Many Points of Origin - One Point of Departure

Alexis & Me – Part I Chapter 2

This chapter is a fascinating précis in and of itself about the origins of American society, law, culture, and habit.

Alexis defines the various distinct regions of the country as it was founded, and the origins of the peoples who settled it. It is in this chapter that he really sets America apart from its predecessors on the world stage, and, to the reader centuries later, the nations that have risen and fallen since our gestation, birth, and maturity.

A distinct stand out in this chapter for me is (more…)

Tocqueville, referencing the ancient origins of democracy and its downfall:

“Almost before anyone was aware of [Democracy’s] existence, it seized power unexpectedly. From then on each man has abjectly catered to the least of its desires. Once it was worshiped as the very image of force. Later, after its strength had been sapped by its own excesses, legislators imprudently sought to destroy it rather than educate and discipline it. Instead of teaching it to govern, they thought of only expelling it from government.”

Those last two sentences are a bit eerie, if you consider (more…)

Alexis invites us further beyond the first few paragraphs by exploring the history  of France over the previous 700 years – from the start of the 12^th century to his day. While it ignores the massive impact of the Plague upon migration and the fall of the feudal system, his brief summary brings him to the point he wants to make concerning democracy:

“Once citizens began to hold land by other than feudal tenure, and transferable wealth, being conspicuous, created new wellsprings of power and influence, no discovery in the arts, no improvement in commerce or industry, failed to create a comparable number of new elements of equality among men. From that moment on, every newly discovered process, every newly conceived need, every new desire that craved to be satisfied, marked further steps toward universal leveling. The taste for luxury, the love of war, the sway of fashion, indeed, all the passions of the human heart from the most superficial to the most profound, seemed to conspire to impoverish the rich and enrich the poor. (more…)

Alexis grabbed me in his introduction right away.

“Among the new things that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, none struck me more forcefully than the equality of conditions. I readily discovered what a prodigious influence this basic fact exerts on the workings of society. It imparts a certain direction to the public spirit and a certain shape to laws, establishes new maxims for governing, and fosters distinctive habits in the governed. (more…)

Alexis de Tocqueville

Travel America with me for a while…

I am reading “Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote the book from 1835 to 1840.

From the jacket flap of the version translated by Arthur Goldhammer in The Library of America edition, 2004 [ISBN 1-931082-54-5]:

“A young and aristocratic lawyer, Tocqueville came to the United States in 1831 with his friend and fellow magistrate Gustave de Beaumont to study American penitentiary systems. During their nine month visit they conducted interviews with more than 200 people on American politics, law, and social practices. After returning to France, Tocqueville read hundreds of books and documents while reflecting on what his trip revealed about the “great democratic revolution” that was transforming the Western world.” [Emphasis mine]

I was reminded of this book by my good friend and fellow avid-reader, Kelley Durham. To her I owe a debt for (more…)