The Consideration of Democracy, Blacks, and Slavery
Tocqueville, in Democracy in America, dwells on the strengths and weaknesses of American democracy. When discussing race relations, he recognizes that the presence of the black race in America and the occupation of blacks in slavery could threaten the continuation of the United States as a Union and a republic. As a Union, the United States could be torn apart by the disparities between the North and the South and tensions between blacks and whites. As a republic, although the United States is more grounded, the aftermath of slavery could erode republican institutions if mores and laws are dangerously altered. Although Tocqueville leaves suggestions of action for the United States, he understands the mere reliance on slavery as having irrevocable and unavoidable consequences .
The use of slavery, especially in the American South, fed on the dehumanization and submission of the black race﹘﹘to the assertion of white supremacy ultimately corrupted democratic equality. Tocqueville initially remarks at the concept of American equality when he explains that “no novelty in the United States struck [him] more vividly during [his] stay there than the equality of conditions” (pp. 9). Tocqueville’s coined ‘equality of conditions’ reflects his observations of the equal ability and opportunity for all Americans to reach any economic and social rank; there exists general socioeconomic mobility as the cornerstone of democracy. At the foundation of the equality of conditions, especially in the civil society, Tocqueville notices that “one can have the right to enjoy the same pleasures, to engage in the same professions, and to meet in the same places﹘in a word, to live in the same manner an...
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...ure true equality for American citizens of both races, and intermingling between the two races will be an accepted norm. The endurance of democracy, especially in the divisive aftermath of slavery, will depend on the equality of conditions﹘the impossibility of race to prevent an American citizen from possessing an unlimited equality opportunity to move upwards in social, economic, and political spheres. To challenge the assessment that white and blacks will always be unequal suggests that democracy is a stronger force than the conditions of its habit and its natural evolution is truly inevitable. Essentially, democracy and republican institutions are sturdy enough to be irrevocable and unavoidable.
Works Cited
Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. Ed. J. P. Mayer. Trans. George Lawrence. New York: Harper & Row, 1969. Print.
Tocqueville seems to like democracy in its ideal form. However, nothing can be perfect and thus America is not a perfect democracy. Tocqueville found numerous problems with democracy and the influence it had on the populace. These problems range from their distrust of dogmatic beliefs to the imperfect equality that is in place in America. He also found the effects of these problems to be quite problematic as well. For instance, individualism, an effect of equality, is very problematic to democracy. Tocqueville enjoys considering America as an experiment in democracy, but does not find it to be faultless.
Democracy in America has been a guiding principle since the foundation of the country. Many over the years have commented on the structure and formation of democracy but more importantly the implementation and daily function within the democratic parameters that have been set. Alexis de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian born July 29, 1805. He is most famously known for his work Democracy in America. Democracy in America has been an evolving social and economic reform, and has continually changed since it’s founding.
In “The Case for Reparations,” Ta-Nehisi Coates sets out a powerful argument for reparations to blacks for having to thrive through horrific inequity, including slavery, Jim Crowism, Northern violence and racist housing policies. By erecting a slave society, America erected the economic foundation for its great experiment in democracy. And Reparations would mean a revolution of the American consciousness, reconciling of our self-image as the great democratizer with the facts of our history. Paying such a moral debt is such a great matter of justice served rightfully to those who were suppressed from the fundamental roles, white supremacy played in American history.
John Quincy Adams once said that, “It is among the evils of slavery that it taints the very sources of moral principle. It establishes false estimates of virtue and vice: for what can be more false and heartless than this doctrine which makes the first and holiest right of humanity to depend upon the color of the skin?” John Quincy Adams be of the opinion that slaves were equal to the “white man” and should not be treated like animals but as equals. Agreeing with John Quincy Adams, he discusses inequality, a point that needs to be emphasized, since the Declaration of Independence “that all men are created equal” and that it is not followed completely by all fellow “Americans”. According to him, “we have
After slavery ended, many hoped for a changed America. However, this was not so easy, as slavery left an undeniable mark on the country. One problem ended, but new problems arose as blacks and whites put up “color lines” which led to interior identity struggles. These struggles perpetuated inequality further and led W. E. B. Du Bois to believe that the only way to lift “the Veil” would be through continuing to fight not only for freedom, but for liberty - for all. Others offered different proposals on societal race roles, but all recognized that “double consciousness” of both the individual and the nation was a problem that desperately needed to be solved.
In Democracy in America, Alexis De Tocqueville explains the dangers of democracy and explains the virtues that temper these dangers. In this paper, I will look at two issues Tocqueville discussed extensively in late 19th century American democracy and posit what Tocqueville may say about these issues today. The points I will discuss are materialism and religion. In a democracy, such as America, the individual’s opportunity to succeed makes him more likely to become attached to material and money. However, in Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, this danger is tempered by religion, which quenches the lust for material by reducing its importance in comparison to good mores. These two elements of American democracy are a small portion of the “Habits of the hearts” of Americans; they are two ideas that complement each other to make democracy appealing and possible anywhere and everywhere. Is this the case today? Is the American’s relationship to materialism and religion similar today to what it was when Tocqueville visited America?
In this excerpt from Democracy in America Alexis Tocqueville expresses his sentiments about the United States democratic government. Tocqueville believes the government's nature exists in the absolute supremacy of the majority, meaning that those citizens of the United States who are of legal age control legislation passed by the government. However, the power of the majority can exceed its limits. Tocqueville believed that the United States was a land of equality, liberty, and political wisdom. He considered it be a land where the government only served as the voice of the its citizens. He compares the government of the US to that of European systems. To him, European governments were still constricted by aristocratic privilege, the people had no hand in the formation of their government, let alone, there every day lives. He held up the American system as a successful model of what aristocratic European systems would inevitably become, systems of democracy and social equality. Although he held the American democratic system in high regards, he did have his concerns about the systems shortcomings. Tocqueville feared that the virtues he honored, such as creativity, freedom, civic participation, and taste, would be endangered by "the tyranny of the majority." In the United States the majority rules, but whose their to rule the majority. Tocqueville believed that the majority, with its unlimited power, would unavoidably turn into a tyranny. He felt that the moral beliefs of the majority would interfere with the quality of the elected legislators. The idea was that in a great number of men there was more intelligence, than in one individual, thus lacking quality in legislation. Another disadvantage of the majority was that the interests of the majority always were preferred to that of the minority. Therefore, giving the minority no chance to voice concerns.
Hudson, William E. American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America's Future. Washington, DC: CQ, 2010. Print.
The United States after the Civil War was still not an entirely safe place for African-Americans, especially in the South. Many of the freedoms other Americans got to enjoy were still largely limited to African-Americans at the time. At the beginning of the 20th Century, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois emerged as black leaders. Their respective visions for African-American society were different however. This paper will argue that Du Bois’s vision for American, although more radical at the time, was essential in the rise of the African-American society and a precursor to the Civil Rights Movement.
During the post-bellum period, both Blacks and Whites fought to define the social structure of the New South following the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. Blacks sought to express their freedom in the simplest terms through the control of their own political, economic, and social life. Nonetheless, humiliation and injustice defined freedom for Blacks in the New South as institutions, both federal and local, failed to support the rule of law. A rigid framework crafted through means of power and fear came to define the social status of the “New Negro”. However, within the framework existed a small amount of fluidity which acted as the motive power for African Americans as they transitioned from a long freedom struggle into the Civil Rights movement. The rigid social framework coupled with the small amount of fluidity acknowledges the harsh realities awaiting Blacks daily during the Jim Crow era while suggesting the opportunities afforded to Blacks indicates an overall improvement in quality life as opposed to the institution of slavery.
Dye, T. R., Zeigler, H., & Schubert, L. (2012). The Irony of Democracy (15th ed.).
After the American Revolution, slavery began to decrease in the North, just as it was becoming more popular in the South. By the turn of the century, seven of the most Northern states had abolished slavery. During this time, a surge of democratic reform swept the North to the West, and there were demands for political equality, economic and social advances for all Americans. Northerners said that slavery revoked the human right of being a free person and when new territories became available i...
Hudson, William E. American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America’s Future – Fourth Edition. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2004.
Turner, Jack. "American Individualism And Structural Injustice: Tocqueville, Gender, And Race." Polity 40.2 (2008): 197-215. Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
Alongside the brutal, bloody Civil War and makeshift post-war reconstruction in the South were several monumental changes within the United States. As federal power increased, so did the power of the Constitution, as it began to expand and shift to encompass more and more people. With this also came a social change; millions of blacks, now freed by the thirteenth amendment, had the potential to be just as successful as their white brethren. As time went by, however, numerous pitfalls and opposing viewpoints challenged the idea of constitutional and social transformation. While there was a constitutional revolution occurring from 1860-1877, there was little to no social revolution happening at the same time.