Alexis de Tocqueville DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA Edited by J.P. MAYER ‘Translated by George Lawrence i164 & HarperPerenni A Division of FarperCi Bom the 1850 editionAUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION No ‘omen in the Usted States scl me more vividly dur stay there than the equality of con to this nodal poi Later, when T came to consider our own side of the Atlantic, I CON Siaiara hirer aaa! not reached the exremne Enis found in the United State wat, {aly drain ce thay and that same‘democracy which pre- veiled ver the wre of Ameren seemed to me t0 be advancing rapidly toward powe10 Author's Introduction But then the political power of the clergy began to take shape and despised but flatered. enlightenment spread, and a taste for literature and the yy allowed the people to push past them. The ‘monarchs helped democracy by throne, and finally Louis XV with all his court descended into te dust. ‘As soon as citizens began to hold land otherwise than by feudal tad every improvement in wade dnd indus ested fet cement tending toward equality among men, Henceforward every new in- Author's Introduction " ‘vention, every new need occasioned thereby, and every now desire fis conquests spread along with those of civilization and enlighten- ‘ment, and Literature was an arsenal from which all, including the ‘weak and poor, daily chose their weapons. Running through the pages of our history, there is hardly an in ‘portant event in the last seven hundred years which has not tumed out t0 be advantageous for equality. ‘The Crusades and the English wars decimated the nobles and has gone down in the social scale, and the cone falls, the other rises. Bach half century brings them closer, and soon they will touch, ‘And that is not something peculiar to France. Wherever one looks fone finds the same revolution taking place throughout the Chris- tian world, ‘Everywhere the diverse happenings in the lives of peoples have tamed to democracy’s profit; all men’s efforts have aided it, both those who intended this and those who had no such intention, those ‘who fought for democracy and those who were the declared enemies thereof; all have been driven pell-mell along the same road, and alla Author's Introduction have worked together, some against their will and some uncon long in train could be halted by one generation? that democracy, which has destroyed the feudal d kings, will fall back before the middle classes top now, when it has grown so strong and its compariton are’ lacking; in Christian lands “now nearer equality than they have ever been before at any time or in any place: hence the magnitude of present achievement makes it ime appears as a figh tive but to aequi the social state imposed by Providence. To me the Christian nations of our day present an alarming spectacle; the movement which caries them along is already too strong to be halted, but it is not yet 50 swift that we must despair of directing its our fate is in our hands, but soon it may pass beyond control.18 Author's Introduction tyrant’s tastes, and the sacred cult of freedom is taken as scorn of law? Where conscience sheds but doubtful light on human actions? ‘Where nothing any longer seems either forbidden or permitted, honest cor dishonorable, true or false? ‘Am Ito believe that the Creator made man in order to let him struggle endlessly through the intellectual squalor now surrounding us? I cannot believe that; God intends a calmer and more stable ‘The emigrants who colonized America at the beginning of the seventeenth century in some way separated the principle of democ- racy from al] those other principles against which they contended when living in the heart of the old European societies, and trans- planted that principle only on the shores of the New World. It could Author's Introduction cuments. Among the American ative sd my researches 1 would especially mention Me. Edward ‘ime Secretary of State and subsequently Minister Plea20 who wish can check them. Where opini mores were concemed, I have tried people. In important or doubtful which at least are worth knowing s0. A stranger often hears iy firesice, truths which he might not divulge to his friends; itis a relief to break 4 constrained silence with a stranger whose short stay guarantecs his discretion. I noted down all such confidences as soon as I heard them, but they will never leave my notebooks; I would rather let my comments suffer than add my name to the list of those travelers who ‘repay generous hospitality with worries and embarrassments T realize that despite the trouble taken, nothing will be easier than ‘to criticize this book, if anyone thinks of doing an frolated opinion against m) book to Be read in the with it to be judged by hhave formed my own judgments any but in conformity with a mass of evidence. J: must not be forgotten that an author who wishes to be under- Sood is bound to derive all the theoretical consequences from each, of his ideas and must go to the verge of the falre and impracticable, for while it is sometimes mecessary to bruth rules of logic aside in setion, one cannot do so in the same way in conversation, and a man finds it almost as difficult to be i sntly but further than any T have wished to consider(from Volume One, Part I, Ch, 3) § Social State of the Anglo-Americans ao southwest of the Hudson, They brought with them aristocratic i principles, including the English law of inheritance. T have explained {he reasons that made it imposible ever to establish n powerful Chapter 3 i li SOCIAL STATE OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS Europe, for they had no privileges, and the use of slaves meant ‘that they had no tenants and consequently no patronage. However, the great landowners south of the Hudson did form an upper class, with its own ideas and tastes, and in general it did concentrate political activity in its hands. It was a sort of aristocracy not very ‘Tun socass. stare is commonly the result of circumstances, sometimes of laws, but most often of a combination of the two. But once it hhas come into being, it may itself be considered as the prime cause cof most of the laws, customs, and ideas which control the nation’s behavior; it modifies even those things which it does not cause. | Therefore one must first study their social state {F one wants to understand a people’ laws and mores, different from the bulk of the people whose and interests it ‘The Striking Feature in the Social Condition of the ‘Anglo-Americans Js That It Is Essentially Democratic the influence of individuals ceased to carry weight; customs and laws ‘began to march in step toward the same goal, But it was the law of inheritance which caused the final advance of equality. ‘am surprised that ancient and modern writers have not attributed greater importance to the laws of inheritance? and their effect on the progress of human affairs, They are, it is true, civil laws, but they should head the list of all political institutions, for they have an un- ‘There are many important things to be said about the social condi- tion of the Anglo-Americans, but one feature dominates all the others. "The social state of the Americans is eminently democratic. It has been like that ever since the birth of the colonies but is even more so ow. 7 T said in the last chapter that a high degree of equality prevailed among the immigrants who first settled on the coast of New England. In that part of the states even the seeds of aristocracy were never planted. There only intellectual power could command influence, and the people eame to respect certain names as symbols of enlightenment and virtue. The views of some citizens-carried such weight that if it had invariably passed from father to son, their influence might rear sonably have been called aristocratic. “That was the case to the east of the Hudson, To the southwest of that river and right down to the Floridas things were different. Great English landowners had Come to settle in most of the statesse Democracy in America hhe can rest for centuries; once the impulse has been given to his hhandiwork, he can take his hand away; the mechanism works ipparently spontaneously alms at the goal thas been drafted in a, certain way, 1 as piles up property, and soon power too, in fa sense it makes an aristocracy leap forth led by other principles and directed toward : vides, shares, and spreads get frightened at the from the ground. other goals its eff property and power; then 5 speed of its progress; des at least to put obstacles and difficulties in its tempt to balance its action by measures of 0 all in vain! Te grinds up or smashes everything that stands in its with the continual rise and fall of its hammer strokes, everythi reduced to a fine, impalpable dust, and that dust is the foundation for democracy. ‘When the law of inheritance allows or, « fortiori, ordains the equal sharing of a father’s property among his children, the results are of two sorts, which need to be distinguished, though they both tend toward the same end. ‘Owing to the law of inheritance, the death of each owner causes @ revolution in property; not only do postessions change hands, but their very nature is altered, as they are continually broken up into smaller fractions. ‘That is the direct physical effect of the law. So in countries where equal shares are the rule, property, particularly landed property, has a permanent tendency to grow less. However, the effects of such legislation would only be felt in the fullness of time if the effects of the law were simply le ic themselves out, for in families with not more than two children (and the average of families with population pattern such as France is said to be only three), those childzen sharing their father’s and their mother’s fortune ‘would ‘ot be poorer than either of the latter individually rule of equal shares does not affect only the fate of property; it also affects the very soul of the landowner and brings ‘his passions into play. It is these indirect effects which rapi up great fortunes, expecially landed property. ‘In nations where the law of inheritance is based on primogeniture, Janded estates generally past undivided from one generation ‘other. Hence family feeling finds a sort of pt express land. The family represents the land, and the the Pe ts name, origin, glory, power, able witness to the past and a precious eamest of the future, Social State of the Anglo-Americans When the law ordains equal shares, it breaks tune favors them, may bbut they cannot expect yand to be composed of to sell vast properties will even more powerfully dis- suade him from buying up small holdings to make a great one life, ing further. Hence a man does not seek to perpetuate his family, or at least he eeks other means than landed “Thus the Iaw of inheritance to retain the same domain to do z0 and, in a sens, leads them to cooperate with the law in their “The law of equal shares progresses along two paths: by acting upon things, it affects persons; by acting on persons it bas its effect con things. 1 do not mean to say that the smallholder cultivates the land beter, but hae doce so with preter capernest and energy, making up by hard work for soything he leks iv silcS Democracy in America stantial obstacles in its way- Tin the United States its work of destruction has almost been , It is there that one can study its chief effects, "The English law concerning succession to property was abolished in almost all the states at the time of the Revolution. cof these wealthy citizens are now mer- chants, lawyers, or doctors. Most of them have fallen into the most complete obscutity. The last trace of hereditary ranks and distinc tions has been destroyed; the law of inheritance has everywhere im- its dead level. not that in the United States, as everywhere, there are no indeed I know no other country where love of money has such ‘on men’s hearts or where stronger scom is exprested for the theory of permanent equality of property. But wealth circulates there ‘with incredible rapidity, and experience shows that two successive generations seldom enjoy its favors, Sand being the most solid type of property, one Social State of the Anglo-Americans 55 This picture, which some may think overdrawn, would give only a very imperfect impression of what goes on in the new states of the ‘West and Southwest. At the end of the last century a few bold adventurers began to penetrate into the Misissippi valley. It was like a new discovery of ‘names a few years before took is in the West that one can T think there is no other country in the world where, propor. to population, there are 6 few ignorant and s0 few learned enjoy easy circumstances and can so easily nts of human knowledge, ch men in America; hence almost all Americans profitable objective; science is ‘takes up a trade; and only mat practical application receive attention, in America most rich men began by being poor; almost all men of ire were busy in their youth; as a result, at the age when one t have a taste for study, one has not the time; and when time is the taste has gone.56 Democracy in America So there is no class in America in which a taste for intellectual pleasures is transmitted with hereditary wealth and which holds the labors of the mind in esteem. ‘Both the will and the power to engage in such work are ‘A middling standard has been established in America for all Imowledge, All minds come near to it, some by raising and some by lowering their standards, AAs a result one finds a vast multitude of people with roughly the same ideas about religion, history, sclence, political economy, legisla- tion, and government. Intellectual inequalities come directly from God, and man cannot Prevent them existing always, But it results from what we have just been explaining, that, though ‘mental endowments remain unequal as the Creator intended, the means of exercising them are equal. ‘Therefore, in America now the aris democratic clement not merely preponderant but, one might say, ex- clusive, ‘One cannot trace any family or corporate influence; it is often hard even to discover any durable individual influence. So the social state of America is a very strange phenomenon, Men there are nearer equality in wealth and mental endowments, or, in other words, more nearly equally powerful, than in any other country of the world or in any other age of recorded history. Political Consequences of the Social State of ‘the Anglo-Americans It i easy to deduce the political consequences of such a social state. By no possibility could equality ultimately fail to penetrate into the sphere of politics as everywhere else. One cannot imagine that men should remain perpetually unequal in just one: respect though equal in all others; within a certain time they are bound to become equal in all respects, ‘Now, I know of only two ways of making equality prevail in the poll sphere; rights must be given eter to erery czen oro Anglo-Americans 87 a people who have reached the Anglo-American: social hard to see any middle course between the sovereignty absolute power of one man, One must not disguise it from oneself that the social state I have Just described may lead as easily to the one as to the other of those results, ‘There is indeed a manly and legitimate passion for equality which routes In alll men a desire to be strong and respected. ‘This passion fends to elevate the little man to the rank of the great. But the of all and hhand, when the citizens are all more or less equal, it to defend their freedom from the encroachments of F power. No one among them being any longer strong enough to strag- gle alone with success, only the combination of the forces of all is able to. gu So, nations ean detive ether of two great pol same social states consequences di other, but both originate from the same fact. ‘The Anglo-Americans who were the first to be faced with the above-mentioned alternatives were lucky enough to escape absolute F _ power. Circumstances, origin, education, and above all mores allowed them to establish and maintain the sovereignty of the people,a (from Volume One, Part I, Ch. 5) 62 Democracy in America ‘The American System of Townships fer understand the general principles on which conser the sown fi = the polial onganiaation of townships and counties in the United “ate rooted in nature that Save depends, T thought it would be useful to take one particular : Seo as an example and examine in detail what happens there, It is not by The township is T have chosen one of the states of New England. Townships and counties are not organized in the same ya parts of the Union; nevertheles, one ean eaily see that throughont ‘Union more or less the same principles have guided the formation bbut townships seem to spring though townships are cotval wi and fragile nation can always establish great howe’ tae fageedtiinghogr oth tormip and county. perience in hi Now, I thought that in New England these prineiples had been Of coarser elem ‘canted further with more far-reaching results than elsewhere, Con Gificulty of ext Tanin’s independenee rather augments sequently they stand out there in higher relief and are easier for a ‘than diminishes with the increase of enlightenment of nations. A very law and, even more, mores make them ‘kamense influence over the whole of society. deserve our attention. Limits of the Township ww England township is halfway between a canton and ance, It generally has from two to three thousand in- for all the inhabitants to have interests, but enough to be sure of finding ‘of a good administration within itself, the element Powers of the New England Township communal liberty. However, the strength of free peoples resides in the local comrau- fre 305 townships in Mastachusetts "Sr average of about 2,000 for each township,Townships, Municipal Administration, State Government 64 “The townthip, taken as a whole in relation to the central govern ‘ment, resembles any other individual to whom the theory just men. tioned applies. 66 Democracy in America Altogether there.are nineteen main officials in a township. Every ‘habitant is bound, on pain of fine, to ious dui ‘most of them also carry some remune! devote their time to them without loss. Furthe American system to give any fixed salary to officials, In gene each official act has a price, and men are paid in accordance wit what they have done, uostness partclasly favorable to is growth among the Fe New England. ne aa In that pst ofthe Un Lite inthe Township Now the New England townships are subordinate, but in the ining this was not #0, ot hardly so. Therefore they have not received their powers; on the contrary, it would seem that they have surrendered a portion of their powers for the benefit of the state; tis an important distinction which the reader should always bear mind. j In general the townships are subordinate to the state only where some interest that I shall call social is concerned, that is t0 say, some interest shared with others In all that concerns themselves alone the townships remain in- | dependent bodies, and I do not think one could find a single in- hhabitant of New’ England who would recognize the right of the —— government of the state to contro! matters of purely munici terest. i Hence one finds the New England townships buying and selling, ing and being sued, increasing or reducing their budgets, and no administrative authority whatsoever thinks of standing in their , ‘cBut there are social duties which they are bound to perform. ‘Thus, if the state needs money, the township is not free to grant or refuse its If the state wants to open a road, the township tory. If there is a police regulation, the township government. I have said before that the principle of the sovereignty of the peor ple hovers over the whole system of the Anglo-Americans. J Every page of this book will point out new applications of this doc- tine, ; In nations where the dogma of the sovereignty of the people pre ‘ails, each individual forms an equal past of that sovereignty and shares equally the government of the state. Each individual is assumed to be as educated, virtuous, and power ful as any of his fellows, | Why, then, should he obey society, and what are the natural | timits of such obedience? | He obeys society not because he is inferior to those who direct it nor because he is incapable of ruling himself, but because union wit | his fellows posi ‘Therefore, in all matters conceming the duties of ci leach other he is subordinate. In all derives the maxim that the own interest and 7 es, how and by whom, these various cases, the townships are constrained to obedience, Val. 1, p. 250. universally accepted in the Us |where I will examine its general influence on the ordinary actions of hfe; here and mow I am concerned only with townships 367, and March 10,Townships, Municipal Administration, State Government 69 pendence from a municipality, you may have docile subjects but you will not have citizens. ‘Another important fact must be noted. The New England town- ip is shaped to form the nucleus of strong attachments, and there meanwhile no rival center clote by to attract the hot hearts of ambitious men, ‘County officials are not elected and their authority is limited. Even a state is only of secondary importance, being an obscure and placid entity. Few men are willing to leave the center of their interests le to win the right to help administer it, government does confer power and renown on those rect it, but only a few can exercise infiuence there. The high office of President is hardly to be reached until man is well on in years; as for other high federal offices, there is a lange clement of ‘hance about attaining to them, and they go only to those who have reached eminence in some other walk 68 Democracy i Here I only wish to establish the fact of the obligation performance the township resume rights. Thus taxes are, it is true, voted by the are assessed and collected by the township; America the township tax collector 0, whereas with us the central gove the commune, in America the township ment. That fact alone shows how fa Spirit of the Township in New England new Englond township Difficulty of creating mus ‘With much care and skill power has been broken into fragments in the American township, so that the maximum possible number | people have some concern with public affairs, Apart from the | voters, who from time to time are called on to act as the government, = there are many and various officials who all, within their sphere, represent the powerful body in whose name they act. Thus a vast number of people make a good thing for themeelves out of the wer of the community and are interested in administration for sh reasons. ‘The American In America not only do ako a municipal spirit whi ‘The New England township wherever they are found, kee: wuliply municipal duties, Ameri- ‘a sott of religion strengthened he sees the township as a free, strong corporation part and which is worth the trouble of trying to di is an important element rot know how to prod independent, they fear sharing their social power and exposing the state to risks of anarchy, However, if you take power and inde emphatic and peculiar features; it has a more pronounced physi- ognomy than is found elsewhere. ‘In general, New England townships lead a happy life. Their gov-| Townships, Municipal Administration, State Government — 87 Political Effects of Administrative Decentralization in the United States “Qentralization” is now a word constantly repeated. but is one that, generally speaking, no one tries to define accurately. | tite im Brest sry ties so ization, which to be well understood. quar hessZTS actinent Certain interests, such as the ent general laws and the [nation's relations with foreigners, are common, to all: parts of the nation, (wah LHe "There are other interests of special concern to certain parts of the | nation, such, for instance, as local enterprises. “To concentrate all the former in the same place or under the same | directing power is to establish what I call governmental contraliza ton. "To concentrate control of the latter in the same way is to establish what I call administrative centralization. "There are some points where these two sorts of centralization be- | come confused. But by broadly clasfying the matters that fall more | particularly within the province of each, the distinction can easly bbe made. cone by one into the common’ mass