This statement is correct and that many things have changed since Tocqueville analyzed America 150 years ago. Tocqueville’s analysis does not account for major changes in American society that have shaped it as it is today. His analysis of the situation at the time is comprehensive and takes many factors into account. It provides insight into the problems of America and how they might resolve and or continue to cause problems.
One way in which Tocqueville’s analysis differs from the present state of affairs in America is the integration of Native Americans in todays society. In the United States today Native-Americans have adopted the common American culture. They use much of the same day to day technology and services as the rest of American Society. In the time Tocqueville wrote, many Native American tribes inhabited the interior of the American Continent. It was Tocqueville’s opinion that Europeans were not able to civilize these tribes. The quote “Europeans have not been able to change the character of the Indians; and though they have had power to destroy, they have never been able to subdue and civilize them,” shows that Tocqueville is doubtful that the Native Americans will become civilized. He proposed that instead of trying to adopt a agrarian lifestyle the Native Americans would be wiped out or dispersed. He uses examples of the southern states in the Union evicting tribes off of their lands to show that the Americans treat the Native tribes in the same way the Europeans did. Tocqueville was correct in his prediction of Native American decimation. His assessment of the situation provided an accurate description of the Native American’s problems at the time. His readings do not offer much insight on modern Native American culture. They instead act as a insight into European opinions about the Native Americans in the mid 19thcentury.
At the time Tocqueville wrote his book, there was lots of political discussion over Slavery. Tocqueville talks much about the political divide between the states that support slavery and those that don’t. He believed that slavery would not last forever in American society. The divide between North and South was unsustainable and would lead to increased political division. His quote “Slavery, now confined to a single tract of the civilized earth, attacked by Christianity as unjust and by political economy as prejudicial, and now contrasted with democratic liberty and the intelligence of our age, cannot survive.” shows Tocqueville’s critical view on the ethics of slavery. Much of what he says is no longer applicable to our modern-day society because slavery has been abolished for one hundred and fifty years. The abolishment of slavery has had profound effects on society since Tocqueville’s time. In the United States today millions of African Americans vote in elections, own property and pay taxes. In Tocqueville’s day African Americans had no rights. In the early 19thcentury, much of the population of the Americas was prevented from voting. Today all adults are legally allowed to participate in government. These changes have drastically changed the course of our society and make Tocqueville’s analysis less applicable.
7 replies on “Short Essay 1”
I find your argument well written and it has good supporting evidence but I will take a shot at opposing. Tocqueville did analyze America 150 years ago but I don’t think that necessarily means that it doesn’t help us productively think about how to address contemporary problems in America society today for one main reason– history repeats itself. I don’t mean literally repetitive but there are events that are similar enough to justify repetition. For example, the assassinations of Lincoln and JFK– there are many similarities and we did not learn very much after the first assassination hence it happening again. Another example, The Great Depression and The Great Recession– There was definitely enough time to analyze the problems and figuring a solution before the same problem happened again.
Some of Tocqueville’s predictions were on target and correct and as we have a history of being unable to learn from our lessons I think that his perspective on society is still valuable. Also, we can learn a lot from literature because it provides different ideas, motives and perspectives that allows us to be prepared and more intelligent about the well-being of our society in the present and future.
This a well-written essay, as I agree with your points. While Tocqueville’s writing was and still is important, it does not necessarily mean it still applies to our world today. He certainly had many accurate predictions, but the world is simply very different today than when Tocqueville was writing 150 years ago. Therefore, as you mention, much of his ideas can be insightful and important to study, but this does not mean they are accurate or useful today. Additionally, you do a good job of applying supportive quotes to your argument, and your ideas seem to be well organized.
I liked this more obvious yet equally essential point on the basis of race compared to the equally prominent differences in politics and economics. Upon my first read I never even noticed the differences in opinions of natives since I contributed to the opinions of the time. You are most certainly right in stating the perceptions of race and humanities ability to assimilate has significantly changed since the time of Tocqueville’s writing. This is a clear roadblock between any sort of modern relevance and backtracking it into more of a historical setting. I would also note that the same comparison could be made between the mostly English settlers of the 13 colonies and the Frenchman back home for Tocqueville. Furthermore, the political structure of France has gone through numerous occasions since the time of this piece.
I appreciate the angle you take here because I agree that these are the major way in which American society is different than it was in the 1830s and before. I believe that this is a much more compelling case compared to and argument about economics or political institutions, though there are of course some differences there too. As far as the content of your essay, you did a good job of pulling relevant quotes from the text. Another thing to note is that you included a distinct introductory paragraph but not a conclusion. I see that you have a conclusion sentence at the end of your last paragraph but it kind of melds in with the point you are making in your last paragraph. If you made a separate concusion paragraph and added a few more sentences to really bring the ideas you develop throughout this paper home, I think that would improve the conveyance of your argument.
After reading your essay I was intrigued to hear the stand that Alexis de Tocqueville took on the Native American merge into European society. His stand on this subject was true and thoughtful 150 years ago, but that does not mean that we can just cast it to the side. I feel that Tocqueville’s viewpoints can be translated and applied to many of today’s problems.
For example, how the Native Americans were dominated by the Europeans who had more wealth and supplies than them. They were looked as an inferior peoples. Compare that to the Mexican-American Boarder war we have going on today. America was built on immigration, but because most Americans are more wealthy, and see Mexicans coming across our boarders as poor criminals, that is what we label them all as and want them to stay out of our land.
You present some good points about both Native Americans and African Americans in the body paragraphs of your essay. Your points are well-sourced and soundly backed by Tocqueville’s arguments. Aside from a few grammatical corrections that we discussed in class, the only significant comment I have to improve the essay is to give a bit more context in the introduction. It’s very abstract and different from the rest of your otherwise very descriptive paper. A few words here or there explaining what you mean instead of just saying “his analysis of the situation” could go a long way in helping the reader understand your argument.
I enjoyed your essay and how you used examples from the text to describe why Tocqueville’s writings wouldn’t be as relevant in todays society. The main point that contributed to your argument was slavery. You used plenty of examples and insight from the text and that added to your argument.