The Collected Works of Alexis de Tocqueville E-Book

Alexis de Tocqueville

• Herausgeber: PergamonMedia
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: Highlights of World Literature
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Seitenzahl: 3581

Beschreibung

This comprehensive eBook presents the complete works or all the significant works - the Œuvre - of this famous and brilliant writer in one ebook - 4300 pages easy-to-read and easy-to-navigate: • Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville • The Recollections of Alexis de Tocqueville by Alexis de Tocqueville • American Institutions and Their Influence by Alexis de Tocqueville • Correspondence & Conversations of Alexis de Tocqueville with Nassau William Senior by Alexis de Tocqueville and Nassau William Senior

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA

Book One

Introduction

Special Introduction By Hon. John T. Morgan

Hon. John T. Morgan

Special Introduction By Hon. John J. Ingalls

Introductory Chapter

Chapter I: Exterior Form Of North America

Chapter Summary

Chapter II: Origin Of The Anglo-Americans—Part I

Chapter Summary

Chapter II: Origin Of The Anglo-Americans—Part II

Chapter III: Social Conditions Of The Anglo-Americans

Chapter Summary

Chapter IV: The Principle Of The Sovereignty Of The People In America

Chapter Summary

Chapter V: Necessity Of Examining The Condition Of The States—Part I

Chapter V: Necessity Of Examining The Condition Of The States—Part II

Chapter V: Necessity Of Examining The Condition Of The States—Part III

Legislative Power Of The State

Chapter VI: Judicial Power In The United States

Chapter Summary

Chapter VII: Political Jurisdiction In The United States

Chapter Summary

Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution—Part I

Chapter Summary

Summary Of The Federal Constitution

Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution—Part II

Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution—Part III

Re-election Of The President

Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution—Part IV

Procedure Of The Federal Courts

Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution—Part V

Chapter IX: Why The People May Strictly Be Said To Govern In The United

Chapter X: Parties In The United States

Chapter Summary

Parties In The United States

Chapter XI: Liberty Of The Press In The United States

Chapter Summary

Chapter XII: Political Associations In The United States

Chapter Summary

Chapter XIII: Government Of The Democracy In America—Part I

Chapter XIII: Government Of The Democracy In America—Part II

Instability Of The Administration In The United States

Chapter XIII: Government Of The Democracy In America—Part III

Chapter XIV: Advantages American Society Derive From Democracy—Part I

Chapter XIV: Advantages American Society Derive From Democracy—Part II

Respect For The Law In The United States

Chapter XV: Unlimited Power Of Majority, And Its Consequences—Part I

Chapter Summary

Chapter XV: Unlimited Power Of Majority, And Its Consequences—Part II

Tyranny Of The Majority

Chapter XVI: Causes Mitigating Tyranny In The United States—Part I

Chapter Summary

Chapter XVI: Causes Mitigating Tyranny In The United States—Part II

Trial By Jury In The United States Considered As A Political Institution

Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic Republic—Part I

Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic Republic—Part II

Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic Republic—Part III

Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic Republic—Part IV

Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races In The United States—Part I

Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races—Part II

Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races—Part III

Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races—Part IV

Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races—Part V

Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races—Part VI

Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races—Part VII

Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races—Part VIII

Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races—Part IX

Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races—Part X

Conclusion

DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA

Volume II.

Book Two: Influence Of Democracy On Progress Of Opinion in The United States

De Tocqueville's Preface To The Second Part

Section I: Influence of Democracy on the Action of Intellect in The United States.

Chapter I: Philosophical Method Among the Americans

Chapter II: Of The Principal Source Of Belief Among Democratic Nations

Chapter III: Why The Americans Display More Readiness And More Taste For General Ideas Than Their Forefathers, The English.

Chapter IV: Why The Americans Have Never Been So Eager As The French For General Ideas In Political Matters

Chapter V: Of The Manner In Which Religion In The United States Avails Itself Of Democratic Tendencies

Chapter VI: Of The Progress Of Roman Catholicism In The United States

Chapter VII: Of The Cause Of A Leaning To Pantheism Amongst Democratic Nations

Chapter VIII: The Principle Of Equality Suggests To The Americans The Idea Of The Indefinite Perfectibility Of Man

Chapter IX: The Example Of The Americans Does Not Prove That A Democratic People Can Have No Aptitude And No Taste For Science, Literature, Or Art

Chapter X: Why The Americans Are More Addicted To Practical Than To Theoretical Science

Chapter XI: Of The Spirit In Which The Americans Cultivate The Arts

Chapter XII: Why The Americans Raise Some Monuments So Insignificant, And Others So Important

Chapter XIII: Literary Characteristics Of Democratic Ages

Chapter XIV: The Trade Of Literature

Chapter XV: The Study Of Greek And Latin Literature Peculiarly Useful In Democratic Communities

Chapter XVI: The Effect Of Democracy On Language

Chapter XVII: Of Some Of The Sources Of Poetry Amongst Democratic Nations

Chapter XVIII: Of The Inflated Style Of American Writers And Orators

Chapter XIX: Some Observations On The Drama Amongst Democratic Nations

Chapter XX: Characteristics Of Historians In Democratic Ages

Chapter XXI: Of Parliamentary Eloquence In The United States

Section 2: Influence of Democracy on the Feelings of Americans

Chapter I: Why Democratic Nations Show A More Ardent And Enduring Love Of Equality Than Of Liberty

Chapter II: Of Individualism In Democratic Countries

Chapter III: Individualism Stronger At The Close Of A Democratic Revolution Than At Other Periods

Chapter IV: That The Americans Combat The Effects Of Individualism By Free Institutions

Chapter V: Of The Use Which The Americans Make Of Public Associations In Civil Life

Chapter VI: Of The Relation Between Public Associations And Newspapers

Chapter VII: Connection Of Civil And Political Associations

Chapter VIII: The Americans Combat Individualism By The Principle Of Interest Rightly Understood

Chapter IX: That The Americans Apply The Principle Of Interest Rightly Understood To Religious Matters

Chapter X: Of The Taste For Physical Well-Being In America

Chapter XI: Peculiar Effects Of The Love Of Physical Gratifications In Democratic Ages

Chapter XII: Causes Of Fanatical Enthusiasm In Some Americans

Chapter XIII: Causes Of The Restless Spirit Of Americans In The Midst Of Their Prosperity

Chapter XIV: Taste For Physical Gratifications United In America To Love Of Freedom And Attention To Public Affairs

Chapter XV: That Religious Belief Sometimes Turns The Thoughts Of The Americans To Immaterial Pleasures

Chapter XVI: That Excessive Care Of Worldly Welfare May Impair That Welfare

Chapter XVII: That In Times Marked By Equality Of Conditions And Sceptical Opinions, It Is Important To Remove To A Distance The Objects Of Human Actions

Chapter XVIII: That Amongst The Americans All Honest Callings Are Honorable

Chapter XIX: That Almost All The Americans Follow Industrial Callings

Chapter XX: That Aristocracy May Be Engendered By Manufactures

Book Three: Influence Of Democracy On Manners, Properly So Called

Chapter I: That Manners Are Softened As Social Conditions Become More Equal

Chapter II: That Democracy Renders The Habitual Intercourse Of The Americans Simple And Easy

Chapter III: Why The Americans Show So Little Sensitiveness In Their Own Country, And Are So Sensitive In Europe

Chapter IV: Consequences Of The Three Preceding Chapters

Chapter V: How Democracy Affects the Relation Of Masters And Servants

Chapter VI: That Democratic Institutions And Manners Tend To Raise Rents And Shorten The Terms Of Leases

Chapter VII: Influence Of Democracy On Wages

Chapter VIII: Influence Of Democracy On Kindred

Chapter IX: Education Of Young Women In The United States

Chapter X: The Young Woman In The Character Of A Wife

Chapter XI: That The Equality Of Conditions Contributes To The Maintenance Of Good Morals In America

Chapter XII: How The Americans Understand The Equality Of The Sexes

Chapter XIII: That The Principle Of Equality Naturally Divides The Americans Into A Number Of Small Private Circles

Chapter XIV: Some Reflections On American Manners

Chapter XV: Of The Gravity Of The Americans, And Why It Does Not Prevent Them From Often Committing Inconsiderate Actions

Chapter XVI: Why The National Vanity Of The Americans Is More Restless And Captious Than That Of The English

Chapter XVII: That The Aspect Of Society In The United States Is At Once Excited And Monotonous

Chapter XVIII: Of Honor In The United States And In Democratic Communities

Chapter XIX: Why So Many Ambitious Men And So Little Lofty Ambition Are To Be Found In The United States

Chapter XX: The Trade Of Place-Hunting In Certain Democratic Countries

Chapter XXI: Why Great Revolutions Will Become More Rare

Chapter XXII: Why Democratic Nations Are Naturally Desirous Of Peace, And Democratic Armies Of War

Chapter XXIII: Which Is The Most Warlike And Most Revolutionary Class In Democratic Armies?

Chapter XXIV: Causes Which Render Democratic Armies Weaker Than Other Armies At The Outset Of A Campaign, And More Formidable In Protracted Warfare

Chapter XXV: Of Discipline In Democratic Armies

Chapter XXVI: Some Considerations On War In Democratic Communities

Book Four: Influence Of Democratic Opinions On Political Society

Chapter I: That Equality Naturally Gives Men A Taste For Free Institutions

Chapter II: That The Notions Of Democratic Nations On Government Are Naturally Favorable To The Concentration Of Power

Chapter III: That The Sentiments Of Democratic Nations Accord With Their Opinions In Leading Them To Concentrate Political Power

Chapter IV: Of Certain Peculiar And Accidental Causes Which Either Lead A People To Complete Centralization Of Government, Or Which Divert Them From It

Chapter V: That Amongst The European Nations Of Our Time The Power Of Governments Is Increasing, Although The Persons Who Govern Are Less Stable

Chapter VI: What Sort Of Despotism Democratic Nations Have To Fear

Chapter VII: Continuation Of The Preceding Chapters

Chapter VIII: General Survey Of The Subject

APPENDIX TO PARTS I. AND II.

Part I.

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Appendix E

Appendix F

Part II.

Appendix G

Appendix H

Appendix I

Appendix K

Appendix L

Appendix M

Appendix N

Appendix O

Appendix P

Appendix Q

Appendix R

Appendix S

Appendix T

Appendix U

Appendix V

Appendix W

Appendix X

Appendix Y

Appendix Z

Constitution Of The United States Of America

Article I

Section 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a

Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members of

Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed

Section 4. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for

Section 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns

Section 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation

Section 7. All Bills for Raising Revenue shall originate in the House of

Section 8. The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes,

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

Section 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the

Section 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or

Article II

Section 1. The Executive Power shall be vested in a President of the

Section 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information

Section 4. The President, Vice-President and all civil Officers of the

Article III

Section 1. The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in

Section 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all cases, in Law and

Section 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in

Article IV

Section 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the

Section 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all

Section 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union;

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this

Article V

Article VI

Article VII

Bill Of Rights

AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE.

With Notes, by Hon. John C. Spencer.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY A.S. BARNES & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.

ADVERTISEMENT.

PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS.

CHAPTER I.

EXTERIOR FORM OF NORTH AMERICA.

CHAPTER II.

CHAPTER III.

SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS.

POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS.

CHAPTER IV.

THE PRINCIPLE OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE IN AMERICA.

CHAPTER V.

THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF TOWNSHIPS AND MUNICIPAL BODIES.{63}

LIMITS OF THE TOWNSHIP.

AUTHORITIES OF THE TOWNSHIP IN NEW ENGLAND.

EXISTENCE OF THE TOWNSHIP.

PUBLIC SPIRIT OF THE TOWNSHIPS OF NEW ENGLAND.

THE COUNTIES OF NEW ENGLAND.

ADMINISTRATION IN NEW ENGLAND.

GENERAL REMARKS ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE UNITED STATES.

OF THE STATE.

LEGISLATIVE POWER OF THE STATE.

THE EXECUTIVE POWER OF THE STATE.

CHAPTER VI.

OTHER POWERS GRANTED TO THE AMERICAN JUDGES.

CHAPTER VII.

POLITICAL JURISDICTION IN THE UNITED STATES.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.

HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.

SUMMARY OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.

PREROGATIVE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

FEDERAL POWERS.

LEGISLATIVE POWERS.

THE EXECUTIVE POWER.{134}

ACCIDENTAL CAUSES WHICH MAY INCREASE THE INFLUENCE OF THE EXECUTIVE.

ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT.

MODE OF ELECTION.

CRISIS OF THE ELECTION.

RE-ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT.

FEDERAL COURTS.{142}

MEANS OF DETERMINING THE JURISDICTION OF THE FEDERAL COURTS.

DIFFERENT CASES OF JURISDICTION.

PROCEDURE OF THE FEDERAL COURTS.

HIGH RANK OF THE SUPREME COURTS AMONG THE GREAT POWERS OF STATE.

CHAPTER IX.

WHY THE PEOPLE MAY STRICTLY BE SAID TO GOVERN IN THE UNITED STATES.

CHAPTER X.

PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

REMAINS OF THE ARISTOCRATIC PARTY IN THE UNITED STATES.

CHAPTER XI.

LIBERTY OF THE PRESS IN THE UNITED STATES.

CHAPTER XII.

POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.

CHAPTER XIII.

GOVERNMENT OF THE DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA.

UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE.

CAUSES WHICH MAY PARTLY CORRECT THESE TENDENCIES OF THE DEMOCRACY.

PUBLIC OFFICERS UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE DEMOCRACY OF AMERICA.

INSTABILITY OF THE ADMINISTRATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

CHARGES LEVIED BY THE STATE UNDER THE RULE OF THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.

EFFORTS OF WHICH A DEMOCRACY IS CAPABLE.

SELF-CONTROL OF THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.

CONDUCT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS BY THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.

CHAPTER XIV.

PUBLIC SPIRIT IN THE UNITED STATES.

NOTION OF RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES.

RESPECT FOR THE LAW IN THE UNITED STATES.

CHAPTER XV.

TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY.

POWER EXERCISED BY THE MAJORITY IN AMERICA UPON OPINION.

CHAPTER XVI.

CAUSES WHICH MITIGATE THE TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES.

ABSENCE OF CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION.

CHAPTER XVII.

PRINCIPAL CAUSES WHICH RENDER RELIGION POWERFUL IN AMERICA.

IMPORTANCE OF WHAT PRECEDES WITH RESPECT TO THE STATE OF EUROPE.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CONCLUSION.

APPENDICES

SUMMARY OF THE QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS IN THE UNITED STATES.

THE RECOLLECTIONS OF ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE

PREFACE

FOOTNOTES:

CONTENTS

PART THE FIRST

ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE

CHAPTER I

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER II

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER III

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

PART THE SECOND

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER III

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VII

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER VIII

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER IX

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER X

CHAPTER XI[12]

FOOTNOTES:

PART THE THIRD

MY TERM OF OFFICE

CHAPTER I

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER II

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER III

CHAPTER IV

FOOTNOTES:

APPENDIX

I

FOOTNOTES:

II

III

IV

CORRESPONDENCE & CONVERSATIONS OF ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE

WITH NASSAU WILLIAM SENIOR

FROM 1834 TO 1859

EDITED BY

M.C.M. SIMPSON

IN TWO VOLUMES VOLUME II

CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME

APPENDIX.

TOCQUEVILLE DURING THE EMPIRE

FROM DECEMBER 23, 1851 TO APRIL 20, 1858.

CONVERSATIONS

PARIS, 1851-2.

CORRESPONDENCE.

N.W. SENIOR.

N.W. SENIOR.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

N.W. SENIOR.

N.W. SENIOR.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

N.W. SENIOR.

N.W. SENIOR.

CONVERSATIONS.

CORRESPONDENCE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

H. GROTE.

CONVERSATIONS WITH MR. SENIOR.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

CONVERSATIONS.

CORRESPONDENCE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

CONVERSATIONS.

CORRESPONDENCE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

CONVERSATIONS.

CORRESPONDENCE.

A.W. SENIOR.

A.W. SENIOR.

A. DE. TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

CONVERSATIONS.

CORRESPONDENCE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

CONVERSATIONS.

CORRESPONDENCE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

N.W. SENIOR.

N.W. SENIOR.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE.

NASSAU W. SENIOR.

JOURNAL.

N.W. SENIOR.

ICI REPOSE

ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE.

NÉ 24 FEVRIER 1805. MORT 16 AVRIL 1859.

APPENDIX.

DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA

By Alexis De Tocqueville

Translated by Henry Reeve

Book One

Introduction

Special Introduction By Hon. John T. Morgan

In the eleven years that separated the Declaration of the Independence of the United States from the completion of that act in the ordination of our written Constitution, the great minds of America were bent upon the study of the principles of government that were essential to the preservation of the liberties which had been won at great cost and with heroic labors and sacrifices. Their studies were conducted in view of the imperfections that experience had developed in the government of the Confederation, and they were, therefore, practical and thorough.

When the Constitution was thus perfected and established, a new form of government was created, but it was neither speculative nor experimental as to the principles on which it was based. If they were true principles, as they were, the government founded upon them was destined to a life and an influence that would continue while the liberties it was intended to preserve should be valued by the human family. Those liberties had been wrung from reluctant monarchs in many contests, in many countries, and were grouped into creeds and established in ordinances sealed with blood, in many great struggles of the people. They were not new to the people. They were consecrated theories, but no government had been previously established for the great purpose of their preservation and enforcement. That which was experimental in our plan of government was the question whether democratic rule could be so organized and conducted that it would not degenerate into license and result in the tyranny of absolutism, without saving to the people the power so often found necessary of repressing or destroying their enemy, when he was found in the person of a single despot.

When, in 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville came to study Democracy in America, the trial of nearly a half-century of the working of our system had been made, and it had been proved, by many crucial tests, to be a government of "liberty regulated by law," with such results in the development of strength, in population, wealth, and military and commercial power, as no age had ever witnessed.

[See Alexis De Tocqueville]

De Tocqueville had a special inquiry to prosecute, in his visit to America, in which his generous and faithful soul and the powers of his great intellect were engaged in the patriotic effort to secure to the people of France the blessings that Democracy in America had ordained and established throughout nearly the entire Western Hemisphere. He had read the story of the French Revolution, much of which had been recently written in the blood of men and women of great distinction who were his progenitors; and had witnessed the agitations and terrors of the Restoration and of the Second Republic, fruitful in crime and sacrifice, and barren of any good to mankind.

He had just witnessed the spread of republican government through all the vast continental possessions of Spain in America, and the loss of her great colonies. He had seen that these revolutions were accomplished almost without the shedding of blood, and he was filled with anxiety to learn the causes that had placed republican government, in France, in such contrast with Democracy in America.

De Tocqueville was scarcely thirty years old when he began his studies of Democracy in America. It was a bold effort for one who had no special training in government, or in the study of political economy, but he had the example of Lafayette in establishing the military foundation of these liberties, and of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton, all of whom were young men, in building upon the Independence of the United States that wisest and best plan of general government that was ever devised for a free people.

He found that the American people, through their chosen representatives who were instructed by their wisdom and experience and were supported by their virtues—cultivated, purified and ennobled by self-reliance and the love of God—had matured, in the excellent wisdom of their counsels, a new plan of government, which embraced every security for their liberties and equal rights and privileges to all in the pursuit of happiness. He came as an honest and impartial student and his great commentary, like those of Paul, was written for the benefit of all nations and people and in vindication of truths that will stand for their deliverance from monarchical rule, while time shall last.

A French aristocrat of the purest strain of blood and of the most honorable lineage, whose family influence was coveted by crowned heads; who had no quarrel with the rulers of the nation, and was secure against want by his inherited estates; was moved by the agitations that compelled France to attempt to grasp suddenly the liberties and happiness we had gained in our revolution and, by his devout love of France, to search out and subject to the test of reason the basic principles of free government that had been embodied in our Constitution. This was the mission of De Tocqueville, and no mission was ever more honorably or justly conducted, or concluded with greater eclat, or better results for the welfare of mankind.

His researches were logical and exhaustive. They included every phase of every question that then seemed to be apposite to the great inquiry he was making.

The judgment of all who have studied his commentaries seems to have been unanimous, that his talents and learning were fully equal to his task. He began with the physical geography of this country, and examined the characteristics of the people, of all races and conditions, their social and religious sentiments, their education and tastes; their industries, their commerce, their local governments, their passions and prejudices, and their ethics and literature; leaving nothing unnoticed that might afford an argument to prove that our plan and form of government was or was not adapted especially to a peculiar people, or that it would be impracticable in any different country, or among any different people.

The pride and comfort that the American people enjoy in the great commentaries of De Tocqueville are far removed from the selfish adulation that comes from a great and singular success. It is the consciousness of victory over a false theory of government which has afflicted mankind for many ages, that gives joy to the true American, as it did to De Tocqueville in his great triumph.

When De Tocqueville wrote, we had lived less than fifty years under our Constitution. In that time no great national commotion had occurred that tested its strength, or its power of resistance to internal strife, such as had converted his beloved France into fields of slaughter torn by tempests of wrath.

He had a strong conviction that no government could be ordained that could resist these internal forces, when, they are directed to its destruction by bad men, or unreasoning mobs, and many then believed, as some yet believe, that our government is unequal to such pressure, when the assault is thoroughly desperate.

Had De Tocqueville lived to examine the history of the United States from 1860 to 1870, his misgivings as to this power of self-preservation would, probably, have been cleared off. He would have seen that, at the end of the most destructive civil war that ever occurred, when animosities of the bitterest sort had banished all good feeling from the hearts of our people, the States of the American Union, still in complete organization and equipped with all their official entourage, aligned themselves in their places and took up the powers and duties of local government in perfect order and without embarrassment. This would have dispelled his apprehensions, if he had any, about the power of the United States to withstand the severest shocks of civil war. Could he have traced the further course of events until they open the portals of the twentieth century, he would have cast away his fears of our ability to restore peace, order, and prosperity, in the face of any difficulties, and would have rejoiced to find in the Constitution of the United States the remedy that is provided for the healing of the nation.

De Tocqueville examined, with the care that is worthy the importance of the subject, the nature and value of the system of "local self-government," as we style this most important feature of our plan, and (as has often happened) when this or any subject has become a matter of anxious concern, his treatment of the questions is found to have been masterly and his preconceptions almost prophetic.

We are frequently indebted to him for able expositions and true doctrines relating to subjects that have slumbered in the minds of the people until they were suddenly forced on our attention by unexpected events.

In his introductory chapter, M. De Tocqueville says: "Amongst the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of conditions." He referred, doubtless, to social and political conditions among the people of the white race, who are described as "We, the people," in the opening sentence of the Constitution. The last three amendments of the Constitution have so changed this, that those who were then negro slaves are clothed with the rights of citizenship, including the right of suffrage. This was a political party movement, intended to be radical and revolutionary, but it will, ultimately, react because it has not the sanction of public opinion.

If M. De Tocqueville could now search for a law that would negative this provision in its effect upon social equality, he would fail to find it. But he would find it in the unwritten law of the natural aversion of the races. He would find it in public opinion, which is the vital force in every law in a free government. This is a subject that our Constitution failed to regulate, because it was not contemplated by its authors. It is a question that will settle itself, without serious difficulty. The equality in the suffrage, thus guaranteed to the negro race, alone—for it was not intended to include other colored races—creates a new phase of political conditions that M. De Tocqueville could not foresee. Yet, in his commendation of the local town and county governments, he applauds and sustains that elementary feature of our political organization which, in the end, will render harmless this wide departure from the original plan and purpose of American Democracy. "Local Self-Government," independent of general control, except for general purposes, is the root and origin of all free republican government, and is the antagonist of all great political combinations that threaten the rights of minorities. It is the public opinion formed in the independent expressions of towns and other small civil districts that is the real conservatism of free government. It is equally the enemy of that dangerous evil, the corruption of the ballot-box, from which it is now apprehended that one of our greatest troubles is to arise.

The voter is selected, under our laws, because he has certain physical qualifications—age and sex. His disqualifications, when any are imposed, relate to his education or property, and to the fact that he has not been convicted of crime. Of all men he should be most directly amenable to public opinion.

The test of moral character and devotion to the duties of good citizenship are ignored in the laws, because the courts can seldom deal with such questions in a uniform and satisfactory way, under rules that apply alike to all. Thus the voter, selected by law to represent himself and four other non-voting citizens, is often a person who is unfit for any public duty or trust. In a town government, having a small area of jurisdiction, where the voice of the majority of qualified voters is conclusive, the fitness of the person who is to exercise that high representative privilege can be determined by his neighbors and acquaintances, and, in the great majority of cases, it will be decided honestly and for the good of the country. In such meetings, there is always a spirit of loyalty to the State, because that is loyalty to the people, and a reverence for God that gives weight to the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.

M. De Tocqueville found in these minor local jurisdictions the theoretical conservatism which, in the aggregate, is the safest reliance of the State. So we have found them, in practice, the true protectors of the purity of the ballot, without which all free government will degenerate into absolutism.

In the future of the Republic, we must encounter many difficult and dangerous situations, but the principles established in the Constitution and the check upon hasty or inconsiderate legislation, and upon executive action, and the supreme arbitrament of the courts, will be found sufficient for the safety of personal rights, and for the safety of the government, and the prophetic outlook of M. De Tocqueville will be fully realized through the influence of Democracy in America. Each succeeding generation of Americans will find in the pure and impartial reflections of De Tocqueville a new source of pride in our institutions of government, and sound reasons for patriotic effort to preserve them and to inculcate their teachings. They have mastered the power of monarchical rule in the American Hemisphere, freeing religion from all shackles, and will spread, by a quiet but resistless influence, through the islands of the seas to other lands, where the appeals of De Tocqueville for human rights and liberties have already inspired the souls of the people.

Hon. John T. Morgan

Special Introduction By Hon. John J. Ingalls

Nearly two-thirds of a century has elapsed since the appearance of "Democracy in America," by Alexis Charles Henri Clerel de Tocqueville, a French nobleman, born at Paris, July 29, 1805.