greatest economies, we still face poverty. We certainly are far from being close to perfect and that is a good thing because we should never be comfortable with the current state of things. Change must always occur and that is what Tocqueville is getting at with at the ships. We can use that ship metaphor to understand that improvements are always there ready to be made because there is an indefinite limit to perfectibility. The fundamental concepts of Tocqueville’s philosophy of early America are still present. They might not be so prevalent but they exist.
The American government is founded by documents that were created hundreds of years ago. So, it is important to keep in mind that although something was from a while ago it can still hold great value. We are affected by the past every day and we cannot forget about it. It is easy to think Tocqueville’s discoveries are not relevant as he is from France and he is biased towards an aristocracy government. But Tocqueville looks at the core of early America and that is what hasn’t changed throughout the years. The white race continues to be superior and that is how it will be for years to come because that is how America was founded. It is unfortunate how things are but in Tocqueville’s eyes it is key to understand this and not be oblivious to it. Tocqueville’s philosophy can give us the proper awareness. Police brutality occurs against black people and that is just a smaller magnitude of the hate black people experienced during the time Tocqueville explored America. His observations keep us in check and can help us learn from what happened in the past as we experience similar cultural and social problems that we did during Tocqueville’s exploration of America, and see that improvements have been made. It is inspiration to do even better in hopes of reaching perfectibility.
2 replies on “Short Essay #1”
I disagree with your point that Tocquevilles writings can still help with the contemporary problems we face. Much has changed since Tocquevilles time and his analysis is no longer relevant to modern issues. The core of America has changed throughout the years. The white race is no longer the only political actor in the American government. After abolition millions of slaves were able to vote and participate in modern government. This deeply altered the core of American society. We no longer experience the same social problems as were present in Tocquevilles day.
I think you did a good job at making your side of the argument very clear. One way you could make your argument stronger is using direct quotes from the text, like in areas where you talk about how Tocqueville’s argument could still be useful today. I like how you mention specific modern-day examples to show the clear distinction between Tocqueville’s time and the present.