In Chapter 18 of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, he presents the three distinct races that inhabit the United States. He claims that there is great social stratification between these groups and that the white citizens are the ones who are of the highest status. The other two groups, indigenous people and black people, are below the whites. When speaking specifically about the black people in the United States, he states that the slaves adjust to the habit of servitude and therefore come to idolize the white people who are their masters. If I am understanding correctly, he suggests that the slaves are brainwashed into accepting their position in society as well as striving to imitate their masters to the best of their ability. While this may be true for some of the slaves, it is also true that others were conscious of the injustice that they were facing and many rebelled against the institution of slavery. Tocqueville does not mention this in Chapter 18, however it is imperative to recognize these instances in order to fully understand the position of the slave in American society in the 1830s.
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