Category: Short Essays and Responses

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. 

I disagree with the point of Tocqueville’s writings being too old to help us productively think about how to address contemporary problems in American society. I think his views on equality of the social classes can greatly help our class system today. Although it may be too late due to the fact that the rich want to stay rich, Tocqueville’s writings could definitely shed valuable insight on that topic. 

In one of his writings Tocqueville says that: “When the citizens of a community are classed according to rank, profession, or birth and when all men are forced to follow the career which chance has opened before them, everyone thinks that the utmost limits of human power are to be discerned in proximity to himself, and no one seeks any longer to resist the inevitable law of his destiny.” This point Tocqueville makes is still very relevant in present day. People born into wealth have a tendency to get lazy and become contempt with their lives. People born into poor standing also can become contempt with the hands that they are dealt and not strive for more. The same idea stands for middle class people. Tocqueville believes that due to this lack of drive humans won’t complete their full potential with this same class system in place. 

Even though America is a democracy, people aren’t given the same opportunities from the day they are born. Democracy was still prevalent in Tocqueville’s time but the same circumstances occurred. Tocqueville believed that if society truly followed a true democratic model this problem of people being contempt with their environment wouldn’t be a problem. He thought that this would allow people to truly reach perfectibility in their lives. This idea could still help America today. 

While it is necessary to recognize that Tocqueville presented his ideas about American society in the 1830s when reading his work, specifically Democracy in America, many of his intuitive declarations and impressions remain beneficial when considering contemporary problems. In the several readings that have been addressed, Tocqueville provides an outside perspective on the unique establishment that is the United States. As a Frenchman, he is most familiar with aristocracy, but makes an effort to comment objectively on American democracy and its distinction from aristocracy. He describes in depth the ways in which America’s geographical aspects influence the lives of those who inhabit the land, the primary reasons for the Anglo-American migration to America, and the peculiar situation of the three races which exist in the country. All of these elements are omnipresent in certain ways in American society today, however Tocqueville’s sentiments on the condition of the three races in the United States is especially applicable to the substantial issue of racial prejudice that the country currently faces.

Although the United States is a democracy, it is not, nor has it ever been, a pure democracy. There is great social stratification among the people, and continuous contempt between those that are in power and those that are not. To put it plainly, the people who currently and always have held the power in America are the white citizens, specifically males. Through Tocqueville, the origin of this disjunction and the reason for its persistence is clear. In chapter 18, he speaks on the significant institution of slavery. Through slavery, the black race was born. Africans were stripped from their homes and grouped together as one identity even though they came from different cultures and places. Although slavery at the time was not yet abolished, Tocqueville predicted that it eventually would be, however he pointed out that “there is a natural prejudice that prompts men to despise whoever has been their inferior long after he has become their equal” (357). Even though slavery may cease to exist, Tocqueville insisted that inequality and disdain would remain. This is due to the idea that those who hold power usually do not want to give it up, and when it is possible that they may lose their higher status, they feel threatened. Additionally, because slavery created the black race, without slavery, free slaves do not yet have a place in society. As Tocqueville asserts, those in power will do all that they can to maintain their place of privilege.

Considering the issues that America is facing today revolving around race, Tocqueville’s theory is spot on. It allows readers to better conceptualize the issues of race in America today. Power remains in the hands of the white people and distaste is still felt by some toward other races. This is illustrated through the fact that almost all of the American presidents have been white. Additionally, the pushback that occurred when Barack Obama, an African American, was elected as President of the United States conveys the aversion towards black people that many white Americans unfortunately continue to hold. Therefore, Tocqueville’s ideas about the future are relevant when attempting to address these issues. At the end of the chapter Tocqueville indicates that “the Negroes and the whites must either wholly part or wholly mingle” (373). He suggests this because of his understanding that if America is to be a true democracy, equality must be entirely present for all races. Everyone must be on the same level in order to erase the damage that slavery and other cruel acts have forced those not classified as white to endure. Unfortunately, while there has been a notable improvement in the relations between the races in America since the 1830s, inequality still remains. Through Tocqueville one can understand why this is occurring and recognize that change must take place. 

It can be stated that while many years have passed, Americans are still facing many of the same societal problems. While Americans pride themselves in democracy and equality, these ideas do not exist for all who live in the country. This was the same in the 1830s as it is now. Race serves as an impediment to true equality. As seen through Democracy in America, Tocqueville recognized these foundational issues at the start. They have persisted into current times because they are deeply ingrained in the country’s roots. Therefore, Tocqueville’s point of view and suggestions for the future are beneficial and necessary when attempting to address certain contemporary issues in American society, specifically that of racial prejudice.

De Tocqueville, Alexis. 1990. Democracy in America. New York: Vintage Books Edition.