diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/1dina10.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1dina10.txt | 21831 |
1 files changed, 21831 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/old/1dina10.txt b/old/1dina10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3c5bf6a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1dina10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21831 @@ +*The Project Gutenberg Etext of Democracy In America, Volume 1* + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. We need your donations. + + +Democracy In America, Volume 1 + +by Alexis de Toqueville + +February, 1997 [Etext #815] + + +*The Project Gutenberg Etext of Democracy In America, Volume 1* +*****This file should be named 1dina10.txt or 1dina10.zip****** + +Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, 1dina11.txt. +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 1dina10a.txt. + + +Prepared by David Reed, haradda@aol.com or davidr@inconnect.com + + +We are now trying to release all our books one month in advance +of the official release dates, for time for better editing. + +Please note: neither this list nor its contents are final till +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg Etexts is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A +preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment +and editing by those who wish to do so. To be sure you have an +up to date first edition [xxxxx10x.xxx] please check file sizes +in the first week of the next month. Since our ftp program has +a bug in it that scrambles the date [tried to fix and failed] a +look at the file size will have to do, but we will try to see a +new copy has at least one byte more or less. + + +Information about Project Gutenberg (one page) + +We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The +fifty hours is one conservative estimate for how long it we take +to get any etext selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright +searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. This +projected audience is one hundred million readers. If our value +per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 +million dollars per hour this year as we release thirty-two text +files per month: or 400 more Etexts in 1996 for a total of 800. +If these reach just 10% of the computerized population, then the +total should reach 80 billion Etexts. We will try add 800 more, +during 1997, but it will take all the effort we can manage to do +the doubling of our library again this year, what with the other +massive requirements it is going to take to get incorporated and +establish something that will have some permanence. + +The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away One Trillion Etext +Files by the December 31, 2001. [10,000 x 100,000,000=Trillion] +This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, +which is only 10% of the present number of computer users. 2001 +should have at least twice as many computer users as that, so it +will require us reaching less than 5% of the users in 2001. + + +We need your donations more than ever! + + +All donations should be made to "Project Gutenberg" + + +For these and other matters, please mail to: + +Project Gutenberg +P. O. Box 2782 +Champaign, IL 61825 + +When all other email fails try our Executive Director: +Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com> + +We would prefer to send you this information by email +(Internet, Bitnet, Compuserve, ATTMAIL or MCImail). + +****** +If you have an FTP program (or emulator), please +FTP directly to the Project Gutenberg archives: +[Mac users, do NOT point and click. . .type] + +ftp uiarchive.cso.uiuc.edu +login: anonymous +password: your@login +cd etext/etext90 through /etext97 +or cd etext/articles [get suggest gut for more information] +dir [to see files] +get or mget [to get files. . .set bin for zip files] +GET INDEX?00.GUT +for a list of books +and +GET NEW GUT for general information +and +MGET GUT* for newsletters. + +**Information prepared by the Project Gutenberg legal advisor** +(Three Pages) + + +***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS**START*** +Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. +They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with +your copy of this etext, even if you got it for free from +someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our +fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement +disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how +you can distribute copies of this etext if you want to. + +*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS ETEXT +By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +etext, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept +this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive +a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this etext by +sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person +you got it from. If you received this etext on a physical +medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request. + +ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM ETEXTS +This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG- +tm etexts, is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor +Michael S. Hart through the Project Gutenberg (the "Project"). +Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States +copyright on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy +and distribute it in the United States without permission and +without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth +below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this etext +under the Project's "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark. + +To create these etexts, the Project expends considerable +efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain +works. Despite these efforts, the Project's etexts and any +medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other +things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged +disk or other etext medium, a computer virus, or computer +codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. + +LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES +But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, +[1] the Project (and any other party you may receive this +etext from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext) disclaims all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including +legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR +UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, +INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE +OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE +POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. + +If you discover a Defect in this etext within 90 days of +receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) +you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that +time to the person you received it from. If you received it +on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and +such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement +copy. If you received it electronically, such person may +choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to +receive it electronically. + +THIS ETEXT IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS +TO THE ETEXT OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A +PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + +Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or +the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the +above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you +may have other legal rights. + +INDEMNITY +You will indemnify and hold the Project, its directors, +officers, members and agents harmless from all liability, cost +and expense, including legal fees, that arise directly or +indirectly from any of the following that you do or cause: +[1] distribution of this etext, [2] alteration, modification, +or addition to the etext, or [3] any Defect. + +DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" +You may distribute copies of this etext electronically, or by +disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this +"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, +or: + +[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this + requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the + etext or this "small print!" statement. You may however, + if you wish, distribute this etext in machine readable + binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, + including any form resulting from conversion by word pro- + cessing or hypertext software, but only so long as + *EITHER*: + + [*] The etext, when displayed, is clearly readable, and + does *not* contain characters other than those + intended by the author of the work, although tilde + (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may + be used to convey punctuation intended by the + author, and additional characters may be used to + indicate hypertext links; OR + + [*] The etext may be readily converted by the reader at + no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent + form by the program that displays the etext (as is + the case, for instance, with most word processors); + OR + + [*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at + no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the + etext in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC + or other equivalent proprietary form). + +[2] Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this + "Small Print!" statement. + +[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the + net profits you derive calculated using the method you + already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Association within the 60 + days following each date you prepare (or were legally + required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent periodic) + tax return. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, +scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty +free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution +you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg +Association". + +*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +A request to all readers: +I have tried to catch as many actual errors as I could, but I am +sure others exist. If you notice an error, please let me know, +identifying by chapter and paragraph where the mistake occurs. + +David Reed, haradda@aol.com or davidr@inconnect.com + + + + + +Democracy In America +Alexis De Tocqueville +Translator - 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 FrenchRevolution, 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. + +Bred to the law, he exhibited an early predilection for +philosophy and political economy, and at twenty-two was appointed +judge-auditor at the tribunal of Versailles. + +In 1831, commissioned ostensibly to investigate the +penitentiary system of the United States, he visited this +country, with his friend, Gustave de Beaumont, travelling +extensively through those parts of the Republic then subdued to +settlement, studying the methods of local, State, and national +administration, and observing the manners and habits, the daily +life, the business, the industries and occupations of the people. + +"Democracy in America," the first of four volumes upon +"American Institutions and their Influence," was published in +1835. It was received at once by the scholars and thinkers of +Europe as a profound, impartial, and entertaining exposition of +the principles of popular, representative self-government. + +Napoleon, "The mighty somnambulist of a vanished dream," had +abolished feudalism and absolutism, made monarchs and dynasties +obsolete, and substituted for the divine right of kings the +sovereignty of the people. + +Although by birth and sympathies an aristocrat, M. de +Tocqueville saw that the reign of tradition and privilege at last +was ended. He perceived that civilization, after many bloody +centuries, had entered a new epoch. He beheld, and deplored, the +excesses that had attended the genesis of the democratic spirit +in France, and while he loved liberty, he detested the crimes +that had been committed in its name. Belonging neither to the +class which regarded the social revolution as an innovation to be +resisted, nor to that which considered political equality the +universal panacea for the evils of humanity, he resolved by +personal observation of the results of democracy in the New World +to ascertain its natural consequences, and to learn what the +nations of Europe had to hope or fear from its final supremacy. + +That a youth of twenty-six should entertain a design so +broad and bold implies singular intellectual intrepidity. He had +neither model nor precedent. The vastness and novelty of the +undertaking increase admiration for the remarkable ability with +which the task was performed. + +Were literary excellence the sole claim of "Democracy in +America" to distinction, the splendor of its composition alone +would entitle it to high place among the masterpieces of the +century. The first chapter, upon the exterior form of North +America, as the theatre upon which the great drama is to be +enacted, for graphic and picturesque description of the physical +characteristics of the continent is not surpassed in literature: +nor is there any subdivision of the work in which the severest +philosophy is not invested with the grace of poetry, and the +driest statistics with the charm of romance. Western emigration +seemed commonplace and prosaic till M. de Tocqueville said, "This +gradual and continuous progress of the European race toward the +Rocky Mountains has the solemnity of a providential event; it is +like a deluge of men rising unabatedly, and daily driven onward +by the hand of God!" + +The mind of M. de Tocqueville had the candor of the +photographic camera. It recorded impressions with the +impartiality of nature. The image was sometimes distorted, and +the perspective was not always true, but he was neither a +panegyrist, nor an advocate, nor a critic. He observed American +phenomena as illustrations, not as proof nor arguments; and +although it is apparent that the tendency of his mind was not +wholly favorable to the democratic principle, yet those who +dissent from his conclusions must commend the ability and courage +with which they are expressed. + +Though not originally written for Americans, "Democracy in +America" must always remain a work of engrossing and constantly +increasing interest to citizens of the United States as the first +philosophic and comprehensive view of our society, institutions, +and destiny. No one can rise even from the most cursory perusal +without clearer insight and more patriotic appreciation of the +blessings of liberty protected by law, nor without encouragement +for the stability and perpetuity of the Republic. The causes +which appeared to M. de Tocqueville to menace both, have gone. +The despotism of public opinion, the tyranny of majorities, the +absence of intellectual freedom which seemed to him to degrade +administration and bring statesmanship, learning, and literature +to the level of the lowest, are no longer considered. The +violence of party spirit has been mitigated, and the judgment of +the wise is not subordinated to the prejudices of the ignorant. + +Other dangers have come. Equality of conditions no longer +exists. Prophets of evil predict the downfall of democracy, but +the student of M. de Tocqueville will find consolation and +encouragement in the reflection that the same spirit which has +vanquished the perils of the past, which he foresaw, will be +equally prepared for the responsibilities of the present and the +future. + +The last of the four volumes of M. de Tocqueville's work +upon American institutions appeared in 1840. + +In 1838 he was chosen member of the Academy of Moral and +Political Sciences. In 1839 he was elected to the Chamber of +Deputies. He became a member of the French Academy in 1841. +In 1848 he was in the Assembly, and from June 2nd to October +31st he was Minister of Foreign Affairs. The coup d'etat of +December 2, 1851 drove him from the public service. In 1856 he +published "The Old Regime and the Revolution." He died at Cannes, +April 15, 1859, at the age of fifty-four. + +Hon. John J. Ingalls + + +Introductory Chapter + +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. I readily discovered +the prodigious influence which this primary fact exercises on the +whole course of society, by giving a certain direction to public +opinion, and a certain tenor to the laws; by imparting new maxims +to the governing powers, and peculiar habits to the governed. I +speedily perceived that the influence of this fact extends far +beyond the political character and the laws of the country, and +that it has no less empire over civil society than over the +Government; it creates opinions, engenders sentiments, suggests +the ordinary practices of life, and modifies whatever it does not +produce. The more I advanced in the study of American society, +the more I perceived that the equality of conditions is the +fundamental fact from which all others seem to be derived, and +the central point at which all my observations constantly +terminated. + +I then turned my thoughts to our own hemisphere, where I +imagined that I discerned something analogous to the spectacle +which the New World presented to me. I observed that the +equality of conditions is daily progressing towards those extreme +limits which it seems to have reached in the United States, and +that the democracy which governs the American communities appears +to be rapidly rising into power in Europe. I hence conceived the +idea of the book which is now before the reader. + +It is evident to all alike that a great democratic +revolution is going on amongst us; but there are two opinions as +to its nature and consequences. To some it appears to be a novel +accident, which as such may still be checked; to others it seems +irresistible, because it is the most uniform, the most ancient, +and the most permanent tendency which is to be found in history. +Let us recollect the situation of France seven hundred years ago, +when the territory was divided amongst a small number of +families, who were the owners of the soil and the rulers of the +inhabitants; the right of governing descended with the family +inheritance from generation to generation; force was the only +means by which man could act on man, and landed property was the +sole source of power. Soon, however, the political power of the +clergy was founded, and began to exert itself: the clergy opened +its ranks to all classes, to the poor and the rich, the villein +and the lord; equality penetrated into the Government through the +Church, and the being who as a serf must have vegetated in +perpetual bondage took his place as a priest in the midst of +nobles, and not infrequently above the heads of kings. + +The different relations of men became more complicated and +more numerous as society gradually became more stable and more +civilized. Thence the want of civil laws was felt; and the order +of legal functionaries soon rose from the obscurity of the +tribunals and their dusty chambers, to appear at the court of the +monarch, by the side of the feudal barons in their ermine and +their mail. Whilst the kings were ruining themselves by their +great enterprises, and the nobles exhausting their resources by +private wars, the lower orders were enriching themselves by +commerce. The influence of money began to be perceptible in +State affairs. The transactions of business opened a new road to +power, and the financier rose to a station of political influence +in which he was at once flattered and despised. Gradually the +spread of mental acquirements, and the increasing taste for +literature and art, opened chances of success to talent; science +became a means of government, intelligence led to social power, +and the man of letters took a part in the affairs of the State. +The value attached to the privileges of birth decreased in the +exact proportion in which new paths were struck out to +advancement. In the eleventh century nobility was beyond all +price; in the thirteenth it might be purchased; it was conferred +for the first time in 1270; and equality was thus introduced into +the Government by the aristocracy itself. + +In the course of these seven hundred years it sometimes +happened that in order to resist the authority of the Crown, or +to diminish the power of their rivals, the nobles granted a +certain share of political rights to the people. Or, more +frequently, the king permitted the lower orders to enjoy a degree +of power, with the intention of repressing the aristocracy. In +France the kings have always been the most active and the most +constant of levellers. When they were strong and ambitious they +spared no pains to raise the people to the level of the nobles; +when they were temperate or weak they allowed the people to rise +above themselves. Some assisted the democracy by their talents, +others by their vices. Louis XI and Louis XIV reduced every rank +beneath the throne to the same subjection; Louis XV descended, +himself and all his Court, into the dust. + +As soon as land was held on any other than a feudal tenure, +and personal property began in its turn to confer influence and +power, every improvement which was introduced in commerce or +manufacture was a fresh element of the equality of conditions. +Henceforward every new discovery, every new want which it +engendered, and every new desire which craved satisfaction, was a +step towards the universal level. The taste for luxury, the love +of war, the sway of fashion, and the most superficial as well as +the deepest passions of the human heart, co-operated to enrich +the poor and to impoverish the rich. + +From the time when the exercise of the intellect became the +source of strength and of wealth, it is impossible not to +consider every addition to science, every fresh truth, and every +new idea as a germ of power placed within the reach of the +people. Poetry, eloquence, and memory, the grace of wit, the +glow of imagination, the depth of thought, and all the gifts +which are bestowed by Providence with an equal hand, turned to +the advantage of the democracy; and even when they were in the +possession of its adversaries they still served its cause by +throwing into relief the natural greatness of man; its conquests +spread, therefore, with those of civilization and knowledge, and +literature became an arsenal where the poorest and the weakest +could always find weapons to their hand. + +In perusing the pages of our history, we shall scarcely meet +with a single great event, in the lapse of seven hundred years, +which has not turned to the advantage of equality. The Crusades +and the wars of the English decimated the nobles and divided +their possessions; the erection of communities introduced an +element of democratic liberty into the bosom of feudal monarchy; +the invention of fire-arms equalized the villein and the noble on +the field of battle; printing opened the same resources to the +minds of all classes; the post was organized so as to bring the +same information to the door of the poor man's cottage and to the +gate of the palace; and Protestantism proclaimed that all men are +alike able to find the road to heaven. The discovery of America +offered a thousand new paths to fortune, and placed riches and +power within the reach of the adventurous and the obscure. If we +examine what has happened in France at intervals of fifty years, +beginning with the eleventh century, we shall invariably perceive +that a twofold revolution has taken place in the state of +society. The noble has gone down on the social ladder, and the +roturier has gone up; the one descends as the other rises. Every +half century brings them nearer to each other, and they will very +shortly meet. + +Nor is this phenomenon at all peculiar to France. +Whithersoever we turn our eyes we shall witness the same +continual revolution throughout the whole of Christendom. The +various occurrences of national existence have everywhere turned +to the advantage of democracy; all men have aided it by their +exertions: those who have intentionally labored in its cause, and +those who have served it unwittingly; those who have fought for +it and those who have declared themselves its opponents, have all +been driven along in the same track, have all labored to one end, +some ignorantly and some unwillingly; all have been blind +instruments in the hands of God. + +The gradual development of the equality of conditions is +therefore a providential fact, and it possesses all the +characteristics of a divine decree: it is universal, it is +durable, it constantly eludes all human interference, and all +events as well as all men contribute to its progress. Would it, +then, be wise to imagine that a social impulse which dates from +so far back can be checked by the efforts of a generation? Is it +credible that the democracy which has annihilated the feudal +system and vanquished kings will respect the citizen and the +capitalist? Will it stop now that it has grown so strong and its +adversaries so weak? None can say which way we are going, for +all terms of comparison are wanting: the equality of conditions +is more complete in the Christian countries of the present day +than it has been at any time or in any part of the world; so that +the extent of what already exists prevents us from foreseeing +what may be yet to come. + +The whole book which is here offered to the public has been +written under the impression of a kind of religious dread +produced in the author's mind by the contemplation of so +irresistible a revolution, which has advanced for centuries in +spite of such amazing obstacles, and which is still proceeding in +the midst of the ruins it has made. It is not necessary that God +himself should speak in order to disclose to us the +unquestionable signs of His will; we can discern them in the +habitual course of nature, and in the invariable tendency of +events: I know, without a special revelation, that the planets +move in the orbits traced by the Creator's finger. If the men of +our time were led by attentive observation and by sincere +reflection to acknowledge that the gradual and progressive +development of social equality is at once the past and future of +their history, this solitary truth would confer the sacred +character of a Divine decree upon the change. To attempt to +check democracy would be in that case to resist the will of God; +and the nations would then be constrained to make the best of the +social lot awarded to them by Providence. + +The Christian nations of our age seem to me to present a +most alarming spectacle; the impulse which is bearing them along +is so strong that it cannot be stopped, but it is not yet so +rapid that it cannot be guided: their fate is in their hands; yet +a little while and it may be so no longer. The first duty which +is at this time imposed upon those who direct our affairs is to +educate the democracy; to warm its faith, if that be possible; to +purify its morals; to direct its energies; to substitute a +knowledge of business for its inexperience, and an acquaintance +with its true interests for its blind propensities; to adapt its +government to time and place, and to modify it in compliance with +the occurrences and the actors of the age. A new science of +politics is indispensable to a new world. This, however, is what +we think of least; launched in the middle of a rapid stream, we +obstinately fix our eyes on the ruins which may still be +described upon the shore we have left, whilst the current sweeps +us along, and drives us backwards towards the gulf. + +In no country in Europe has the great social revolution +which I have been describing made such rapid progress as in +France; but it has always been borne on by chance. The heads of +the State have never had any forethought for its exigencies, and +its victories have been obtained without their consent or without +their knowledge. The most powerful, the most intelligent, and +the most moral classes of the nation have never attempted to +connect themselves with it in order to guide it. The people has +consequently been abandoned to its wild propensities, and it has +grown up like those outcasts who receive their education in the +public streets, and who are unacquainted with aught but the vices +and wretchedness of society. The existence of a democracy was +seemingly unknown, when on a sudden it took possession of the +supreme power. Everything was then submitted to its caprices; it +was worshipped as the idol of strength; until, when it was +enfeebled by its own excesses, the legislator conceived the rash +project of annihilating its power, instead of instructing it and +correcting its vices; no attempt was made to fit it to govern, +but all were bent on excluding it from the government. + +The consequence of this has been that the democratic +revolution has been effected only in the material parts of +society, without that concomitant change in laws, ideas, customs, +and manners which was necessary to render such a revolution +beneficial. We have gotten a democracy, but without the +conditions which lessen its vices and render its natural +advantages more prominent; and although we already perceive the +evils it brings, we are ignorant of the benefits it may confer. + +While the power of the Crown, supported by the aristocracy, +peaceably governed the nations of Europe, society possessed, in +the midst of its wretchedness, several different advantages which +can now scarcely be appreciated or conceived. The power of a +part of his subjects was an insurmountable barrier to the tyranny +of the prince; and the monarch, who felt the almost divine +character which he enjoyed in the eyes of the multitude, derived +a motive for the just use of his power from the respect which he +inspired. High as they were placed above the people, the nobles +could not but take that calm and benevolent interest in its fate +which the shepherd feels towards his flock; and without +acknowledging the poor as their equals, they watched over the +destiny of those whose welfare Providence had entrusted to their +care. The people never having conceived the idea of a social +condition different from its own, and entertaining no expectation +of ever ranking with its chiefs, received benefits from them +without discussing their rights. It grew attached to them when +they were clement and just, and it submitted without resistance +or servility to their exactions, as to the inevitable visitations +of the arm of God. Custom, and the manners of the time, had +moreover created a species of law in the midst of violence, and +established certain limits to oppression. As the noble never +suspected that anyone would attempt to deprive him of the +privileges which he believed to be legitimate, and as the serf +looked upon his own inferiority as a consequence of the immutable +order of nature, it is easy to imagine that a mutual exchange of +good-will took place between two classes so differently gifted by +fate. Inequality and wretchedness were then to be found in +society; but the souls of neither rank of men were degraded. Men +are not corrupted by the exercise of power or debased by the +habit of obedience, but by the exercise of a power which they +believe to be illegal and by obedience to a rule which they +consider to be usurped and oppressive. On one side was wealth, +strength, and leisure, accompanied by the refinements of luxury, +the elegance of taste, the pleasures of wit, and the religion of +art. On the other was labor and a rude ignorance; but in the +midst of this coarse and ignorant multitude it was not uncommon +to meet with energetic passions, generous sentiments, profound +religious convictions, and independent virtues. The body of a +State thus organized might boast of its stability, its power, +and, above all, of its glory. + +But the scene is now changed, and gradually the two ranks +mingle; the divisions which once severed mankind are lowered, +property is divided, power is held in common, the light of +intelligence spreads, and the capacities of all classes are +equally cultivated; the State becomes democratic, and the empire +of democracy is slowly and peaceably introduced into the +institutions and the manners of the nation. I can conceive a +society in which all men would profess an equal attachment and +respect for the laws of which they are the common authors; in +which the authority of the State would be respected as necessary, +though not as divine; and the loyalty of the subject to its chief +magistrate would not be a passion, but a quiet and rational +persuasion. Every individual being in the possession of rights +which he is sure to retain, a kind of manly reliance and +reciprocal courtesy would arise between all classes, alike +removed from pride and meanness. The people, well acquainted +with its true interests, would allow that in order to profit by +the advantages of society it is necessary to satisfy its demands. +In this state of things the voluntary association of the citizens +might supply the individual exertions of the nobles, and the +community would be alike protected from anarchy and from +oppression. + +I admit that, in a democratic State thus constituted, +society will not be stationary; but the impulses of the social +body may be regulated and directed forwards; if there be less +splendor than in the halls of an aristocracy, the contrast of +misery will be less frequent also; the pleasures of enjoyment may +be less excessive, but those of comfort will be more general; the +sciences may be less perfectly cultivated, but ignorance will be +less common; the impetuosity of the feelings will be repressed, +and the habits of the nation softened; there will be more vices +and fewer crimes. In the absence of enthusiasm and of an ardent +faith, great sacrifices may be obtained from the members of a +commonwealth by an appeal to their understandings and their +experience; each individual will feel the same necessity for +uniting with his fellow-citizens to protect his own weakness; and +as he knows that if they are to assist he must co-operate, he +will readily perceive that his personal interest is identified +with the interest of the community. The nation, taken as a +whole, will be less brilliant, less glorious, and perhaps less +strong; but the majority of the citizens will enjoy a greater +degree of prosperity, and the people will remain quiet, not +because it despairs of amelioration, but because it is conscious +of the advantages of its condition. If all the consequences of +this state of things were not good or useful, society would at +least have appropriated all such as were useful and good; and +having once and for ever renounced the social advantages of +aristocracy, mankind would enter into possession of all the +benefits which democracy can afford. + +But here it may be asked what we have adopted in the place +of those institutions, those ideas, and those customs of our +forefathers which we have abandoned. The spell of royalty is +broken, but it has not been succeeded by the majesty of the laws; +the people has learned to despise all authority, but fear now +extorts a larger tribute of obedience than that which was +formerly paid by reverence and by love. + +I perceive that we have destroyed those independent beings +which were able to cope with tyranny single-handed; but it is the +Government that has inherited the privileges of which families, +corporations, and individuals have been deprived; the weakness of +the whole community has therefore succeeded that influence of a +small body of citizens, which, if it was sometimes oppressive, +was often conservative. The division of property has lessened +the distance which separated the rich from the poor; but it would +seem that the nearer they draw to each other, the greater is +their mutual hatred, and the more vehement the envy and the dread +with which they resist each other's claims to power; the notion +of Right is alike insensible to both classes, and Force affords +to both the only argument for the present, and the only guarantee +for the future. The poor man retains the prejudices of his +forefathers without their faith, and their ignorance without +their virtues; he has adopted the doctrine of self-interest as +the rule of his actions, without understanding the science which +controls it, and his egotism is no less blind than his +devotedness was formerly. If society is tranquil, it is not +because it relies upon its strength and its well-being, but +because it knows its weakness and its infirmities; a single +effort may cost it its life; everybody feels the evil, but no one +has courage or energy enough to seek the cure; the desires, the +regret, the sorrows, and the joys of the time produce nothing +that is visible or permanent, like the passions of old men which +terminate in impotence. + +We have, then, abandoned whatever advantages the old state +of things afforded, without receiving any compensation from our +present condition; we have destroyed an aristocracy, and we seem +inclined to survey its ruins with complacency, and to fix our +abode in the midst of them. + +The phenomena which the intellectual world presents are not +less deplorable. The democracy of France, checked in its course +or abandoned to its lawless passions, has overthrown whatever +crossed its path, and has shaken all that it has not destroyed. +Its empire on society has not been gradually introduced or +peaceably established, but it has constantly advanced in the +midst of disorder and the agitation of a conflict. In the heat +of the struggle each partisan is hurried beyond the limits of his +opinions by the opinions and the excesses of his opponents, until +he loses sight of the end of his exertions, and holds a language +which disguises his real sentiments or secret instincts. Hence +arises the strange confusion which we are witnessing. I cannot +recall to my mind a passage in history more worthy of sorrow and +of pity than the scenes which are happening under our eyes; it is +as if the natural bond which unites the opinions of man to his +tastes and his actions to his principles was now broken; the +sympathy which has always been acknowledged between the feelings +and the ideas of mankind appears to be dissolved, and all the +laws of moral analogy to be dissolved, and all the laws of moral +analogy to be abolished. + +Zealous Christians may be found amongst us whose minds are +nurtured in the love and knowledge of a future life, and who +readily espouse the cause of human liberty as the source of all +moral greatness. Christianity, which has declared that all men +are equal in the sight of God, will not refuse to acknowledge +that all citizens are equal in the eye of the law. But, by a +singular concourse of events, religion is entangled in those +institutions which democracy assails, and it is not unfrequently +brought to reject the equality it loves, and to curse that cause +of liberty as a foe which it might hallow by its alliance. + +By the side of these religious men I discern others whose +looks are turned to the earth more than to Heaven; they are the +partisans of liberty, not only as the source of the noblest +virtues, but more especially as the root of all solid advantages; +and they sincerely desire to extend its sway, and to impart its +blessings to mankind. It is natural that they should hasten to +invoke the assistance of religion, for they must know that +liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality +without faith; but they have seen religion in the ranks of their +adversaries, and they inquire no further; some of them attack it +openly, and the remainder are afraid to defend it. + +In former ages slavery has been advocated by the venal and +slavish-minded, whilst the independent and the warm-hearted were +struggling without hope to save the liberties of mankind. But +men of high and generous characters are now to be met with, whose +opinions are at variance with their inclinations, and who praise +that servility which they have themselves never known. Others, +on the contrary, speak in the name of liberty, as if they were +able to feel its sanctity and its majesty, and loudly claim for +humanity those rights which they have always disowned. There are +virtuous and peaceful individuals whose pure morality, quiet +habits, affluence, and talents fit them to be the leaders of the +surrounding population; their love of their country is sincere, +and they are prepared to make the greatest sacrifices to its +welfare, but they confound the abuses of civilization with its +benefits, and the idea of evil is inseparable in their minds from +that of novelty. + +Not far from this class is another party, whose object is to +materialize mankind, to hit upon what is expedient without +heeding what is just, to acquire knowledge without faith, and +prosperity apart from virtue; assuming the title of the champions +of modern civilization, and placing themselves in a station which +they usurp with insolence, and from which they are driven by +their own unworthiness. Where are we then? The religionists are +the enemies of liberty, and the friends of liberty attack +religion; the high- minded and the noble advocate subjection, and +the meanest and most servile minds preach independence; honest +and enlightened citizens are opposed to all progress, whilst men +without patriotism and without principles are the apostles of +civilization and of intelligence. Has such been the fate of the +centuries which have preceded our own? and has man always +inhabited a world like the present, where nothing is linked +together, where virtue is without genius, and genius without +honor; where the love of order is confounded with a taste for +oppression, and the holy rites of freedom with a contempt of law; +where the light thrown by conscience on human actions is dim, and +where nothing seems to be any longer forbidden or allowed, +honorable or shameful, false or true? I cannot, however, believe +that the Creator made man to leave him in an endless struggle +with the intellectual miseries which surround us: God destines a +calmer and a more certain future to the communities of Europe; I +am unacquainted with His designs, but I shall not cease to +believe in them because I cannot fathom them, and I had rather +mistrust my own capacity than His justice. + +There is a country in the world where the great revolution +which I am speaking of seems nearly to have reached its natural +limits; it has been effected with ease and simplicity, say rather +that this country has attained the consequences of the democratic +revolution which we are undergoing without having experienced the +revolution itself. The emigrants who fixed themselves on the +shores of America in the beginning of the seventeenth century +severed the democratic principle from all the principles which +repressed it in the old communities of Europe, and transplanted +it unalloyed to the New World. It has there been allowed to +spread in perfect freedom, and to put forth its consequences in +the laws by influencing the manners of the country. + +It appears to me beyond a doubt that sooner or later we +shall arrive, like the Americans, at an almost complete equality +of conditions. But I do not conclude from this that we shall +ever be necessarily led to draw the same political consequences +which the Americans have derived from a similar social +organization. I am far from supposing that they have chosen the +only form of government which a democracy may adopt; but the +identity of the efficient cause of laws and manners in the two +countries is sufficient to account for the immense interest we +have in becoming acquainted with its effects in each of them. + +It is not, then, merely to satisfy a legitimate curiosity +that I have examined America; my wish has been to find +instruction by which we may ourselves profit. Whoever should +imagine that I have intended to write a panegyric will perceive +that such was not my design; nor has it been my object to +advocate any form of government in particular, for I am of +opinion that absolute excellence is rarely to be found in any +legislation; I have not even affected to discuss whether the +social revolution, which I believe to be irresistible, is +advantageous or prejudicial to mankind; I have acknowledged this +revolution as a fact already accomplished or on the eve of its +accomplishment; and I have selected the nation, from amongst +those which have undergone it, in which its development has been +the most peaceful and the most complete, in order to discern its +natural consequences, and, if it be possible, to distinguish the +means by which it may be rendered profitable. I confess that in +America I saw more than America; I sought the image of democracy +itself, with its inclinations, its character, its prejudices, and +its passions, in order to learn what we have to fear or to hope +from its progress. + +In the first part of this work I have attempted to show the +tendency given to the laws by the democracy of America, which is +abandoned almost without restraint to its instinctive +propensities, and to exhibit the course it prescribes to the +Government and the influence it exercises on affairs. I have +sought to discover the evils and the advantages which it +produces. I have examined the precautions used by the Americans +to direct it, as well as those which they have not adopted, and I +have undertaken to point out the causes which enable it to govern +society. I do not know whether I have succeeded in making known +what I saw in America, but I am certain that such has been my +sincere desire, and that I have never, knowingly, moulded facts +to ideas, instead of ideas to facts. + +Whenever a point could be established by the aid of written +documents, I have had recourse to the original text, and to the +most authentic and approved works. I have cited my authorities +in the notes, and anyone may refer to them. Whenever an opinion, +a political custom, or a remark on the manners of the country was +concerned, I endeavored to consult the most enlightened men I met +with. If the point in question was important or doubtful, I was +not satisfied with one testimony, but I formed my opinion on the +evidence of several witnesses. Here the reader must necessarily +believeme upon my word. I could frequently have quoted names +which are either known to him, or which deserve to be so, in +proof of what I advance; but I have carefully abstained from this +practice. A stranger frequently hears important truths at the +fire-side of his host, which the latter would perhaps conceal +from the ear of friendship; he consoles himself with his guest +for the silence to which he is restricted, and the shortness of +the traveller's stay takes away all fear of his indiscretion. I +carefully noted every conversation of this nature as soon as it +occurred, but these notes will never leave my writing-case; I had +rather injure the success of my statements than add my name to +the list of those strangers who repay the generous hospitality +they have received by subsequent chagrin and annoyance. + +I am aware that, notwithstanding my care, nothing will be +easier than to criticise this book, if anyone ever chooses to +criticise it. Those readers who may examine it closely will +discover the fundamental idea which connects the several parts +together. But the diversity of the subjects I have had to treat +is exceedingly great, and it will not be difficult to oppose an +isolated fact to the body of facts which I quote, or an isolated +idea to the body of ideas I put forth. I hope to be read in the +spirit which has guided my labors, and that my book may be judged +by the general impression it leaves, as I have formed my own +judgment not on any single reason, but upon the mass of evidence. +It must not be forgotten that the author who wishes to be +understood is obliged to push all his ideas to their utmost +theoretical consequences, and often to the verge of what is false +or impracticable; for if it be necessary sometimes to quit the +rules of logic in active life, such is not the case in discourse, +and a man finds that almost as many difficulties spring from +inconsistency of language as usually arise from inconsistency of +conduct. + +I conclude by pointing out myself what many readers will +consider the principal defect of the work. This book is written +to favor no particular views, and in composing it I have +entertained no designs of serving or attacking any party; I have +undertaken not to see differently, but to look further than +parties, and whilst they are busied for the morrow I have turned +my thoughts to the Future. + + +Chapter I: Exterior Form Of North America + +Chapter Summary + +North America divided into two vast regions, one inclining +towards the Pole, the other towards the Equator - Valley of the +Mississippi - Traces of the Revolutions of the Globe - Shore of +the Atlantic Ocean where the English Colonies were founded - +Difference in the appearance of North and of South America at the +time of their Discovery - Forests of North America - Prairies +-Wandering Tribes of Natives - Their outward appearance, manners, +and language - Traces of an unknown people. + +Exterior Form Of North America + +North America presents in its external form certain general +features which it is easy to discriminate at the first glance. A +sort of methodical order seems to have regulated the separation +of land and water, mountains and valleys. A simple, but grand, +arrangement is discoverable amidst the confusion of objects and +the prodigious variety of scenes. This continent is divided, +almost equally, into two vast regions, one of which is bounded on +the north by the Arctic Pole, and by the two great oceans on the +east and west. It stretches towards the south, forming a triangle +whose irregular sides meet at length below the great lakes of +Canada. The second region begins where the other terminates, and +includes all the remainder of the continent. The one slopes +gently towards the Pole, the other towards the Equator. + +The territory comprehended in the first region descends +towards the north with so imperceptible a slope that it may +almost be said to form a level plain. Within the bounds of this +immense tract of country there are neither high mountains nor +deep valleys. Streams meander through it irregularly: great +rivers mix their currents, separate and meet again, disperse and +form vast marshes, losing all trace of their channels in the +labyrinth of waters they have themselves created; and thus, at +length, after innumerable windings, fall into the Polar Seas. +The great lakes which bound this first region are not walled in, +like most of those in the Old World, between hills and rocks. +Their banks are flat, and rise but a few feet above the level of +their waters; each of them thus forming a vast bowl filled to the +brim. The slightest change in the structure of the globe would +cause their waters to rush either towards the Pole or to the +tropical sea. + +The second region is more varied on its surface, and better +suited for the habitation of man. Two long chains of mountains +divide it from one extreme to the other; the Alleghany ridge +takes the form of the shores of the Atlantic Ocean; the other is +parallel with the Pacific. The space which lies between these +two chains of mountains contains 1,341,649 square miles. *a Its +surface is therefore about six times as great as that of France. +This vast territory, however, forms a single valley, one side of +which descends gradually from the rounded summits of the +Alleghanies, while the other rises in an uninterrupted course +towards the tops of the Rocky Mountains. At the bottom of the +valley flows an immense river, into which the various streams +issuing from the mountains fall from all parts. In memory of +their native land, the French formerly called this river the St. +Louis. The Indians, in their pompous language, have named it the +Father of Waters, or the Mississippi. + +[Footnote a: Darby's "View of the United States."] + +The Mississippi takes its source above the limit of the two +great regions of which I have spoken, not far from the highest +point of the table-land where they unite. Near the same spot +rises another river, *b which empties itself into the Polar seas. +The course of the Mississippi is at first dubious: it winds +several times towards the north, from whence it rose; and at +length, after having been delayed in lakes and marshes, it flows +slowly onwards to the south. Sometimes quietly gliding along the +argillaceous bed which nature has assigned to it, sometimes +swollen by storms, the Mississippi waters 2,500 miles in its +course. *c At the distance of 1,364 miles from its mouth this +river attains an average depth of fifteen feet; and it is +navigated by vessels of 300 tons burden for a course of nearly +500 miles. Fifty-seven large navigable rivers contribute to +swell the waters of the Mississippi; amongst others, the +Missouri, which traverses a space of 2,500 miles; the Arkansas of +1,300 miles, the Red River 1,000 miles, four whose course is from +800 to 1,000 miles in length, viz., the Illinois, the St. +Peter's, the St. Francis, and the Moingona; besides a countless +multitude of rivulets which unite from all parts their tributary +streams. + +[Footnote b: The Red River.] + +[Footnote c: Warden's "Description of the United States."] +The valley which is watered by the Mississippi seems formed +to be the bed of this mighty river, which, like a god of +antiquity, dispenses both good and evil in its course. On the +shores of the stream nature displays an inexhaustible fertility; +in proportion as you recede from its banks, the powers of +vegetation languish, the soil becomes poor, and the plants that +survive have a sickly growth. Nowhere have the great convulsions +of the globe left more evident traces than in the valley of the +Mississippi; the whole aspect of the country shows the powerful +effects of water, both by its fertility and by its barrenness. +The waters of the primeval ocean accumulated enormous beds of +vegetable mould in the valley, which they levelled as they +retired. Upon the right shore of the river are seen immense +plains, as smooth as if the husbandman had passed over them with +his roller. As you approach the mountains the soil becomes more +and more unequal and sterile; the ground is, as it were, pierced +in a thousand places by primitive rocks, which appear like the +bones of a skeleton whose flesh is partly consumed. The surface +of the earth is covered with a granite sand and huge irregular +masses of stone, among which a few plants force their growth, and +give the appearance of a green field covered with the ruins of a +vast edifice. These stones and this sand discover, on +examination, a perfect analogy with those which compose the arid +and broken summits of the Rocky Mountains. The flood of waters +which washed the soil to the bottom of the valley afterwards +carried away portions of the rocks themselves; and these, dashed +and bruised against the neighboring cliffs, were left scattered +like wrecks at their feet. *d The valley of the Mississippi is, +upon the whole, the most magnificent dwelling-place prepared by +God for man's abode; and yet it may be said that at present it is +but a mighty desert. + +[Footnote d: See Appendix, A.] + +On the eastern side of the Alleghanies, between the base of +these mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, there lies a long ridge +of rocks and sand, which the sea appears to have left behind as +it retired. The mean breadth of this territory does not exceed +one hundred miles; but it is about nine hundred miles in length. +This part of the American continent has a soil which offers every +obstacle to the husbandman, and its vegetation is scanty and +unvaried. + +Upon this inhospitable coast the first united efforts of +human industry were made. The tongue of arid land was the cradle +of those English colonies which were destined one day to become +the United States of America. The centre of power still remains +here; whilst in the backwoods the true elements of the great +people to whom the future control of the continent belongs are +gathering almost in secrecy together. + +When the Europeans first landed on the shores of the West +Indies, and afterwards on the coast of South America, they +thought themselves transported into those fabulous regions of +which poets had sung. The sea sparkled with phosphoric light, +and the extraordinary transparency of its waters discovered to +the view of the navigator all that had hitherto been hidden in +the deep abyss. *e Here and there appeared little islands +perfumed with odoriferous plants, and resembling baskets of +flowers floating on the tranquil surface of the ocean. Every +object which met the sight, in this enchanting region, seemed +prepared to satisfy the wants or contribute to the pleasures of +man. Almost all the trees were loaded with nourishing fruits, and +those which were useless as food delighted the eye by the +brilliancy and variety of their colors. In groves of fragrant +lemon-trees, wild figs, flowering myrtles, acacias, and +oleanders, which were hung with festoons of various climbing +plants, covered with flowers, a multitude of birds unknown in +Europe displayed their bright plumage, glittering with purple and +azure, and mingled their warbling with the harmony of a world +teeming with life and motion. *f Underneath this brilliant +exterior death was concealed. But the air of these climates had +so enervating an influence that man, absorbed by present +enjoyment, was rendered regardless of the future. + +[Footnote e: Malte Brun tells us (vol. v. p. 726) that the water +of the Caribbean Sea is so transparent that corals and fish are +discernible at a depth of sixty fathoms. The ship seemed to +float in air, the navigator became giddy as his eye penetrated +through the crystal flood, and beheld submarine gardens, or beds +of shells, or gilded fishes gliding among tufts and thickets of +seaweed.] + +[Footnote f: See Appendix, B.] + +North America appeared under a very different aspect; there +everything was grave, serious, and solemn: it seemed created to +be the domain of intelligence, as the South was that of sensual +delight. A turbulent and foggy ocean washed its shores. It was +girt round by a belt of granite rocks, or by wide tracts of sand. +The foliage of its woods was dark and gloomy, for they were +composed of firs, larches, evergreen oaks, wild olive-trees, and +laurels. Beyond this outer belt lay the thick shades of the +central forest, where the largest trees which are produced in the +two hemispheres grow side by side. The plane, the catalpa, the +sugar- maple, and the Virginian poplar mingled their branches +with those of the oak, the beech, and the lime. In these, as in +the forests of the Old World, destruction was perpetually going +on. The ruins of vegetation were heaped upon each other; but +there was no laboring hand to remove them, and their decay was +not rapid enough to make room for the continual work of +reproduction. Climbing plants, grasses, and other herbs forced +their way through the mass of dying trees; they crept along their +bending trunks, found nourishment in their dusty cavities, and a +passage beneath the lifeless bark. Thus decay gave its +assistance to life, and their respective productions were mingled +together. The depths of these forests were gloomy and obscure, +undirected in their course by human industry, preserved in them a +constant moisture. It was rare to meet with flowers, wild +fruits, or birds beneath their shades. The fall of a tree +overthrown by age, the rushing torrent of a cataract, the lowing +of the buffalo, and the howling of the wind were the only sounds +which broke the silence of nature. + +To the east of the great river, the woods almost +disappeared; in their stead were seen prairies of immense extent. +Whether Nature in her infinite variety had denied the germs of +trees to these fertile plains, or whether they had once been +covered with forests, subsequently destroyed by the hand of man, +is a question which neither tradition nor scientific research has +been able to resolve. + +These immense deserts were not, however, devoid of human +inhabitants. Some wandering tribes had been for ages scattered +among the forest shades or the green pastures of the prairie. +From the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the delta of the +Mississippi, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, these +savages possessed certain points of resemblance which bore +witness of their common origin; but at the same time they +differed from all other known races of men: *g they were neither +white like the Europeans, nor yellow like most of the Asiatics, +nor black like the negroes. Their skin was reddish brown, their +hair long and shining, their lips thin, and their cheekbones very +prominent. The languages spoken by the North American tribes are +various as far as regarded their words, but they were subject to +the same grammatical rules. These rules differed in several +points from such as had been observed to govern the origin of +language. The idiom of the Americans seemed to be the product of +new combinations, and bespoke an effort of the understanding of +which the Indians of our days would be incapable. *h + +[Footnote g: With the progress of discovery some resemblance has +been found to exist between the physical conformation, the +language, and the habits of the Indians of North America, and +those of the Tongous, Mantchous, Mongols, Tartars, and other +wandering tribes of Asia. The land occupied by these tribes is +not very distant from Behring's Strait, which allows of the +supposition, that at a remote period they gave inhabitants to the +desert continent of America. But this is a point which has not +yet been clearly elucidated by science. See Malte Brun, vol. v.; +the works of Humboldt; Fischer, "Conjecture sur l'Origine des +Americains"; Adair, "History of the American Indians."] + +[Footnote h: See Appendix, C.] + +The social state of these tribes differed also in many +respects from all that was seen in the Old World. They seemed to +have multiplied freely in the midst of their deserts without +coming in contact with other races more civilized than their own. +Accordingly, they exhibited none of those indistinct, incoherent +notions of right and wrong, none of that deep corruption of +manners, which is usually joined with ignorance and rudeness +among nations which, after advancing to civilization, have +relapsed into a state of barbarism. The Indian was indebted to +no one but himself; his virtues, his vices, and his prejudices +were his own work; he had grown up in the wild independence of +his nature. + +If, in polished countries, the lowest of the people are rude +and uncivil, it is not merely because they are poor and ignorant, +but that, being so, they are in daily contact with rich and +enlightened men. The sight of their own hard lot and of their +weakness, which is daily contrasted with the happiness and power +of some of their fellow-creatures, excites in their hearts at the +same time the sentiments of anger and of fear: the consciousness +of their inferiority and of their dependence irritates while it +humiliates them. This state of mind displays itself in their +manners and language; they are at once insolent and servile. The +truth of this is easily proved by observation; the people are +more rude in aristocratic countries than elsewhere, in opulent +cities than in rural districts. In those places where the rich +and powerful are assembled together the weak and the indigent +feel themselves oppressed by their inferior condition. Unable to +perceive a single chance of regaining their equality, they give +up to despair, and allow themselves to fall below the dignity of +human nature. + +This unfortunate effect of the disparity of conditions is +not observable in savage life: the Indians, although they are +ignorant and poor, are equal and free. At the period when +Europeans first came among them the natives of North America were +ignorant of the value of riches, and indifferent to the +enjoyments which civilized man procures to himself by their +means. Nevertheless there was nothing coarse in their demeanor; +they practised an habitual reserve and a kind of aristocratic +politeness. Mild and hospitable when at peace, though merciless +in war beyond any known degree of human ferocity, the Indian +would expose himself to die of hunger in order to succor the +stranger who asked admittance by night at the door of his hut; +yet he could tear in pieces with his hands the still quivering +limbs of his prisoner. The famous republics of antiquity never +gave examples of more unshaken courage, more haughty spirits, or +more intractable love of independence than were hidden in former +times among the wild forests of the New World. *i The Europeans +produced no great impression when they landed upon the shores of +North America; their presence engendered neither envy nor fear. +What influence could they possess over such men as we have +described? The Indian could live without wants, suffer without +complaint, and pour out his death-song at the stake. *j Like all +the other members of the great human family, these savages +believed in the existence of a better world, and adored under +different names, God, the creator of the universe. Their notions +on the great intellectual truths were in general simple and +philosophical. *k + +[Footnote i: We learn from President Jefferson's "Notes upon +Virginia," p. 148, that among the Iroquois, when attacked by a +superior force, aged men refused to fly or to survive the +destruction of their country; and they braved death like the +ancient Romans when their capital was sacked by the Gauls. +Further on, p. 150, he tells us that there is no example of an +Indian who, having fallen into the hands of his enemies, begged +for his life; on the contrary, the captive sought to obtain death +at the hands of his conquerors by the use of insult and +provocation.] + +[Footnote j: See "Histoire de la Louisiane," by Lepage Dupratz; +Charlevoix, "Histoire de la Nouvelle France"; "Lettres du Rev. G. +Hecwelder;" "Transactions of the American Philosophical Society," +v. I; Jefferson's "Notes on Virginia," pp. 135-190. What is said +by Jefferson is of especial weight, on account of the personal +merit of the writer, of his peculiar position, and of the matter- +of-fact age in which he lived.] + +[Footnote k: See Appendix, D.] + +Although we have here traced the character of a primitive +people, yet it cannot be doubted that another people, more +civilized and more advanced in all respects, had preceded it in +the same regions. + +An obscure tradition which prevailed among the Indians to +the north of the Atlantic informs us that these very tribes +formerly dwelt on the west side of the Mississippi. Along the +banks of the Ohio, and throughout the central valley, there are +frequently found, at this day, tumuli raised by the hands of men. +On exploring these heaps of earth to their centre, it is usual to +meet with human bones, strange instruments, arms and utensils of +all kinds, made of metal, or destined for purposes unknown to the +present race. The Indians of our time are unable to give any +information relative to the history of this unknown people. +Neither did those who lived three hundred years ago, when America +was first discovered, leave any accounts from which even an +hypothesis could be formed. Tradition - that perishable, yet +ever renewed monument of the pristine world - throws no light +upon the subject. It is an undoubted fact, however, that in this +part of the globe thousands of our fellow-beings had lived. When +they came hither, what was their origin, their destiny, their +history, and how they perished, no one can tell. How strange does +it appear that nations have existed, and afterwards so completely +disappeared from the earth that the remembrance of their very +names is effaced; their languages are lost; their glory is +vanished like a sound without an echo; though perhaps there is +not one which has not left behind it some tomb in memory of its +passage! The most durable monument of human labor is that which +recalls the wretchedness and nothingness of man. + +Although the vast country which we have been describing was +inhabited by many indigenous tribes, it may justly be said at the +time of its discovery by Europeans to have formed one great +desert. The Indians occupied without possessing it. It is by +agricultural labor that man appropriates the soil, and the early +inhabitants of North America lived by the produce of the chase. +Their implacable prejudices, their uncontrolled passions, their +vices, and still more perhaps their savage virtues, consigned +them to inevitable destruction. The ruin of these nations began +from the day when Europeans landed on their shores; it has +proceeded ever since, and we are now witnessing the completion of +it. They seem to have been placed by Providence amidst the +riches of the New World to enjoy them for a season, and then +surrender them. Those coasts, so admirably adapted for commerce +and industry; those wide and deep rivers; that inexhaustible +valley of the Mississippi; the whole continent, in short, seemed +prepared to be the abode of a great nation, yet unborn. + +In that land the great experiment was to be made, by +civilized man, of the attempt to construct society upon a new +basis; and it was there, for the first time, that theories +hitherto unknown, or deemed impracticable, were to exhibit a +spectacle for which the world had not been prepared by the +history of the past. + + +Chapter I: Exterior Form Of North America + +Chapter Summary + +North America divided into two vast regions, one inclining +towards the Pole, the other towards the Equator - Valley of the +Mississippi - Traces of the Revolutions of the Globe - Shore of +the Atlantic Ocean where the English Colonies were founded - +Difference in the appearance of North and of South America at the +time of their Discovery - Forests of North America - Prairies +-Wandering Tribes of Natives - Their outward appearance, manners, +and language - Traces of an unknown people. + +Exterior Form Of North America + + +North America presents in its external form certain general +features which it is easy to discriminate at the first glance. A +sort of methodical order seems to have regulated the separation +of land and water, mountains and valleys. A simple, but grand, +arrangement is discoverable amidst the confusion of objects and +the prodigious variety of scenes. This continent is divided, +almost equally, into two vast regions, one of which is bounded on +the north by the Arctic Pole, and by the two great oceans on the +east and west. It stretches towards the south, forming a triangle +whose irregular sides meet at length below the great lakes of +Canada. The second region begins where the other terminates, and +includes all the remainder of the continent. The one slopes +gently towards the Pole, the other towards the Equator. + +The territory comprehended in the first region descends +towards the north with so imperceptible a slope that it may +almost be said to form a level plain. Within the bounds of this +immense tract of country there are neither high mountains nor +deep valleys. Streams meander through it irregularly: great +rivers mix their currents, separate and meet again, disperse and +form vast marshes, losing all trace of their channels in the +labyrinth of waters they have themselves created; and thus, at +length, after innumerable windings, fall into the Polar Seas. +The great lakes which bound this first region are not walled in, +like most of those in the Old World, between hills and rocks. +Their banks are flat, and rise but a few feet above the level of +their waters; each of them thus forming a vast bowl filled to the +brim. The slightest change in the structure of the globe would +cause their waters to rush either towards the Pole or to the +tropical sea. + +The second region is more varied on its surface, and better +suited for the habitation of man. Two long chains of mountains +divide it from one extreme to the other; the Alleghany ridge +takes the form of the shores of the Atlantic Ocean; the other is +parallel with the Pacific. The space which lies between these +two chains of mountains contains 1,341,649 square miles. *a Its +surface is therefore about six times as great as that of France. +This vast territory, however, forms a single valley, one side of +which descends gradually from the rounded summits of the +Alleghanies, while the other rises in an uninterrupted course +towards the tops of the Rocky Mountains. At the bottom of the +valley flows an immense river, into which the various streams +issuing from the mountains fall from all parts. In memory of +their native land, the French formerly called this river the St. +Louis. The Indians, in their pompous language, have named it the +Father of Waters, or the Mississippi. + +[Footnote a: Darby's "View of the United States."] + +The Mississippi takes its source above the limit of the two +great regions of which I have spoken, not far from the highest +point of the table-land where they unite. Near the same spot +rises another river, *b which empties itself into the Polar seas. +The course of the Mississippi is at first dubious: it winds +several times towards the north, from whence it rose; and at +length, after having been delayed in lakes and marshes, it flows +slowly onwards to the south. Sometimes quietly gliding along the +argillaceous bed which nature has assigned to it, sometimes +swollen by storms, the Mississippi waters 2,500 miles in its +course. *c At the distance of 1,364 miles from its mouth this +river attains an average depth of fifteen feet; and it is +navigated by vessels of 300 tons burden for a course of nearly +500 miles. Fifty-seven large navigable rivers contribute to +swell the waters of the Mississippi; amongst others, the +Missouri, which traverses a space of 2,500 miles; the Arkansas of +1,300 miles, the Red River 1,000 miles, four whose course is from +800 to 1,000 miles in length, viz., the Illinois, the St. +Peter's, the St. Francis, and the Moingona; besides a countless +multitude of rivulets which unite from all parts their tributary +streams. + +[Footnote b: The Red River.] + +[Footnote c: Warden's "Description of the United States."] + +The valley which is watered by the Mississippi seems formed +to be the bed of this mighty river, which, like a god of +antiquity, dispenses both good and evil in its course. On the +shores of the stream nature displays an inexhaustible fertility; +in proportion as you recede from its banks, the powers of +vegetation languish, the soil becomes poor, and the plants that +survive have a sickly growth. Nowhere have the great convulsions +of the globe left more evident traces than in the valley of the +Mississippi; the whole aspect of the country shows the powerful +effects of water, both by its fertility and by its barrenness. +The waters of the primeval ocean accumulated enormous beds of +vegetable mould in the valley, which they levelled as they +retired. Upon the right shore of the river are seen immense +plains, as smooth as if the husbandman had passed over them with +his roller. As you approach the mountains the soil becomes more +and more unequal and sterile; the ground is, as it were, pierced +in a thousand places by primitive rocks, which appear like the +bones of a skeleton whose flesh is partly consumed. The surface +of the earth is covered with a granite sand and huge irregular +masses of stone, among which a few plants force their growth, and +give the appearance of a green field covered with the ruins of a +vast edifice. These stones and this sand discover, on +examination, a perfect analogy with those which compose the arid +and broken summits of the Rocky Mountains. The flood of waters +which washed the soil to the bottom of the valley afterwards +carried away portions of the rocks themselves; and these, dashed +and bruised against the neighboring cliffs, were left scattered +like wrecks at their feet. *d The valley of the Mississippi is, +upon the whole, the most magnificent dwelling-place prepared by +God for man's abode; and yet it may be said that at present it is +but a mighty desert. + +[Footnote d: See Appendix, A.] + + +On the eastern side of the Alleghanies, between the base of +these mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, there lies a long ridge +of rocks and sand, which the sea appears to have left behind as +it retired. The mean breadth of this territory does not exceed +one hundred miles; but it is about nine hundred miles in length. +This part of the American continent has a soil which offers every +obstacle to the husbandman, and its vegetation is scanty and +unvaried. + +Upon this inhospitable coast the first united efforts of +human industry were made. The tongue of arid land was the cradle +of those English colonies which were destined one day to become +the United States of America. The centre of power still remains +here; whilst in the backwoods the true elements of the great +people to whom the future control of the continent belongs are +gathering almost in secrecy together. + +When the Europeans first landed on the shores of the West +Indies, and afterwards on the coast of South America, they +thought themselves transported into those fabulous regions of +which poets had sung. The sea sparkled with phosphoric light, +and the extraordinary transparency of its waters discovered to +the view of the navigator all that had hitherto been hidden in +the deep abyss. *e Here and there appeared little islands +perfumed with odoriferous plants, and resembling baskets of +flowers floating on the tranquil surface of the ocean. Every +object which met the sight, in this enchanting region, seemed +prepared to satisfy the wants or contribute to the pleasures of +man. Almost all the trees were loaded with nourishing fruits, and +those which were useless as food delighted the eye by the +brilliancy and variety of their colors. In groves of fragrant +lemon-trees, wild figs, flowering myrtles, acacias, and +oleanders, which were hung with festoons of various climbing +plants, covered with flowers, a multitude of birds unknown in +Europe displayed their bright plumage, glittering with purple and +azure, and mingled their warbling with the harmony of a world +teeming with life and motion. *f Underneath this brilliant +exterior death was concealed. But the air of these climates had +so enervating an influence that man, absorbed by present +enjoyment, was rendered regardless of the future. + +[Footnote e: Malte Brun tells us (vol. v. p. 726) that the water +of the Caribbean Sea is so transparent that corals and fish are +discernible at a depth of sixty fathoms. The ship seemed to +float in air, the navigator became giddy as his eye penetrated +through the crystal flood, and beheld submarine gardens, or beds +of shells, or gilded fishes gliding among tufts and thickets of +seaweed.] + +[Footnote f: See Appendix, B.] + +North America appeared under a very different aspect; there +everything was grave, serious, and solemn: it seemed created to +be the domain of intelligence, as the South was that of sensual +delight. A turbulent and foggy ocean washed its shores. It was +girt round by a belt of granite rocks, or by wide tracts of sand. +The foliage of its woods was dark and gloomy, for they were +composed of firs, larches, evergreen oaks, wild olive-trees, and +laurels. Beyond this outer belt lay the thick shades of the +central forest, where the largest trees which are produced in the +two hemispheres grow side by side. The plane, the catalpa, the +sugar- maple, and the Virginian poplar mingled their branches +with those of the oak, the beech, and the lime. In these, as in +the forests of the Old World, destruction was perpetually going +on. The ruins of vegetation were heaped upon each other; but +there was no laboring hand to remove them, and their decay was +not rapid enough to make room for the continual work of +reproduction. Climbing plants, grasses, and other herbs forced +their way through the mass of dying trees; they crept along their +bending trunks, found nourishment in their dusty cavities, and a +passage beneath the lifeless bark. Thus decay gave its +assistance to life, and their respective productions were mingled +together. The depths of these forests were gloomy and obscure, +and a thousand rivulets, undirected in their course by human +industry, preserved in them a constant moisture. It was rare to +meet with flowers, wild fruits, or birds beneath their shades. +The fall of a tree overthrown by age, the rushing torrent of a +cataract, the lowing of the buffalo, and the howling of the wind +were the only sounds which broke the silence of nature. + +To the east of the great river, the woods almost +disappeared; in their stead were seen prairies of immense extent. +Whether Nature in her infinite variety had denied the germs of +trees to these fertile plains, or whether they had once been +covered with forests, subsequently destroyed by the hand of man, +is a question which neither tradition nor scientific research has +been able to resolve. + +These immense deserts were not, however, devoid of human +inhabitants. Some wandering tribes had been for ages scattered +among the forest shades or the green pastures of the prairie. +From the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the delta of the +Mississippi, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, these +savages possessed certain points of resemblance which bore +witness of their common origin; but at the same time they +differed from all other known races of men: *g they were neither +white like the Europeans, nor yellow like most of the Asiatics, +nor black like the negroes. Their skin was reddish brown, their +hair long and shining, their lips thin, and their cheekbones very +prominent. The languages spoken by the North American tribes are +various as far as regarded their words, but they were subject to +the same grammatical rules. These rules differed in several +points from such as had been observed to govern the origin of +language. The idiom of the Americans seemed to be the product of +new combinations, and bespoke an effort of the understanding of +which the Indians of our days would be incapable. *h + +[Footnote g: With the progress of discovery some resemblance has +been found to exist between the physical conformation, the +language, and the habits of the Indians of North America, and +those of the Tongous, Mantchous, Mongols, Tartars, and other +wandering tribes of Asia. The land occupied by these tribes is +not very distant from Behring's Strait, which allows of the +supposition, that at a remote period they gave inhabitants to the +desert continent of America. But this is a point which has not +yet been clearly elucidated by science. See Malte Brun, vol. v.; +the works of Humboldt; Fischer, "Conjecture sur l'Origine des +Americains"; Adair, "History of the American Indians."] + +[Footnote h: See Appendix, C.] + +The social state of these tribes differed also in many +respects from all that was seen in the Old World. They seemed to +have multiplied freely in the midst of their deserts without +coming in contact with other races more civilized than their own. +Accordingly, they exhibited none of those indistinct, incoherent +notions of right and wrong, none of that deep corruption of +manners, which is usually joined with ignorance and rudeness +among nations which, after advancing to civilization, have +relapsed into a state of barbarism. The Indian was indebted to +no one but himself; his virtues, his vices, and his prejudices +were his own work; he had grown up in the wild independence of +his nature. + +If, in polished countries, the lowest of the people are rude +and uncivil, it is not merely because they are poor and ignorant, +but that, being so, they are in daily contact with rich and +enlightened men. The sight of their own hard lot and of their +weakness, which is daily contrasted with the happiness and power +of some of their fellow-creatures, excites in their hearts at the +same time the sentiments of anger and of fear: the consciousness +of their inferiority and of their dependence irritates while it +humiliates them. This state of mind displays itself in their +manners and language; they are at once insolent and servile. The +truth of this is easily proved by observation; the people are +more rude in aristocratic countries than elsewhere, in opulent +cities than in rural districts. In those places where the rich +and powerful are assembled together the weak and the indigent +feel themselves oppressed by their inferior condition. Unable to +perceive a single chance of regaining their equality, they give +up to despair, and allow themselves to fall below the dignity of +human nature. + +This unfortunate effect of the disparity of conditions is +not observable in savage life: the Indians, although they are +ignorant and poor, are equal and free. At the period when +Europeans first came among them the natives of North America were +ignorant of the value of riches, and indifferent to the +enjoyments which civilized man procures to himself by their +means. Nevertheless there was nothing coarse in their demeanor; +they practised an habitual reserve and a kind of aristocratic +politeness. Mild and hospitable when at peace, though merciless +in war beyond any known degree of human ferocity, the Indian +would expose himself to die of hunger in order to succor the +stranger who asked admittance by night at the door of his hut; +yet he could tear in pieces with his hands the still quivering +limbs of his prisoner. The famous republics of antiquity never +gave examples of more unshaken courage, more haughty spirits, or +more intractable love of independence than were hidden in former +times among the wild forests of the New World. *i The Europeans +produced no great impression when they landed upon the shores of +North America; their presence engendered neither envy nor fear. +What influence could they possess over such men as we have +described? The Indian could live without wants, suffer without +complaint, and pour out his death-song at the stake. *j Like all +the other members of the great human family, these savages +believed in the existence of a better world, and adored under +different names, God, the creator of the universe. Their notions +on the great intellectual truths were in general simple and +philosophical. *k + +[Footnote i: We learn from President Jefferson's "Notes upon +Virginia," p. 148, that among the Iroquois, when attacked by a +superior force, aged men refused to fly or to survive the +destruction of their country; and they braved death like the +ancient Romans when their capital was sacked by the Gauls. +Further on, p. 150, he tells us that there is no example of an +Indian who, having fallen into the hands of his enemies, begged +for his life; on the contrary, the captive sought to obtain death +at the hands of his conquerors by the use of insult and +provocation.] + +[Footnote j: See "Histoire de la Louisiane," by Lepage Dupratz; +Charlevoix, "Histoire de la Nouvelle France"; "Lettres du Rev. G. +Hecwelder;" "Transactions of the American Philosophical Society," +v. I; Jefferson's "Notes on Virginia," pp. 135-190. What is said +by Jefferson is of especial weight, on account of the personal +merit of the writer, of his peculiar position, and of the matter- +of-fact age in which he lived.] + +[Footnote k: See Appendix, D.] + +Although we have here traced the character of a primitive +people, yet it cannot be doubted that another people, more +civilized and more advanced in all respects, had preceded it in +the same regions. + +An obscure tradition which prevailed among the Indians to +the north of the Atlantic informs us that these very tribes +formerly dwelt on the west side of the Mississippi. Along the +banks of the Ohio, and throughout the central valley, there are +frequently found, at this day, tumuli raised by the hands of men. +On exploring these heaps of earth to their centre, it is usual to +meet with human bones, strange instruments, arms and utensils of +all kinds, made of metal, or destined for purposes unknown to the +present race. The Indians of our time are unable to give any +information relative to the history of this unknown people. +Neither did those who lived three hundred years ago, when America +was first discovered, leave any accounts from which even an +hypothesis could be formed. Tradition - that perishable, yet +ever renewed monument of the pristine world - throws no light +upon the subject. It is an undoubted fact, however, that in this +part of the globe thousands of our fellow-beings had lived. When +they came hither, what was their origin, their destiny, their +history, and how they perished, no one can tell. How strange does +it appear that nations have existed, and afterwards so completely +disappeared from the earth that the remembrance of their very +names is effaced; their languages are lost; their glory is +vanished like a sound without an echo; though perhaps there is +not one which has not left behind it some tomb in memory of its +passage! The most durable monument of human labor is that which +recalls the wretchedness and nothingness of man. + +Although the vast country which we have been describing was +inhabited by many indigenous tribes, it may justly be said at the +time of its discovery by Europeans to have formed one great +desert. The Indians occupied without possessing it. It is by +agricultural labor that man appropriates the soil, and the early +inhabitants of North America lived by the produce of the chase. +Their implacable prejudices, their uncontrolled passions, their +vices, and still more perhaps their savage virtues, consigned +them to inevitable destruction. The ruin of these nations began +from the day when Europeans landed on their shores; it has +proceeded ever since, and we are now witnessing the completion of +it. They seem to have been placed by Providence amidst the +riches of the New World to enjoy them for a season, and then +surrender them. Those coasts, so admirably adapted for commerce +and industry; those wide and deep rivers; that inexhaustible +valley of the Mississippi; the whole continent, in short, seemed +prepared to be the abode of a great nation, yet unborn. + +In that land the great experiment was to be made, by +civilized man, of the attempt to construct society upon a new +basis; and it was there, for the first time, that theories +hitherto unknown, or deemed impracticable, were to exhibit a +spectacle for which the world had not been prepared by the +history of the past. + + +Chapter II: Origin Of The Anglo-Americans - Part I + +Chapter Summary + +Utility of knowing the origin of nations in order to +understand their social condition and their laws - America the +only country in which the starting-point of a great people has +been clearly observable - In what respects all who emigrated to +British America were similar - In what they differed - Remark +applicable to all Europeans who established themselves on the +shores of the New World - Colonization of Virginia - Colonization +of New England - Original character of the first inhabitants of +New England - Their arrival - Their first laws - Their social +contract - Penal code borrowed from the Hebrew legislation - +Religious fervor -Republican spirit - Intimate union of the +spirit of religion with the spirit of liberty. + +Origin Of The Anglo-Americans, And Its Importance In Relation To +Their Future Condition + +After the birth of a human being his early years are +obscurely spent in the toils or pleasures of childhood. As he +grows up the world receives him, when his manhood begins, and he +enters into contact with his fellows. He is then studied for the +first time, and it is imagined that the germ of the vices and the +virtues of his maturer years is then formed. This, if I am not +mistaken, is a great error. We must begin higher up; we must +watch the infant in its mother's arms; we must see the first +images which the external world casts upon the dark mirror of his +mind; the first occurrences which he witnesses; we must hear the +first words which awaken the sleeping powers of thought, and +stand by his earliest efforts, if we would understand the +prejudices, the habits, and the passions which will rule his +life. The entire man is, so to speak, to be seen in the cradle +of the child. + +The growth of nations presents something analogous to this: +they all bear some marks of their origin; and the circumstances +which accompanied their birth and contributed to their rise +affect the whole term of their being. If we were able to go back +to the elements of states, and to examine the oldest monuments of +their history, I doubt not that we should discover the primal +cause of the prejudices, the habits, the ruling passions, and, in +short, of all that constitutes what is called the national +character; we should then find the explanation of certain customs +which now seem at variance with the prevailing manners; of such +laws as conflict with established principles; and of such +incoherent opinions as are here and there to be met with in +society, like those fragments of broken chains which we sometimes +see hanging from the vault of an edifice, and supporting nothing. +This might explain the destinies of certain nations, which seem +borne on by an unknown force to ends of which they themselves are +ignorant. But hitherto facts have been wanting to researches of +this kind: the spirit of inquiry has only come upon communities +in their latter days; and when they at length contemplated their +origin, time had already obscured it, or ignorance and pride +adorned it with truth-concealing fables. + +America is the only country in which it has been possible to +witness the natural and tranquil growth of society, and where the +influences exercised on the future condition of states by their +origin is clearly distinguishable. At the period when the peoples +of Europe landed in the New World their national characteristics +were already completely formed; each of them had a physiognomy of +its own; and as they had already attained that stage of +civilization at which men are led to study themselves, they have +transmitted to us a faithful picture of their opinions, their +manners, and their laws. The men of the sixteenth century are +almost as well known to us as our contemporaries. America, +consequently, exhibits in the broad light of day the phenomena +which the ignorance or rudeness of earlier ages conceals from our +researches. Near enough to the time when the states of America +were founded, to be accurately acquainted with their elements, +and sufficiently removed from that period to judge of some of +their results, the men of our own day seem destined to see +further than their predecessors into the series of human events. +Providence has given us a torch which our forefathers did not +possess, and has allowed us to discern fundamental causes in the +history of the world which the obscurity of the past concealed +from them. If we carefully examine the social and political +state of America, after having studied its history, we shall +remain perfectly convinced that not an opinion, not a custom, not +a law, I may even say not an event, is upon record which the +origin of that people will not explain. The readers of this book +will find the germ of all that is to follow in the present +chapter, and the key to almost the whole work. + +The emigrants who came, at different periods to occupy the +territory now covered by the American Union differed from each +other in many respects; their aim was not the same, and they +governed themselves on different principles. These men had, +however, certain features in common, and they were all placed in +an analogous situation. The tie of language is perhaps the +strongest and the most durable that can unite mankind. All the +emigrants spoke the same tongue; they were all offsets from the +same people. Born in a country which had been agitated for +centuries by the struggles of faction, and in which all parties +had been obliged in their turn to place themselves under the +protection of the laws, their political education had been +perfected in this rude school, and they were more conversant with +the notions of right and the principles of true freedom than the +greater part of their European contemporaries. At the period of +their first emigrations the parish system, that fruitful germ of +free institutions, was deeply rooted in the habits of the +English; and with it the doctrine of the sovereignty of the +people had been introduced into the bosom of the monarchy of the +House of Tudor. + +The religious quarrels which have agitated the Christian +world were then rife. England had plunged into the new order of +things with headlong vehemence. The character of its +inhabitants, which had always been sedate and reflective, became +argumentative and austere. General information had been +increased by intellectual debate, and the mind had received a +deeper cultivation. Whilst religion was the topic of discussion, +the morals of the people were reformed. All these national +features are more or less discoverable in the physiognomy of +those adventurers who came to seek a new home on the opposite +shores of the Atlantic. + +Another remark, to which we shall hereafter have occasion to +recur, is applicable not only to the English, but to the French, +the Spaniards, and all the Europeans who successively established +themselves in the New World. All these European colonies +contained the elements, if not the development, of a complete +democracy. Two causes led to this result. It may safely be +advanced, that on leaving the mother-country the emigrants had in +general no notion of superiority over one another. The happy and +the powerful do not go into exile, and there are no surer +guarantees of equality among men than poverty and misfortune. It +happened, however, on several occasions, that persons of rank +were driven to America by political and religious quarrels. Laws +were made to establish a gradation of ranks; but it was soon +found that the soil of America was opposed to a territorial +aristocracy. To bring that refractory land into cultivation, the +constant and interested exertions of the owner himself were +necessary; and when the ground was prepared, its produce was +found to be insufficient to enrich a master and a farmer at the +same time. The land was then naturally broken up into small +portions, which the proprietor cultivated for himself. Land is +the basis of an aristocracy, which clings to the soil that +supports it; for it is not by privileges alone, nor by birth, but +by landed property handed down from generation to generation, +that an aristocracy is constituted. A nation may present immense +fortunes and extreme wretchedness, but unless those fortunes are +territorial there is no aristocracy, but simply the class of the +rich and that of the poor. + +All the British colonies had then a great degree of +similarity at the epoch of their settlement. All of them, from +their first beginning, seemed destined to witness the growth, not +of the aristocratic liberty of their mother-country, but of that +freedom of the middle and lower orders of which the history of +the world had as yet furnished no complete example. + +In this general uniformity several striking differences were +however discernible, which it is necessary to point out. Two +branches may be distinguished in the Anglo-American family, which +have hitherto grown up without entirely commingling; the one in +the South, the other in the North. + +Virginia received the first English colony; the emigrants +took possession of it in 1607. The idea that mines of gold and +silver are the sources of national wealth was at that time +singularly prevalent in Europe; a fatal delusion, which has done +more to impoverish the nations which adopted it, and has cost +more lives in America, than the united influence of war and bad +laws. The men sent to Virginia *a were seekers of gold, +adventurers, without resources and without character, whose +turbulent and restless spirit endangered the infant colony, *b +and rendered its progress uncertain. The artisans and +agriculturists arrived afterwards; and, although they were a more +moral and orderly race of men, they were in nowise above the +level of the inferior classes in England. *c No lofty +conceptions, no intellectual system, directed the foundation of +these new settlements. The colony was scarcely established when +slavery was introduced, *d and this was the main circumstance +which has exercised so prodigious an influence on the character, +the laws, and all the future prospects of the South. Slavery, as +we shall afterwards show, dishonors labor; it introduces idleness +into society, and with idleness, ignorance and pride, luxury and +distress. It enervates the powers of the mind, and benumbs the +activity of man. The influence of slavery, united to the English +character, explains the manners and the social condition of the +Southern States. + +[Footnote a: The charter granted by the Crown of England in 1609 +stipulated, amongst other conditions, that the adventurers should +pay to the Crown a fifth of the produce of all gold and silver +mines. See Marshall's "Life of Washington," vol. i. pp. 18-66.] +[Footnote b: A large portion of the adventurers, says Stith +("History of Virginia"), were unprincipled young men of family, +whom their parents were glad to ship off, discharged servants, +fraudulent bankrupts, or debauchees; and others of the same +class, people more apt to pillage and destroy than to assist the +settlement, were the seditious chiefs, who easily led this band +into every kind of extravagance and excess. See for the history +of Virginia the following works: - + +"History of Virginia, from the First Settlements in the year +1624," by Smith. + +"History of Virginia," by William Stith. + +"History of Virginia, from the Earliest Period," by +Beverley.] + +[Footnote c: It was not till some time later that a certain +number of rich English capitalists came to fix themselves in the +colony.] + +[Footnote d: Slavery was introduced about the year 1620 by a +Dutch vessel which landed twenty negroes on the banks of the +river James. See Chalmer.] + +In the North, the same English foundation was modified by +the most opposite shades of character; and here I may be allowed +to enter into some details. The two or three main ideas which +constitute the basis of the social theory of the United States +were first combined in the Northern English colonies, more +generally denominated the States of New England. *e The +principles of New England spread at first to the neighboring +states; they then passed successively to the more distant ones; +and at length they imbued the whole Confederation. They now +extend their influence beyond its limits over the whole American +world. The civilization of New England has been like a beacon +lit upon a hill, which, after it has diffused its warmth around, +tinges the distant horizon with its glow. + +[Footnote e: The States of New England are those situated to the +east of the Hudson; they are now six in number: 1, Connecticut; +2, Rhode Island; 3, Massachusetts; 4, Vermont; 5, New Hampshire; +6, Maine.] + +The foundation of New England was a novel spectacle, and all +the circumstances attending it were singular and original. The +large majority of colonies have been first inhabited either by +men without education and without resources, driven by their +poverty and their misconduct from the land which gave them birth, +or by speculators and adventurers greedy of gain. Some +settlements cannot even boast so honorable an origin; St. Domingo +was founded by buccaneers; and the criminal courts of England +originally supplied the population of Australia. + +The settlers who established themselves on the shores of New +England all belonged to the more independent classes of their +native country. Their union on the soil of America at once +presented the singular phenomenon of a society containing neither +lords nor common people, neither rich nor poor. These men +possessed, in proportion to their number, a greater mass of +intelligence than is to be found in any European nation of our +own time. All, without a single exception, had received a good +education, and many of them were known in Europe for their +talents and their acquirements. The other colonies had been +founded by adventurers without family; the emigrants of New +England brought with them the best elements of order and morality +-they landed in the desert accompanied by their wives and +children. But what most especially distinguished them was the +aim of their undertaking. They had not been obliged by necessity +to leave their country; the social position they abandoned was +one to be regretted, and their means of subsistence were certain. +Nor did they cross the Atlantic to improve their situation or to +increase their wealth; the call which summoned them from the +comforts of their homes was purely intellectual; and in facing +the inevitable sufferings of exile their object was the triumph +of an idea. + +The emigrants, or, as they deservedly styled themselves, the +Pilgrims, belonged to that English sect the austerity of whose +principles had acquired for them the name of Puritans. +Puritanism was not merely a religious doctrine, but it +corresponded in many points with the most absolute democratic and +republican theories. It was this tendency which had aroused its +most dangerous adversaries. Persecuted by the Government of the +mother-country, and disgusted by the habits of a society opposed +to the rigor of their own principles, the Puritans went forth to +seek some rude and unfrequented part of the world, where they +could live according to their own opinions, and worship God in +freedom. + +A few quotations will throw more light upon the spirit of +these pious adventures than all we can say of them. Nathaniel +Morton, *f the historian of the first years of the settlement, +thus opens his subject: + +[Footnote f: "New England's Memorial," p. 13; Boston, 1826. See +also "Hutchinson's History," vol. ii. p. 440.] + +"Gentle Reader, - I have for some length of time looked upon +it as a duty incumbent, especially on the immediate successors of +those that have had so large experience of those many memorable +and signal demonstrations of God's goodness, viz., the first +beginners of this Plantation in New England, to commit to writing +his gracious dispensations on that behalf; having so many +inducements thereunto, not onely otherwise but so plentifully in +the Sacred Scriptures: that so, what we have seen, and what our +fathers have told us (Psalm lxxviii. 3, 4), we may not hide from +our children, showing to the generations to come the praises of +the Lord; that especially the seed of Abraham his servant, and +the children of Jacob his chosen (Psalm cv. 5, 6), may remember +his marvellous works in the beginning and progress of the +planting of New England, his wonders and the judgments of his +mouth; how that God brought a vine into this wilderness; that he +cast out the heathen, and planted it; that he made room for it +and caused it to take deep root; and it filled the land (Psalm +lxxx. 8, 9). And not onely so, but also that he hath guided his +people by his strength to his holy habitation and planted them in +the mountain of his inheritance in respect of precious Gospel +enjoyments: and that as especially God may have the glory of all +unto whom it is most due; so also some rays of glory may reach +the names of those blessed Saints that were the main instruments +and the beginning of this happy enterprise." + +It is impossible to read this opening paragraph without an +involuntary feeling of religious awe; it breathes the very savor +of Gospel antiquity. The sincerity of the author heightens his +power of language. The band which to his eyes was a mere party +of adventurers gone forth to seek their fortune beyond seas +appears to the reader as the germ of a great nation wafted by +Providence to a predestined shore. + +The author thus continues his narrative of the departure of +the first pilgrims: - + +"So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, *g +which had been their resting-place for above eleven years; but +they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and +looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to +Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a +city (Heb. xi. 16), and therein quieted their spirits. When they +came to Delfs- Haven they found the ship and all things ready; +and such of their friends as could not come with them followed +after them, and sundry came from Amsterdam to see them shipt, and +to take their leaves of them. One night was spent with little +sleep with the most, but with friendly entertainment and +Christian discourse, and other real expressions of true Christian +love. The next day they went on board, and their friends with +them, where truly doleful was the sight of that sad and mournful +parting, to hear what sighs and sobs and prayers did sound +amongst them; what tears did gush from every eye, and pithy +speeches pierced each other's heart, that sundry of the Dutch +strangers that stood on the Key as spectators could not refrain +from tears. But the tide (which stays for no man) calling them +away, that were thus loth to depart, their Reverend Pastor +falling down on his knees, and they all with him, with watery +cheeks commended them with most fervent prayers unto the Lord and +his blessing; and then, with mutual embraces and many tears they +took their leaves one of another, which proved to be the last +leave to many of them." + +[Footnote g: The emigrants were, for the most part, godly +Christians from the North of England, who had quitted their +native country because they were "studious of reformation, and +entered into covenant to walk with one another according to the +primitive pattern of the Word of God." They emigrated to Holland, +and settled in the city of Leyden in 1610, where they abode, +being lovingly respected by the Dutch, for many years: they left +it in 1620 for several reasons, the last of which was, that their +posterity would in a few generations become Dutch, and so lose +their interest in the English nation; they being desirous rather +to enlarge His Majesty's dominions, and to live under their +natural prince. - Translator's Note.] + +The emigrants were about 150 in number, including the women +and the children. Their object was to plant a colony on the +shores of the Hudson; but after having been driven about for some +time in the Atlantic Ocean, they were forced to land on that arid +coast of New England which is now the site of the town of +Plymouth. The rock is still shown on which the pilgrims +disembarked. *h + +[Footnote h: This rock is become an object of veneration in the +United States. I have seen bits of it carefully preserved in +several towns of the Union. Does not this sufficiently show how +entirely all human power and greatness is in the soul of man? +Here is a stone which the feet of a few outcasts pressed for an +instant, and this stone becomes famous; it is treasured by a +great nation, its very dust is shared as a relic: and what is +become of the gateways of a thousand palaces?] + +"But before we pass on," continues our historian, "let the +reader with me make a pause and seriously consider this poor +people's present condition, the more to be raised up to +admiration of God's goodness towards them in their preservation: +for being now passed the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before +them in expectation, they had now no friends to welcome them, no +inns to entertain or refresh them, no houses, or much less towns +to repair unto to seek for succour: and for the season it was +winter, and they that know the winters of the country know them +to be sharp and violent, subject to cruel and fierce storms, +dangerous to travel to known places, much more to search unknown +coasts. Besides, what could they see but a hideous and desolate +wilderness, full of wilde beasts, and wilde men? and what +multitudes of them there were, they then knew not: for which way +soever they turned their eyes (save upward to Heaven) they could +have but little solace or content in respect of any outward +object; for summer being ended, all things stand in appearance +with a weather-beaten face, and the whole country full of woods +and thickets, represented a wild and savage hew; if they looked +behind them, there was the mighty ocean which they had passed, +and was now as a main bar or gulph to separate them from all the +civil parts of the world." + +It must not be imagined that the piety of the Puritans was +of a merely speculative kind, or that it took no cognizance of +the course of worldly affairs. Puritanism, as I have already +remarked, was scarcely less a political than a religious +doctrine. No sooner had the emigrants landed on the barren coast +described by Nathaniel Morton than it was their first care to +constitute a society, by passing the following Act: + +"In the name of God. Amen. We, whose names are +underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King +James, etc., etc., Having undertaken for the glory of God, and +advancement of the Christian Faith, and the honour of our King +and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern +parts of Virginia; Do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in +the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine +ourselves together into a civil body politick, for our better +ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid: +and by virtue hereof do enact, constitute and frame such just and +equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and officers, from +time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for +the general good of the Colony: unto which we promise all due +submission and obedience," etc. *i + +[Footnote i: The emigrants who founded the State of Rhode Island +in 1638, those who landed at New Haven in 1637, the first +settlers in Connecticut in 1639, and the founders of Providence +in 1640, began in like manner by drawing up a social contract, +which was acceded to by all the interested parties. See "Pitkin's +History," pp. 42 and 47.] + +This happened in 1620, and from that time forwards the +emigration went on. The religious and political passions which +ravaged the British Empire during the whole reign of Charles I +drove fresh crowds of sectarians every year to the shores of +America. In England the stronghold of Puritanism was in the +middle classes, and it was from the middle classes that the +majority of the emigrants came. The population of New England +increased rapidly; and whilst the hierarchy of rank despotically +classed the inhabitants of the mother-country, the colony +continued to present the novel spectacle of a community +homogeneous in all its parts. A democracy, more perfect than any +which antiquity had dreamt of, started in full size and panoply +from the midst of an ancient feudal society. + + +Chapter II: Origin Of The Anglo-Americans - Part II + + +The English Government was not dissatisfied with an +emigration which removed the elements of fresh discord and of +further revolutions. On the contrary, everything was done to +encourage it, and great exertions were made to mitigate the +hardships of those who sought a shelter from the rigor of their +country's laws on the soil of America. It seemed as if New +England was a region given up to the dreams of fancy and the +unrestrained experiments of innovators. + +The English colonies (and this is one of the main causes of +their prosperity) have always enjoyed more internal freedom and +more political independence than the colonies of other nations; +but this principle of liberty was nowhere more extensively +applied than in the States of New England. + +It was generally allowed at that period that the territories +of the New World belonged to that European nation which had been +the first to discover them. Nearly the whole coast of North +America thus became a British possession towards the end of the +sixteenth century. The means used by the English Government to +people these new domains were of several kinds; the King +sometimes appointed a governor of his own choice, who ruled a +portion of the New World in the name and under the immediate +orders of the Crown; *j this is the colonial system adopted by +other countries of Europe. Sometimes grants of certain tracts +were made by the Crown to an individual or to a company, *k in +which case all the civil and political power fell into the hands +of one or more persons, who, under the inspection and control of +the Crown, sold the lands and governed the inhabitants. Lastly, +a third system consisted in allowing a certain number of +emigrants to constitute a political society under the protection +of the mother-country, and to govern themselves in whatever was +not contrary to her laws. This mode of colonization, so +remarkably favorable to liberty, was only adopted in New England. +*l + +[Footnote j: This was the case in the State of New York.] + +[Footnote k: Maryland, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, and New +Jersey were in this situation. See "Pitkin's History," vol. i. +pp. 11-31.] + +[Footnote l: See the work entitled "Historical Collection of +State Papers and other authentic Documents intended as materials +for a History of the United States of America, by Ebenezer +Hasard. Philadelphia, 1792," for a great number of documents +relating to the commencement of the colonies, which are valuable +from their contents and their authenticity: amongst them are the +various charters granted by the King of England, and the first +acts of the local governments. + +See also the analysis of all these charters given by Mr. +Story, Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, in the +Introduction to his "Commentary on the Constitution of the United +States." It results from these documents that the principles of +representative government and the external forms of political +liberty were introduced into all the colonies at their origin. +These principles were more fully acted upon in the North than in +the South, but they existed everywhere.] + +In 1628 *m a charter of this kind was granted by Charles I +to the emigrants who went to form the colony of Massachusetts. +But, in general, charters were not given to the colonies of New +England till they had acquired a certain existence. Plymouth, +Providence, New Haven, the State of Connecticut, and that of +Rhode Island *n were founded without the co-operation and almost +without the knowledge of the mother-country. The new settlers +did not derive their incorporation from the seat of the empire, +although they did not deny its supremacy; they constituted a +society of their own accord, and it was not till thirty or forty +years afterwards, under Charles II. that their existence was +legally recognized by a royal charter. + +[Footnote m: See "Pitkin's History," p, 35. See the "History of +the Colony of Massachusetts Bay," by Hutchinson, vol. i. p. 9.] +[Footnote n: See "Pitkin's History," pp. 42, 47.] + +This frequently renders its it difficult to detect the link +which connected the emigrants with the land of their forefathers +in studying the earliest historical and legislative records of +New England. They exercised the rights of sovereignty; they +named their magistrates, concluded peace or declared war, made +police regulations, and enacted laws as if their allegiance was +due only to God. *o Nothing can be more curious and, at the same +time more instructive, than the legislation of that period; it is +there that the solution of the great social problem which the +United States now present to the world is to be found. + +[Footnote o: The inhabitants of Massachusetts had deviated from +the forms which are preserved in the criminal and civil procedure +of England; in 1650 the decrees of justice were not yet headed by +the royal style. See Hutchinson, vol. i. p. 452.] + +Amongst these documents we shall notice, as especially +characteristic, the code of laws promulgated by the little State +of Connecticut in 1650. *p The legislators of Connecticut *q +begin with the penal laws, and, strange to say, they borrow their +provisions from the text of Holy Writ. "Whosoever shall worship +any other God than the Lord," says the preamble of the Code, +"shall surely be put to death." This is followed by ten or twelve +enactments of the same kind, copied verbatim from the books of +Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Blasphemy, sorcery, +adultery, *r and rape were punished with death; an outrage +offered by a son to his parents was to be expiated by the same +penalty. The legislation of a rude and half-civilized people was +thus applied to an enlightened and moral community. The +consequence was that the punishment of death was never more +frequently prescribed by the statute, and never more rarely +enforced towards the guilty. + +[Footnote p: Code of 1650, p. 28; Hartford, 1830.] + +[Footnote q: See also in "Hutchinson's History," vol. i. pp. 435, +456, the analysis of the penal code adopted in 1648 by the Colony +of Massachusetts: this code is drawn up on the same principles as +that of Connecticut.] + +[Footnote r: Adultery was also punished with death by the law of +Massachusetts: and Hutchinson, vol. i. p. 441, says that several +persons actually suffered for this crime. He quotes a curious +anecdote on this subject, which occurred in the year 1663. A +married woman had had criminal intercourse with a young man; her +husband died, and she married the lover. Several years had +elapsed, when the public began to suspect the previous +intercourse of this couple: they were thrown into prison, put +upon trial, and very narrowly escaped capital punishment.] + +The chief care of the legislators, in this body of penal +laws, was the maintenance of orderly conduct and good morals in +the community: they constantly invaded the domain of conscience, +and there was scarcely a sin which was not subject to magisterial +censure. The reader is aware of the rigor with which these laws +punished rape and adultery; intercourse between unmarried persons +was likewise severely repressed. The judge was empowered to +inflict a pecuniary penalty, a whipping, or marriage *s on the +misdemeanants; and if the records of the old courts of New Haven +may be believed, prosecutions of this kind were not unfrequent. +We find a sentence bearing date the first of May, 1660, +inflicting a fine and reprimand on a young woman who was accused +of using improper language, and of allowing herself to be kissed. +*t The Code of 1650 abounds in preventive measures. It punishes +idleness and drunkenness with severity. *u Innkeepers are +forbidden to furnish more than a certain quantity of liquor to +each consumer; and simple lying, whenever it may be injurious, *v +is checked by a fine or a flogging. In other places, the +legislator, entirely forgetting the great principles of religious +toleration which he had himself upheld in Europe, renders +attendance on divine service compulsory, *w and goes so far as to +visit with severe punishment, ** and even with death, the +Christians who chose to worship God according to a ritual +differing from his own. *x Sometimes indeed the zeal of his +enactments induces him to descend to the most frivolous +particulars: thus a law is to be found in the same Code which +prohibits the use of tobacco. *y It must not be forgotten that +these fantastical and vexatious laws were not imposed by +authority, but that they were freely voted by all the persons +interested, and that the manners of the community were even more +austere and more puritanical than the laws. In 1649 a solemn +association was formed in Boston to check the worldly luxury of +long hair. *z + +[Footnote s: Code of 1650, p. 48. It seems sometimes to have +happened that the judges superadded these punishments to each +other, as is seen in a sentence pronounced in 1643 (p. 114, "New +Haven Antiquities"), by which Margaret Bedford, convicted of +loose conduct, was condemned to be whipped, and afterwards to +marry Nicholas Jemmings, her accomplice.] + +[Footnote t: "New Haven Antiquities," p. 104. See also +"Hutchinson's History," for several causes equally +extraordinary.] + +[Footnote u: Code of 1650, pp. 50, 57.] + +[Footnote v: Ibid., p. 64.] + +[Footnote w: Ibid., p. 44.] + +[Footnote *: This was not peculiar to Connecticut. See, for +instance, the law which, on September 13, 1644, banished the +Anabaptists from the State of Massachusetts. ("Historical +Collection of State Papers," vol. i. p. 538.) See also the law +against the Quakers, passed on October 14, 1656: "Whereas," says +the preamble, "an accursed race of heretics called Quakers has +sprung up," etc. The clauses of the statute inflict a heavy fine +on all captains of ships who should import Quakers into the +country. The Quakers who may be found there shall be whipped and +imprisoned with hard labor. Those members of the sect who should +defend their opinions shall be first fined, then imprisoned, and +finally driven out of the province. - "Historical Collection of +State Papers," vol. i. p. 630.] + +[Footnote x: By the penal law of Massachusetts, any Catholic +priest who should set foot in the colony after having been once +driven out of it was liable to capital punishment.] + +[Footnote y: Code of 1650, p. 96.] + +[Footnote z: "New England's Memorial," p. 316. See Appendix, E.] + +These errors are no doubt discreditable to human reason; +they attest the inferiority of our nature, which is incapable of +laying firm hold upon what is true and just, and is often reduced +to the alternative of two excesses. In strict connection with +this penal legislation, which bears such striking marks of a +narrow sectarian spirit, and of those religious passions which +had been warmed by persecution and were still fermenting among +the people, a body of political laws is to be found, which, +though written two hundred years ago, is still ahead of the +liberties of our age. The general principles which are the +groundwork of modern constitutions - principles which were +imperfectly known in Europe, and not completely triumphant even +in Great Britain, in the seventeenth century - were all +recognized and determined by the laws of New England: the +intervention of the people in public affairs, the free voting of +taxes, the responsibility of authorities, personal liberty, and +trial by jury, were all positively established without +discussion. From these fruitful principles consequences have +been derived and applications have been made such as no nation in +Europe has yet ventured to attempt. + +In Connecticut the electoral body consisted, from its +origin, of the whole number of citizens; and this is readily to +be understood, *a when we recollect that this people enjoyed an +almost perfect equality of fortune, and a still greater +uniformity of opinions. *b In Connecticut, at this period, all +the executive functionaries were elected, including the Governor +of the State. *c The citizens above the age of sixteen were +obliged to bear arms; they formed a national militia, which +appointed its own officers, and was to hold itself at all times +in readiness to march for the defence of the country. *d + +[Footnote a: Constitution of 1638, p. 17.] + +[Footnote b: In 1641 the General Assembly of Rhode Island +unanimously declared that the government of the State was a +democracy, and that the power was vested in the body of free +citizens, who alone had the right to make the laws and to watch +their execution. - Code of 1650, p. 70.] + +[Footnote c: "Pitkin's History," p. 47.] + +[Footnote d: Constitution of 1638, p. 12.] + +In the laws of Connecticut, as well as in all those of New +England, we find the germ and gradual development of that +township independence which is the life and mainspring of +American liberty at the present day. The political existence of +the majority of the nations of Europe commenced in the superior +ranks of society, and was gradually and imperfectly communicated +to the different members of the social body. In America, on the +other hand, it may be said that the township was organized before +the county, the county before the State, the State before the +Union. In New England townships were completely and definitively +constituted as early as 1650. The independence of the township +was the nucleus round which the local interests, passions, +rights, and duties collected and clung. It gave scope to the +activity of a real political life most thoroughly democratic and +republican. The colonies still recognized the supremacy of the +mother-country; monarchy was still the law of the State; but the +republic was already established in every township. The towns +named their own magistrates of every kind, rated themselves, and +levied their own taxes. *e In the parish of New England the law +of representation was not adopted, but the affairs of the +community were discussed, as at Athens, in the market-place, by a +general assembly of the citizens. + +[Footnote e: Code of 1650, p. 80.] + +In studying the laws which were promulgated at this first +era of the American republics, it is impossible not to be struck +by the remarkable acquaintance with the science of government and +the advanced theory of legislation which they display. The ideas +there formed of the duties of society towards its members are +evidently much loftier and more comprehensive than those of the +European legislators at that time: obligations were there imposed +which were elsewhere slighted. In the States of New England, +from the first, the condition of the poor was provided for; *f +strict measures were taken for the maintenance of roads, and +surveyors were appointed to attend to them; *g registers were +established in every parish, in which the results of public +deliberations, and the births, deaths, and marriages of the +citizens were entered; *h clerks were directed to keep these +registers; *i officers were charged with the administration of +vacant inheritances, and with the arbitration of litigated +landmarks; and many others were created whose chief functions +were the maintenance of public order in the community. *j The law +enters into a thousand useful provisions for a number of social +wants which are at present very inadequately felt in France. +[Footnote f: Ibid., p. 78.] + +[Footnote g: Ibid., p. 49.] + +[Footnote h: See "Hutchinson's History," vol. i. p. 455.] + +[Footnote i: Code of 1650, p. 86.] + +[Footnote j: Ibid., p. 40.] + +But it is by the attention it pays to Public Education that +the original character of American civilization is at once placed +in the clearest light. "It being," says the law, "one chief +project of Satan to keep men from the knowledge of the Scripture +by persuading from the use of tongues, to the end that learning +may not be buried in the graves of our forefathers, in church and +commonwealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors. . . ." *k Here +follow clauses establishing schools in every township, and +obliging the inhabitants, under pain of heavy fines, to support +them. Schools of a superior kind were founded in the same manner +in the more populous districts. The municipal authorities were +bound to enforce the sending of children to school by their +parents; they were empowered to inflict fines upon all who +refused compliance; and in case of continued resistance society +assumed the place of the parent, took possession of the child, +and deprived the father of those natural rights which he used to +so bad a purpose. The reader will undoubtedly have remarked the +preamble of these enactments: in America religion is the road to +knowledge, and the observance of the divine laws leads man to +civil freedom. + +[Footnote k: Ibid., p. 90.] + +If, after having cast a rapid glance over the state of +American society in 1650, we turn to the condition of Europe, and +more especially to that of the Continent, at the same period, we +cannot fail to be struck with astonishment. On the Continent of +Europe, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, absolute +monarchy had everywhere triumphed over the ruins of the +oligarchical and feudal liberties of the Middle Ages. Never were +the notions of right more completely confounded than in the midst +of the splendor and literature of Europe; never was there less +political activity among the people; never were the principles of +true freedom less widely circulated; and at that very time those +principles, which were scorned or unknown by the nations of +Europe, were proclaimed in the deserts of the New World, and were +accepted as the future creed of a great people. The boldest +theories of the human reason were put into practice by a +community so humble that not a statesman condescended to attend +to it; and a legislation without a precedent was produced offhand +by the imagination of the citizens. In the bosom of this obscure +democracy, which had as yet brought forth neither generals, nor +philosophers, nor authors, a man might stand up in the face of a +free people and pronounce the following fine definition of +liberty. *l + +[Footnote l: Mather's "Magnalia Christi Americana," vol. ii. p. +13. This speech was made by Winthrop; he was accused of having +committed arbitrary actions during his magistracy, but after +having made the speech of which the above is a fragment, he was +acquitted by acclamation, and from that time forwards he was +always re- elected governor of the State. See Marshal, vol. i. +p. 166.] + +"Nor would I have you to mistake in the point of your own +liberty. There is a liberty of a corrupt nature which is effected +both by men and beasts to do what they list, and this liberty is +inconsistent with authority, impatient of all restraint; by this +liberty 'sumus omnes deteriores': 'tis the grand enemy of truth +and peace, and all the ordinances of God are bent against it. But +there is a civil, a moral, a federal liberty which is the proper +end and object of authority; it is a liberty for that only which +is just and good: for this liberty you are to stand with the +hazard of your very lives and whatsoever crosses it is not +authority, but a distemper thereof. This liberty is maintained in +a way of subjection to authority; and the authority set over you +will, in all administrations for your good, be quietly submitted +unto by all but such as have a disposition to shake off the yoke +and lose their true liberty, by their murmuring at the honor and +power of authority." + +The remarks I have made will suffice to display the +character of Anglo-American civilization in its true light. It +is the result (and this should be constantly present to the mind +of two distinct elements, which in other places have been in +frequent hostility, but which in America have been admirably +incorporated and combined with one another. I allude to the +spirit of Religion and the spirit of Liberty. + +The settlers of New England were at the same time ardent +sectarians and daring innovators. Narrow as the limits of some +of their religious opinions were, they were entirely free from +political prejudices. Hence arose two tendencies, distinct but +not opposite, which are constantly discernible in the manners as +well as in the laws of the country. + +It might be imagined that men who sacrificed their friends, +their family, and their native land to a religious conviction +were absorbed in the pursuit of the intellectual advantages which +they purchased at so dear a rate. The energy, however, with +which they strove for the acquirement of wealth, moral enjoyment, +and the comforts as well as liberties of the world, is scarcely +inferior to that with which they devoted themselves to Heaven. + +Political principles and all human laws and institutions +were moulded and altered at their pleasure; the barriers of the +society in which they were born were broken down before them; the +old principles which had governed the world for ages were no +more; a path without a turn and a field without an horizon were +opened to the exploring and ardent curiosity of man: but at the +limits of the political world he checks his researches, he +discreetly lays aside the use of his most formidable faculties, +he no longer consents to doubt or to innovate, but carefully +abstaining from raising the curtain of the sanctuary, he yields +with submissive respect to truths which he will not discuss. +Thus, in the moral world everything is classed, adapted, decided, +and foreseen; in the political world everything is agitated, +uncertain, and disputed: in the one is a passive, though a +voluntary, obedience; in the other an independence scornful of +experience and jealous of authority. + +These two tendencies, apparently so discrepant, are far from +conflicting; they advance together, and mutually support each +other. Religion perceives that civil liberty affords a noble +exercise to the faculties of man, and that the political world is +a field prepared by the Creator for the efforts of the +intelligence. Contented with the freedom and the power which it +enjoys in its own sphere, and with the place which it occupies, +the empire of religion is never more surely established than when +it reigns in the hearts of men unsupported by aught beside its +native strength. Religion is no less the companion of liberty in +all its battles and its triumphs; the cradle of its infancy, and +the divine source of its claims. The safeguard of morality is +religion, and morality is the best security of law and the surest +pledge of freedom. *m + +[Footnote m: See Appendix, F.] + +Reasons Of Certain Anomalies Which The Laws And Customs Of The +Anglo-Americans Present + +Remains of aristocratic institutions in the midst of a complete +democracy -Why? - Distinction carefully to be drawn between what +is of Puritanical and what is of English origin. + +The reader is cautioned not to draw too general or too +absolute an inference from what has been said. The social +condition, the religion, and the manners of the first emigrants +undoubtedly exercised an immense influence on the destiny of +their new country. Nevertheless they were not in a situation to +found a state of things solely dependent on themselves: no man +can entirely shake off the influence of the past, and the +settlers, intentionally or involuntarily, mingled habits and +notions derived from their education and from the traditions of +their country with those habits and notions which were +exclusively their own. To form a judgment on the Anglo-Americans +of the present day it is therefore necessary to distinguish what +is of Puritanical and what is of English origin. + +Laws and customs are frequently to be met with in the United +States which contrast strongly with all that surrounds them. +These laws seem to be drawn up in a spirit contrary to the +prevailing tenor of the American legislation; and these customs +are no less opposed to the tone of society. If the English +colonies had been founded in an age of darkness, or if their +origin was already lost in the lapse of years, the problem would +be insoluble. + +I shall quote a single example to illustrate what I advance. +The civil and criminal procedure of the Americans has only two +means of action -committal and bail. The first measure taken by +the magistrate is to exact security from the defendant, or, in +case of refusal, to incarcerate him: the ground of the accusation +and the importance of the charges against him are then discussed. +It is evident that a legislation of this kind is hostile to the +poor man, and favorable only to the rich. The poor man has not +always a security to produce, even in a civil cause; and if he is +obliged to wait for justice in prison, he is speedily reduced to +distress. The wealthy individual, on the contrary, always +escapes imprisonment in civil causes; nay, more, he may readily +elude the punishment which awaits him for a delinquency by +breaking his bail. So that all the penalties of the law are, for +him, reducible to fines. *n Nothing can be more aristocratic than +this system of legislation. Yet in America it is the poor who +make the law, and they usually reserve the greatest social +advantages to themselves. The explanation of the phenomenon is +to be found in England; the laws of which I speak are English, *o +and the Americans have retained them, however repugnant they may +be to the tenor of their legislation and the mass of their ideas. +Next to its habits, the thing which a nation is least apt to +change is its civil legislation. Civil laws are only familiarly +known to legal men, whose direct interest it is to maintain them +as they are, whether good or bad, simply because they themselves +are conversant with them. The body of the nation is scarcely +acquainted with them; it merely perceives their action in +particular cases; but it has some difficulty in seizing their +tendency, and obeys them without premeditation. I have quoted +one instance where it would have been easy to adduce a great +number of others. The surface of American society is, if I may +use the expression, covered with a layer of democracy, from +beneath which the old aristocratic colors sometimes peep. + +[Footnote n: Crimes no doubt exist for which bail is +inadmissible, but they are few in number.] + +[Footnote o: See Blackstone; and Delolme, book I chap. x.] + +Chapter III: Social Conditions Of The Anglo-Americans + +Chapter Summary + +A Social condition is commonly the result of circumstances, +sometimes of laws, oftener still of these two causes united; but +wherever it exists, it may justly be considered as the source of +almost all the laws, the usages, and the ideas which regulate the +conduct of nations; whatever it does not produce it modifies. It +is therefore necessary, if we would become acquainted with the +legislation and the manners of a nation, to begin by the study of +its social condition. + +The Striking Characteristic Of The Social Condition Of The Anglo- +Americans In Its Essential Democracy + +The first emigrants of New England - Their equality - +Aristocratic laws introduced in the South - Period of the +Revolution - Change in the law of descent - Effects produced by +this change - Democracy carried to its utmost limits in the new +States of the West - Equality of education. + +Many important observations suggest themselves upon the +social condition of the Anglo-Americans, but there is one which +takes precedence of all the rest. The social condition of the +Americans is eminently democratic; this was its character at the +foundation of the Colonies, and is still more strongly marked at +the present day. I have stated in the preceding chapter that +great equality existed among the emigrants who settled on the +shores of New England. The germ of aristocracy was never planted +in that part of the Union. The only influence which obtained +there was that of intellect; the people were used to reverence +certain names as the emblems of knowledge and virtue. Some of +their fellow-citizens acquired a power over the rest which might +truly have been called aristocratic, if it had been capable of +transmission from father to son. + +This was the state of things to the east of the Hudson: to +the south-west of that river, and in the direction of the +Floridas, the case was different. In most of the States situated +to the south- west of the Hudson some great English proprietors +had settled, who had imported with them aristocratic principles +and the English law of descent. I have explained the reasons why +it was impossible ever to establish a powerful aristocracy in +America; these reasons existed with less force to the south-west +of the Hudson. In the South, one man, aided by slaves, could +cultivate a great extent of country: it was therefore common to +see rich landed proprietors. But their influence was not +altogether aristocratic as that term is understood in Europe, +since they possessed no privileges; and the cultivation of their +estates being carried on by slaves, they had no tenants depending +on them, and consequently no patronage. Still, the great +proprietors south of the Hudson constituted a superior class, +having ideas and tastes of its own, and forming the centre of +political action. This kind of aristocracy sympathized with the +body of the people, whose passions and interests it easily +embraced; but it was too weak and too short-lived to excite +either love or hatred for itself. This was the class which +headed the insurrection in the South, and furnished the best +leaders of the American revolution. + +At the period of which we are now speaking society was +shaken to its centre: the people, in whose name the struggle had +taken place, conceived the desire of exercising the authority +which it had acquired; its democratic tendencies were awakened; +and having thrown off the yoke of the mother-country, it aspired +to independence of every kind. The influence of individuals +gradually ceased to be felt, and custom and law united together +to produce the same result. + +But the law of descent was the last step to equality. I am +surprised that ancient and modern jurists have not attributed to +this law a greater influence on human affairs. *a It is true that +these laws belong to civil affairs; but they ought nevertheless +to be placed at the head of all political institutions; for, +whilst political laws are only the symbol of a nation's +condition, they exercise an incredible influence upon its social +state. They have, moreover, a sure and uniform manner of +operating upon society, affecting, as it were, generations yet +unborn. + +[Footnote a: I understand by the law of descent all those laws +whose principal object is to regulate the distribution of +property after the death of its owner. The law of entail is of +this number; it certainly prevents the owner from disposing of +his possessions before his death; but this is solely with the +view of preserving them entire for the heir. The principal +object, therefore, of the law of entail is to regulate the +descent of property after the death of its owner: its other +provisions are merely means to this end.] + +Through their means man acquires a kind of preternatural +power over the future lot of his fellow-creatures. When the +legislator has regulated the law of inheritance, he may rest from +his labor. The machine once put in motion will go on for ages, +and advance, as if self-guided, towards a given point. When +framed in a particular manner, this law unites, draws together, +and vests property and power in a few hands: its tendency is +clearly aristocratic. On opposite principles its action is still +more rapid; it divides, distributes, and disperses both property +and power. Alarmed by the rapidity of its progress, those who +despair of arresting its motion endeavor to obstruct it by +difficulties and impediments; they vainly seek to counteract its +effect by contrary efforts; but it gradually reduces or destroys +every obstacle, until by its incessant activity the bulwarks of +the influence of wealth are ground down to the fine and shifting +sand which is the basis of democracy. When the law of +inheritance permits, still more when it decrees, the equal +division of a father's property amongst all his children, its +effects are of two kinds: it is important to distinguish them +from each other, although they tend to the same end. + +In virtue of the law of partible inheritance, the death of +every proprietor brings about a kind of revolution in property; +not only do his possessions change hands, but their very nature +is altered, since they are parcelled into shares, which become +smaller and smaller at each division. This is the direct and, as +it were, the physical effect of the law. It follows, then, that +in countries where equality of inheritance is established by law, +property, and especially landed property, must have a tendency to +perpetual diminution. The effects, however, of such legislation +would only be perceptible after a lapse of time, if the law was +abandoned to its own working; for supposing the family to consist +of two children (and in a country people as France is the average +number is not above three), these children, sharing amongst them +the fortune of both parents, would not be poorer than their +father or mother. + +But the law of equal division exercises its influence not +merely upon the property itself, but it affects the minds of the +heirs, and brings their passions into play. These indirect +consequences tend powerfully to the destruction of large +fortunes, and especially of large domains. Among nations whose +law of descent is founded upon the right of primogeniture landed +estates often pass from generation to generation without +undergoing division, the consequence of which is that family +feeling is to a certain degree incorporated with the estate. The +family represents the estate, the estate the family; whose name, +together with its origin, its glory, its power, and its virtues, +is thus perpetuated in an imperishable memorial of the past and a +sure pledge of the future. + +When the equal partition of property is established by law, +the intimate connection is destroyed between family feeling and +the preservation of the paternal estate; the property ceases to +represent the family; for as it must inevitably be divided after +one or two generations, it has evidently a constant tendency to +diminish, and must in the end be completely dispersed. The sons +of the great landed proprietor, if they are few in number, or if +fortune befriends them, may indeed entertain the hope of being as +wealthy as their father, but not that of possessing the same +property as he did; the riches must necessarily be composed of +elements different from his. + +Now, from the moment that you divest the landowner of that +interest in the preservation of his estate which he derives from +association, from tradition, and from family pride, you may be +certain that sooner or later he will dispose of it; for there is +a strong pecuniary interest in favor of selling, as floating +capital produces higher interest than real property, and is more +readily available to gratify the passions of the moment. + +Great landed estates which have once been divided never come +together again; for the small proprietor draws from his land a +better revenue, in proportion, than the large owner does from +his, and of course he sells it at a higher rate. *b The +calculations of gain, therefore, which decide the rich man to +sell his domain will still more powerfully influence him against +buying small estates to unite them into a large one. + +[Footnote b: I do not mean to say that the small proprietor +cultivates his land better, but he cultivates it with more ardor +and care; so that he makes up by his labor for his want of +skill.] + +What is called family pride is often founded upon an +illusion of self-love. A man wishes to perpetuate and +immortalize himself, as it were, in his great-grandchildren. +Where the esprit de famille ceases to act individual selfishness +comes into play. When the idea of family becomes vague, +indeterminate, and uncertain, a man thinks of his present +convenience; he provides for the establishment of his succeeding +generation, and no more. Either a man gives up the idea of +perpetuating his family, or at any rate he seeks to accomplish it +by other means than that of a landed estate. Thus not only does +the law of partible inheritance render it difficult for families +to preserve their ancestral domains entire, but it deprives them +of the inclination to attempt it, and compels them in some +measure to co-operate with the law in their own extinction. + +The law of equal distribution proceeds by two methods: by +acting upon things, it acts upon persons; by influencing persons, +it affects things. By these means the law succeeds in striking +at the root of landed property, and dispersing rapidly both +families and fortunes. *c + +[Footnote c: Land being the most stable kind of property, we +find, from time to time, rich individuals who are disposed to +make great sacrifices in order to obtain it, and who willingly +forfeit a considerable part of their income to make sure of the +rest. But these are accidental cases. The preference for landed +property is no longer found habitually in any class but among the +poor. The small landowner, who has less information, less +imagination, and fewer passions than the great one, is generally +occupied with the desire of increasing his estate: and it often +happens that by inheritance, by marriage, or by the chances of +trade, he is gradually furnished with the means. Thus, to +balance the tendency which leads men to divide their estates, +there exists another, which incites them to add to them. This +tendency, which is sufficient to prevent estates from being +divided ad infinitum, is not strong enough to create great +territorial possessions, certainly not to keep them up in the +same family.] + +Most certainly it is not for us Frenchmen of the nineteenth +century, who daily witness the political and social changes which +the law of partition is bringing to pass, to question its +influence. It is perpetually conspicuous in our country, +overthrowing the walls of our dwellings and removing the +landmarks of our fields. But although it has produced great +effects in France, much still remains for it to do. Our +recollections, opinions, and habits present powerful obstacles to +its progress. + +In the United States it has nearly completed its work of +destruction, and there we can best study its results. The +English laws concerning the transmission of property were +abolished in almost all the States at the time of the Revolution. +The law of entail was so modified as not to interrupt the free +circulation of property. *d The first generation having passed +away, estates began to be parcelled out, and the change became +more and more rapid with the progress of time. At this moment, +after a lapse of a little more than sixty years, the aspect of +society is totally altered; the families of the great landed +proprietors are almost all commingled with the general mass. In +the State of New York, which formerly contained many of these, +there are but two who still keep their heads above the stream, +and they must shortly disappear. The sons of these opulent +citizens are become merchants, lawyers, or physicians. Most of +them have lapsed into obscurity. The last trace of hereditary +ranks and distinctions is destroyed - the law of partition has +reduced all to one level. [Footnote d: See Appendix, G.] + +I do not mean that there is any deficiency of wealthy +individuals in the United States; I know of no country, indeed, +where the love of money has taken stronger hold on the affections +of men, and where the profounder contempt is expressed for the +theory of the permanent equality of property. But wealth +circulates with inconceivable rapidity, and experience shows that +it is rare to find two succeeding generations in the full +enjoyment of it. + +This picture, which may perhaps be thought to be +overcharged, still gives a very imperfect idea of what is taking +place in the new States of the West and South-west. At the end +of the last century a few bold adventurers began to penetrate +into the valleys of the Mississippi, and the mass of the +population very soon began to move in that direction: communities +unheard of till then were seen to emerge from the wilds: States +whose names were not in existence a few years before claimed +their place in the American Union; and in the Western settlements +we may behold democracy arrived at its utmost extreme. In these +States, founded off-hand, and, as it were, by chance, the +inhabitants are but of yesterday. Scarcely known to one another, +the nearest neighbors are ignorant of each other's history. In +this part of the American continent, therefore, the population +has not experienced the influence of great names and great +wealth, nor even that of the natural aristocracy of knowledge and +virtue. None are there to wield that respectable power which men +willingly grant to the remembrance of a life spent in doing good +before their eyes. The new States of the West are already +inhabited, but society has no existence among them. *e + +[Footnote e: This may have been true in 1832, but is not so in +1874, when great cities like Chicago and San Francisco have +sprung up in the Western States. But as yet the Western States +exert no powerful influence on American society. - Translator's +Note.] + +It is not only the fortunes of men which are equal in +America; even their requirements partake in some degree of the +same uniformity. I do not believe that there is a country in the +world where, in proportion to the population, there are so few +uninstructed and at the same time so few learned individuals. +Primary instruction is within the reach of everybody; superior +instruction is scarcely to be obtained by any. This is not +surprising; it is in fact the necessary consequence of what we +have advanced above. Almost all the Americans are in easy +circumstances, and can therefore obtain the first elements of +human knowledge. + +In America there are comparatively few who are rich enough +to live without a profession. Every profession requires an +apprenticeship, which limits the time of instruction to the early +years of life. At fifteen they enter upon their calling, and +thus their education ends at the age when ours begins. Whatever +is done afterwards is with a view to some special and lucrative +object; a science is taken up as a matter of business, and the +only branch of it which is attended to is such as admits of an +immediate practical application. In America most of the rich men +were formerly poor; most of those who now enjoy leisure were +absorbed in business during their youth; the consequence of which +is, that when they might have had a taste for study they had no +time for it, and when time is at their disposal they have no +longer the inclination. + +There is no class, then, in America, in which the taste for +intellectual pleasures is transmitted with hereditary fortune and +leisure, and by which the labors of the intellect are held in +honor. Accordingly there is an equal want of the desire and the +power of application to these objects. + +A middle standard is fixed in America for human knowledge. +All approach as near to it as they can; some as they rise, others +as they descend. Of course, an immense multitude of persons are +to be found who entertain the same number of ideas on religion, +history, science, political economy, legislation, and government. +The gifts of intellect proceed directly from God, and man cannot +prevent their unequal distribution. But in consequence of the +state of things which we have here represented it happens that, +although the capacities of men are widely different, as the +Creator has doubtless intended they should be, they are submitted +to the same method of treatment. + +In America the aristocratic element has always been feeble +from its birth; and if at the present day it is not actually +destroyed, it is at any rate so completely disabled that we can +scarcely assign to it any degree of influence in the course of +affairs. The democratic principle, on the contrary, has gained +so much strength by time, by events, and by legislation, as to +have become not only predominant but all-powerful. There is no +family or corporate authority, and it is rare to find even the +influence of individual character enjoy any durability. + +America, then, exhibits in her social state a most +extraordinary phenomenon. Men are there seen on a greater +equality in point of fortune and intellect, or, in other words, +more equal in their strength, than in any other country of the +world, or in any age of which history has preserved the +remembrance. + +Political Consequences Of The Social Condition Of The Anglo- +Americans + +The political consequences of such a social condition as +this are easily deducible. It is impossible to believe that +equality will not eventually find its way into the political +world as it does everywhere else. To conceive of men remaining +forever unequal upon one single point, yet equal on all others, +is impossible; they must come in the end to be equal upon all. +Now I know of only two methods of establishing equality in the +political world; every citizen must be put in possession of his +rights, or rights must be granted to no one. For nations which +are arrived at the same stage of social existence as the +Anglo-Americans, it is therefore very difficult to discover a +medium between the sovereignty of all and the absolute power of +one man: and it would be vain to deny that the social condition +which I have been describing is equally liable to each of these +consequences. + +There is, in fact, a manly and lawful passion for equality +which excites men to wish all to be powerful and honored. This +passion tends to elevate the humble to the rank of the great; but +there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for +equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful +to their own level, and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery +to inequality with freedom. Not that those nations whose social +condition is democratic naturally despise liberty; on the +contrary, they have an instinctive love of it. But liberty is +not the chief and constant object of their desires; equality is +their idol: they make rapid and sudden efforts to obtain liberty, +and if they miss their aim resign themselves to their +disappointment; but nothing can satisfy them except equality, and +rather than lose it they resolve to perish. + +On the other hand, in a State where the citizens are nearly +on an equality, it becomes difficult for them to preserve their +independence against the aggressions of power. No one among them +being strong enough to engage in the struggle with advantage, +nothing but a general combination can protect their liberty. And +such a union is not always to be found. + +From the same social position, then, nations may derive one +or the other of two great political results; these results are +extremely different from each other, but they may both proceed +from the same cause. + +The Anglo-Americans are the first nations who, having been +exposed to this formidable alternative, have been happy enough to +escape the dominion of absolute power. They have been allowed by +their circumstances, their origin, their intelligence, and +especially by their moral feeling, to establish and maintain the +sovereignty of the people. + + +Chapter IV: The Principle Of The Sovereignty Of The People In +America + +Chapter Summary + +It predominates over the whole of society in America - +Application made of this principle by the Americans even before +their Revolution - Development given to it by that Revolution - +Gradual and irresistible extension of the elective qualification. + +The Principle Of The Sovereignty Of The People In America + +Whenever the political laws of the United States are to be +discussed, it is with the doctrine of the sovereignty of the +people that we must begin. The principle of the sovereignty of +the people, which is to be found, more or less, at the bottom of +almost all human institutions, generally remains concealed from +view. It is obeyed without being recognized, or if for a moment +it be brought to light, it is hastily cast back into the gloom of +the sanctuary. "The will of the nation" is one of those +expressions which have been most profusely abused by the wily and +the despotic of every age. To the eyes of some it has been +represented by the venal suffrages of a few of the satellites of +power; to others by the votes of a timid or an interested +minority; and some have even discovered it in the silence of a +people, on the supposition that the fact of submission +established the right of command. + +In America the principle of the sovereignty of the people is +not either barren or concealed, as it is with some other nations; +it is recognized by the customs and proclaimed by the laws; it +spreads freely, and arrives without impediment at its most remote +consequences. If there be a country in the world where the +doctrine of the sovereignty of the people can be fairly +appreciated, where it can be studied in its application to the +affairs of society, and where its dangers and its advantages may +be foreseen, that country is assuredly America. + +I have already observed that, from their origin, the +sovereignty of the people was the fundamental principle of the +greater number of British colonies in America. It was far, +however, from then exercising as much influence on the government +of society as it now does. Two obstacles, the one external, the +other internal, checked its invasive progress. It could not +ostensibly disclose itself in the laws of colonies which were +still constrained to obey the mother-country: it was therefore +obliged to spread secretly, and to gain ground in the provincial +assemblies, and especially in the townships. + +American society was not yet prepared to adopt it with all +its consequences. The intelligence of New England, and the +wealth of the country to the south of the Hudson (as I have shown +in the preceding chapter), long exercised a sort of aristocratic +influence, which tended to retain the exercise of social +authority in the hands of a few. The public functionaries were +not universally elected, and the citizens were not all of them +electors. The electoral franchise was everywhere placed within +certain limits, and made dependent on a certain qualification, +which was exceedingly low in the North and more considerable in +the South. + +The American revolution broke out, and the doctrine of the +sovereignty of the people, which had been nurtured in the +townships and municipalities, took possession of the State: every +class was enlisted in its cause; battles were fought, and +victories obtained for it, until it became the law of laws. + +A no less rapid change was effected in the interior of +society, where the law of descent completed the abolition of +local influences. + +At the very time when this consequence of the laws and of +the revolution was apparent to every eye, victory was irrevocably +pronounced in favor of the democratic cause. All power was, in +fact, in its hands, and resistance was no longer possible. The +higher orders submitted without a murmur and without a struggle +to an evil which was thenceforth inevitable. The ordinary fate +of falling powers awaited them; each of their several members +followed his own interests; and as it was impossible to wring the +power from the hands of a people which they did not detest +sufficiently to brave, their only aim was to secure its good-will +at any price. The most democratic laws were consequently voted +by the very men whose interests they impaired; and thus, although +the higher classes did not excite the passions of the people +against their order, they accelerated the triumph of the new +state of things; so that by a singular change the democratic +impulse was found to be most irresistible in the very States +where the aristocracy had the firmest hold. The State of +Maryland, which had been founded by men of rank, was the first to +proclaim universal suffrage, and to introduce the most democratic +forms into the conduct of its government. + +When a nation modifies the elective qualification, it may +easily be foreseen that sooner or later that qualification will +be entirely abolished. There is no more invariable rule in the +history of society: the further electoral rights are extended, +the greater is the need of extending them; for after each +concession the strength of the democracy increases, and its +demands increase with its strength. The ambition of those who +are below the appointed rate is irritated in exact proportion to +the great number of those who are above it. The exception at +last becomes the rule, concession follows concession, and no stop +can be made short of universal suffrage. + +At the present day the principle of the sovereignty of the +people has acquired, in the United States, all the practical +development which the imagination can conceive. It is +unencumbered by those fictions which have been thrown over it in +other +countries, and it appears in every possible form according to the +exigency of the occasion. Sometimes the laws are made by the +people in a body, as at Athens; and sometimes its +representatives, chosen by universal suffrage, transact business +in its name, and almost under its immediate control. + +In some countries a power exists which, though it is in a +degree foreign to the social body, directs it, and forces it to +pursue a certain track. In others the ruling force is divided, +being partly within and partly without the ranks of the people. +But nothing of the kind is to be seen in the United States; there +society governs itself for itself. All power centres in its +bosom; and scarcely an individual is to be meet with who would +venture to conceive, or, still less, to express, the idea of +seeking it elsewhere. The nation participates in the making of +its laws by the choice of its legislators, and in the execution +of them by the choice of the agents of the executive government; +it may almost be said to govern itself, so feeble and so +restricted is the share left to the administration, so little do +the authorities forget their popular origin and the power from +which they emanate. *a +[Footnote a: See Appendix, H.] + + +Chapter V: Necessity Of Examining The Condition Of The States - +Part I + +Necessity Of Examining The Condition Of The States Before That Of +The Union At Large + +It is proposed to examine in the following chapter what is +the form of government established in America on the principle of +the sovereignty of the people; what are its resources, its +hindrances, its advantages, and its dangers. The first +difficulty which presents itself arises from the complex nature +of the constitution of the United States, which consists of two +distinct social structures, connected and, as it were, encased +one within the other; two governments, completely separate and +almost independent, the one fulfilling the ordinary duties and +responding to the daily and indefinite calls of a community, the +other circumscribed within certain limits, and only exercising an +exceptional authority over the general interests of the country. +In short, there are twenty- four small sovereign nations, whose +agglomeration constitutes the body of the Union. To examine the +Union before we have studied the States would be to adopt a +method filled with obstacles. The form of the Federal Government +of the United States was the last which was adopted; and it is in +fact nothing more than a modification or a summary of those +republican principles which were current in the whole community +before it existed, and independently of its existence. Moreover, +the Federal Government is, as I have just observed, the +exception; the Government of the States is the rule. The author +who should attempt to exhibit the picture as a whole before he +had explained its details would necessarily fall into obscurity +and repetition. + +The great political principles which govern American society +at this day undoubtedly took their origin and their growth in the +State. It is therefore necessary to become acquainted with the +State in order to possess a clue to the remainder. The States +which at present compose the American Union all present the same +features, as far as regards the external aspect of their +institutions. Their political or administrative existence is +centred in three focuses of action, which may not inaptly be +compared to the different nervous centres which convey motion to +the human body. The township is the lowest in order, then the +county, and lastly the State; and I propose to devote the +following chapter to the examination of these three divisions. + +The American System Of Townships And Municipal Bodies + +Why the Author begins the examination of the political +institutions with the township - Its existence in all nations - +Difficulty of establishing and preserving municipal independence +- Its importance - Why the Author has selected the township +system of New England as the main topic of his discussion. + +It is not undesignedly that I begin this subject with the +Township. The village or township is the only association which +is so perfectly natural that wherever a number of men are +collected it seems to constitute itself. + +The town, or tithing, as the smallest division of a +community, must necessarily exist in all nations, whatever their +laws and customs may be: if man makes monarchies and establishes +republics, the first association of mankind seems constituted by +the hand of God. But although the existence of the township is +coeval with that of man, its liberties are not the less rarely +respected and easily destroyed. A nation is always able to +establish great political assemblies, because it habitually +contains a certain number of individuals fitted by their talents, +if not by their habits, for the direction of affairs. The +township is, on the contrary, composed of coarser materials, +which are less easily fashioned by the legislator. The +difficulties which attend the consolidation of its independence +rather augment than diminish with the increasing enlightenment of +the people. A highly civilized community spurns the attempts of +a local independence, is disgusted at its numerous blunders, and +is apt to despair of success before the experiment is completed. +Again, no immunities are so ill protected from the encroachments +of the supreme power as those of municipal bodies in general: +they are unable to struggle, single- handed, against a strong or +an enterprising government, and they cannot defend their cause +with success unless it be identified with the customs of the +nation and supported by public opinion. Thus until the +independence of townships is amalgamated with the manners of a +people it is easily destroyed, and it is only after a long +existence in the laws that it can be thus amalgamated. Municipal +freedom is not the fruit of human device; it is rarely created; +but it is, as it were, secretly and spontaneously engendered in +the midst of a semi-barbarous state of society. The constant +action of the laws and the national habits, peculiar +circumstances, and above all time, may consolidate it; but there +is certainly no nation on the continent of Europe which has +experienced its advantages. Nevertheless local assemblies of +citizens constitute the strength of free nations. Town-meetings +are to liberty what primary schools are to science; they bring it +within the people's reach, they teach men how to use and how to +enjoy it. A nation may establish a system of free government, +but without the spirit of municipal institutions it cannot have +the spirit of liberty. The transient passions and the interests +of an hour, or the chance of circumstances, may have created the +external forms of independence; but the despotic tendency which +has been repelled will, sooner or later, inevitably reappear on +the surface. + +In order to explain to the reader the general principles on +which the political organization of the counties and townships of +the United States rests, I have thought it expedient to choose +one of the States of New England as an example, to examine the +mechanism of its constitution, and then to cast a general glance +over the country. The township and the county are not organized +in the same manner in every part of the Union; it is, however, +easy to perceive that the same principles have guided the +formation of both of them throughout the Union. I am inclined to +believe that these principles have been carried further in New +England than elsewhere, and consequently that they offer greater +facilities to the observations of a stranger. The institutions +of New England form a complete and regular whole; they have +received the sanction of time, they have the support of the laws, +and the still stronger support of the manners of the community, +over which they exercise the most prodigious influence; they +consequently deserve our attention on every account. + +Limits Of The Township + +The township of New England is a division which stands +between the commune and the canton of France, and which +corresponds in general to the English tithing, or town. Its +average population is from two to three thousand; *a so that, on +the one hand, the interests of its inhabitants are not likely to +conflict, and, on the other, men capable of conducting its +affairs are always to be found among its citizens. + +[Footnote a: In 1830 there were 305 townships in the State of +Massachusetts, and 610,014 inhabitants, which gives an average of +about 2,000 inhabitants to each township.] + +Authorities Of The Township In New England + +The people the source of all power here as elsewhere - Manages +its own affairs - No corporation - The greater part of the +authority vested in the hands of the Selectmen - How the +Selectmen act - Town-meeting - Enumeration of the public officers +of the township - Obligatory and remunerated functions. + +In the township, as well as everywhere else, the people is +the only source of power; but in no stage of government does the +body of citizens exercise a more immediate influence. In America +the people is a master whose exigencies demand obedience to the +utmost limits of possibility. + +In New England the majority acts by representatives in the +conduct of the public business of the State; but if such an +arrangement be necessary in general affairs, in the townships, +where the legislative and administrative action of the government +is in more immediate contact with the subject, the system of +representation is not adopted. There is no corporation; but the +body of electors, after having designated its magistrates, +directs them in everything that exceeds the simple and ordinary +executive business of the State. *b + +[Footnote b: The same rules are not applicable to the great +towns, which generally have a mayor, and a corporation divided +into two bodies; this, however, is an exception which requires +the sanction of a law. - See the Act of February 22, 1822, for +appointing the authorities of the city of Boston. It frequently +happens that small towns as well as cities are subject to a +peculiar administration. In 1832, 104 townships in the State of +New York were governed in this manner. - Williams' Register.] + +This state of things is so contrary to our ideas, and so +different from our customs, that it is necessary for me to adduce +some examples to explain it thoroughly. + +The public duties in the township are extremely numerous and +minutely divided, as we shall see further on; but the larger +proportion of administrative power is vested in the hands of a +small number of individuals, called "the Selectmen." *c The +general laws of the State impose a certain number of obligations +on the selectmen, which they may fulfil without the authorization +of the body they represent, but which they can only neglect on +their own responsibility. The law of the State obliges them, for +instance, to draw up the list of electors in their townships; and +if they omit this part of their functions, they are guilty of a +misdemeanor. In all the affairs, however, which are determined +by the town-meeting, the selectmen are the organs of the popular +mandate, as in France the Maire executes the decree of the +municipal council. They usually act upon their own +responsibility, and merely put in practice principles which have +been previously recognized by the majority. But if any change is +to be introduced in the existing state of things, or if they wish +to undertake any new enterprise, they are obliged to refer to the +source of their power. If, for instance, a school is to be +established, the selectmen convoke the whole body of the electors +on a certain day at an appointed place; they explain the urgency +of the case; they give their opinion on the means of satisfying +it, on the probable expense, and the site which seems to be most +favorable. The meeting is consulted on these several points; it +adopts the principle, marks out the site, votes the rate, and +confides the execution of its resolution to the selectmen. + +[Footnote c: Three selectmen are appointed in the small +townships, and nine in the large ones. See "The Town-Officer," +p. 186. See also the principal laws of the State of +Massachusetts relative to the selectmen: + +Act of February 20, 1786, vol. i. p. 219; February 24, 1796, +vol. i. p. 488; March 7, 1801, vol. ii. p. 45; June 16, 1795, +vol. i. p. 475; March 12, 1808, vol. ii. p. 186; February 28, +1787, vol. i. p. 302; June 22, 1797, vol. i. p. 539.] + +The selectmen have alone the right of calling a +town-meeting, but they may be requested to do so: if ten citizens +are desirous of submitting a new project to the assent of the +township, they may demand a general convocation of the +inhabitants; the selectmen are obliged to comply, but they have +only the right of presiding at the meeting. *d + +[Footnote d: See Laws of Massachusetts, vol. i. p. 150, Act of +March 25, 1786.] + +The selectmen are elected every year in the month of April +or of May. The town-meeting chooses at the same time a number of +other municipal magistrates, who are entrusted with important +administrative functions. The assessors rate the township; the +collectors receive the rate. A constable is appointed to keep +the peace, to watch the streets, and to forward the execution of +the laws; the town-clerk records all the town votes, orders, +grants, births, deaths, and marriages; the treasurer keeps the +funds; the overseer of the poor performs the difficult task of +superintending the action of the poor-laws; committee-men are +appointed to attend to the schools and to public instruction; and +the road-surveyors, who take care of the greater and lesser +thoroughfares of the township, complete the list of the principal +functionaries. They are, however, still further subdivided; and +amongst the municipal officers are to be found parish +commissioners, who audit the expenses of public worship; +different classes of inspectors, some of whom are to direct the +citizens in case of fire; tithing-men, listers, haywards, +chimney-viewers, fence-viewers to maintain the bounds of +property, timber-measurers, and sealers of weights and measures. +*e + +[Footnote e: All these magistrates actually exist; their +different functions are all detailed in a book called "The +Town-Officer," by Isaac Goodwin, Worcester, 1827; and in the +"Collection of the General Laws of Massachusetts," 3 vols., +Boston, 1823.] + +There are nineteen principal officers in a township. Every +inhabitant is constrained, on the pain of being fined, to +undertake these different functions; which, however, are almost +all paid, in order that the poorer citizens may be able to give +up their time without loss. In general the American system is +not to grant a fixed salary to its functionaries. Every service +has its price, and they are remunerated in proportion to what +they have done. + +Existence Of The Township + +Every one the best judge of his own interest - Corollary of the +principle of the sovereignty of the people - Application of those +doctrines in the townships of America - The township of New +England is sovereign in all that concerns itself alone: subject +to the State in all other matters - Bond of the township and the +State - In France the Government lends its agent to the Commune - +In America the reverse occurs. + +I have already observed that the principle of the +sovereignty of the people governs the whole political system of +the Anglo- Americans. Every page of this book will afford new +instances of the same doctrine. In the nations by which the +sovereignty of the people is recognized every individual +possesses an equal share of power, and participates alike in the +government of the State. Every individual is, therefore, +supposed to be as well informed, as virtuous, and as strong as +any of his fellow-citizens. He obeys the government, not because +he is inferior to the authorities which conduct it, or that he is +less capable than his neighbor of governing himself, but because +he acknowledges the utility of an association with his +fellow-men, and because he knows that no such association can +exist without a regulating force. If he be a subject in all that +concerns the mutual relations of citizens, he is free and +responsible to God alone for all that concerns himself. Hence +arises the maxim that every one is the best and the sole judge of +his own private interest, and that society has no right to +control a man's actions, unless they are prejudicial to the +common weal, or unless the common weal demands his co-operation. +This doctrine is universally admitted in the United States. I +shall hereafter examine the general influence which it exercises +on the ordinary actions of life; I am now speaking of the nature +of municipal bodies. + +The township, taken as a whole, and in relation to the +government of the country, may be looked upon as an individual to +whom the theory I have just alluded to is applied. Municipal +independence is therefore a natural consequence of the principle +of the sovereignty of the people in the United States: all the +American republics recognize it more or less; but circumstances +have peculiarly favored its growth in New England. + +In this part of the Union the impulsion of political +activity was given in the townships; and it may almost be said +that each of them originally formed an independent nation. When +the Kings of England asserted their supremacy, they were +contented to assume the central power of the State. The +townships of New England remained as they were before; and +although they are now subject to the State, they were at first +scarcely dependent upon it. It is important to remember that +they have not been invested with privileges, but that they have, +on the contrary, forfeited a portion of their independence to the +State. The townships are only subordinate to the State in those +interests which I shall term social, as they are common to all +the citizens. They are independent in all that concerns +themselves; and amongst the inhabitants of New England I believe +that not a man is to be found who would acknowledge that the +State has any right to interfere in their local interests. The +towns of New England buy and sell, sue or are sued, augment or +diminish their rates, without the slightest opposition on the +part of the administrative authority of the State. + +They are bound, however, to comply with the demands of the +community. If the State is in need of money, a town can neither +give nor withhold the supplies. If the State projects a road, +the township cannot refuse to let it cross its territory; if a +police regulation is made by the State, it must be enforced by +the town. A uniform system of instruction is organized all over +the country, and every town is bound to establish the schools +which the law ordains. In speaking of the administration of the +United States I shall have occasion to point out the means by +which the townships are compelled to obey in these different +cases: I here merely show the existence of the obligation. Strict +as this obligation is, the government of the State imposes it in +principle only, and in its performance the township resumes all +its independent rights. Thus, taxes are voted by the State, but +they are levied and collected by the township; the existence of a +school is obligatory, but the township builds, pays, and +superintends it. In France the State- collector receives the +local imposts; in America the town-collector receives the taxes +of the State. Thus the French Government lends its agents to the +commune; in America the township is the agent of the Government. +This fact alone shows the extent of the differences which exist +between the two nations. + +Public Spirit Of The Townships Of New England + +How the township of New England wins the affections of its +inhabitants -Difficulty of creating local public spirit in Europe +- The rights and duties of the American township favorable to it +- Characteristics of home in the United States - Manifestations +of public spirit in New England - Its happy effects. + +In America, not only do municipal bodies exist, but they are +kept alive and supported by public spirit. The township of New +England possesses two advantages which infallibly secure the +attentive interest of mankind, namely, independence and +authority. Its sphere is indeed small and limited, but within +that sphere its action is unrestrained; and its independence +gives to it a real importance which its extent and population may +not always ensure. + +It is to be remembered that the affections of men generally +lie on the side of authority. Patriotism is not durable in a +conquered nation. The New Englander is attached to his township, +not only because he was born in it, but because it constitutes a +social body of which he is a member, and whose government claims +and deserves the exercise of his sagacity. In Europe the absence +of local public spirit is a frequent subject of regret to those +who are in power; everyone agrees that there is no surer +guarantee of order and tranquility, and yet nothing is more +difficult to create. If the municipal bodies were made powerful +and independent, the authorities of the nation might be disunited +and the peace of the country endangered. Yet, without power and +independence, a town may contain good subjects, but it can have +no active citizens. Another important fact is that the township +of New England is so constituted as to excite the warmest of +human affections, without arousing the ambitious passions of the +heart of man. The officers of the country are not elected, and +their authority is very limited. Even the State is only a +second-rate community, whose tranquil and obscure administration +offers no inducement sufficient to draw men away from the circle +of their interests into the turmoil of public affairs. The +federal government confers power and honor on the men who conduct +it; but these individuals can never be very numerous. The high +station of the Presidency can only be reached at an advanced +period of life, and the other federal functionaries are generally +men who have been favored by fortune, or distinguished in some +other career. Such cannot be the permanent aim of the ambitious. +But the township serves as a centre for the desire of public +esteem, the want of exciting interests, and the taste for +authority and popularity, in the midst of the ordinary relations +of life; and the passions which commonly embroil society change +their character when they find a vent so near the domestic hearth +and the family circle. + +In the American States power has been disseminated with +admirable skill for the purpose of interesting the greatest +possible number of persons in the common weal. Independently of +the electors who are from time to time called into action, the +body politic is divided into innumerable functionaries and +officers, who all, in their several spheres, represent the same +powerful whole in whose name they act. The local administration +thus affords an unfailing source of profit and interest to a vast +number of individuals. + +The American system, which divides the local authority among +so many citizens, does not scruple to multiply the functions of +the town officers. For in the United States it is believed, and +with truth, that patriotism is a kind of devotion which is +strengthened by ritual observance. In this manner the activity +of the township is continually perceptible; it is daily +manifested in the fulfilment of a duty or the exercise of a +right, and a constant though gentle motion is thus kept up in +society which animates without disturbing it. + +The American attaches himself to his home as the mountaineer +clings to his hills, because the characteristic features of his +country are there more distinctly marked than elsewhere. The +existence of the townships of New England is in general a happy +one. Their government is suited to their tastes, and chosen by +themselves. In the midst of the profound peace and general +comfort which reign in America the commotions of municipal +discord are unfrequent. The conduct of local business is easy. +The political education of the people has long been complete; say +rather that it was complete when the people first set foot upon +the soil. In New England no tradition exists of a distinction of +ranks; no portion of the community is tempted to oppress the +remainder; and the abuses which may injure isolated individuals +are forgotten in the general contentment which prevails. If the +government is defective (and it would no doubt be easy to point +out its deficiencies), the fact that it really emanates from +those it governs, and that it acts, either ill or well, casts the +protecting spell of a parental pride over its faults. No term of +comparison disturbs the satisfaction of the citizen: England +formerly governed the mass of the colonies, but the people was +always sovereign in the township where its rule is not only an +ancient but a primitive state. + +The native of New England is attached to his township +because it is independent and free: his co-operation in its +affairs ensures his attachment to its interest; the well-being it +affords him secures his affection; and its welfare is the aim of +his ambition and of his future exertions: he takes a part in +every occurrence in the place; he practises the art of government +in the small sphere within his reach; he accustoms himself to +those forms which can alone ensure the steady progress of +liberty; he imbibes their spirit; he acquires a taste for order, +comprehends the union or the balance of powers, and collects +clear practical notions on the nature of his duties and the +extent of his rights. + +The Counties Of New England + +The division of the countries in America has considerable +analogy with that of the arrondissements of France. The limits +of the counties are arbitrarily laid down, and the various +districts which they contain have no necessary connection, no +common tradition or natural sympathy; their object is simply to +facilitate the administration of justice. + +The extent of the township was too small to contain a system +of judicial institutions; each county has, however, a court of +justice, *f a sheriff to execute its decrees, and a prison for +criminals. There are certain wants which are felt alike by all +the townships of a county; it is therefore natural that they +should be satisfied by a central authority. In the State of +Massachusetts this authority is vested in the hands of several +magistrates, who are appointed by the Governor of the State, with +the advice *g of his council. *h The officers of the county have +only a limited and occasional authority, which is applicable to +certain predetermined cases. The State and the townships possess +all the power requisite to conduct public business. The budget +of the county is drawn up by its officers, and is voted by the +legislature, but there is no assembly which directly or +indirectly represents the county. It has, therefore, properly +speaking, no political existence. + +[Footnote f: See the Act of February 14, 1821, Laws of +Massachusetts, vol. i. p. 551.] + +[Footnote g: See the Act of February 20, 1819, Laws of +Massachusetts, vol. ii. p. 494.] + +[Footnote h: The council of the Governor is an elective body.] +A twofold tendency may be discerned in the American +constitutions, which impels the legislator to centralize the +legislative and to disperse the executive power. The township of +New England has in itself an indestructible element of +independence; and this distinct existence could only be +fictitiously introduced into the county, where its utility has +not been felt. But all the townships united have but one +representation, which is the State, the centre of the national +authority: beyond the action of the township and that of the +nation, nothing can be said to exist but the influence of +individual exertion. + +Administration In New England + +Administration not perceived in America - Why? - The Europeans +believe that liberty is promoted by depriving the social +authority of some of its rights; the Americans, by dividing its +exercise - Almost all the administration confined to the +township, and divided amongst the town-officers - No trace of an +administrative body to be perceived, either in the township or +above it -The reason of this - How it happens that the +administration of the State is uniform - Who is empowered to +enforce the obedience of the township and the county to the law - +The introduction of judicial power into the administration - +Consequence of the extension of the elective principle to all +functionaries - The Justice of the Peace in New England - By whom +appointed - County officer: ensures the administration of the +townships - Court of Sessions - Its action - Right of inspection +and indictment disseminated like the other administrative +functions - Informers encouraged by the division of fines. + +Nothing is more striking to an European traveller in the +United States than the absence of what we term the Government, or +the Administration. Written laws exist in America, and one sees +that they are daily executed; but although everything is in +motion, the hand which gives the impulse to the social machine +can nowhere be discovered. Nevertheless, as all peoples are +obliged to have recourse to certain grammatical forms, which are +the foundation of human language, in order to express their +thoughts; so all communities are obliged to secure their +existence by submitting to a certain dose of authority, without +which they fall a prey to anarchy. This authority may be +distributed in several ways, but it must always exist somewhere. + +There are two methods of diminishing the force of authority +in a nation: The first is to weaken the supreme power in its very +principle, by forbidding or preventing society from acting in its +own defence under certain circumstances. To weaken authority in +this manner is what is generally termed in Europe to lay the +foundations of freedom. The second manner of diminishing the +influence of authority does not consist in stripping society of +any of its rights, nor in paralyzing its efforts, but in +distributing the exercise of its privileges in various hands, and +in multiplying functionaries, to each of whom the degree of power +necessary for him to perform his duty is entrusted. There may be +nations whom this distribution of social powers might lead to +anarchy; but in itself it is not anarchical. The action of +authority is indeed thus rendered less irresistible and less +perilous, but it is not totally suppressed. + +The revolution of the United States was the result of a +mature and dignified taste for freedom, and not of a vague or +ill-defined craving for independence. It contracted no alliance +with the turbulent passions of anarchy; but its course was +marked, on the contrary, by an attachment to whatever was lawful +and orderly. + +It was never assumed in the United States that the citizen +of a free country has a right to do whatever he pleases; on the +contrary, social obligations were there imposed upon him more +various than anywhere else. No idea was ever entertained of +attacking the principles or of contesting the rights of society; +but the exercise of its authority was divided, to the end that +the office might be powerful and the officer insignificant, and +that the community should be at once regulated and free. In no +country in the world does the law hold so absolute a language as +in America, and in no country is the right of applying it vested +in so many hands. The administrative power in the United States +presents nothing either central or hierarchical in its +constitution, which accounts for its passing, unperceived. The +power exists, but its representative is not to be perceived. + +We have already seen that the independent townships of New +England protect their own private interests; and the municipal +magistrates are the persons to whom the execution of the laws of +the State is most frequently entrusted. *i Besides the general +laws, the State sometimes passes general police regulations; but +more commonly the townships and town officers, conjointly with +justices of the peace, regulate the minor details of social life, +according to the necessities of the different localities, and +promulgate such enactments as concern the health of the +community, and the peace as well as morality of the citizens. *j +Lastly, these municipal magistrates provide, of their own accord +and without any delegated powers, for those unforeseen +emergencies which frequently occur in society. *k + +[Footnote i: See "The Town-Officer," especially at the words +Selectmen, Assessors, Collectors, Schools, Surveyors of Highways. +I take one example in a thousand: the State prohibits travelling +on the Sunday; the tything-men, who are town-officers, are +specially charged to keep watch and to execute the law. See the +Laws of Massachusetts, vol. i. p. 410. + +The selectmen draw up the lists of electors for the election +of the Governor, and transmit the result of the ballot to the +Secretary of the State. See Act of February 24, 1796: Id., vol. +i. p. 488.] + +[Footnote j: Thus, for instance, the selectmen authorize the +construction of drains, point out the proper sites for slaughter- +houses and other trades which are a nuisance to the neighborhood. +See the Act of June 7, 1785: Id., vol. i. p. 193.] + +[Footnote k: The selectmen take measures for the security of the +public in case of contagious diseases, conjointly with the +justices of the peace. See Act of June 22, 1797, vol. i. p. +539.] + +It results from what we have said that in the State of +Massachusetts the administrative authority is almost entirely +restricted to the township, *l but that it is distributed among a +great number of individuals. In the French commune there is +properly but one official functionary, namely, the Maire; and in +New England we have seen that there are nineteen. These nineteen +functionaries do not in general depend upon one another. The law +carefully prescribes a circle of action to each of these +magistrates; and within that circle they have an entire right to +perform their functions independently of any other authority. +Above the township scarcely any trace of a series of official +dignitaries is to be found. It sometimes happens that the county +officers alter a decision of the townships or town magistrates, +*m but in general the authorities of the county have no right to +interfere with the authorities of the township, *n except in such +matters as concern the county. + +[Footnote l: I say almost, for there are various circumstances in +the annals of a township which are regulated by the justice of +the peace in his individual capacity, or by the justices of the +peace assembled in the chief town of the county; thus licenses +are granted by the justices. See the Act of February 28, 1787, +vol. i. p. 297.] + +[Footnote m: Thus licenses are only granted to such persons as +can produce a certificate of good conduct from the selectmen. If +the selectmen refuse to give the certificate, the party may +appeal to the justices assembled in the Court of Sessions, and +they may grant the license. See Act of March 12, 1808, vol. ii. +p. 186. + +The townships have the right to make by-laws, and to enforce +them by fines which are fixed by law; but these by-laws must be +approved by the Court of Sessions. See Act of March 23, 1786, +vol. i. p. 254.] + +[Footnote n: In Massachusetts the county magistrates are +frequently called upon to investigate the acts of the town +magistrates; but it will be shown further on that this +investigation is a consequence, not of their administrative, but +of their judicial power.] + +The magistrates of the township, as well as those of the +county, are bound to communicate their acts to the central +government in a very small number of predetermined cases. *o But +the central government is not represented by an individual whose +business it is to publish police regulations and ordinances +enforcing the execution of the laws; to keep up a regular +communication with the officers of the township and the county; +to inspect their conduct, to direct their actions, or to +reprimand their faults. There is no point which serves as a +centre to the radii of the administration. + +[Footnote o: The town committees of schools are obliged to make +an annual report to the Secretary of the State on the condition +of the school. See Act of March 10, 1827, vol. iii. p. 183.] + + +Chapter V: Necessity Of Examining The Condition Of The States - +Part II + +What, then, is the uniform plan on which the government is +conducted, and how is the compliance of the counties and their +magistrates or the townships and their officers enforced? In the +States of New England the legislative authority embraces more +subjects than it does in France; the legislator penetrates to the +very core of the administration; the law descends to the most +minute details; the same enactment prescribes the principle and +the method of its application, and thus imposes a multitude of +strict and rigorously defined obligations on the secondary +functionaries of the State. The consequence of this is that if +all the secondary functionaries of the administration conform to +the law, society in all its branches proceeds with the greatest +uniformity: the difficulty remains of compelling the secondary +functionaries of the administration to conform to the law. It +may be affirmed that, in general, society has only two methods of +enforcing the execution of the laws at its disposal: a +discretionary power may be entrusted to a superior functionary of +directing all the others, and of cashiering them in case of +disobedience; or the courts of justice may be authorized to +inflict judicial penalties on the offender: but these two methods +are not always available. + +The right of directing a civil officer presupposes that of +cashiering him if he does not obey orders, and of rewarding him +by promotion if he fulfils his duties with propriety. But an +elected magistrate can neither be cashiered nor promoted. All +elective functions are inalienable until their term is expired. +In fact, the elected magistrate has nothing either to expect or +to fear from his constituents; and when all public offices are +filled by ballot there can be no series of official dignities, +because the double right of commanding and of enforcing obedience +can never be vested in the same individual, and because the power +of issuing an order can never be joined to that of inflicting a +punishment or bestowing a reward. + +The communities therefore in which the secondary +functionaries of the government are elected are perforce obliged +to make great use of judicial penalties as a means of +administration. This is not evident at first sight; for those in +power are apt to look upon the institution of elective +functionaries as one concession, and the subjection of the +elected magistrate to the judges of the land as another. They +are equally averse to both these innovations; and as they are +more pressingly solicited to grant the former than the latter, +they accede to the election of the magistrate, and leave him +independent of the judicial power. Nevertheless, the second of +these measures is the only thing that can possibly counterbalance +the first; and it will be found that an elective authority which +is not subject to judicial power will, sooner or later, either +elude all control or be destroyed. The courts of justice are the +only possible medium between the central power and the +administrative bodies; they alone can compel the elected +functionary to obey, without violating the rights of the elector. +The extension of judicial power in the political world ought +therefore to be in the exact ratio of the extension of elective +offices: if these two institutions do not go hand in hand, the +State must fall into anarchy or into subjection. + +It has always been remarked that habits of legal business do +not render men apt to the exercise of administrative authority. +The Americans have borrowed from the English, their fathers, the +idea of an institution which is unknown upon the continent of +Europe: I allude to that of the Justices of the Peace. The +Justice of the Peace is a sort of mezzo termine between the +magistrate and the man of the world, between the civil officer +and the judge. A justice of the peace is a well-informed citizen, +though he is not necessarily versed in the knowledge of the laws. +His office simply obliges him to execute the police regulations +of society; a task in which good sense and integrity are of more +avail than legal science. The justice introduces into the +administration a certain taste for established forms and +publicity, which renders him a most unserviceable instrument of +despotism; and, on the other hand, he is not blinded by those +superstitions which render legal officers unfit members of a +government. The Americans have adopted the system of the English +justices of the peace, but they have deprived it of that +aristocratic character which is discernible in the +mother-country. The Governor of Massachusetts *p appoints a +certain number of justices of the peace in every county, whose +functions last seven years. *q He further designates three +individuals from amongst the whole body of justices who form in +each county what is called the Court of Sessions. The justices +take a personal share in public business; they are sometimes +entrusted with administrative functions in conjunction with +elected officers, *r they sometimes constitute a tribunal, before +which the magistrates summarily prosecute a refractory citizen, +or the citizens inform against the abuses of the magistrate. But +it is in the Court of Sessions that they exercise their most +important functions. This court meets twice a year in the county +town; in Massachusetts it is empowered to enforce the obedience +of the greater number *s of public officers. *t It must be +observed, that in the State of Massachusetts the Court of +Sessions is at the same time an administrative body, properly so +called, and a political tribunal. It has been asserted that the +county is a purely administrative division. The Court of +Sessions presides over that small number of affairs which, as +they concern several townships, or all the townships of the +county in common, cannot be entrusted to any one of them in +particular. *u In all that concerns county business the duties of +the Court of Sessions are purely administrative; and if in its +investigations it occasionally borrows the forms of judicial +procedure, it is only with a view to its own information, *v or +as a guarantee to the community over which it presides. But when +the administration of the township is brought before it, it +always acts as a judicial body, and in some few cases as an +official assembly. + +[Footnote p: We shall hereafter learn what a Governor is: I shall +content myself with remarking in this place that he represents +the executive power of the whole State.] + +[Footnote q: See the Constitution of Massachusetts, chap. II. +sect. 1. Section 9; chap. III. Section 3.] + +[Footnote r: Thus, for example, a stranger arrives in a township +from a country where a contagious disease prevails, and he falls +ill. Two justices of the peace can, with the assent of the +selectmen, order the sheriff of the county to remove and take +care of him. - Act of June 22, 1797, vol. i. p. 540. + +In general the justices interfere in all the important acts +of the administration, and give them a semi-judicial character.] +[Footnote s: I say the greater number, because certain +administrative misdemeanors are brought before ordinary +tribunals. If, for instance, a township refuses to make the +necessary expenditure for its schools or to name a +school-committee, it is liable to a heavy fine. But this penalty +is pronounced by the Supreme Judicial Court or the Court of +Common Pleas. See Act of March 10, 1827, Laws of Massachusetts, +vol. iii. p. 190. Or when a township neglects to provide the +necessary war-stores. - Act of February 21, 1822: Id., vol. ii. +p. 570.] + +[Footnote t: In their individual capacity the justices of the +peace take a part in the business of the counties and townships.] +[Footnote u: These affairs may be brought under the following +heads: - 1. The erection of prisons and courts of justice. 2. +The county budget, which is afterwards voted by the State. 3. +The distribution of the taxes so voted. 4. Grants of certain +patents. 5. The laying down and repairs of the country roads.] + +[Footnote v: Thus, when a road is under consideration, almost all +difficulties are disposed of by the aid of the jury.] + +The first difficulty is to procure the obedience of an +authority as entirely independent of the general laws of the +State as the township is. We have stated that assessors are +annually named by the town-meetings to levy the taxes. If a +township attempts to evade the payment of the taxes by neglecting +to name its assessors, the Court of Sessions condemns it to a +heavy penalty. *w The fine is levied on each of the inhabitants; +and the sheriff of the county, who is the officer of justice, +executes the mandate. Thus it is that in the United States the +authority of the Government is mysteriously concealed under the +forms of a judicial sentence; and its influence is at the same +time fortified by that irresistible power with which men have +invested the formalities of law. + +[Footnote w: See Act of February 20, 1786, Laws of Massachusetts, +vol. i. p. 217.] + +These proceedings are easy to follow and to understand. The +demands made upon a township are in general plain and accurately +defined; they consist in a simple fact without any complication, +or in a principle without its application in detail. *x But the +difficulty increases when it is not the obedience of the +township, but that of the town officers which is to be enforced. +All the reprehensible actions of which a public functionary may +be guilty are reducible to the following heads: + +[Footnote x: There is an indirect method of enforcing the +obedience of a township. Suppose that the funds which the law +demands for the maintenance of the roads have not been voted, the +town surveyor is then authorized, ex officio, to levy the +supplies. As he is personally responsible to private individuals +for the state of the roads, and indictable before the Court of +Sessions, he is sure to employ the extraordinary right which the +law gives him against the township. Thus by threatening the +officer the Court of Sessions exacts compliance from the town. +See Act of March 5, 1787, Id., vol. i. p. 305.] + +He may execute the law without energy or zeal; + +He may neglect to execute the law; + +He may do what the law enjoins him not to do. + +The last two violations of duty can alone come under the +cognizance of a tribunal; a positive and appreciable fact is the +indispensable foundation of an action at law. Thus, if the +selectmen omit to fulfil the legal formalities usual at town +elections, they may be condemned to pay a fine; *y but when the +public officer performs his duty without ability, and when he +obeys the letter of the law without zeal or energy, he is at +least beyond the reach of judicial interference. The Court of +Sessions, even when it is invested with its official powers, is +in this case unable to compel him to a more satisfactory +obedience. The fear of removal is the only check to these +quasi-offences; and as the Court of Sessions does not originate +the town authorities, it cannot remove functionaries whom it does +not appoint. Moreover, a perpetual investigation would be +necessary to convict the officer of negligence or lukewarmness; +and the Court of Sessions sits but twice a year and then only +judges such offences as are brought before its notice. The only +security of that active and enlightened obedience which a court +of justice cannot impose upon public officers lies in the +possibility of their arbitrary removal. In France this security +is sought for in powers exercised by the heads of the +administration; in America it is sought for in the principle of +election. + +[Footnote y: Laws of Massachusetts, vol. ii. p. 45.] + +Thus, to recapitulate in a few words what I have been +showing: If a public officer in New England commits a crime in +the exercise of his functions, the ordinary courts of justice are +always called upon to pass sentence upon him. If he commits a +fault in his official capacity, a purely administrative tribunal +is empowered to punish him; and, if the affair is important or +urgent, the judge supplies the omission of the functionary. *z +Lastly, if the same individual is guilty of one of those +intangible offences of which human justice has no cognizance, he +annually appears before a tribunal from which there is no appeal, +which can at once reduce him to insignificance and deprive him of +his charge. This system undoubtedly possesses great advantages, +but its execution is attended with a practical difficulty which +it is important to point out. + +[Footnote z: If, for instance, a township persists in refusing to +name its assessors, the Court of Sessions nominates them; and the +magistrates thus appointed are invested with the same authority +as elected officers. See the Act quoted above, February 20, +1787.] + +I have already observed that the administrative tribunal, +which is called the Court of Sessions, has no right of inspection +over the town officers. It can only interfere when the conduct +of a magistrate is specially brought under its notice; and this +is the delicate part of the system. The Americans of New England +are unacquainted with the office of public prosecutor in the +Court of Sessions, *a and it may readily be perceived that it +could not have been established without difficulty. If an +accusing magistrate had merely been appointed in the chief town +of each county, and if he had been unassisted by agents in the +townships, he would not have been better acquainted with what was +going on in the county than the members of the Court of Sessions. +But to appoint agents in each township would have been to centre +in his person the most formidable of powers, that of a judicial +administration. Moreover, laws are the children of habit, and +nothing of the kind exists in the legislation of England. The +Americans have therefore divided the offices of inspection and of +prosecution, as well as all the other functions of the +administration. Grand jurors are bound by the law to apprise the +court to which they belong of all the misdemeanors which may have +been committed in their county. *b There are certain great +offences which are officially prosecuted by the States; *c but +more frequently the task of punishing delinquents devolves upon +the fiscal officer, whose province it is to receive the fine: +thus the treasurer of the township is charged with the +prosecution of such administrative offences as fall under his +notice. But a more special appeal is made by American +legislation to the private interest of the citizen; *d and this +great principle is constantly to be met with in studying the laws +of the United States. American legislators are more apt to give +men credit for intelligence than for honesty, and they rely not a +little on personal cupidity for the execution of the laws. When +an individual is really and sensibly injured by an administrative +abuse, it is natural that his personal interest should induce him +to prosecute. But if a legal formality be required, which, +however advantageous to the community, is of small importance to +individuals, plaintiffs may be less easily found; and thus, by a +tacit agreement, the laws may fall into disuse. Reduced by their +system to this extremity, the Americans are obliged to encourage +informers by bestowing on them a portion of the penalty in +certain cases, *e and to insure the execution of the laws by the +dangerous expedient of degrading the morals of the people. The +only administrative authority above the county magistrates is, +properly speaking, that of the Government. + +[Footnote a: I say the Court of Sessions, because in common +courts there is a magistrate who exercises some of the functions +of a public prosecutor.] + +[Footnote b: The grand-jurors are, for instance, bound to inform +the court of the bad state of the roads. - Laws of Massachusetts, +vol. i. p. 308.] + +[Footnote c: If, for instance, the treasurer of the county holds +back his accounts. - Laws of Massachusetts, vol. i. p. 406.] +[Footnote d: Thus, if a private individual breaks down or is +wounded in consequence of the badness of a road, he can sue the +township or the county for damages at the sessions. - Laws of +Massachusetts, vol. i. p. 309.] + +[Footnote e: In cases of invasion or insurrection, if the town- +officers neglect to furnish the necessary stores and ammunition +for the militia, the township may be condemned to a fine of from +$200 to $500. It may readily be imagined that in such a case it +might happen that no one cared to prosecute; hence the law adds +that all the citizens may indict offences of this kind, and that +half of the fine shall belong to the plaintiff. See Act of March +6, 1810, vol. ii. p. 236. The same clause is frequently to be +met with in the law of Massachusetts. Not only are private +individuals thus incited to prosecute the public officers, but +the public officers are encouraged in the same manner to bring +the disobedience of private individuals to justice. If a citizen +refuses to perform the work which has been assigned to him upon a +road, the road surveyor may prosecute him, and he receives half +the penalty for himself. See the Laws above quoted, vol. i. p. +308.] + +General Remarks On The Administration Of The United States +Differences of the States of the Union in their system of +administration -Activity and perfection of the local authorities +decrease towards the South -Power of the magistrate increases; +that of the elector diminishes -Administration passes from the +township to the county - States of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania - +Principles of administration applicable to the whole Union - +Election of public officers, and inalienability of their +functions -Absence of gradation of ranks - Introduction of +judicial resources into the administration. + + +I have already premised that, after having examined the +constitution of the township and the county of New England in +detail, I should take a general view of the remainder of the +Union. Townships and a local activity exist in every State; but +in no part of the confederation is a township to be met with +precisely similar to those of New England. The more we descend +towards the South, the less active does the business of the +township or parish become; the number of magistrates, of +functions, and of rights decreases; the population exercises a +less immediate influence on affairs; town meetings are less +frequent, and the subjects of debate less numerous. The power of +the elected magistrate is augmented and that of the elector +diminished, whilst the public spirit of the local communities is +less awakened and less influential. *f These differences may be +perceived to a certain extent in the State of New York; they are +very sensible in Pennsylvania; but they become less striking as +we advance to the northwest. The majority of the emigrants who +settle in the northwestern States are natives of New England, and +they carry the habits of their mother country with them into that +which they adopt. A township in Ohio is by no means dissimilar +from a township in Massachusetts. + +[Footnote f: For details see the Revised Statutes of the State of +New York, part i. chap. xi. vol. i. pp. 336-364, entitled, "Of +the Powers, Duties, and Privileges of Towns." + +See in the Digest of the Laws of Pennsylvania, the words +Assessors, Collector, Constables, Overseer of the Poor, +Supervisors of Highways; and in the Acts of a general nature of +the State of Ohio, the Act of February 25, 1834, relating to +townships, p. 412; besides the peculiar dispositions relating to +divers town-officers, such as Township's Clerk, Trustees, +Overseers of the Poor, Fence Viewers, Appraisers of Property, +Township's Treasurer, Constables, Supervisors of Highways.] + +We have seen that in Massachusetts the mainspring of public +administration lies in the township. It forms the common centre +of the interests and affections of the citizens. But this ceases +to be the case as we descend to States in which knowledge is less +generally diffused, and where the township consequently offers +fewer guarantees of a wise and active administration. As we +leave New England, therefore, we find that the importance of the +town is gradually transferred to the county, which becomes the +centre of administration, and the intermediate power between the +Government and the citizen. In Massachusetts the business of the +county is conducted by the Court of Sessions, which is composed +of a quorum named by the Governor and his council; but the county +has no representative assembly, and its expenditure is voted by +the national legislature. In the great State of New York, on the +contrary, and in those of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the inhabitants +of each county choose a certain number of representatives, who +constitute the assembly of the county. *g The county assembly has +the right of taxing the inhabitants to a certain extent; and in +this respect it enjoys the privileges of a real legislative body: +at the same time it exercises an executive power in the county, +frequently directs the administration of the townships, and +restricts their authority within much narrower bounds than in +Massachusetts. + +[Footnote g: See the Revised Statutes of the State of New York, +part i. chap. xi. vol. i. p. 340. Id. chap. xii. p. 366; also in +the Acts of the State of Ohio, an act relating to county +commissioners, February 25, 1824, p. 263. See the Digest of the +Laws of Pennsylvania, at the words County-rates and Levies, p. +170. +In the State of New York each township elects a +representative, who has a share in the administration of the +county as well as in that of the township.] + +Such are the principal differences which the systems of +county and town administration present in the Federal States. +Were it my intention to examine the provisions of American law +minutely, I should have to point out still further differences in +the executive details of the several communities. But what I +have already said may suffice to show the general principles on +which the administration of the United States rests. These +principles are differently applied; their consequences are more +or less numerous in various localities; but they are always +substantially the same. The laws differ, and their outward +features change, but their character does not vary. If the +township and the county are not everywhere constituted in the +same manner, it is at least true that in the United States the +county and the township are always based upon the same principle, +namely, that everyone is the best judge of what concerns himself +alone, and the most proper person to supply his private wants. +The township and the county are therefore bound to take care of +their special interests: the State governs, but it does not +interfere with their administration. Exceptions to this rule may +be met with, but not a contrary principle. + +The first consequence of this doctrine has been to cause all +the magistrates to be chosen either by or at least from amongst +the citizens. As the officers are everywhere elected or appointed +for a certain period, it has been impossible to establish the +rules of a dependent series of authorities; there are almost as +many independent functionaries as there are functions, and the +executive power is disseminated in a multitude of hands. Hence +arose the indispensable necessity of introducing the control of +the courts of justice over the administration, and the system of +pecuniary penalties, by which the secondary bodies and their +representatives are constrained to obey the laws. This system +obtains from one end of the Union to the other. The power of +punishing the misconduct of public officers, or of performing the +part of the executive in urgent cases, has not, however, been +bestowed on the same judges in all the States. The +Anglo-Americans derived the institution of justices of the peace +from a common source; but although it exists in all the States, +it is not always turned to the same use. The justices of the +peace everywhere participate in the administration of the +townships and the counties, *h either as public officers or as +the judges of public misdemeanors, but in most of the States the +more important classes of public offences come under the +cognizance of the ordinary tribunals. + +[Footnote h: In some of the Southern States the county courts are +charged with all the details of the administration. See the +Statutes of the State of Tennessee, arts. Judiciary, Taxes, +etc.] + +The election of public officers, or the inalienability of +their functions, the absence of a gradation of powers, and the +introduction of a judicial control over the secondary branches of +the administration, are the universal characteristics of the +American system from Maine to the Floridas. In some States (and +that of New York has advanced most in this direction) traces of a +centralized administration begin to be discernible. In the State +of New York the officers of the central government exercise, in +certain cases, a sort of inspection or control over the secondary +bodies. *i + +[Footnote i: For instance, the direction of public instruction +centres in the hands of the Government. The legislature names +the members of the University, who are denominated Regents; the +Governor and Lieutentant-Governor of the State are necessarily of +the number. - Revised Statutes, vol. i. p. 455. The Regents of +the University annually visit the colleges and academies, and +make their report to the legislature. Their superintendence is +not inefficient, for several reasons: the colleges in order to +become corporations stand in need of a charter, which is only +granted on the recommendation of the Regents; every year funds +are distributed by the State for the encouragement of learning, +and the Regents are the distributors of this money. See chap. +xv. Instruction," Revised Statutes, vol. i. p. 455. + +The school-commissioners are obliged to send an annual +report to the Superintendent of the Republic. - Id. p. 488. + +A similar report is annually made to the same person on the +number and condition of the poor. - Id. p. 631.] + +At other times they constitute a court of appeal for the +decision of affairs. *j In the State of New York judicial +penalties are less used than in other parts as a means of +administration, and the right of prosecuting the offences of +public officers is vested in fewer hands. *k The same tendency is +faintly observable in some other States; *l but in general the +prominent feature of the administration in the United States is +its excessive local independence. + +[Footnote j: If any one conceives himself to be wronged by the +school-commissioners (who are town-officers), he can appeal to +the superintendent of the primary schools, whose decision is +final. - Revised Statutes, vol. i. p. 487. + +Provisions similar to those above cited are to be met with +from time to time in the laws of the State of New York; but in +general these attempts at centralization are weak and +unproductive. The great authorities of the State have the right +of watching and controlling the subordinate agents, without that +of rewarding or punishing them. The same individual is never +empowered to give an order and to punish disobedience; he has +therefore the right of commanding, without the means of exacting +compliance. In 1830 the Superintendent of Schools complained in +his Annual Report addressed to the legislature that several +school-commissioners had neglected, notwithstanding his +application, to furnish him with the accounts which were due. He +added that if this omission continued he should be obliged to +prosecute them, as the law directs, before the proper tribunals.] + +[Footnote k: Thus the district-attorney is directed to recover +all fines below the sum of fifty dollars, unless such a right has +been specially awarded to another magistrate. - Revised Statutes, +vol. i. p. 383.] + +[Footnote l: Several traces of centralization may be discovered +in Massachusetts; for instance, the committees of the +town-schools are directed to make an annual report to the +Secretary of State. See Laws of Massachusetts, vol. i. p. 367.] + +Of The State + +I have described the townships and the administration; it +now remains for me to speak of the State and the Government. +This is ground I may pass over rapidly, without fear of being +misunderstood; for all I have to say is to be found in written +forms of the various constitutions, which are easily to be +procured. These constitutions rest upon a simple and rational +theory; their forms have been adopted by all constitutional +nations, and are become familiar to us. In this place, +therefore, it is only necessary for me to give a short analysis; +I shall endeavor afterwards to pass judgment upon what I now +describe. + +Chapter V: Necessity Of Examining The Condition Of The States - +Part III + +Legislative Power Of The State + +Division of the Legislative Body into two Houses - Senate - House +of Representatives - Different functions of these two Bodies. + +The legislative power of the State is vested in two +assemblies, the first of which generally bears the name of the +Senate. The Senate is commonly a legislative body; but it +sometimes becomes an executive and judicial one. It takes a part +in the government in several ways, according to the constitution +of the different States; *m but it is in the nomination of public +functionaries that it most commonly assumes an executive power. +It partakes of judicial power in the trial of certain political +offences, and sometimes also in the decision of certain civil +cases. *n The number of its members is always small. The other +branch of the legislature, which is usually called the House of +Representatives, has no share whatever in the administration, and +only takes a part in the judicial power inasmuch as it impeaches +public functionaries before the Senate. The members of the two +Houses are nearly everywhere subject to the same conditions of +election. They are chosen in the same manner, and by the same +citizens. The only difference which exists between them is, that +the term for which the Senate is chosen is in general longer than +that of the House of Representatives. The latter seldom remain in +office longer than a year; the former usually sit two or three +years. By granting to the senators the privilege of being chosen +for several years, and being renewed seriatim, the law takes care +to preserve in the legislative body a nucleus of men already +accustomed to public business, and capable of exercising a +salutary influence upon the junior members. + +[Footnote m: In Massachusetts the Senate is not invested with any +administrative functions.] + +[Footnote n: As in the State of New York.] + +The Americans, plainly, did not desire, by this separation +of the legislative body into two branches, to make one house +hereditary and the other elective; one aristocratic and the other +democratic. It was not their object to create in the one a +bulwark to power, whilst the other represented the interests and +passions of the people. The only advantages which result from +the present constitution of the United States are the division of +the legislative power and the consequent check upon political +assemblies; with the creation of a tribunal of appeal for the +revision of the laws. + +Time and experience, however, have convinced the Americans +that if these are its only advantages, the division of the +legislative power is still a principle of the greatest necessity. +Pennsylvania was the only one of the United States which at first +attempted to establish a single House of Assembly, and Franklin +himself was so far carried away by the necessary consequences of +the principle of the sovereignty of the people as to have +concurred in the measure; but the Pennsylvanians were soon +obliged to change the law, and to create two Houses. Thus the +principle of the division of the legislative power was finally +established, and its necessity may henceforward be regarded as a +demonstrated truth. This theory, which was nearly unknown to the +republics of antiquity - which was introduced into the world +almost by accident, like so many other great truths - and +misunderstood by several modern nations, is at length become an +axiom in the political science of the present age. + +[See Benjamin Franklin] + +The Executive Power Of The State + +Office of Governor in an American State - The place he occupies +in relation to the Legislature - His rights and his duties - His +dependence on the people. + +The executive power of the State may with truth be said to +be represented by the Governor, although he enjoys but a portion +of its rights. The supreme magistrate, under the title of +Governor, is the official moderator and counsellor of the +legislature. He is armed with a veto or suspensive power, which +allows him to stop, or at least to retard, its movements at +pleasure. He lays the wants of the country before the legislative +body, and points out the means which he thinks may be usefully +employed in providing for them; he is the natural executor of its +decrees in all the undertakings which interest the nation at +large. *o In the absence of the legislature, the Governor is +bound to take all necessary steps to guard the State against +violent shocks and unforeseen dangers. The whole military power +of the State is at the disposal of the Governor. He is the +commander of the militia, and head of the armed force. When the +authority, which is by general consent awarded to the laws, is +disregarded, the Governor puts himself at the head of the armed +force of the State, to quell resistance, and to restore order. +Lastly, the Governor takes no share in the administration of +townships and counties, except it be indirectly in the nomination +of Justices of the Peace, which nomination he has not the power +to cancel. *p The Governor is an elected magistrate, and is +generally chosen for one or two years only; so that he always +continues to be strictly dependent upon the majority who returned +him. + +[Footnote o: Practically speaking, it is not always the Governor +who executes the plans of the Legislature; it often happens that +the latter, in voting a measure, names special agents to +superintend the execution of it.] + +[Footnote p: In some of the States the justices of the peace are +not elected by the Governor.] + +Political Effects Of The System Of Local Administration In The +United States + +Necessary distinction between the general centralization of +Government and the centralization of the local administration - +Local administration not centralized in the United States: great +general centralization of the Government - Some bad consequences +resulting to the United States from the local administration - +Administrative advantages attending this order of things - The +power which conducts the Government is less regular, less +enlightened, less learned, but much greater than in Europe - +Political advantages of this order of things - In the United +States the interests of the country are everywhere kept in view - +Support given to the Government by the community - Provincial +institutions more necessary in proportion as the social condition +becomes more democratic - Reason of this. + +Centralization is become a word of general and daily use, +without any precise meaning being attached to it. Nevertheless, +there exist two distinct kinds of centralization, which it is +necessary to discriminate with accuracy. Certain interests are +common to all parts of a nation, such as the enactment of its +general laws and the maintenance of its foreign relations. Other +interests are peculiar to certain parts of the nation; such, for +instance, as the business of different townships. When the power +which directs the general interests is centred in one place, or +vested in the same persons, it constitutes a central government. +In like manner the power of directing partial or local interests, +when brought together into one place, constitutes what may be +termed a central administration. + +Upon some points these two kinds of centralization coalesce; +but by classifying the objects which fall more particularly +within the province of each of them, they may easily be +distinguished. It is evident that a central government acquires +immense power when united to administrative centralization. Thus +combined, it accustoms men to set their own will habitually and +completely aside; to submit, not only for once, or upon one +point, but in every respect, and at all times. Not only, +therefore, does this union of power subdue them compulsorily, but +it affects them in the ordinary habits of life, and influences +each individual, first separately and then collectively. + +These two kinds of centralization mutually assist and +attract each other; but they must not be supposed to be +inseparable. It is impossible to imagine a more completely +central government than that which existed in France under Louis +XIV.; when the same individual was the author and the interpreter +of the laws, and the representative of France at home and abroad, +he was justified in asserting that the State was identified with +his person. Nevertheless, the administration was much less +centralized under Louis XIV. than it is at the present day. + +In England the centralization of the government is carried +to great perfection; the State has the compact vigor of a man, +and by the sole act of its will it puts immense engines in +motion, and wields or collects the efforts of its authority. +Indeed, I cannot conceive that a nation can enjoy a secure or +prosperous existence without a powerful centralization of +government. But I am of opinion that a central administration +enervates the nations in which it exists by incessantly +diminishing their public spirit. If such an administration +succeeds in condensing at a given moment, on a given point, all +the disposable resources of a people, it impairs at least the +renewal of those resources. It may ensure a victory in the hour +of strife, but it gradually relaxes the sinews of strength. It +may contribute admirably to the transient greatness of a man, but +it cannot ensure the durable prosperity of a nation. + +If we pay proper attention, we shall find that whenever it +is said that a State cannot act because it has no central point, +it is the centralization of the government in which it is +deficient. It is frequently asserted, and we are prepared to +assent to the proposition, that the German empire was never able +to bring all its powers into action. But the reason was, that +the State was never able to enforce obedience to its general +laws, because the several members of that great body always +claimed the right, or found the means, of refusing their +co-operation to the representatives of the common authority, even +in the affairs which concerned the mass of the people; in other +words, because there was no centralization of government. The +same remark is applicable to the Middle Ages; the cause of all +the confusion of feudal society was that the control, not only of +local but of general interests, was divided amongst a thousand +hands, and broken up in a thousand different ways; the absence of +a central government prevented the nations of Europe from +advancing with energy in any straightforward course. + +We have shown that in the United States no central +administration and no dependent series of public functionaries +exist. Local authority has been carried to lengths which no +European nation could endure without great inconvenience, and +which has even produced some disadvantageous consequences in +America. But in the United States the centralization of the +Government is complete; and it would be easy to prove that the +national power is more compact than it has ever been in the old +nations of Europe. Not only is there but one legislative body in +each State; not only does there exist but one source of political +authority; but district assemblies and county courts have not in +general been multiplied, lest they should be tempted to exceed +their administrative duties, and interfere with the Government. +In America the legislature of each State is supreme; nothing can +impede its authority; neither privileges, nor local immunities, +nor personal influence, nor even the empire of reason, since it +represents that majority which claims to be the sole organ of +reason. Its own determination is, therefore, the only limit to +this action. In juxtaposition to it, and under its immediate +control, is the representative of the executive power, whose duty +it is to constrain the refractory to submit by superior force. +The only symptom of weakness lies in certain details of the +action of the Government. The American republics have no +standing armies to intimidate a discontented minority; but as no +minority has as yet been reduced to declare open war, the +necessity of an army has not been felt. *q The State usually +employs the officers of the township or the county to deal with +the citizens. Thus, for instance, in New England, the assessor +fixes the rate of taxes; the collector receives them; the +town-treasurer transmits the amount to the public treasury; and +the disputes which may arise are brought before the ordinary +courts of justice. This method of collecting taxes is slow as +well as inconvenient, and it would prove a perpetual hindrance to +a Government whose pecuniary demands were large. It is desirable +that, in whatever materially affects its existence, the +Government should be served by officers of its own, appointed by +itself, removable at pleasure, and accustomed to rapid methods of +proceeding. But it will always be easy for the central +government, organized as it is in America, to introduce new and +more efficacious modes of action, proportioned to its wants. +[Footnote q: [The Civil War of 1860-65 cruelly belied this +statement, and in the course of the struggle the North alone +called two millions and a half of men to arms; but to the honor +of the United States it must be added that, with the cessation of +the contest, this army disappeared as rapidly as it had been +raised. - Translator's Note.]] + +The absence of a central government will not, then, as has +often been asserted, prove the destruction of the republics of +the New World; far from supposing that the American governments +are not sufficiently centralized, I shall prove hereafter that +they are too much so. The legislative bodies daily encroach upon +the authority of the Government, and their tendency, like that of +the French Convention, is to appropriate it entirely to +themselves. Under these circumstances the social power is +constantly changing hands, because it is subordinate to the power +of the people, which is too apt to forget the maxims of wisdom +and of foresight in the consciousness of its strength: hence +arises its danger; and thus its vigor, and not its impotence, +will probably be the cause of its ultimate destruction. + +The system of local administration produces several +different effects in America. The Americans seem to me to have +outstepped the limits of sound policy in isolating the +administration of the Government; for order, even in second-rate +affairs, is a matter of national importance. *r As the State has +no administrative functionaries of its own, stationed on +different points of its territory, to whom it can give a common +impulse, the consequence is that it rarely attempts to issue any +general police regulations. The want of these regulations is +severely felt, and is frequently observed by Europeans. The +appearance of disorder which prevails on the surface leads him at +first to imagine that society is in a state of anarchy; nor does +he perceive his mistake till he has gone deeper into the subject. +Certain undertakings are of importance to the whole State; but +they cannot be put in execution, because there is no national +administration to direct them. Abandoned to the exertions of the +towns or counties, under the care of elected or temporary agents, +they lead to no result, or at least to no durable benefit. + +[Footnote r: The authority which represents the State ought not, +I think, to waive the right of inspecting the local +administration, even when it does not interfere more actively. +Suppose, for instance, that an agent of the Government was +stationed at some appointed spot in the country, to prosecute the +misdemeanors of the town and county officers, would not a more +uniform order be the result, without in any way compromising the +independence of the township? Nothing of the kind, however, +exists in America: there is nothing above the county-courts, +which have, as it were, only an incidental cognizance of the +offences they are meant to repress.] + +The partisans of centralization in Europe are wont to +maintain that the Government directs the affairs of each locality +better than the citizens could do it for themselves; this may be +true when the central power is enlightened, and when the local +districts are ignorant; when it is as alert as they are slow; +when it is accustomed to act, and they to obey. Indeed, it is +evident that this double tendency must augment with the increase +of centralization, and that the readiness of the one and the +incapacity of the others must become more and more prominent. +But I deny that such is the case when the people is as +enlightened, as awake to its interests, and as accustomed to +reflect on them, as the Americans are. I am persuaded, on the +contrary, that in this case the collective strength of the +citizens will always conduce more efficaciously to the public +welfare than the authority of the Government. It is difficult to +point out with certainty the means of arousing a sleeping +population, and of giving it passions and knowledge which it does +not possess; it is, I am well aware, an arduous task to persuade +men to busy themselves about their own affairs; and it would +frequently be easier to interest them in the punctilios of court +etiquette than in the repairs of their common dwelling. But +whenever a central administration affects to supersede the +persons most interested, I am inclined to suppose that it is +either misled or desirous to mislead. However enlightened and +however skilful a central power may be, it cannot of itself +embrace all the details of the existence of a great nation. Such +vigilance exceeds the powers of man. And when it attempts to +create and set in motion so many complicated springs, it must +submit to a very imperfect result, or consume itself in bootless +efforts. + +Centralization succeeds more easily, indeed, in subjecting +the external actions of men to a certain uniformity, which at +least commands our regard, independently of the objects to which +it is applied, like those devotees who worship the statue and +forget the deity it represents. Centralization imparts without +difficulty an admirable regularity to the routine of business; +provides for the details of the social police with sagacity; +represses the smallest disorder and the most petty misdemeanors; +maintains society in a status quo alike secure from improvement +and decline; and perpetuates a drowsy precision in the conduct of +affairs, which is hailed by the heads of the administration as a +sign of perfect order and public tranquillity: *s in short, it +excels more in prevention than in action. Its force deserts it +when society is to be disturbed or accelerated in its course; and +if once the co-operation of private citizens is necessary to the +furtherance of its measures, the secret of its impotence is +disclosed. Even whilst it invokes their assistance, it is on the +condition that they shall act exactly as much as the Government +chooses, and exactly in the manner it appoints. They are to take +charge of the details, without aspiring to guide the system; they +are to work in a dark and subordinate sphere, and only to judge +the acts in which they have themselves cooperated by their +results.: These, however, are not conditions on which the +alliance of the human will is to be obtained; its carriage must +be free and its actions responsible, or (such is the constitution +of man) the citizen had rather remain a passive spectator than a +dependent actor in schemes with which he is unacquainted. + +[Footnote s: China appears to me to present the most perfect +instance of that species of well-being which a completely central +administration may furnish to the nations among which it exists. +Travellers assure us that the Chinese have peace without +happiness, industry without improvement, stability without +strength, and public order without public morality. The +condition of society is always tolerable, never excellent. I am +convinced that, when China is opened to European observation, it +will be found to contain the most perfect model of a central +administration which exists in the universe.] + +It is undeniable that the want of those uniform regulations +which control the conduct of every inhabitant of France is not +unfrequently felt in the United States. Gross instances of +social indifference and neglect are to be met with, and from time +to time disgraceful blemishes are seen in complete contrast with +the surrounding civilization. Useful undertakings which cannot +succeed without perpetual attention and rigorous exactitude are +very frequently abandoned in the end; for in America, as well as +in other countries, the people is subject to sudden impulses and +momentary exertions. The European who is accustomed to find a +functionary always at hand to interfere with all he undertakes +has some difficulty in accustoming himself to the complex +mechanism of the administration of the townships. In general it +may be affirmed that the lesser details of the police, which +render life easy and comfortable, are neglected in America; but +that the essential guarantees of man in society are as strong +there as elsewhere. In America the power which conducts the +Government is far less regular, less enlightened, and less +learned, but an hundredfold more authoritative than in Europe. +In no country in the world do the citizens make such exertions +for the common weal; and I am acquainted with no people which has +established schools as numerous and as efficacious, places of +public worship better suited to the wants of the inhabitants, or +roads kept in better repair. Uniformity or permanence of design, +the minute arrangement of details, *t and the perfection of an +ingenious administration, must not be sought for in the United +States; but it will be easy to find, on the other hand, the +symptoms of a power which, if it is somewhat barbarous, is at +least robust; and of an existence which is checkered with +accidents indeed, but cheered at the same time by animation and +effort. + +[Footnote t: A writer of talent, who, in the comparison which he +has drawn between the finances of France and those of the United +States, has proved that ingenuity cannot always supply the place +of a knowledge of facts, very justly reproaches the Americans for +the sort of confusion which exists in the accounts of the +expenditure in the townships; and after giving the model of a +departmental budget in France, he adds: - "We are indebted to +centralization, that admirable invention of a great man, for the +uniform order and method which prevail alike in all the municipal +budgets, from the largest town to the humblest commune." Whatever +may be my admiration of this result, when I see the communes of +France, with their excellent system of accounts, plunged into the +grossest ignorance of their true interests, and abandoned to so +incorrigible an apathy that they seem to vegetate rather than to +live; when, on the other hand, I observe the activity, the +information, and the spirit of enterprise which keep society in +perpetual labor, in those American townships whose budgets are +drawn up with small method and with still less uniformity, I am +struck by the spectacle; for to my mind the end of a good +government is to ensure the welfare of a people, and not to +establish order and regularity in the midst of its misery and its +distress. I am therefore led to suppose that the prosperity of +the American townships and the apparent confusion of their +accounts, the distress of the French communes and the perfection +of their budget, may be attributable to the same cause. At any +rate I am suspicious of a benefit which is united to so many +evils, and I am not averse to an evil which is compensated by so +many benefits.] + +Granting for an instant that the villages and counties of +the United States would be more usefully governed by a remote +authority which they had never seen than by functionaries taken +from the midst of them - admitting, for the sake of argument, +that the country would be more secure, and the resources of +society better employed, if the whole administration centred in a +single arm - still the political advantages which the Americans +derive from their system would induce me to prefer it to the +contrary plan. It profits me but little, after all, that a +vigilant authority should protect the tranquillity of my +pleasures and constantly avert all dangers from my path, without +my care or my concern, if this same authority is the absolute +mistress of my liberty and of my life, and if it so monopolizes +all the energy of existence that when it languishes everything +languishes around it, that when it sleeps everything must sleep, +that when it dies the State itself must perish. + +In certain countries of Europe the natives consider +themselves as a kind of settlers, indifferent to the fate of the +spot upon which they live. The greatest changes are effected +without their concurrence and (unless chance may have apprised +them of the event) without their knowledge; nay more, the citizen +is unconcerned as to the condition of his village, the police of +his street, the repairs of the church or of the parsonage; for he +looks upon all these things as unconnected with himself, and as +the property of a powerful stranger whom he calls the Government. +He has only a life-interest in these possessions, and he +entertains no notions of ownership or of improvement. This want +of interest in his own affairs goes so far that, if his own +safety or that of his children is endangered, instead of trying +to avert the peril, he will fold his arms, and wait till the +nation comes to his assistance. This same individual, who has so +completely sacrificed his own free will, has no natural +propensity to obedience; he cowers, it is true, before the +pettiest officer; but he braves the law with the spirit of a +conquered foe as soon as its superior force is removed: his +oscillations between servitude and license are perpetual. When a +nation has arrived at this state it must either change its +customs and its laws or perish: the source of public virtue is +dry, and, though it may contain subjects, the race of citizens is +extinct. Such communities are a natural prey to foreign +conquests, and if they do not disappear from the scene of life, +it is because they are surrounded by other nations similar or +inferior to themselves: it is because the instinctive feeling of +their country's claims still exists in their hearts; and because +an involuntary pride in the name it bears, or a vague +reminiscence of its bygone fame, suffices to give them the +impulse of self- preservation. + +Nor can the prodigious exertions made by tribes in the +defence of a country to which they did not belong be adduced in +favor of such a system; for it will be found that in these cases +their main incitement was religion. The permanence, the glory, or +the prosperity of the nation were become parts of their faith, +and in defending the country they inhabited they defended that +Holy City of which they were all citizens. The Turkish tribes +have never taken an active share in the conduct of the affairs of +society, but they accomplished stupendous enterprises as long as +the victories of the Sultan were the triumphs of the Mohammedan +faith. In the present age they are in rapid decay, because their +religion is departing, and despotism only remains. Montesquieu, +who attributed to absolute power an authority peculiar to itself, +did it, as I conceive, an undeserved honor; for despotism, taken +by itself, can produce no durable results. On close inspection +we shall find that religion, and not fear, has ever been the +cause of the long-lived prosperity of an absolute government. +Whatever exertions may be made, no true power can be founded +among men which does not depend upon the free union of their +inclinations; and patriotism and religion are the only two +motives in the world which can permanently direct the whole of a +body politic to one end. + +Laws cannot succeed in rekindling the ardor of an +extinguished faith, but men may be interested in the fate of +their country by the laws. By this influence the vague impulse +of patriotism, which never abandons the human heart, may be +directed and revived; and if it be connected with the thoughts, +the passions, and the daily habits of life, it may be +consolidated into a durable and rational sentiment. + +Let it not be said that the time for the experiment is +already past; for the old age of nations is not like the old age +of men, and every fresh generation is a new people ready for the +care of the legislator. + +It is not the administrative but the political effects of +the local system that I most admire in America. In the United +States the interests of the country are everywhere kept in view; +they are an object of solicitude to the people of the whole +Union, and every citizen is as warmly attached to them as if they +were his own. He takes pride in the glory of his nation; he +boasts of its success, to which he conceives himself to have +contributed, and he rejoices in the general prosperity by which +he profits. The feeling he entertains towards the State is +analogous to that which unites him to his family, and it is by a +kind of egotism that he interests himself in the welfare of his +country. + +The European generally submits to a public officer because +he represents a superior force; but to an American he represents +a right. In America it may be said that no one renders obedience +to man, but to justice and to law. If the opinion which the +citizen entertains of himself is exaggerated, it is at least +salutary; he unhesitatingly confides in his own powers, which +appear to him to be all-sufficient. When a private individual +meditates an undertaking, however directly connected it may be +with the welfare of society, he never thinks of soliciting the +co-operation of the Government, but he publishes his plan, offers +to execute it himself, courts the assistance of other +individuals, and struggles manfully against all obstacles. +Undoubtedly he is often less successful than the State might have +been in his position; but in the end the sum of these private +undertakings far exceeds all that the Government could have done. + +As the administrative authority is within the reach of the +citizens, whom it in some degree represents, it excites neither +their jealousy nor their hatred; as its resources are limited, +every one feels that he must not rely solely on its assistance. +Thus, when the administration thinks fit to interfere, it is not +abandoned to itself as in Europe; the duties of the private +citizens are not supposed to have lapsed because the State +assists in their fulfilment, but every one is ready, on the +contrary, to guide and to support it. This action of individual +exertions, joined to that of the public authorities, frequently +performs what the most energetic central administration would be +unable to execute. It would be easy to adduce several facts in +proof of what I advance, but I had rather give only one, with +which I am more thoroughly acquainted. *u In America the means +which the authorities have at their disposal for the discovery of +crimes and the arrest of criminals are few. The State police +does not exist, and passports are unknown. The criminal police +of the United States cannot be compared to that of France; the +magistrates and public prosecutors are not numerous, and the +examinations of prisoners are rapid and oral. Nevertheless in no +country does crime more rarely elude punishment. The reason is, +that every one conceives himself to be interested in furnishing +evidence of the act committed, and in stopping the delinquent. +During my stay in the United States I witnessed the spontaneous +formation of committees for the pursuit and prosecution of a man +who had committed a great crime in a certain county. In Europe a +criminal is an unhappy being who is struggling for his life +against the ministers of justice, whilst the population is merely +a spectator of the conflict; in America he is looked upon as an +enemy of the human race, and the whole of mankind is against him. + +[Footnote u: See Appendix, I.] + +I believe that provincial institutions are useful to all +nations, but nowhere do they appear to me to be more +indispensable than amongst a democratic people. In an +aristocracy order can always be maintained in the midst of +liberty, and as the rulers have a great deal to lose order is to +them a first-rate consideration. In like manner an aristocracy +protects the people from the excesses of despotism, because it +always possesses an organized power ready to resist a despot. +But a democracy without provincial institutions has no security +against these evils. How can a populace, unaccustomed to freedom +in small concerns, learn to use it temperately in great affairs? +What resistance can be offered to tyranny in a country where +every private individual is impotent, and where the citizens are +united by no common tie? Those who dread the license of the mob, +and those who fear the rule of absolute power, ought alike to +desire the progressive growth of provincial liberties. + +On the other hand, I am convinced that democratic nations +are most exposed to fall beneath the yoke of a central +administration, for several reasons, amongst which is the +following. The constant tendency of these nations is to +concentrate all the strength of the Government in the hands of +the only power which directly represents the people, because +beyond the people nothing is to be perceived but a mass of equal +individuals confounded together. But when the same power is +already in possession of all the attributes of the Government, it +can scarcely refrain from penetrating into the details of the +administration, and an opportunity of doing so is sure to present +itself in the end, as was the case in France. In the French +Revolution there were two impulses in opposite directions, which +must never be confounded - the one was favorable to liberty, the +other to despotism. Under the ancient monarchy the King was the +sole author of the laws, and below the power of the sovereign +certain vestiges of provincial institutions, half destroyed, were +still distinguishable. These provincial institutions were +incoherent, ill compacted, and frequently absurd; in the hands of +the aristocracy they had sometimes been converted into +instruments of oppression. The Revolution declared itself the +enemy of royalty and of provincial institutions at the same time; +it confounded all that had preceded it -despotic power and the +checks to its abuses - in indiscriminate hatred, and its tendency +was at once to overthrow and to centralize. This double +character of the French Revolution is a fact which has been +adroitly handled by the friends of absolute power. Can they be +accused of laboring in the cause of despotism when they are +defending that central administration which was one of the great +innovations of the Revolution? *v In this manner popularity may +be conciliated with hostility to the rights of the people, and +the secret slave of tyranny may be the professed admirer of +freedom. + +[Footnote v: See Appendix K.] + +I have visited the two nations in which the system of +provincial liberty has been most perfectly established, and I +have listened to the opinions of different parties in those +countries. In America I met with men who secretly aspired to +destroy the democratic institutions of the Union; in England I +found others who attacked the aristocracy openly, but I know of +no one who does not regard provincial independence as a great +benefit. In both countries I have heard a thousand different +causes assigned for the evils of the State, but the local system +was never mentioned amongst them. I have heard citizens +attribute the power and prosperity of their country to a +multitude of reasons, but they all placed the advantages of local +institutions in the foremost rank. Am I to suppose that when men +who are naturally so divided on religious opinions and on +political theories agree on one point (and that one of which they +have daily experience), they are all in error? The only nations +which deny the utility of provincial liberties are those which +have fewest of them; in other words, those who are unacquainted +with the institution are the only persons who pass a censure upon +it. + + +Chapter VI: Judicial Power In The United States + +Chapter Summary + +The Anglo-Americans have retained the characteristics of judicial +power which are common to all nations - They have, however, made +it a powerful political organ - How - In what the judicial system +of the Anglo-Americans differs from that of all other nations - +Why the American judges have the right of declaring the laws to +be unconstitutional - How they use this right -Precautions taken +by the legislator to prevent its abuse. + +Judicial Power In The United States And Its Influence On +Political Society + +I have thought it essential to devote a separate chapter to +the judicial authorities of the United States, lest their great +political importance should be lessened in the reader's eyes by a +merely incidental mention of them. Confederations have existed in +other countries beside America, and republics have not been +established upon the shores of the New World alone; the +representative system of government has been adopted in several +States of Europe, but I am not aware that any nation of the globe +has hitherto organized a judicial power on the principle now +adopted by the Americans. The judicial organization of the United +States is the institution which a stranger has the greatest +difficulty in understanding. He hears the authority of a judge +invoked in the political occurrences of every day, and he +naturally concludes that in the United States the judges are +important political functionaries; nevertheless, when he examines +the nature of the tribunals, they offer nothing which is contrary +to the usual habits and privileges of those bodies, and the +magistrates seem to him to interfere in public affairs of chance, +but by a chance which recurs every day. + +When the Parliament of Paris remonstrated, or refused to +enregister an edict, or when it summoned a functionary accused of +malversation to its bar, its political influence as a judicial +body was clearly visible; but nothing of the kind is to be seen +in the United States. The Americans have retained all the +ordinary characteristics of judicial authority, and have +carefully restricted its action to the ordinary circle of its +functions. + +The first characteristic of judicial power in all nations is +the duty of arbitration. But rights must be contested in order +to warrant the interference of a tribunal; and an action must be +brought to obtain the decision of a judge. As long, therefore, +as the law is uncontested, the judicial authority is not called +upon to discuss it, and it may exist without being perceived. +When a judge in a given case attacks a law relating to that case, +he extends the circle of his customary duties, without however +stepping beyond it; since he is in some measure obliged to decide +upon the law in order to decide the case. But if he pronounces +upon a law without resting upon a case, he clearly steps beyond +his sphere, and invades that of the legislative authority. + +The second characteristic of judicial power is that it +pronounces on special cases, and not upon general principles. If +a judge in deciding a particular point destroys a general +principle, by passing a judgment which tends to reject all the +inferences from that principle, and consequently to annul it, he +remains within the ordinary limits of his functions. But if he +directly attacks a general principle without having a particular +case in view, he leaves the circle in which all nations have +agreed to confine his authority, he assumes a more important, and +perhaps a more useful, influence than that of the magistrate, but +he ceases to be a representative of the judicial power. + + +The third characteristic of the judicial power is its +inability to act unless it is appealed to, or until it has taken +cognizance of an affair. This characteristic is less general than +the other two; but, notwithstanding the exceptions, I think it +may be regarded as essential. The judicial power is by its +nature devoid of action; it must be put in motion in order to +produce a result. When it is called upon to repress a crime, it +punishes the criminal; when a wrong is to be redressed, it is +ready to redress it; when an act requires interpretation, it is +prepared to interpret it; but it does not pursue criminals, hunt +out wrongs, or examine into evidence of its own accord. A +judicial functionary who should open proceedings, and usurp the +censorship of the laws, would in some measure do violence to the +passive nature of his authority. + +The Americans have retained these three distinguishing +characteristics of the judicial power; an American judge can only +pronounce a decision when litigation has arisen, he is only +conversant with special cases, and he cannot act until the cause +has been duly brought before the court. His position is +therefore perfectly similar to that of the magistrate of other +nations; and he is nevertheless invested with immense political +power. If the sphere of his authority and his means of action +are the same as those of other judges, it may be asked whence he +derives a power which they do not possess. The cause of this +difference lies in the simple fact that the Americans have +acknowledged the right of the judges to found their decisions on +the constitution rather than on the laws. In other words, they +have left them at liberty not to apply such laws as may appear to +them to be unconstitutional. + +I am aware that a similar right has been claimed - but +claimed in vain -by courts of justice in other countries; but in +America it is recognized by all authorities; and not a party, nor +so much as an individual, is found to contest it. This fact can +only be explained by the principles of the American constitution. +In France the constitution is (or at least is supposed to be) +immutable; and the received theory is that no power has the right +of changing any part of it. In England the Parliament has an +acknowledged right to modify the constitution; as, therefore, the +constitution may undergo perpetual changes, it does not in +reality exist; the Parliament is at once a legislative and a +constituent assembly. The political theories of America are more +simple and more rational. An American constitution is not +supposed to be immutable as in France, nor is it susceptible of +modification by the ordinary powers of society as in England. It +constitutes a detached whole, which, as it represents the +determination of the whole people, is no less binding on the +legislator than on the private citizen, but which may be altered +by the will of the people in predetermined cases, according to +established rules. In America the constitution may therefore +vary, but as long as it exists it is the origin of all authority, +and the sole vehicle of the +predominating force. *a + +[Footnote a: [The fifth article of the original Constitution of +the United States provides the mode in which amendments of the +Constitution may be made. Amendments must be proposed by +two-thirds of both Houses of Congress, and ratified by the +Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States. Fifteen +amendments of the Constitution have been made at different times +since 1789, the most important of which are the Thirteenth, +Fourteenth, and Fifteenth, framed and ratified after the Civil +War. The original Constitution of the United States, followed by +these fifteen amendments, is printed at the end of this edition. +- Translator's Note, 1874.]] + +It is easy to perceive in what manner these differences must +act upon the position and the rights of the judicial bodies in +the three countries I have cited. If in France the tribunals +were authorized to disobey the laws on the ground of their being +opposed to the constitution, the supreme power would in fact be +placed in their hands, since they alone would have the right of +interpreting a constitution, the clauses of which can be modified +by no authority. They would therefore take the place of the +nation, and exercise as absolute a sway over society as the +inherent weakness of judicial power would allow them to do. +Undoubtedly, as the French judges are incompetent to declare a +law to be unconstitutional, the power of changing the +constitution is indirectly given to the legislative body, since +no legal barrier would oppose the alterations which it might +prescribe. But it is better to grant the power of changing the +constitution of the people to men who represent (however +imperfectly) the will of the people, than to men who represent no +one but themselves. + +It would be still more unreasonable to invest the English +judges with the right of resisting the decisions of the +legislative body, since the Parliament which makes the laws also +makes the constitution; and consequently a law emanating from the +three powers of the State can in no case be unconstitutional. +But neither of these remarks is applicable to America. + +In the United States the constitution governs the legislator +as much as the private citizen; as it is the first of laws it +cannot be modified by a law, and it is therefore just that the +tribunals should obey the constitution in preference to any law. +This condition is essential to the power of the judicature, for +to select that legal obligation by which he is most strictly +bound is the natural right of every magistrate. + +In France the constitution is also the first of laws, and +the judges have the same right to take it as the ground of their +decisions, but were they to exercise this right they must +perforce encroach on rights more sacred than their own, namely, +on those of society, in whose name they are acting. In this case +the State- motive clearly prevails over the motives of an +individual. In America, where the nation can always reduce its +magistrates to obedience by changing its constitution, no danger +of this kind is to be feared. Upon this point, therefore, the +political and the logical reasons agree, and the people as well +as the judges preserve their privileges. + +Whenever a law which the judge holds to be unconstitutional +is argued in a tribunal of the United States he may refuse to +admit it as a rule; this power is the only one which is peculiar +to the American magistrate, but it gives rise to immense +political influence. Few laws can escape the searching analysis +of the judicial power for any length of time, for there are few +which are not prejudicial to some private interest or other, and +none which may not be brought before a court of justice by the +choice of parties, or by the necessity of the case. But from the +time that a judge has refused to apply any given law in a case, +that law loses a portion of its moral cogency. The persons to +whose interests it is prejudicial learn that means exist of +evading its authority, and similar suits are multiplied, until it +becomes powerless. One of two alternatives must then be resorted +to: the people must alter the constitution, or the legislature +must repeal the law. The political power which the Americans +have intrusted to their courts of justice is therefore immense, +but the evils of this power are considerably diminished by the +obligation which has been imposed of attacking the laws through +the courts of justice alone. If the judge had been empowered to +contest the laws on the ground of theoretical generalities, if he +had been enabled to open an attack or to pass a censure on the +legislator, he would have played a prominent part in the +political sphere; and as the champion or the antagonist of a +party, he would have arrayed the hostile passions of the nation +in the conflict. But when a judge contests a law applied to some +particular case in an obscure proceeding, the importance of his +attack is concealed from the public gaze, his decision bears upon +the interest of an individual, and if the law is slighted it is +only collaterally. Moreover, although it is censured, it is not +abolished; its moral force may be diminished, but its cogency is +by no means suspended, and its final destruction can only be +accomplished by the reiterated attacks of judicial functionaries. +It will readily be understood that by connecting the censorship +of the laws with the private interests of members of the +community, and by intimately uniting the prosecution of the law +with the prosecution of an individual, legislation is protected +from wanton assailants, and from the daily aggressions of party +spirit. The errors of the legislator are exposed whenever their +evil consequences are most felt, and it is always a positive and +appreciable fact which serves as the basis of a prosecution. + +I am inclined to believe this practice of the American +courts to be at once the most favorable to liberty as well as to +public order. If the judge could only attack the legislator +openly and directly, he would sometimes be afraid to oppose any +resistance to his will; and at other moments party spirit might +encourage him to brave it at every turn. The laws would +consequently be attacked when the power from which they emanate +is weak, and obeyed when it is strong. That is to say, when it +would be useful to respect them they would be contested, and when +it would be easy to convert them into an instrument of oppression +they would be respected. But the American judge is brought into +the political arena independently of his own will. He only +judges the law because he is obliged to judge a case. The +political question which he is called upon to resolve is +connected with the interest of the suitors, and he cannot refuse +to decide it without abdicating the duties of his post. He +performs his functions as a citizen by fulfilling the precise +duties which belong to his profession as a magistrate. It is +true that upon this system the judicial censorship which is +exercised by the courts of justice over the legislation cannot +extend to all laws indiscriminately, inasmuch as some of them can +never give rise to that exact species of contestation which is +termed a lawsuit; and even when such a contestation is possible, +it may happen that no one cares to bring it before a court of +justice. The Americans have often felt this disadvantage, but +they have left the remedy incomplete, lest they should give it an +efficacy which might in some cases prove dangerous. Within these +limits the power vested in the American courts of justice of +pronouncing a statute to be unconstitutional forms one of the +most powerful barriers which has ever been devised against the +tyranny of political assemblies. + +Other Powers Granted To American Judges + +The United States all the citizens have the right of indicting +public functionaries before the ordinary tribunals - How they use +this right - Art. 75 of the French Constitution of the An VIII - +The Americans and the English cannot understand the purport of +this clause. + +It is perfectly natural that in a free country like America +all the citizens should have the right of indicting public +functionaries before the ordinary tribunals, and that all the +judges should have the power of punishing public offences. The +right granted to the courts of justice of judging the agents of +the executive government, when they have violated the laws, is so +natural a one that it cannot be looked upon as an extraordinary +privilege. Nor do the springs of government appear to me to be +weakened in the United States by the custom which renders all +public officers responsible to the judges of the land. The +Americans seem, on the contrary, to have increased by this means +that respect which is due to the authorities, and at the same +time to have rendered those who are in power more scrupulous of +offending public opinion. I was struck by the small number of +political trials which occur in the United States, but I had no +difficulty in accounting for this circumstance. A lawsuit, of +whatever nature it may be, is always a difficult and expensive +undertaking. It is easy to attack a public man in a journal, but +the motives which can warrant an action at law must be serious. +A solid ground of complaint must therefore exist to induce an +individual to prosecute a public officer, and public officers are +careful not to furnish these grounds of complaint when they are +afraid of being prosecuted. + +This does not depend upon the republican form of American +institutions, for the same facts present themselves in England. +These two nations do not regard the impeachment of the principal +officers of State as a sufficient guarantee of their +independence. But they hold that the right of minor +prosecutions, which are within the reach of the whole community, +is a better pledge of freedom than those great judicial actions +which are rarely employed until it is too late. + +In the Middle Ages, when it was very difficult to overtake +offenders, the judges inflicted the most dreadful tortures on the +few who were arrested, which by no means diminished the number of +crimes. It has since been discovered that when justice is more +certain and more mild, it is at the same time more efficacious. +The English and the Americans hold that tyranny and oppression +are to be treated like any other crime, by lessening the penalty +and facilitating conviction. + +In the year VIII of the French Republic a constitution was +drawn up in which the following clause was introduced: "Art. 75. +All the agents of the government below the rank of ministers can +only be prosecuted for offences relating to their several +functions by virtue of a decree of the Conseil d'Etat; in which +the case the prosecution takes place before the ordinary +tribunals." This clause survived the "Constitution de l'An VIII," +and it is still maintained in spite of the just complaints of the +nation. I have always found the utmost difficulty in explaining +its meaning to Englishmen or Americans. They were at once led to +conclude that the Conseil d'Etat in France was a great tribunal, +established in the centre of the kingdom, which exercised a +preliminary and somewhat tyrannical jurisdiction in all political +causes. But when I told them that the Conseil d'Etat was not a +judicial body, in the common sense of the term, but an +administrative council composed of men dependent on the Crown, so +that the king, after having ordered one of his servants, called a +Prefect, to commit an injustice, has the power of commanding +another of his servants, called a Councillor of State, to prevent +the former from being punished; when I demonstrated to them that +the citizen who has been injured by the order of the sovereign is +obliged to solicit from the sovereign permission to obtain +redress, they refused to credit so flagrant an abuse, and were +tempted to accuse me of falsehood or of ignorance. It frequently +happened before the Revolution that a Parliament issued a warrant +against a public officer who had committed an offence, and +sometimes the proceedings were stopped by the authority of the +Crown, which enforced compliance with its absolute and despotic +will. It is painful to perceive how much lower we are sunk than +our forefathers, since we allow things to pass under the color of +justice and the sanction of the law which violence alone could +impose upon them. + + +Chapter VII: Political Jurisdiction In The United States + +Chapter Summary + +Definition of political jurisdiction - What is understood by +political jurisdiction in France, in England, and in the United +States - In America the political judge can only pass sentence on +public officers - He more frequently passes a sentence of removal +from office than a penalty - Political jurisdiction as it exists +in the United States is, notwithstanding its mildness, and +perhaps in consequence of that mildness, a most powerful +instrument in the hands of the majority. + +Political Jurisdiction In The United States + +I understand, by political jurisdiction, that temporary +right of pronouncing a legal decision with which a political body +may be invested. + +In absolute governments no utility can accrue from the +introduction of extraordinary forms of procedure; the prince in +whose name an offender is prosecuted is as much the sovereign of +the courts of justice as of everything else, and the idea which +is entertained of his power is of itself a sufficient security. +The only thing he has to fear is, that the external formalities +of justice should be neglected, and that his authority should be +dishonored from a wish to render it more absolute. But in most +free countries, in which the majority can never exercise the same +influence upon the tribunals as an absolute monarch, the judicial +power has occasionally been vested for a time in the +representatives of the nation. It has been thought better to +introduce a temporary confusion between the functions of the +different authorities than to violate the necessary principle of +the unity of government. + +England, France, and the United States have established this +political jurisdiction by law; and it is curious to examine the +different adaptations which these three great nations have made +of the principle. In England and in France the House of Lords +and the Chambre des Paris *a constitute the highest criminal +court of their respective nations, and although they do not +habitually try all political offences, they are competent to try +them all. Another political body enjoys the right of impeachment +before the House of Lords: the only difference which exists +between the two countries in this respect is, that in England the +Commons may impeach whomsoever they please before the Lords, +whilst in France the Deputies can only employ this mode of +prosecution against the ministers of the Crown. + +[Footnote a: [As it existed under the constitutional monarchy +down to 1848.]] + +In both countries the Upper House may make use of all the +existing penal laws of the nation to punish the delinquents. + +In the United States, as well as in Europe, one branch of +the legislature is authorized to impeach and another to judge: +the House of Representatives arraigns the offender, and the +Senate awards his sentence. But the Senate can only try such +persons as are brought before it by the House of Representatives, +and those persons must belong to the class of public +functionaries. Thus the jurisdiction of the Senate is less +extensive than that of the Peers of France, whilst the right of +impeachment by the Representatives is more general than that of +the Deputies. But the great difference which exists between +Europe and America is, that in Europe political tribunals are +empowered to inflict all the dispositions of the penal code, +while in America, when they have deprived the offender of his +official rank, and have declared him incapable of filling any +political office for the future, their jurisdiction terminates +and that of the ordinary tribunals begins. + +Suppose, for instance, that the President of the United +States has committed the crime of high treason; the House of +Representatives impeaches him, and the Senate degrades him; he +must then be tried by a jury, which alone can deprive him of his +liberty or his life. This accurately illustrates the subject we +are treating. The political jurisdiction which is established by +the laws of Europe is intended to try great offenders, whatever +may be their birth, their rank, or their powers in the State; and +to this end all the privileges of the courts of justice are +temporarily extended to a great political assembly. The +legislator is then transformed into the magistrate; he is called +upon to admit, to distinguish, and to punish the offence; and as +he exercises all the authority of a judge, the law restricts him +to the observance of all the duties of that high office, and of +all the formalities of justice. When a public functionary is +impeached before an English or a French political tribunal, and +is found guilty, the sentence deprives him ipso facto of his +functions, and it may pronounce him to be incapable of resuming +them or any others for the future. But in this case the +political interdict is a consequence of the sentence, and not the +sentence itself. In Europe the sentence of a political tribunal +is to be regarded as a judicial verdict rather than as an +administrative measure. In the United States the contrary takes +place; and although the decision of the Senate is judicial in its +form, since the Senators are obliged to comply with the practices +and formalities of a court of justice; although it is judicial in +respect to the motives on which it is founded, since the Senate +is in general obliged to take an offence at common law as the +basis of its sentence; nevertheless the object of the proceeding +is purely administrative. If it had been the intention of the +American legislator to invest a political body with great +judicial authority, its action would not have been limited to the +circle of public functionaries, since the most dangerous enemies +of the State may be in the possession of no functions at all; and +this is especially true in republics, where party influence is +the first of authorities, and where the strength of many a reader +is increased by his exercising no legal power. + +If it had been the intention of the American legislator to +give society the means of repressing State offences by exemplary +punishment, according to the practice of ordinary justice, the +resources of the penal code would all have been placed at the +disposal of the political tribunals. But the weapon with which +they are intrusted is an imperfect one, and it can never reach +the most dangerous offenders, since men who aim at the entire +subversion of the laws are not likely to murmur at a political +interdict. + +The main object of the political jurisdiction which obtains +in the United States is, therefore, to deprive the ill-disposed +citizen of an authority which he has used amiss, and to prevent +him from ever acquiring it again. This is evidently an +administrative measure sanctioned by the formalities of a +judicial decision. In this matter the Americans have created a +mixed system; they have surrounded the act which removes a public +functionary with the securities of a political trial; and they +have deprived all political condemnations of their severest +penalties. Every link of the system may easily be traced from +this point; we at once perceive why the American constitutions +subject all the civil functionaries to the jurisdiction of the +Senate, whilst the military, whose crimes are nevertheless more +formidable, are exempted from that tribunal. In the civil +service none of the American functionaries can be said to be +removable; the places which some of them occupy are inalienable, +and the others are chosen for a term which cannot be shortened. +It is therefore necessary to try them all in order to deprive +them of their authority. But military officers are dependent on +the chief magistrate of the State, who is himself a civil +functionary, and the decision which condemns him is a blow upon +them all. + +If we now compare the American and the European systems, we +shall meet with differences no less striking in the different +effects which each of them produces or may produce. In France +and in England the jurisdiction of political bodies is looked +upon as an extraordinary resource, which is only to be employed +in order to rescue society from unwonted dangers. It is not to +be denied that these tribunals, as they are constituted in +Europe, are apt to violate the conservative principle of the +balance of power in the State, and to threaten incessantly the +lives and liberties of the subject. The same political +jurisdiction in the United States is only indirectly hostile to +the balance of power; it cannot menace the lives of the citizens, +and it does not hover, as in Europe, over the heads of the +community, since those only who have submitted to its authority +on accepting office are exposed to the severity of its +investigations. It is at the same time less formidable and less +efficacious; indeed, it has not been considered by the +legislators of the United States as a remedy for the more violent +evils of society, but as an ordinary means of conducting the +government. In this respect it probably exercises more real +influence on the social body in America than in Europe. We must +not be misled by the apparent mildness of the American +legislation in all that relates to political jurisdiction. It is +to be observed, in the first place, that in the United States the +tribunal which passes sentence is composed of the same elements, +and subject to the same influences, as the body which impeaches +the offender, and that this uniformity gives an almost +irresistible impulse to the vindictive passions of parties. If +political judges in the United States cannot inflict such heavy +penalties as those of Europe, there is the less chance of their +acquitting a prisoner; and the conviction, if it is less +formidable, is more certain. The principal object of the +political tribunals of Europe is to punish the offender; the +purpose of those in America is to deprive him of his authority. +A political condemnation in the United States may, therefore, be +looked upon as a preventive measure; and there is no reason for +restricting the judges to the exact definitions of criminal law. +Nothing can be more alarming than the excessive latitude with +which political offences are described in the laws of America. +Article II., Section 4, of the Constitution of the United States +runs thus: - "The President, Vice-President, and all civil +officers of the United States shall be removed from office on +impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other +high crimes and misdemeanors." Many of the Constitutions of the +States are even less explicit. "Public officers," says the +Constitution of Massachusetts, *b "shall be impeached for +misconduct or maladministration;" the Constitution of Virginia +declares that all the civil officers who shall have offended +against the State, by maladministration, corruption, or other +high crimes, may be impeached by the House of Delegates; in some +constitutions no offences are specified, in order to subject the +public functionaries to an unlimited responsibility. *c But I +will venture to affirm that it is precisely their mildness which +renders the American laws most formidable in this respect. We +have shown that in Europe the removal of a functionary and his +political interdiction are the consequences of the penalty he is +to undergo, and that in America they constitute the penalty +itself. The consequence is that in Europe political tribunals +are invested with rights which they are afraid to use, and that +the fear of punishing too much hinders them from punishing at +all. But in America no one hesitates to inflict a penalty from +which humanity does not recoil. To condemn a political opponent +to death, in order to deprive him of his power, is to commit what +all the world would execrate as a horrible assassination; but to +declare that opponent unworthy to exercise that authority, to +deprive him of it, and to leave him uninjured in life and limb, +may be judged to be the fair issue of the struggle. But this +sentence, which it is so easy to pronounce, is not the less +fatally severe to the majority of those upon whom it is +inflicted. Great criminals may undoubtedly brave its intangible +rigor, but ordinary offenders will dread it as a condemnation +which destroys their position in the world, casts a blight upon +their honor, and condemns them to a shameful inactivity worse +than death. The influence exercised in the United States upon the +progress of society by the jurisdiction of political bodies may +not appear to be formidable, but it is only the more immense. It +does not directly coerce the subject, but it renders the majority +more absolute over those in power; it does not confer an +unbounded authority on the legislator which can be exerted at +some momentous crisis, but it establishes a temperate and regular +influence, which is at all times available. If the power is +decreased, it can, on the other hand, be more conveniently +employed and more easily abused. By preventing political +tribunals from inflicting judicial punishments the Americans seem +to have eluded the worst consequences of legislative tyranny, +rather than tyranny itself; and I am not sure that political +jurisdiction, as it is constituted in the United States, is not +the most formidable weapon which has ever been placed in the rude +grasp of a popular majority. When the American republics begin +to degenerate it will be easy to verify the truth of this +observation, by remarking whether the number of political +impeachments augments.*d + +[Footnote b: Chap. I. sect. ii. Section 8.] + +[Footnote c: See the constitutions of Illinois, Maine, +Connecticut, and Georgia.] + +[Footnote d: See Appendix, N. + +[The impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in 1868 - which +was resorted to by his political opponents solely as a means of +turning him out of office, for it could not be contended that he +had been guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, and he was in +fact honorably acquitted and reinstated in office - is a striking +confirmation of the truth of this remark. - Translator's Note, +1874.]] + + +Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution - Part I + +I have hitherto considered each State as a separate whole, +and I have explained the different springs which the people sets +in motion, and the different means of action which it employs. +But all the States which I have considered as independent are +forced to submit, in certain cases, to the supreme authority of +the Union. The time is now come for me to examine separately the +supremacy with which the Union has been invested, and to cast a +rapid glance over the Federal Constitution. + +Chapter Summary + +Origin of the first Union - Its weakness - Congress appeals to +the constituent authority - Interval of two years between this +appeal and the promulgation of the new Constitution. + +History Of The Federal Constitution + + +The thirteen colonies which simultaneously threw off the +yoke of England towards the end of the last century professed, as +I have already observed, the same religion, the same language, +the same customs, and almost the same laws; they were struggling +against a common enemy; and these reasons were sufficiently +strong to unite them one to another, and to consolidate them into +one nation. But as each of them had enjoyed a separate existence +and a government within its own control, the peculiar interests +and customs which resulted from this system were opposed to a +compact and intimate union which would have absorbed the +individual importance of each in the general importance of all. +Hence arose two opposite tendencies, the one prompting the +Anglo-Americans to unite, the other to divide their strength. As +long as the war with the mother-country lasted the principle of +union was kept alive by necessity; and although the laws which +constituted it were defective, the common tie subsisted in spite +of their imperfections. *a But no sooner was peace concluded than +the faults of the legislation became manifest, and the State +seemed to be suddenly dissolved. Each colony became an +independent republic, and assumed an absolute sovereignty. The +federal government, condemned to impotence by its constitution, +and no longer sustained by the presence of a common danger, +witnessed the outrages offered to its flag by the great nations +of Europe, whilst it was scarcely able to maintain its ground +against the Indian tribes, and to pay the interest of the debt +which had been contracted during the war of independence. It was +already on the verge of destruction, when it officially +proclaimed its inability to conduct the government, and appealed +to the constituent authority of the nation. *b If America ever +approached (for however brief a time) that lofty pinnacle of +glory to which the fancy of its inhabitants is wont to point, it +was at the solemn moment at which the power of the nation +abdicated, as it were, the empire of the land. All ages have +furnished the spectacle of a people struggling with energy to win +its independence; and the efforts of the Americans in throwing +off the English yoke have been considerably exaggerated. +Separated from their enemies by three thousand miles of ocean, +and backed by a powerful ally, the success of the United States +may be more justly attributed to their geographical position than +to the valor of their armies or the patriotism of their citizens. +It would be ridiculous to compare the American was to the wars of +the French Revolution, or the efforts of the Americans to those +of the French when they were attacked by the whole of Europe, +without credit and without allies, yet capable of opposing a +twentieth part of their population to the world, and of bearing +the torch of revolution beyond their frontiers whilst they +stifled its devouring flame within the bosom of their country. +But it is a novelty in the history of society to see a great +people turn a calm and scrutinizing eye upon itself, when +apprised by the legislature that the wheels of government are +stopped; to see it carefully examine the extent of the evil, and +patiently wait for two whole years until a remedy was discovered, +which it voluntarily adopted without having wrung a tear or a +drop of blood from mankind. At the time when the inadequacy of +the first constitution was discovered America possessed the +double advantage of that calm which had succeeded the +effervescence of the revolution, and of those great men who had +led the revolution to a successful issue. The assembly which +accepted the task of composing the second constitution was small; +*c but George Washington was its President, and it contained the +choicest talents and the noblest hearts which had ever appeared +in the New World. This national commission, after long and +mature deliberation, offered to the acceptance of the people the +body of general laws which still rules the Union. All the States +adopted it successively. *d The new Federal Government commenced +its functions in 1789, after an interregnum of two years. The +Revolution of America terminated when that of France began. + +[Footnote a: See the articles of the first confederation formed +in 1778. This constitution was not adopted by all the States +until 1781. See also the analysis given of this constitution in +"The Federalist" from No. 15 to No. 22, inclusive, and Story's +"Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States," pp. +85-115.] + +[Footnote b: Congress made this declaration on February 21, +1787.] + +[Footnote c: It consisted of fifty-five members; Washington, +Madison, Hamilton, and the two Morrises were amongst the number.] + +[Footnote d: It was not adopted by the legislative bodies, but +representatives were elected by the people for this sole purpose; +and the new constitution was discussed at length in each of these +assemblies.] + +Summary Of The Federal Constitution + +Division of authority between the Federal Government and the +States - The Government of the States is the rule, the Federal +Government the exception. + +The first question which awaited the Americans was +intricate, and by no means easy of solution: the object was so to +divide the authority of the different States which composed the +Union that each of them should continue to govern itself in all +that concerned its internal prosperity, whilst the entire nation, +represented by the Union, should continue to form a compact body, +and to provide for the general exigencies of the people. It was +as impossible to determine beforehand, with any degree of +accuracy, the share of authority which each of two governments +was to enjoy, as to foresee all the incidents in the existence of +a nation. + +The obligations and the claims of the Federal Government +were simple and easily definable, because the Union had been +formed with the express purpose of meeting the general exigencies +of the people; but the claims and obligations of the States were, +on the other hand, complicated and various, because those +Governments had penetrated into all the details of social life. +The attributes of the Federal Government were therefore carefully +enumerated and all that was not included amongst them was +declared to constitute a part of the privileges of the several +Governments of the States. Thus the government of the States +remained the rule, and that of the Confederation became the +exception. *e + +[Footnote e: See the Amendment to the Federal Constitution; +"Federalist," No. 32; Story, p. 711; Kent's "Commentaries," vol. +i. p. 364. + +It is to be observed that whenever the exclusive right of +regulating certain matters is not reserved to Congress by the +Constitution, the States may take up the affair until it is +brought before the National Assembly. For instance, Congress has +the right of making a general law on bankruptcy, which, however, +it neglects to do. Each State is then at liberty to make a law +for itself. This point has been established by discussion in the +law-courts, and may be said to belong more properly to +jurisprudence.] + +But as it was foreseen that, in practice, questions might +arise as to the exact limits of this exceptional authority, and +that it would be dangerous to submit these questions to the +decision of the ordinary courts of justice, established in the +States by the States themselves, a high Federal court was +created, *f which was destined, amongst other functions, to +maintain the balance of power which had been established by the +Constitution between the two rival Governments. *g + +[Footnote f: The action of this court is indirect, as we shall +hereafter show.] + +[Footnote g: It is thus that "The Federalist," No. 45, explains +the division of supremacy between the Union and the States: "The +powers delegated by the Constitution to the Federal Government +are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State +Governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be +exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, +negotiation, and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the +several States will extend to all the objects which, in the +ordinary course of affairs, concern the internal order and +prosperity of the State." I shall often have occasion to quote +"The Federalist" in this work. When the bill which has since +become the Constitution of the United States was submitted to the +approval of the people, and the discussions were still pending, +three men, who had already acquired a portion of that celebrity +which they have since enjoyed - John Jay, Hamilton, and Madison - +formed an association with the intention of explaining to the +nation the advantages of the measure which was proposed. With +this view they published a series of articles in the shape of a +journal, which now form a complete treatise. They entitled their +journal "The Federalist," a name which has been retained in the +work. "The Federalist" is an excellent book, which ought to be +familiar to the statesmen of all countries, although it +especially concerns America.] + +Prerogative Of The Federal Government + +Power of declaring war, making peace, and levying general taxes +vested in the Federal Government - What part of the internal +policy of the country it may direct - The Government of the Union +in some respects more central than the King's Government in the +old French monarchy. + +The external relations of a people may be compared to those +of private individuals, and they cannot be advantageously +maintained without the agency of a single head of a Government. +The exclusive right of making peace and war, of concluding +treaties of commerce, of raising armies, and equipping fleets, +was granted to the Union. *h The necessity of a national +Government was less imperiously felt in the conduct of the +internal policy of society; but there are certain general +interests which can only be attended to with advantage by a +general authority. The Union was invested with the power of +controlling the monetary system, of directing the post office, +and of opening the great roads which were to establish a +communication between the different parts of the country. *i The +independence of the Government of each State was formally +recognized in its sphere; nevertheless, the Federal Government +was authorized to interfere in the internal affairs of the States +*j in a few predetermined cases, in which an indiscreet abuse of +their independence might compromise the security of the Union at +large. Thus, whilst the power of modifying and changing their +legislation at pleasure was preserved in all the republics, they +were forbidden to enact ex post facto laws, or to create a class +of nobles in their community. *k Lastly, as it was necessary that +the Federal Government should be able to fulfil its engagements, +it was endowed with an unlimited power of levying taxes. *l + +[Footnote h: See Constitution, sect. 8; "Federalist," Nos. 41 and +42; Kent's "Commentaries," vol. i. p. 207; Story, pp. 358-382; +Ibid. pp. 409-426.] + +[Footnote i: Several other privileges of the same kind exist, +such as that which empowers the Union to legislate on bankruptcy, +to grant patents, and other matters in which its intervention is +clearly necessary.] + +[Footnote j: Even in these cases its interference is indirect. +The Union interferes by means of the tribunals, as will be +hereafter shown.] + +[Footnote k: Federal Constitution, sect. 10, art. I.] + +[Footnote l: Constitution, sects. 8, 9, and 10; "Federalist," +Nos. 30-36, inclusive, and 41-44; Kent's "Commentaries," vol. i. +pp. 207 and 381; Story, pp. 329 and 514.] + +In examining the balance of power as established by the +Federal Constitution; in remarking on the one hand the portion of +sovereignty which has been reserved to the several States, and on +the other the share of power which the Union has assumed, it is +evident that the Federal legislators entertained the clearest and +most accurate notions on the nature of the centralization of +government. The United States form not only a republic, but a +confederation; nevertheless the authority of the nation is more +central than it was in several of the monarchies of Europe when +the American Constitution was formed. Take, for instance, the +two following examples. + +Thirteen supreme courts of justice existed in France, which, +generally speaking, had the right of interpreting the law without +appeal; and those provinces which were styled pays d'etats were +authorized to refuse their assent to an impost which had been +levied by the sovereign who represented the nation. In the Union +there is but one tribunal to interpret, as there is one +legislature to make the laws; and an impost voted by the +representatives of the nation is binding upon all the citizens. +In these two essential points, therefore, the Union exercises +more central authority than the French monarchy possessed, +although the Union is only an assemblage of confederate +republics. + +In Spain certain provinces had the right of establishing a +system of custom-house duties peculiar to themselves, although +that privilege belongs, by its very nature, to the national +sovereignty. In America the Congress alone has the right of +regulating the commercial relations of the States. The government +of the Confederation is therefore more centralized in this +respect than the kingdom of Spain. It is true that the power of +the Crown in France or in Spain was always able to obtain by +force whatever the Constitution of the country denied, and that +the ultimate result was consequently the same; but I am here +discussing the theory of the Constitution. + +Federal Powers + +After having settled the limits within which the Federal +Government was to act, the next point was to determine the powers +which it was to exert. + +Legislative Powers *m + +[Footnote m: [In this chapter the author points out the essence +of the conflict between the seceding States and the Union which +caused the Civil War of 1861.]] + +Division of the Legislative Body into two branches - Difference +in the manner of forming the two Houses - The principle of the +independence of the States predominates in the formation of the +Senate - The principle of the sovereignty of the nation in the +composition of the House of Representatives - Singular effects of +the fact that a Constitution can only be logical in the early +stages of a nation. + +The plan which had been laid down beforehand for the +Constitutions of the several States was followed, in many points, +in the organization of the powers of the Union. The Federal +legislature of the Union was composed of a Senate and a House of +Representatives. A spirit of conciliation prescribed the +observance of distinct principles in the formation of these two +assemblies. I have already shown that two contrary interests +were opposed to each other in the establishment of the Federal +Constitution. These two interests had given rise to two +opinions. It was the wish of one party to convert the Union into +a league of independent States, or a sort of congress, at which +the representatives of the several peoples would meet to discuss +certain points of their common interests. The other party +desired to unite the inhabitants of the American colonies into +one sole nation, and to establish a Government which should act +as the sole representative of the nation, as far as the limited +sphere of its authority would permit. The practical consequences +of these two theories were exceedingly different. + +The question was, whether a league was to be established +instead of a national Government; whether the majority of the +State, instead of the majority of the inhabitants of the Union, +was to give the law: for every State, the small as well as the +great, would then remain in the full enjoyment of its +independence, and enter the Union upon a footing of perfect +equality. If, however, the inhabitants of the United States were +to be considered as belonging to one and the same nation, it +would be just that the majority of the citizens of the Union +should prescribe the law. Of course the lesser States could not +subscribe to the application of this doctrine without, in fact, +abdicating their existence in relation to the sovereignty of the +Confederation; since they would have passed from the condition of +a co-equal and co-legislative authority to that of an +insignificant fraction of a great people. But if the former +system would have invested them with an excessive authority, the +latter would have annulled their influence altogether. Under +these circumstances the result was, that the strict rules of +logic were evaded, as is usually the case when interests are +opposed to arguments. A middle course was hit upon by the +legislators, which brought together by force two systems +theoretically irreconcilable. + +The principle of the independence of the States prevailed in +the formation of the Senate, and that of the sovereignty of the +nation predominated in the composition of the House of +Representatives. It was decided that each State should send two +senators to Congress, and a number of representatives +proportioned to its population. *n It results from this +arrangement that the State of New York has at the present day +forty representatives and only two senators; the State of +Delaware has two senators and only one representative; the State +of Delaware is therefore equal to the State of New York in the +Senate, whilst the latter has forty times the influence of the +former in the House of Representatives. Thus, if the minority of +the nation preponderates in the Senate,. it may paralyze the +decisions of the majority represented in the other House, which +is contrary to the spirit of constitutional +government. + +[Footnote n: Every ten years Congress fixes anew the number of +representatives which each State is to furnish. The total number +was 69 in 1789, and 240 in 1833. (See "American Almanac," 1834, +p. 194.) The Constitution decided that there should not be more +than one representative for every 30,000 persons; but no minimum +was fixed on. The Congress has not thought fit to augment the +number of representatives in proportion to the increase of +population. The first Act which was passed on the subject (April +14, 1792: see "Laws of the United States," by Story, vol. i. p. +235) decided that there should be one representative for every +33,000 inhabitants. The last Act, which was passed in 1832, +fixes the proportion at one for 48,000. The population +represented is composed of all the free men and of three-fifths +of the slaves. + +[The last Act of apportionment, passed February 2, 1872, +fixes the representation at one to 134,684 inhabitants. There +are now (1875) 283 members of the lower House of Congress, and 9 +for the States at large, making in all 292 members. The old +States have of course lost the representatives which the new +States have gained. - Translator's Note.]] + +These facts show how rare and how difficult it is rationally +and logically to combine all the several parts of legislation. +In the course of time different interests arise, and different +principles are sanctioned by the same people; and when a general +constitution is to be established, these interests and principles +are so many natural obstacles to the rigorous application of any +political system, with all its consequences. The early stages of +national existence are the only periods at which it is possible +to maintain the complete logic of legislation; and when we +perceive a nation in the enjoyment of this advantage, before we +hasten to conclude that it is wise, we should do well to remember +that it is young. When the Federal Constitution was formed, the +interests of independence for the separate States, and the +interest of union for the whole people, were the only two +conflicting interests which existed amongst the Anglo-Americans, +and a compromise was necessarily made between them. + +It is, however, just to acknowledge that this part of the +Constitution has not hitherto produced those evils which might +have been feared. All the States are young and contiguous; their +customs, their ideas, and their exigencies are not dissimilar; +and the differences which result from their size or inferiority +do not suffice to set their interests at variance. The small +States have consequently never been induced to league themselves +together in the Senate to oppose the designs of the larger ones; +and indeed there is so irresistible an authority in the +legitimate expression of the will of a people that the Senate +could offer but a feeble opposition to the vote of the majority +of the House of +Representatives. + +It must not be forgotten, on the other hand, that it was not +in the power of the American legislators to reduce to a single +nation the people for whom they were making laws. The object of +the Federal Constitution was not to destroy the independence of +the States, but to restrain it. By acknowledging the real +authority of these secondary communities (and it was impossible +to deprive them of it), they disavowed beforehand the habitual +use of constraint in enforcing g the decisions of the majority. +Upon this principle the introduction of the influence of the +States into the mechanism of the Federal Government was by no +means to be wondered at, since it only attested the existence of +an acknowledged power, which was to be humored and not forcibly +checked. + +A Further Difference Between The Senate And The House Of +Representatives + +The Senate named by the provincial legislators, the +Representatives by the people - Double election of the former; +single election of the latter - Term of the different offices - +Peculiar functions of each House. + +The Senate not only differs from the other House in the +principle which it represents, but also in the mode of its +election, in the term for which it is chosen, and in the nature +of its functions. The House of Representatives is named by the +people, the Senate by the legislators of each State; the former +is directly elected, the latter is elected by an elected body; +the term for which the representatives are chosen is only two +years, that of the senators is six. The functions of the House +of Representatives are purely legislative, and the only share it +takes in the judicial power is in the impeachment of public +officers. The Senate co-operates in the work of legislation, and +tries those political offences which the House of Representatives +submits to its decision. It also acts as the great executive +council of the nation; the treaties which are concluded by the +President must be ratified by the Senate, and the appointments he +may make must be definitely approved by the same body. *o + +[Footnote o: See "The Federalist," Nos. 52-56, inclusive; Story, +pp. 199-314; Constitution of the United States, sects. 2 and 3.] +The Executive Power *p + +[Footnote p: See "The Federalist," Nos. 67-77; Constitution of +the United States, art. 2; Story, p. 315, pp. 615-780; Kent's +"Commentaries," p. 255.] + +Dependence of the President - He is elective and responsible - He +is free to act in his own sphere under the inspection, but not +under the direction, of the Senate - His salary fixed at his +entry into office - Suspensive veto. + +The American legislators undertook a difficult task in +attempting to create an executive power dependent on the majority +of the people, and nevertheless sufficiently strong to act +without restraint in its own sphere. It was indispensable to the +maintenance of the republican form of government that the +representative of the executive power should be subject to the +will of the nation. + +The President is an elective magistrate. His honor, his +property, his liberty, and his life are the securities which the +people has for the temperate use of his power. But in the +exercise of his authority he cannot be said to be perfectly +independent; the Senate takes cognizance of his relations with +foreign powers, and of the distribution of public appointments, +so that he can neither be bribed nor can he employ the means of +corruption. The legislators of the Union acknowledged that the +executive power would be incompetent to fulfil its task with +dignity and utility, unless it enjoyed a greater degree of +stability and of strength than had been granted to it in the +separate States. + +The President is chosen for four years, and he may be +reelected; so that the chances of a prolonged administration may +inspire him with hopeful undertakings for the public good, and +with the means of carrying them into execution. The President +was made the sole representative of the executive power of the +Union, and care was taken not to render his decisions subordinate +to the vote of a council - a dangerous measure, which tends at +the same time to clog the action of the Government and to +diminish its responsibility. The Senate has the right of +annulling g certain acts of the President; but it cannot compel +him to take any steps, nor does it participate in the exercise of +the executive power. + +The action of the legislature on the executive power may be +direct; and we have just shown that the Americans carefully +obviated this influence; but it may, on the other hand, be +indirect. Public assemblies which have the power of depriving an +officer of state of his salary encroach upon his independence; +and as they are free to make the laws, it is to be feared lest +they should gradually appropriate to themselves a portion of that +authority which the Constitution had vested in his hands. This +dependence of the executive power is one of the defects inherent +in republican constitutions. The Americans have not been able to +counteract the tendency which legislative assemblies have to get +possession of the government, but they have rendered this +propensity less irresistible. The salary of the President is +fixed, at the time of his entering upon office, for the whole +period of his magistracy. The President is, moreover, provided +with a suspensive veto, which allows him to oppose the passing of +such laws as might destroy the portion of independence which the +Constitution awards him. The struggle between the President and +the legislature must always be an unequal one, since the latter +is certain of bearing down all resistance by persevering in its +plans; but the suspensive veto forces it at least to reconsider +the matter, and, if the motion be persisted in, it must then be +backed by a majority of two-thirds of the whole house. The veto +is, in fact, a sort of appeal to the people. The executive power, +which, without this security, might have been secretly oppressed, +adopts this means of pleading its cause and stating its motives. +But if the legislature is certain of overpowering all resistance +by persevering in its plans, I reply, that in the constitutions +of all nations, of whatever kind they may be, a certain point +exists at which the legislator is obliged to have recourse to the +good sense and the virtue of his fellow-citizens. This point is +more prominent and more discoverable in republics, whilst it is +more remote and more carefully concealed in monarchies, but it +always exists somewhere. There is no country in the world in +which everything can be provided for by the laws, or in which +political institutions can prove a substitute for common sense +and public morality. + +Differences Between The Position Of The President Of The United +States And That Of A Constitutional King Of France + +Executive power in the Northern States as limited and as partial +as the supremacy which it represents - Executive power in France +as universal as the supremacy it represents - The King a branch +of the legislature - The President the mere executor of the law - +Other differences resulting from the duration of the two powers - +The President checked in the exercise of the executive authority +- The King independent in its exercise - Notwithstanding these +discrepancies France is more akin to a republic than the Union to +a monarchy -Comparison of the number of public officers depending +upon the executive power in the two countries. + +The executive power has so important an influence on the +destinies of nations that I am inclined to pause for an instant +at this portion of my subject, in order more clearly to explain +the part it sustains in America. In order to form an accurate +idea of the position of the President of the United States, it +may not be irrelevant to compare it to that of one of the +constitutional kings of Europe. In this comparison I shall pay +but little attention to the external signs of power, which are +more apt to deceive the eye of the observer than to guide his +researches. When a monarchy is being gradually transformed into a +republic, the executive power retains the titles, the honors, the +etiquette, and even the funds of royalty long after its authority +has disappeared. The English, after having cut off the head of +one king and expelled another from his throne, were accustomed to +accost the successor of those princes upon their knees. On the +other hand, when a republic falls under the sway of a single +individual, the demeanor of the sovereign is simple and +unpretending, as if his authority was not yet paramount. When +the emperors exercised an unlimited control over the fortunes and +the lives of their fellow-citizens, it was customary to call them +Caesar in conversation, and they were in the habit of supping +without formality at their friends' houses. It is therefore +necessary to look below the surface. + +The sovereignty of the United States is shared between the +Union and the States, whilst in France it is undivided and +compact: hence arises the first and the most notable difference +which exists between the President of the United States and the +King of France. In the United States the executive power is as +limited and partial as the sovereignty of the Union in whose name +it acts; in France it is as universal as the authority of the +State. The Americans have a federal and the French a national +Government. + + +Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution - Part II + +This cause of inferiority results from the nature of things, +but it is not the only one; the second in importance is as +follows: Sovereignty may be defined to be the right of making +laws: in France, the King really exercises a portion of the +sovereign power, since the laws have no weight till he has given +his assent to them; he is, moreover, the executor of all they +ordain. The President is also the executor of the laws, but he +does not really co-operate in their formation, since the refusal +of his assent does not annul them. He is therefore merely to be +considered as the agent of the sovereign power. But not only +does the King of France exercise a portion of the sovereign +power, he also contributes to the nomination of the legislature, +which exercises the other portion. He has the privilege of +appointing the members of one chamber, and of dissolving the +other at his pleasure; whereas the President of the United States +has no share in the formation of the legislative body, and cannot +dissolve any part of it. The King has the same right of bringing +forward measures as the Chambers; a right which the President +does not possess. The King is represented in each assembly by +his ministers, who explain his intentions, support his opinions, +and maintain the principles of the Government. The President and +his ministers are alike excluded from Congress; so that his +influence and his opinions can only penetrate indirectly into +that great body. The King of France is therefore on an equal +footing with the legislature, which can no more act without him +than he can without it. The President exercises an authority +inferior to, and depending upon, that of the legislature. + +Even in the exercise of the executive power, properly so +called - the point upon which his position seems to be most +analogous to that of the King of France - the President labors +under several causes of inferiority. The authority of the King, +in France, has, in the first place, the advantage of duration +over that of the President, and durability is one of the chief +elements of strength; nothing is either loved or feared but what +is likely to endure. The President of the United States is a +magistrate elected for four years; the King, in France, is an +hereditary sovereign. In the exercise of the executive power the +President of the United States is constantly subject to a jealous +scrutiny. He may make, but he cannot conclude, a treaty; he may +designate, but he cannot appoint, a public officer. *q The King +of France is absolute within the limits of his authority. The +President of the United States is responsible for his actions; +but the person of the King is declared inviolable by the French +Charter. *r + +[Footnote q: The Constitution had left it doubtful whether the +President was obliged to consult the Senate in the removal as +well as in the appointment of Federal officers. "The Federalist" +(No. 77) seemed to establish the affirmative; but in 1789 +Congress formally decided that, as the President was responsible +for his actions, he ought not to be forced to employ agents who +had forfeited his esteem. See Kent's "Commentaries, vol. i. p. +289.] + +[Footnote r: [This comparison applied to the Constitutional King +of France and to the powers he held under the Charter of 1830, +till the overthrow of the monarchy in 1848. - Translator's +Note.]] + +Nevertheless, the supremacy of public opinion is no less +above the head of the one than of the other. This power is less +definite, less evident, and less sanctioned by the laws in France +than in America, but in fact it exists. In America, it acts by +elections and decrees; in France it proceeds by revolutions; but +notwithstanding the different constitutions of these two +countries, public opinion is the predominant authority in both of +them. The fundamental principle of legislation - a principle +essentially republican - is the same in both countries, although +its consequences may be different, and its results more or less +extensive. Whence I am led to conclude that France with its King +is nearer akin to a republic than the Union with its President is +to a monarchy. + +In what I have been saying I have only touched upon the main +points of distinction; and if I could have entered into details, +the contrast would have been rendered still more striking. +I have remarked that the authority of the President in the +United States is only exercised within the limits of a partial +sovereignty, whilst that of the King in France is undivided. I +might have gone on to show that the power of the King's +government in France exceeds its natural limits, however +extensive they may be, and penetrates in a thousand different +ways into the administration of private interests. Amongst the +examples of this influence may be quoted that which results from +the great number of public functionaries, who all derive their +appointments from the Government. This number now exceeds all +previous limits; it amounts to 138,000 *s nominations, each of +which may be considered as an element of power. The President of +the United States has not the exclusive right of making any +public appointments, and their whole number scarcely exceeds +12,000. *t + +[Footnote s: The sums annually paid by the State to these +officers amount to 200,000,000 fr. ($40,000,000).] + +[Footnote t: This number is extracted from the "National +Calendar" for 1833. The "National Calendar" is an American +almanac which contains the names of all the Federal officers. It +results from this comparison that the King of France has eleven +times as many places at his disposal as the President, although +the population of France is not much more than double that of the +Union. + +[I have not the means of ascertaining the number of +appointments now at the disposal of the President of the United +States, but his patronage and the abuse of it have largely +increased since 1833. - Translator's Note, 1875.]] + +Accidental Causes Which May Increase The Influence Of The +Executive Government + +External security of the Union - Army of six thousand men - Few +ships - The President has no opportunity of exercising his great +prerogatives - In the prerogatives he exercises he is weak. + +If the executive government is feebler in America than in +France, the cause is more attributable to the circumstances than +to the laws of the country. + +It is chiefly in its foreign relations that the executive +power of a nation is called upon to exert its skill and its +vigor. If the existence of the Union were perpetually +threatened, and if its chief interests were in daily connection +with those of other powerful nations, the executive government +would assume an increased importance in proportion to the +measures expected of it, and those which it would carry into +effect. The President of the United States is the +commander-in-chief of the army, but of an army composed of only +six thousand men; he commands the fleet, but the fleet reckons +but few sail; he conducts the foreign relations of the Union, but +the United States are a nation without neighbors. Separated from +the rest of the world by the ocean, and too weak as yet to aim at +the dominion of the seas, they have no enemies, and their +interests rarely come into contact with those of any other nation +of the globe. + +The practical part of a Government must not be judged by the +theory of its constitution. The President of the United States +is in the possession of almost royal prerogatives, which he has +no opportunity of exercising; and those privileges which he can +at present use are very circumscribed. The laws allow him to +possess a degree of influence which circumstances do not permit +him to employ. + +On the other hand, the great strength of the royal +prerogative in France arises from circumstances far more than +from the laws. There the executive government is constantly +struggling against prodigious obstacles, and exerting all its +energies to repress them; so that it increases by the extent of +its achievements, and by the importance of the events it +controls, without modifying its constitution. If the laws had +made it as feeble and as circumscribed as it is in the Union, its +influence would very soon become still more preponderant. + +Why The President Of The United States Does Not Require The +Majority Of The Two Houses In Order To Carry On The Government +It is an established axiom in Europe that a constitutional +King cannot persevere in a system of government which is opposed +by the two other branches of the legislature. But several +Presidents of the United States have been known to lose the +majority in the legislative body without being obliged to abandon +the supreme power, and without inflicting a serious evil upon +society. I have heard this fact quoted as an instance of the +independence and the power of the executive government in +America: a moment's reflection will convince us, on the contrary, +that it is a proof of its extreme weakness. + +A King in Europe requires the support of the legislature to +enable him to perform the duties imposed upon him by the +Constitution, because those duties are enormous. A +constitutional King in Europe is not merely the executor of the +law, but the execution of its provisions devolves so completely +upon him that he has the power of paralyzing its influence if it +opposes his designs. He requires the assistance of the +legislative assemblies to make the law, but those assemblies +stand in need of his aid to execute it: these two authorities +cannot subsist without each other, and the mechanism of +government is stopped as soon as they are at variance. + +In America the President cannot prevent any law from being +passed, nor can he evade the obligation of enforcing it. His +sincere and zealous co-operation is no doubt useful, but it is +not indispensable, in the carrying on of public affairs. All his +important acts are directly or indirectly submitted to the +legislature, and of his own free authority he can do but little. +It is therefore his weakness, and not his power, which enables +him to remain in opposition to Congress. In Europe, harmony must +reign between the Crown and the other branches of the +legislature, because a collision between them may prove serious; +in America, this harmony is not indispensable, because such a +collision is impossible. + +Election Of The President + + +Dangers of the elective system increase in proportion to the +extent of the prerogative - This system possible in America +because no powerful executive authority is required - What +circumstances are favorable to the elective system - Why the +election of the President does not cause a deviation from the +principles of the Government - Influence of the election of the +President on secondary functionaries. + +The dangers of the system of election applied to the head of +the executive government of a great people have been sufficiently +exemplified by experience and by history, and the remarks I am +about to make refer to America alone. These dangers may be more +or less formidable in proportion to the place which the executive +power occupies, and to the importance it possesses in the State; +and they may vary according to the mode of election and the +circumstances in which the electors are placed. The most weighty +argument against the election of a chief magistrate is, that it +offers so splendid a lure to private ambition, and is so apt to +inflame men in the pursuit of power, that when legitimate means +are wanting force may not unfrequently seize what right denied. + +It is clear that the greater the privileges of the executive +authority are, the greater is the temptation; the more the +ambition of the candidates is excited, the more warmly are their +interests espoused by a throng of partisans who hope to share the +power when their patron has won the prize. The dangers of the +elective system increase, therefore, in the exact ratio of the +influence exercised by the executive power in the affairs of +State. The revolutions of Poland were not solely attributable to +the elective system in general, but to the fact that the elected +monarch was the sovereign of a powerful kingdom. Before we can +discuss the absolute advantages of the elective system we must +make preliminary inquiries as to whether the geographical +position, the laws, the habits, the manners, and the opinions of +the people amongst whom it is to be introduced will admit of the +establishment of a weak and dependent executive government; for +to attempt to render the representative of the State a powerful +sovereign, and at the same time elective, is, in my opinion, to +entertain two incompatible designs. To reduce hereditary royalty +to the condition of an elective authority, the only means that I +am acquainted with are to circumscribe its sphere of action +beforehand, gradually to diminish its prerogatives, and to +accustom the people to live without its protection. Nothing, +however, is further from the designs of the republicans of Europe +than this course: as many of them owe their hatred of tyranny to +the sufferings which they have personally undergone, it is +oppression, and not the extent of the executive power, which +excites their hostility, and they attack the former without +perceiving how nearly it is connected with the latter. + +Hitherto no citizen has shown any disposition to expose his +honor and his life in order to become the President of the United +States; because the power of that office is temporary, limited, +and subordinate. The prize of fortune must be great to encourage +adventurers in so desperate a game. No candidate has as yet been +able to arouse the dangerous enthusiasm or the passionate +sympathies of the people in his favor, for the very simple reason +that when he is at the head of the Government he has but little +power, but little wealth, and but little glory to share amongst +his friends; and his influence in the State is too small for the +success or the ruin of a faction to depend upon the elevation of +an individual to power. + +The great advantage of hereditary monarchies is, that as the +private interest of a family is always intimately connected with +the interests of the State, the executive government is never +suspended for a single instant; and if the affairs of a monarchy +are not better conducted than those of a republic, at least there +is always some one to conduct them, well or ill, according to his +capacity. In elective States, on the contrary, the wheels of +government cease to act, as it were, of their own accord at the +approach of an election, and even for some time previous to that +event. The laws may indeed accelerate the operation of the +election, which may be conducted with such simplicity and +rapidity that the seat of power will never be left vacant; but, +notwithstanding these precautions, a break necessarily occurs in +the minds of the people. + +At the approach of an election the head of the executive +government is wholly occupied by the coming struggle; his future +plans are doubtful; he can undertake nothing new, and the he will +only prosecute with indifference those designs which another will +perhaps terminate. "I am so near the time of my retirement from +office," said President Jefferson on the 21st of January, 1809 +(six weeks before the election), "that I feel no passion, I take +no part, I express no sentiment. It appears to me just to leave +to my successor the commencement of those measures which he will +have to prosecute, and for which he will be responsible." + +On the other hand, the eyes of the nation are centred on a +single point; all are watching the gradual birth of so important +an event. The wider the influence of the executive power +extends, the greater and the more necessary is its constant +action, the more fatal is the term of suspense; and a nation +which is accustomed to the government, or, still more, one used +to the administrative protection of a powerful executive +authority would be infallibly convulsed by an election of this +kind. In the United States the action of the Government may be +slackened with impunity, because it is always weak and +circumscribed. *u + +[Footnote u: [This, however, may be a great danger. The period +during which Mr. Buchanan retained office, after the election of +Mr. Lincoln, from November, 1860, to March, 1861, was that which +enabled the seceding States of the South to complete their +preparations for the Civil War, and the Executive Government was +paralyzed. No greater evil could befall a nation. -Translator's +Note.]] + +One of the principal vices of the elective system is that it +always introduces a certain degree of instability into the +internal and external policy of the State. But this disadvantage +is less sensibly felt if the share of power vested in the elected +magistrate is small. In Rome the principles of the Government +underwent no variation, although the Consuls were changed every +year, because the Senate, which was an hereditary assembly, +possessed the directing authority. If the elective system were +adopted in Europe, the condition of most of the monarchical +States would be changed at every new election. In America the +President exercises a certain influence on State affairs, but he +does not conduct them; the preponderating power is vested in the +representatives of the whole nation. The political maxims of the +country depend therefore on the mass of the people, not on the +President alone; and consequently in America the elective system +has no very prejudicial influence on the fixed principles of the +Government. But the want of fixed principles is an evil so +inherent in the elective system that it is still extremely +perceptible in the narrow sphere to which the authority of the +President extends. + +The Americans have admitted that the head of the executive +power, who has to bear the whole responsibility of the duties he +is called upon to fulfil, ought to be empowered to choose his own +agents, and to remove them at pleasure: the legislative bodies +watch the conduct of the President more than they direct it. The +consequence of this arrangement is, that at every new election +the fate of all the Federal public officers is in suspense. Mr. +Quincy Adams, on his entry into office, discharged the majority +of the individuals who had been appointed by his predecessor: and +I am not aware that General Jackson allowed a single removable +functionary employed in the Federal service to retain his place +beyond the first year which succeeded his election. It is +sometimes made a subject of complaint that in the constitutional +monarchies of Europe the fate of the humbler servants of an +Administration depends upon that of the Ministers. But in +elective Governments this evil is far greater. In a +constitutional monarchy successive ministries are rapidly formed; +but as the principal representative of the executive power does +not change, the spirit of innovation is kept within bounds; the +changes which take place are in the details rather than in the +principles of the administrative system; but to substitute one +system for another, as is done in America every four years, by +law, is to cause a sort of revolution. As to the misfortunes +which may fall upon individuals in consequence of this state of +things, it must be allowed that the uncertain situation of the +public officers is less fraught with evil consequences in America +than elsewhere. It is so easy to acquire an independent position +in the United States that the public officer who loses his place +may be deprived of the comforts of life, but not of the means of +subsistence. + +I remarked at the beginning of this chapter that the dangers +of the elective system applied to the head of the State are +augmented or decreased by the peculiar circumstances of the +people which adopts it. However the functions of the executive +power may be restricted, it must always exercise a great +influence upon the foreign policy of the country, for a +negotiation cannot be opened or successfully carried on otherwise +than by a single agent. The more precarious and the more perilous +the position of a people becomes, the more absolute is the want +of a fixed and consistent external policy, and the more dangerous +does the elective system of the Chief Magistrate become. The +policy of the Americans in relation to the whole world is +exceedingly simple; for it may almost be said that no country +stands in need of them, nor do they require the co-operation of +any other people. Their independence is never threatened. In +their present condition, therefore, the functions of the +executive power are no less limited by circumstances than by the +laws; and the President may frequently change his line of policy +without involving the State in difficulty or destruction. + +Whatever the prerogatives of the executive power may be, the +period which immediately precedes an election and the moment of +its duration must always be considered as a national crisis, +which is perilous in proportion to the internal embarrassments +and the external dangers of the country. Few of the nations of +Europe could escape the calamities of anarchy or of conquest +every time they might have to elect a new sovereign. In America +society is so constituted that it can stand without assistance +upon its own basis; nothing is to be feared from the pressure of +external dangers, and the election of the President is a cause of +agitation, but not of ruin. + +Mode Of Election + +Skill of the American legislators shown in the mode of election +adopted by them - Creation of a special electoral body - Separate +votes of these electors - Case in which the House of +Representatives is called upon to choose the President - Results +of the twelve elections which have taken place since the +Constitution has been established. + +Besides the dangers which are inherent in the system, many +other difficulties may arise from the mode of election, which may +be obviated by the precaution of the legislator. When a people +met in arms on some public spot to choose its head, it was +exposed to all the chances of civil war resulting from so martial +a mode of proceeding, besides the dangers of the elective system +in itself. The Polish laws, which subjected the election of the +sovereign to the veto of a single individual, suggested the +murder of that individual or prepared the way to anarchy. + +In the examination of the institutions and the political as +well as social condition of the United States, we are struck by +the admirable harmony of the gifts of fortune and the efforts of +man. The nation possessed two of the main causes of internal +peace; it was a new country, but it was inhabited by a people +grown old in the exercise of freedom. America had no hostile +neighbors to dread; and the American legislators, profiting by +these favorable circumstances, created a weak and subordinate +executive power which could without danger be made elective. + +It then only remained for them to choose the least dangerous +of the various modes of election; and the rules which they laid +down upon this point admirably correspond to the securities which +the physical and political constitution of the country already +afforded. Their object was to find the mode of election which +would best express the choice of the people with the least +possible excitement and suspense. It was admitted in the first +place that the simple majority should be decisive; but the +difficulty was to obtain this majority without an interval of +delay which it was most important to avoid. It rarely happens +that an individual can at once collect the majority of the +suffrages of a great people; and this difficulty is enhanced in a +republic of confederate States, where local influences are apt to +preponderate. The means by which it was proposed to obviate this +second obstacle was to delegate the electoral powers of the +nation to a body of representatives. This mode of election +rendered a majority more probable; for the fewer the electors +are, the greater is the chance of their coming to a final +decision. It also offered an additional probability of a +judicious choice. It then remained to be decided whether this +right of election was to be entrusted to a legislative body, the +habitual representative assembly of the nation, or whether an +electoral assembly should be formed for the express purpose of +proceeding to the nomination of a President. The Americans chose +the latter alternative, from a belief that the individuals who +were returned to make the laws were incompetent to represent the +wishes of the nation in the election of its chief magistrate; and +that, as they are chosen for more than a year, the constituency +they represent might have changed its opinion in that time. It +was thought that if the legislature was empowered to elect the +head of the executive power, its members would, for some time +before the election, be exposed to the manoeuvres of corruption +and the tricks of intrigue; whereas the special electors would, +like a jury, remain mixed up with the crowd till the day of +action, when they would appear for the sole purpose of giving +their votes. + +It was therefore established that every State should name a +certain number of electors, *v who in their turn should elect the +President; and as it had been observed that the assemblies to +which the choice of a chief magistrate had been entrusted in +elective countries inevitably became the centres of passion and +of cabal; that they sometimes usurped an authority which did not +belong to them; and that their proceedings, or the uncertainty +which resulted from them, were sometimes prolonged so much as to +endanger the welfare of the State, it was determined that the +electors should all vote upon the same day, without being +convoked to the same place. *w This double election rendered a +majority probable, though not certain; for it was possible that +as many differences might exist between the electors as between +their constituents. In this case it was necessary to have +recourse to one of three measures; either to appoint new +electors, or to consult a second time those already appointed,or +to defer the election to another authority. The first two of +these alternatives, independently of the uncertainty of their +results, were likely to delay the final decision, and to +perpetuate an agitation which must always be accompanied with +danger. The third expedient was therefore adopted, and it was +agreed that the votes should be transmitted sealed to the +President of the Senate, and that they should be opened and +counted in the presence of the Senate and the House of +Representatives. If none of the candidates has a majority, the +House of Representatives then proceeds immediately to elect a +President, but with the condition that it must fix upon one of +the three candidates who have the highest numbers. *x + +[Footnote v: As many as it sends members to Congress. The number +of electors at the election of 1833 was 288. (See "The National +Calendar," 1833.)] + +[Footnote w: The electors of the same State assemble, but they +transmit to the central government the list of their individual +votes, and not the mere result of the vote of the majority.] +[Footnote x: In this case it is the majority of the States, and +not the majority of the members, which decides the question; so +that New York has not more influence in the debate than Rhode +Island. Thus the citizens of the Union are first consulted as +members of one and the same community; and, if they cannot agree, +recourse is had to the division of the States, each of which has +a separate and independent vote. This is one of the +singularities of the Federal Constitution which can only be +explained by the jar of conflicting interests.] + +Thus it is only in case of an event which cannot often +happen, and which can never be foreseen, that the election is +entrusted to the ordinary representatives of the nation; and even +then they are obliged to choose a citizen who has already been +designated by a powerful minority of the special electors. It is +by this happy expedient that the respect which is due to the +popular voice is combined with the utmost celerity of execution +and those precautions which the peace of the country demands. +But the decision of the question by the House of Representatives +does not necessarily offer an immediate solution of the +difficulty, for the majority of that assembly may still be +doubtful, and in this case the Constitution prescribes no remedy. +Nevertheless, by restricting the number of candidates to three, +and by referring the matter to the judgment of an enlightened +public body, it has smoothed all the obstacles *y which are not +inherent in the elective system. + +[Footnote y: Jefferson, in 1801, was not elected until the +thirty- sixth time of balloting.] + + +In the forty-four years which have elapsed since the +promulgation of the Federal Constitution the United States have +twelve times chosen a President. Ten of these elections took +place simultaneously by the votes of the special electors in the +different States. The House of Representatives has only twice +exercised its conditional privilege of deciding in cases of +uncertainty; the first time was at the election of Mr. Jefferson +in 1801; the second was in 1825, when Mr. Quincy Adams was named. +*z + +[Footnote z: [General Grant is now (1874) the eighteenth +President of the United States.]] + +Crises Of The Election + +The Election may be considered as a national crisis - Why? - +Passions of the people - Anxiety of the President - Calm which +succeeds the agitation of the election. + +I have shown what the circumstances are which favored the +adoption of the elective system in the United States, and what +precautions were taken by the legislators to obviate its dangers. +The Americans are habitually accustomed to all kinds of +elections, and they know by experience the utmost degree of +excitement which is compatible with security. The vast extent of +the country and the dissemination of the inhabitants render a +collision between parties less probable and less dangerous there +than elsewhere. The political circumstances under which the +elections have hitherto been carried on have presented no real +embarrassments to the nation. + +Nevertheless, the epoch of the election of a President of +the United States may be considered as a crisis in the affairs of +the nation. The influence which he exercises on public business +is no doubt feeble and indirect; but the choice of the President, +which is of small importance to each individual citizen, concerns +the citizens collectively; and however trifling an interest may +be, it assumes a great degree of importance as soon as it becomes +general. The President possesses but few means of rewarding his +supporters in comparison to the kings of Europe, but the places +which are at his disposal are sufficiently numerous to interest, +directly or indirectly, several thousand electors in his success. +Political parties in the United States are led to rally round an +individual, in order to acquire a more tangible shape in the eyes +of the crowd, and the name of the candidate for the Presidency is +put forward as the symbol and personification of their theories. +For these reasons parties are strongly interested in gaining the +election, not so much with a view to the triumph of their +principles under the auspices of the President-elect as to show +by the majority which returned him, the strength of the +supporters of those principles. + +For a long while before the appointed time is at hand the +election becomes the most important and the all-engrossing topic +of discussion. The ardor of faction is redoubled; and all the +artificial passions which the imagination can create in the bosom +of a happy and peaceful land are agitated and brought to light. +The President, on the other hand, is absorbed by the cares of +self- defence. He no longer governs for the interest of the +State, but for that of his re-election; he does homage to the +majority, and instead of checking its passions, as his duty +commands him to do, he frequently courts its worst caprices. As +the election draws near, the activity of intrigue and the +agitation of the populace increase; the citizens are divided into +hostile camps, each of which assumes the name of its favorite +candidate; the whole nation glows with feverish excitement; the +election is the daily theme of the public papers, the subject of +private conversation, the end of every thought and every action, +the sole interest of the present. As soon as the choice is +determined, this ardor is dispelled; and as a calmer season +returns, the current of the State, which had nearly broken its +banks, sinks to its usual level: *a but who can refrain from +astonishment at the causes of the storm. + +[Footnote a: [Not always. The election of President Lincoln was +the signal of civil war. - Translator's Note.]] + + +Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution - Part III + +Re-election Of The President + +When the head of the executive power is re-eligible, it is the +State which is the source of intrigue and corruption - The desire +of being re-elected the chief aim of a President of the United +States - Disadvantage of the system peculiar to America - The +natural evil of democracy is that it subordinates all authority +to the slightest desires of the majority - The re-election of the +President encourages this evil. + +It may be asked whether the legislators of the United States +did right or wrong in allowing the re-election of the President. +It seems at first sight contrary to all reason to prevent the +head of the executive power from being elected a second time. +The influence which the talents and the character of a single +individual may exercise upon the fate of a whole people, in +critical circumstances or arduous times, is well known: a law +preventing the re-election of the chief magistrate would deprive +the citizens of the surest pledge of the prosperity and the +security of the commonwealth; and, by a singular inconsistency, a +man would be excluded from the government at the very time when +he had shown his ability in conducting its affairs. + +But if these arguments are strong, perhaps still more +powerful reasons may be advanced against them. Intrigue and +corruption are the natural defects of elective government; but +when the head of the State can be re-elected these evils rise to +a great height, and compromise the very existence of the country. +When a simple candidate seeks to rise by intrigue, his manoeuvres +must necessarily be limited to a narrow sphere; but when the +chief magistrate enters the lists, he borrows the strength of the +government for his own purposes. In the former case the feeble +resources of an individual are in action; in the latter, the +State itself, with all its immense influence, is busied in the +work of corruption and cabal. The private citizen, who employs +the most immoral practices to acquire power, can only act in a +manner indirectly prejudicial to the public prosperity. But if +the representative of the executive descends into the combat, the +cares of government dwindle into second-rate importance, and the +success of his election is his first concern. All laws and all +the negotiations he undertakes are to him nothing more than +electioneering schemes; places become the reward of services +rendered, not to the nation, but to its chief; and the influence +of the government, if not injurious to the country, is at least +no longer beneficial to the community for which it was created. + +It is impossible to consider the ordinary course of affairs +in the United States without perceiving that the desire of being +re- elected is the chief aim of the President; that his whole +administration, and even his most indifferent measures, tend to +this object; and that, as the crisis approaches, his personal +interest takes the place of his interest in the public good. The +principle of re-eligibility renders the corrupt influence of +elective government still more extensive and pernicious. + +In America it exercises a peculiarly fatal influence on the +sources of national existence. Every government seems to be +afflicted by some evil which is inherent in its nature, and the +genius of the legislator is shown in eluding its attacks. A +State may survive the influence of a host of bad laws, and the +mischief they cause is frequently exaggerated; but a law which +encourages the growth of the canker within must prove fatal in +the end, although its bad consequences may not be immediately +perceived. + +The principle of destruction in absolute monarchies lies in +the excessive and unreasonable extension of the prerogative of +the crown; and a measure tending to remove the constitutional +provisions which counterbalance this influence would be radically +bad, even if its immediate consequences were unattended with +evil. By a parity of reasoning, in countries governed by a +democracy, where the people is perpetually drawing all authority +to itself, the laws which increase or accelerate its action are +the direct assailants of the very principle of the government. + +The greatest proof of the ability of the American +legislators is, that they clearly discerned this truth, and that +they had the courage to act up to it. They conceived that a +certain authority above the body of the people was necessary, +which should enjoy a degree of independence, without, however, +being entirely beyond the popular control; an authority which +would be forced to comply with the permanent determinations of +the majority, but which would be able to resist its caprices, and +to refuse its most dangerous demands. To this end they centred +the whole executive power of the nation in a single arm; they +granted extensive prerogatives to the President, and they armed +him with the veto to resist the encroachments of the legislature. + +But by introducing the principle of re-election they partly +destroyed their work; and they rendered the President but little +inclined to exert the great power they had vested in his hands. +If ineligible a second time, the President would be far from +independent of the people, for his responsibility would not be +lessened; but the favor of the people would not be so necessary +to him as to induce him to court it by humoring its desires. If +re- eligible (and this is more especially true at the present +day, when political morality is relaxed, and when great men are +rare), the President of the United States becomes an easy tool in +the hands of the majority. He adopts its likings and its +animosities, he hastens to anticipate its wishes, he forestalls +its complaints, he yields to its idlest cravings, and instead of +guiding it, as the legislature intended that he should do, he is +ever ready to follow its bidding. Thus, in order not to deprive +the State of the talents of an individual, those talents have +been rendered almost useless; and to reserve an expedient for +extraordinary perils, the country has been exposed to daily +dangers. + +Federal Courts *b + +[Footnote b: See chap. VI, entitled "Judicial Power in the +United States." This chapter explains the general principles of +the American theory of judicial institutions. See also the +Federal Constitution, Art. 3. See "The Federalists," Nos. +78-83, inclusive; and a work entitled "Constitutional Law," being +a view of the practice and jurisdiction of the courts of the +United States, by Thomas Sergeant. See Story, pp. 134, 162, 489, +511, 581, 668; and the organic law of September 24, 1789, in the +"Collection of the Laws of the United States," by Story, vol. i. +p. 53.] + +Political importance of the judiciary in the United States - +Difficulty of treating this subject - Utility of judicial power +in confederations - What tribunals could be introduced into the +Union - Necessity of establishing federal courts of justice - +Organization of the national judiciary - The Supreme Court - In +what it differs from all known tribunals. + +I have inquired into the legislative and executive power of +the Union, and the judicial power now remains to be examined; but +in this place I cannot conceal my fears from the reader. Their +judicial institutions exercise a great influence on the condition +of the Anglo-Americans, and they occupy a prominent place amongst +what are probably called political institutions: in this respect +they are peculiarly deserving of our attention. But I am at a +loss to explain the political action of the American tribunals +without entering into some technical details of their +constitution and their forms of proceeding; and I know not how to +descend to these minutiae without wearying the curiosity of the +reader by the natural aridity of the subject, or without risking +to fall into obscurity through a desire to be succinct. I can +scarcely hope to escape these various evils; for if I appear too +lengthy to a man of the world, a lawyer may on the other hand +complain of my brevity. But these are the natural disadvantages +of my subject, and more especially of the point which I am about +to discuss. + +The great difficulty was, not to devise the Constitution to +the Federal Government, but to find out a method of enforcing its +laws. Governments have in general but two means of overcoming +the opposition of the people they govern, viz., the physical +force which is at their own disposal, and the moral force which +they derive from the decisions of the courts of justice. + +A government which should have no other means of exacting +obedience than open war must be very near its ruin, for one of +two alternatives would then probably occur: if its authority was +small and its character temperate, it would not resort to +violence till the last extremity, and it would connive at a +number of partial acts of insubordination, in which case the +State would gradually fall into anarchy; if it was enterprising +and powerful, it would perpetually have recourse to its physical +strength, and would speedily degenerate into a military +despotism. So that its activity would not be less prejudicial to +the community than its inaction. + +The great end of justice is to substitute the notion of +right for that of violence, and to place a legal barrier between +the power of the government and the use of physical force. The +authority which is awarded to the intervention of a court of +justice by the general opinion of mankind is so surprisingly +great that it clings to the mere formalities of justice, and +gives a bodily influence to the shadow of the law. The moral +force which courts of justice possess renders the introduction of +physical force exceedingly rare, and is very frequently +substituted for it; but if the latter proves to be indispensable, +its power is doubled by the association of the idea of law. + +A federal government stands in greater need of the support +of judicial institutions than any other, because it is naturally +weak and exposed to formidable opposition. *c If it were always +obliged to resort to violence in the first instance, it could not +fulfil its task. The Union, therefore, required a national +judiciary to enforce the obedience of the citizens to the laws, +and to repeal the attacks which might be directed against them. +The question then remained as to what tribunals were to exercise +these privileges; were they to be entrusted to the courts of +justice which were already organized in every State? or was it +necessary to create federal courts? It may easily be proved that +the Union could not adapt the judicial power of the States to its +wants. The separation of the judiciary from the administrative +power of the State no doubt affects the security of every citizen +and the liberty of all. But it is no less important to the +existence of the nation that these several powers should have the +same origin, should follow the same principles, and act in the +same sphere; in a word, that they should be correlative and +homogeneous. No one, I presume, ever suggested the advantage of +trying offences committed in France by a foreign court of +justice, in order to secure the impartiality of the judges. The +Americans form one people in relation to their Federal +Government; but in the bosom of this people divers political +bodies have been allowed to subsist which are dependent on the +national Government in a few points, and independent in all the +rest; which have all a distinct origin, maxims peculiar to +themselves, and special means of carrying on their affairs. To +entrust the execution of the laws of the Union to tribunals +instituted by these political bodies would be to allow foreign +judges to preside over the nation. Nay, more; not only is each +State foreign to the Union at large, but it is in perpetual +opposition to the common interests, since whatever authority the +Union loses turns to the advantage of the States. Thus to +enforce the laws of the Union by means of the tribunals of the +States would be to allow not only foreign but partial judges to +preside over the nation. + +[Footnote c: Federal laws are those which most require courts of +justice, and those at the same time which have most rarely +established them. The reason is that confederations have usually +been formed by independent States, which entertained no real +intention of obeying the central Government, and which very +readily ceded the right of command to the federal executive, and +very prudently reserved the right of non-compliance to +themselves.] + +But the number, still more than the mere character, of the +tribunals of the States rendered them unfit for the service of +the nation. When the Federal Constitution was formed there were +already thirteen courts of justice in the United States which +decided causes without appeal. That number is now increased to +twenty-four. To suppose that a State can subsist when its +fundamental laws may be subjected to four-and-twenty different +interpretations at the same time is to advance a proposition +alike contrary to reason and to experience. + +The American legislators therefore agreed to create a +federal judiciary power to apply the laws of the Union, and to +determine certain questions affecting general interests, which +were carefully determined beforehand. The entire judicial power +of the Union was centred in one tribunal, which was denominated +the Supreme Court of the United States. But, to facilitate the +expedition of business, inferior courts were appended to it, +which were empowered to decide causes of small importance without +appeal, and with appeal causes of more magnitude. The members of +the Supreme Court are named neither by the people nor the +legislature, but by the President of the United States, acting +with the advice of the Senate. In order to render them +independent of the other authorities, their office was made +inalienable; and it was determined that their salary, when once +fixed, should not be altered by the legislature. *d It was easy +to proclaim the principle of a Federal judiciary, but +difficulties multiplied when the extent of its jurisdiction was +to be determined. + +[Footnote d: The Union was divided into districts, in each of +which a resident Federal judge was appointed, and the court in +which he presided was termed a "District Court." Each of the +judges of the Supreme Court annually visits a certain portion of +the Republic, in order to try the most important causes upon the +spot; the court presided over by this magistrate is styled a +"Circuit Court." Lastly, all the most serious cases of litigation +are brought before the Supreme Court, which holds a solemn +session once a year, at which all the judges of the Circuit +Courts must attend. The jury was introduced into the Federal +Courts in the same manner, and in the same cases, as into the +courts of the States. + +It will be observed that no analogy exists between the +Supreme Court of the United States and the French Cour de +Cassation, since the latter only hears appeals on questions of +law. The Supreme Court decides upon the evidence of the fact as +well as upon the law of the case, whereas the Cour de Cassation +does not pronounce a decision of its own, but refers the cause to +the arbitration of another tribunal. See the law of September +24, 1789, "Laws of the United States," by Story, vol. i. p. 53.] + +Means Of Determining The Jurisdiction Of The Federal Courts +Difficulty of determining the jurisdiction of separate courts of +justice in confederations - The courts of the Union obtained the +right of fixing their own jurisdiction - In what respect this +rule attacks the portion of sovereignty reserved to the several +States - The sovereignty of these States restricted by the laws, +and the interpretation of the laws - Consequently, the danger of +the several States is more apparent than real. + +As the Constitution of the United States recognized two +distinct powers in presence of each other, represented in a +judicial point of view by two distinct classes of courts of +justice, the utmost care which could be taken in defining their +separate jurisdictions would have been insufficient to prevent +frequent collisions between those tribunals. The question then +arose to whom the right of deciding the competency of each court +was to be referred. + +In nations which constitute a single body politic, when a +question is debated between two courts relating to their mutual +jurisdiction, a third tribunal is generally within reach to +decide the difference; and this is effected without difficulty, +because in these nations the questions of judicial competency +have no connection with the privileges of the national supremacy. +But it was impossible to create an arbiter between a superior +court of the Union and the superior court of a separate State +which would not belong to one of these two classes. It was, +therefore, necessary to allow one of these courts to judge its +own cause, and to take or to retain cognizance of the point which +was contested. To grant this privilege to the different courts +of the States would have been to destroy the sovereignty of the +Union de facto after having established it de jure; for the +interpretation of the Constitution would soon have restored that +portion of independence to the States of which the terms of that +act deprived them. The object of the creation of a Federal +tribunal was to prevent the courts of the States from deciding +questions affecting the national interests in their own +department, and so to form a uniform body of jurisprudene for the +interpretation of the laws of the Union. This end would not have +been accomplished if the courts of the several States had been +competent to decide upon cases in their separate capacities from +which they were obliged to abstain as Federal tribunals. The +Supreme Court of the United States was therefore invested with +the right of determining all questions of jurisdiction. *e + +[Footnote e: In order to diminish the number of these suits, it +was decided that in a great many Federal causes the courts of the +States should be empowered to decide conjointly with those of the +Union, the losing party having then a right of appeal to the +Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court of +Virginia contested the right of the Supreme Court of the United +States to judge an appeal from its decisions, but unsuccessfully. +See "Kent's Commentaries," vol. i. p. 300, pp. 370 et seq.; +Story's "Commentaries," p. 646; and "The Organic Law of the +United States," vol. i. p. 35.] + +This was a severe blow upon the independence of the States, +which was thus restricted not only by the laws, but by the +interpretation of them; by one limit which was known, and by +another which was dubious; by a rule which was certain, and a +rule which was arbitrary. It is true the Constitution had laid +down the precise limits of the Federal supremacy, but whenever +this supremacy is contested by one of the States, a Federal +tribunal decides the question. Nevertheless, the dangers with +which the independence of the States was threatened by this mode +of proceeding are less serious than they appeared to be. We +shall see hereafter that in America the real strength of the +country is vested in the provincial far more than in the Federal +Government. The Federal judges are conscious of the relative +weakness of the power in whose name they act, and they are more +inclined to abandon a right of jurisdiction in cases where it is +justly their own than to assert a privilege to which they have no +legal claim. + +Different Cases Of Jurisdiction + +The matter and the party are the first conditions of the Federal +jurisdiction - Suits in which ambassadors are engaged - Suits of +the Union - Of a separate State - By whom tried - Causes +resulting from the laws of the Union - Why judged by the Federal +tribunals - Causes relating to the performance of contracts tried +by the Federal courts - Consequence of this arrangement. + +After having appointed the means of fixing the competency of +the Federal courts, the legislators of the Union defined the +cases which should come within their jurisdiction. It was +established, on the one hand, that certain parties must always be +brought before the Federal courts, without any regard to the +special nature of the cause; and, on the other, that certain +causes must always be brought before the same courts, without any +regard to the quality of the parties in the suit. These +distinctions were therefore admitted to be the basis of the +Federal jurisdiction. + +Ambassadors are the representatives of nations in a state of +amity with the Union, and whatever concerns these personages +concerns in some degree the whole Union. When an ambassador is a +party in a suit, that suit affects the welfare of the nation, and +a Federal tribunal is naturally called upon to decide it. + +The Union itself may be invoked in legal proceedings, and in +this case it would be alike contrary to the customs of all +nations and to common sense to appeal to a tribunal representing +any other sovereignty than its own; the Federal courts, +therefore, take cognizance of these affairs. + +When two parties belonging to two different States are +engaged in a suit, the case cannot with propriety be brought +before a court of either State. The surest expedient is to +select a tribunal like that of the Union, which can excite the +suspicions of neither party, and which offers the most natural as +well as the most certain remedy. + +When the two parties are not private individuals, but +States, an important political consideration is added to the same +motive of equity. The quality of the parties in this case gives +a national importance to all their disputes; and the most +trifling litigation of the States may be said to involve the +peace of the whole Union. *f + +[Footnote f: The Constitution also says that the Federal courts +shall decide "controversies between a State and the citizens of +another State." And here a most important question of a +constitutional nature arose, which was, whether the jurisdiction +given by the Constitution in cases in which a State is a party +extended to suits brought against a State as well as by it, or +was exclusively confined to the latter. The question was most +elaborately considered in the case of Chisholm v. Georgia, and +was decided by the majority of the Supreme Court in the +affirmative. The decision created general alarm among the +States, and an amendment was proposed and ratified by which the +power was entirely taken away, so far as it regards suits brought +against a State. See Story's "Commentaries," p. 624, or in the +large edition Section 1677.] + + +The nature of the cause frequently prescribes the rule of +competency. Thus all the questions which concern maritime +commerce evidently fall under the cognizance of the Federal +tribunals. *g Almost all these questions are connected with the +interpretation of the law of nations, and in this respect they +essentially interest the Union in relation to foreign powers. +Moreover, as the sea is not included within the limits of any +peculiar jurisdiction, the national courts can only hear causes +which originate in maritime affairs. + +[Footnote g: As for instance, all cases of piracy.] + +The Constitution comprises under one head almost all the +cases which by their very nature come within the limits of the +Federal courts. The rule which it lays down is simple, but +pregnant with an entire system of ideas, and with a vast +multitude of facts. It declares that the judicial power of the +Supreme Court shall extend to all cases in law and equity arising +under the laws of the United States. + +Two examples will put the intention of the legislator in the +clearest light: + +The Constitution prohibits the States from making laws on +the value and circulation of money: If, notwithstanding this +prohibition, a State passes a law of this kind, with which the +interested parties refuse to comply because it is contrary to the +Constitution, the case must come before a Federal court, because +it arises under the laws of the United States. Again, if +difficulties arise in the levying of import duties which have +been voted by Congress, the Federal court must decide the case, +because it arises under the interpretation of a law of the United +States. + +This rule is in perfect accordance with the fundamental +principles of the Federal Constitution. The Union, as it was +established in 1789, possesses, it is true, a limited supremacy; +but it was intended that within its limits it should form one and +the same people. *h Within those limits the Union is sovereign. +When this point is established and admitted, the inference is +easy; for if it be acknowledged that the United States constitute +one and the same people within the bounds prescribed by their +Constitution, it is impossible to refuse them the rights which +belong to other nations. But it has been allowed, from the +origin of society, that every nation has the right of deciding by +its own courts those questions which concern the execution of its +own laws. To this it is answered that the Union is in so +singular a position that in relation to some matters it +constitutes a people, and that in relation to all the rest it is +a nonentity. But the inference to be drawn is, that in the laws +relating to these matters the Union possesses all the rights of +absolute sovereignty. The difficulty is to know what these +matters are; and when once it is resolved (and we have shown how +it was resolved, in speaking of the means of determining the +jurisdiction of the Federal courts) no further doubt can arise; +for as soon as it is established that a suit is Federal - that is +to say, that it belongs to the share of sovereignty reserved by +the Constitution of the Union - the natural consequence is that +it should come within the jurisdiction of a Federal court. + +[Footnote h: This principle was in some measure restricted by the +introduction of the several States as independent powers into the +Senate, and by allowing them to vote separately in the House of +Representatives when the President is elected by that body. But +these are exceptions, and the contrary principle is the rule.] + +Whenever the laws of the United States are attacked, or +whenever they are resorted to in self-defence, the Federal courts +must be appealed to. Thus the jurisdiction of the tribunals of +the Union extends and narrows its limits exactly in the same +ratio as the sovereignty of the Union augments or decreases. We +have shown that the principal aim of the legislators of 1789 was +to divide the sovereign authority into two parts. In the one +they placed the control of all the general interests of the +Union, in the other the control of the special interests of its +component States. Their chief solicitude was to arm the Federal +Government with sufficient power to enable it to resist, within +its sphere, the encroachments of the several States. As for these +communities, the principle of independence within certain limits +of their own was adopted in their behalf; and they were concealed +from the inspection, and protected from the control, of the +central Government. In speaking of the division of authority, I +observed that this latter principle had not always been held +sacred, since the States are prevented from passing certain laws +which apparently belong to their own particular sphere of +interest. When a State of the Union passes a law of this kind, +the citizens who are injured by its execution can appeal to the +Federal courts. + +Thus the jurisdiction of the Federal courts extends not only +to all the cases which arise under the laws of the Union, but +also to those which arise under laws made by the several States +in opposition to the Constitution. The States are prohibited +from making ex post facto laws in criminal cases, and any person +condemned by virtue of a law of this kind can appeal to the +judicial power of the Union. The States are likewise prohibited +from making laws which may have a tendency to impair the +obligations of contracts. *i If a citizen thinks that an +obligation of this kind is impaired by a law passed in his State, +he may refuse to obey it, and may appeal to the Federal courts. +*j + +[Footnote i: It is perfectly clear, says Mr. Story +("Commentaries," p. 503, or in the large edition Section 1379), +that any law which enlarges, abridges, or in any manner changes +the intention of the parties, resulting from the stipulations in +the contract, necessarily impairs it. He gives in the same place +a very long and careful definition of what is understood by a +contract in Federal jurisprudence. A grant made by the State to +a private individual, and accepted by him, is a contract, and +cannot be revoked by any future law. A charter granted by the +State to a company is a contract, and equally binding to the +State as to the grantee. The clause of the Constitution here +referred to insures, therefore, the existence of a great part of +acquired rights, but not of all. Property may legally be held, +though it may not have passed into the possessor's hands by means +of a contract; and its possession is an acquired right, not +guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.] + +[Footnote j: A remarkable instance of this is given by Mr. Story +(p. 508, or in the large edition Section 1388): "Dartmouth +College in New Hampshire had been founded by a charter granted to +certain individuals before the American Revolution, and its +trustees formed a corporation under this charter. The +legislature of New Hampshire had, without the consent of this +corporation, passed an act changing the organization of the +original provincial charter of the college, and transferring all +the rights, privileges, and franchises from the old charter +trustees to new trustees appointed under the act. The +constitutionality of the act was contested, and, after solemn +arguments, it was deliberately held by the Supreme Court that the +provincial charter was a contract within the meaning of the +Constitution (Art. I. Section 10), and that the emendatory act +was utterly void, as impairing the obligation of that charter. +The college was deemed, like other colleges of private +foundation, to be a private eleemosynary institution, endowed by +its charter with a capacity to take property unconnected with the +Government. Its funds were bestowed upon the faith of the +charter, and those funds consisted entirely of private donations. +It is true that the uses were in some sense public, that is, for +the general benefit, and not for the mere benefit of the +corporators; but this did not make the corporation a public +corporation. It was a private institution for general charity. +It was not distinguishable in principle from a private donation, +vested in private trustees, for a public charity, or for a +particular purpose of beneficence. And the State itself, if it +had bestowed funds upon a charity of the same nature, could not +resume those funds."] + +This provision appears to me to be the most serious attack +upon the independence of the States. The rights awarded to the +Federal Government for purposes of obvious national importance +are definite and easily comprehensible; but those with which this +last clause invests it are not either clearly appreciable or +accurately defined. For there are vast numbers of political laws +which influence the existence of obligations of contracts, which +may thus furnish an easy pretext for the aggressions of the +central authority. + + +Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution - Part IV + +Procedure Of The Federal Courts + +Natural weakness of the judiciary power in confederations - +Legislators ought to strive as much as possible to bring private +individuals, and not States, before the Federal Courts - How the +Americans have succeeded in this - Direct prosecution of private +individuals in the Federal Courts - Indirect prosecution of the +States which violate the laws of the Union - The decrees of the +Supreme Court enervate but do not destroy the provincial laws. + +I have shown what the privileges of the Federal courts are, +and it is no less important to point out the manner in which they +are exercised. The irresistible authority of justice in +countries in which the sovereignty in undivided is derived from +the fact that the tribunals of those countries represent the +entire nation at issue with the individual against whom their +decree is directed, and the idea of power is thus introduced to +corroborate the idea of right. But this is not always the case +in countries in which the sovereignty is divided; in them the +judicial power is more frequently opposed to a fraction of the +nation than to an isolated individual, and its moral authority +and physical strength are consequently diminished. In federal +States the power of the judge is naturally decreased, and that of +the justiciable parties is augmented. The aim of the legislator +in confederate States ought therefore to be to render the +position of the courts of justice analogous to that which they +occupy in countries where the sovereignty is undivided; in other +words, his efforts ought constantly to tend to maintain the +judicial power of the confederation as the representative of the +nation, and the justiciable party as the representative of an +individual interest. + +Every government, whatever may be its constitution, requires +the means of constraining its subjects to discharge their +obligations, and of protecting its privileges from their +assaults. As far as the direct action of the Government on the +community is concerned, the Constitution of the United States +contrived, by a master-stroke of policy, that the federal courts, +acting in the name of the laws, should only take cognizance of +parties in an individual capacity. For, as it had been declared +that the Union consisted of one and the same people within the +limits laid down by the Constitution, the inference was that the +Government created by this Constitution, and acting within these +limits, was invested with all the privileges of a national +government, one of the principal of which is the right of +transmitting its injunctions directly to the private citizen. +When, for instance, the Union votes an impost, it does not apply +to the States for the levying of it, but to every American +citizen in proportion to his assessment. The Supreme Court, +which is empowered to enforce the execution of this law of the +Union, exerts its influence not upon a refractory State, but upon +the private taxpayer; and, like the judicial power of other +nations, it is opposed to the person of an individual. It is to +be observed that the Union chose its own antagonist; and as that +antagonist is feeble, he is naturally worsted. + + +But the difficulty increases when the proceedings are not +brought forward by but against the Union. The Constitution +recognizes the legislative power of the States; and a law so +enacted may impair the privileges of the Union, in which case a +collision in unavoidable between that body and the State which +has passed the law: and it only remains to select the least +dangerous remedy, which is very clearly deducible from the +general principles I have before established. *k + +[Footnote k: See Chapter VI. on "Judicial Power in America."] + +It may be conceived that, in the case under consideration, +the Union might have used the State before a Federal court, which +would have annulled the act, and by this means it would have +adopted a natural course of proceeding; but the judicial power +would have been placed in open hostility to the State, and it was +desirable to avoid this predicament as much as possible. The +Americans hold that it is nearly impossible that a new law should +not impair the interests of some private individual by its +provisions: these private interests are assumed by the American +legislators as the ground of attack against such measures as may +be prejudicial to the Union, and it is to these cases that the +protection of the Supreme Court is extended. + +Suppose a State vends a certain portion of its territory to +a company, and that a year afterwards it passes a law by which +the territory is otherwise disposed of, and that clause of the +Constitution which prohibits laws impairing the obligation of +contracts violated. When the purchaser under the second act +appears to take possession, the possessor under the first act +brings his action before the tribunals of the Union, and causes +the title of the claimant to be pronounced null and void. *l +Thus, in point of fact, the judicial power of the Union is +contesting the claims of the sovereignty of a State; but it only +acts indirectly and upon a special application of detail: it +attacks the law in its consequences, not in its principle, and it +rather weakens than destroys it. + +[Footnote l: See Kent's "Commentaries," vol. i. p. 387.] + +The last hypothesis that remained was that each State formed +a corporation enjoying a separate existence and distinct civil +rights, and that it could therefore sue or be sued before a +tribunal. Thus a State could bring an action against another +State. In this instance the Union was not called upon to contest +a provincial law, but to try a suit in which a State was a party. +This suit was perfectly similar to any other cause, except that +the quality of the parties was different; and here the danger +pointed out at the beginning of this chapter exists with less +chance of being avoided. The inherent disadvantage of the very +essence of Federal constitutions is that they engender parties in +the bosom of the nation which present powerful obstacles to the +free course of justice. + +High Rank Of The Supreme Court Amongst The Great Powers Of State +No nation ever constituted so great a judicial power as the +Americans - Extent of its prerogative - Its political influence - +The tranquillity and the very existence of the Union depend on +the discretion of the seven Federal Judges. + +When we have successively examined in detail the +organization of the Supreme Court, and the entire prerogatives +which it exercises, we shall readily admit that a more imposing +judicial power was never constituted by any people. The Supreme +Court is placed at the head of all known tribunals, both by the +nature of its rights and the class of justiciable parties which +it controls. + +In all the civilized countries of Europe the Government has +always shown the greatest repugnance to allow the cases to which +it was itself a party to be decided by the ordinary course of +justice. This repugnance naturally attains its utmost height in +an absolute Government; and, on the other hand, the privileges of +the courts of justice are extended with the increasing liberties +of the people: but no European nation has at present held that +all judicial controversies, without regard to their origin, can +be decided by the judges of common law. + +In America this theory has been actually put in practice, +and the Supreme Court of the United States is the sole tribunal +of the nation. Its power extends to all the cases arising under +laws and treaties made by the executive and legislative +authorities, to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, +and in general to all points which affect the law of nations. It +may even be affirmed that, although its constitution is +essentially judicial, its prerogatives are almost entirely +political. Its sole object is to enforce the execution of the +laws of the Union; and the Union only regulates the relations of +the Government with the citizens, and of the nation with Foreign +Powers: the relations of citizens amongst themselves are almost +exclusively regulated by the sovereignty of the States. + +A second and still greater cause of the preponderance of +this court may be adduced. In the nations of Europe the courts +of justice are only called upon to try the controversies of +private individuals; but the Supreme Court of the United States +summons sovereign powers to its bar. When the clerk of the court +advances on the steps of the tribunal, and simply says, "The +State of New York versus the State of Ohio," it is impossible not +to feel that the Court which he addresses is no ordinary body; +and when it is recollected that one of these parties represents +one million, and the other two millions of men, one is struck by +the responsibility of the seven judges whose decision is about to +satisfy or to disappoint so large a number of their +fellow-citizens. + +The peace, the prosperity, and the very existence of the +Union are vested in the hands of the seven judges. Without their +active co-operation the Constitution would be a dead letter: the +Executive appeals to them for assistance against the +encroachments of the legislative powers; the Legislature demands +their protection from the designs of the Executive; they defend +the Union from the disobedience of the States, the States from +the exaggerated claims of the Union, the public interest against +the interests of private citizens, and the conservative spirit of +order against the fleeting innovations of democracy. Their power +is enormous, but it is clothed in the authority of public +opinion. They are the all- powerful guardians of a people which +respects law, but they would be impotent against popular neglect +or popular contempt. The force of public opinion is the most +intractable of agents, because its exact limits cannot be +defined; and it is not less dangerous to exceed than to remain +below the boundary prescribed. + +The Federal judges must not only be good citizens, and men +possessed of that information and integrity which are +indispensable to magistrates, but they must be statesmen - +politicians, not unread in the signs of the times, not afraid to +brave the obstacles which can be subdued, nor slow to turn aside +such encroaching elements as may threaten the supremacy of the +Union and the obedience which is due to the laws. + +The President, who exercises a limited power, may err +without causing great mischief in the State. Congress may decide +amiss without destroying the Union, because the electoral body in +which Congress originates may cause it to retract its decision by +changing its members. But if the Supreme Court is ever composed +of imprudent men or bad citizens, the Union may be plunged into +anarchy or civil war. + +The real cause of this danger, however, does not lie in the +constitution of the tribunal, but in the very nature of Federal +Governments. We have observed that in confederate peoples it is +especially necessary to consolidate the judicial authority, +because in no other nations do those independent persons who are +able to cope with the social body exist in greater power or in a +better condition to resist the physical strength of the +Government. But the more a power requires to be strengthened, +the more extensive and independent it must be made; and the +dangers which its abuse may create are heightened by its +independence and its strength. The source of the evil is not, +therefore, in the constitution of the power, but in the +constitution of those States which render its existence +necessary. + +In What Respects The Federal Constitution Is Superior To That Of +The States + +In what respects the Constitution of the Union can be compared to +that of the States - Superiority of the Constitution of the Union +attributable to the wisdom of the Federal legislators - +Legislature of the Union less dependent on the people than that +of the States - Executive power more independent in its sphere - +Judicial power less subjected to the inclinations of the majority +-Practical consequence of these facts - The dangers inherent in a +democratic government eluded by the Federal legislators, and +increased by the legislators of the States. + +The Federal Constitution differs essentially from that of +the States in the ends which it is intended to accomplish, but in +the means by which these ends are promoted a greater analogy +exists between them. The objects of the Governments are +different, but their forms are the same; and in this special +point of view there is some advantage in comparing them together. + +I am of opinion that the Federal Constitution is superior to +all the Constitutions of the States, for several reasons. + +The present Constitution of the Union was formed at a later +period than those of the majority of the States, and it may have +derived some ameliorations from past experience. But we shall be +led to acknowledge that this is only a secondary cause of its +superiority, when we recollect that eleven new States *n have +been added to the American Confederation since the promulgation +of the Federal Constitution, and that these new republics have +always rather exaggerated than avoided the defects which existed +in the former Constitutions. + +[Footnote n: [The number of States has now risen to 46 (1874), +besides the District of Columbia.]] + +The chief cause of the superiority of the Federal +Constitution lay in the character of the legislators who composed +it. At the time when it was formed the dangers of the +Confederation were imminent, and its ruin seemed inevitable. In +this extremity the people chose the men who most deserved the +esteem, rather than those who had gained the affections, of the +country. I have already observed that distinguished as almost +all the legislators of the Union were for their intelligence, +they were still more so for their patriotism. They had all been +nurtured at a time when the spirit of liberty was braced by a +continual struggle against a powerful and predominant authority. +When the contest was terminated, whilst the excited passions of +the populace persisted in warring with dangers which had ceased +to threaten them, these men stopped short in their career; they +cast a calmer and more penetrating look upon the country which +was now their own; they perceived that the war of independence +was definitely ended, and that the only dangers which America had +to fear were those which might result from the abuse of the +freedom she had won. They had the courage to say what they +believed to be true, because they were animated by a warm and +sincere love of liberty; and they ventured to propose +restrictions, because they were resolutely opposed to +destruction. *o + +[Footnote o: At this time Alexander Hamilton, who was one of the +principal founders of the Constitution, ventured to express the +following sentiments in "The Federalist," No. 71: - + + +"There are some who would be inclined to regard the servile +pliancy of the Executive to a prevailing current, either in the +community or in the Legislature, as its best recommendation. But +such men entertain very crude notions, as well of the purposes +for which government was instituted as of the true means by which +the public happiness may be promoted. The Republican principle +demands that the deliberative sense of the community should +govern the conduct of those to whom they entrust the management +of their affairs; but it does not require an unqualified +complaisance to every sudden breeze of passion, or to every +transient impulse which the people may receive from the arts of +men who flatter their prejudices to betray their interests. It +is a just observation, that the people commonly intend the public +good. This often applies to their very errors. But their good +sense would despise the adulator who should pretend that they +always reason right about the means of promoting it. They know +from experience that they sometimes err; and the wonder is that +they so seldom err as they do, beset, as they continually are, by +the wiles of parasites and sycophants; by the snares of the +ambitious, the avaricious, the desperate; by the artifices of men +who possess their confidence more than they deserve it, and of +those who seek to possess rather than to deserve it. When +occasions present themselves in which the interests of the people +are at variance with their inclinations, it is the duty of +persons whom they have appointed to be the guardians of those +interests to withstand the temporary delusion, in order to give +them time and opportunity for more cool and sedate reflection. +Instances might be cited in which a conduct of this kind has +saved the people from very fatal consequences of their own +mistakes, and has procured lasting monuments of their gratitude +to the men who had courage and magnanimity enough to serve them +at the peril of their displeasure."] + +The greater number of the Constitutions of the States assign +one year for the duration of the House of Representatives, and +two years for that of the Senate; so that members of the +legislative body are constantly and narrowly tied down by the +slightest desires of their constituents. The legislators of the +Union were of opinion that this excessive dependence of the +Legislature tended to alter the nature of the main consequences +of the representative system, since it vested the source, not +only of authority, but of government, in the people. They +increased the length of the time for which the representatives +were returned, in order to give them freer scope for the exercise +of their own judgment. + +The Federal Constitution, as well as the Constitutions of +the different States, divided the legislative body into two +branches. But in the States these two branches were composed of +the same elements, and elected in the same manner. The +consequence was that the passions and inclinations of the +populace were as rapidly and as energetically represented in one +chamber as in the other, and that laws were made with all the +characteristics of violence and precipitation. By the Federal +Constitution the two houses originate in like manner in the +choice of the people; but the conditions of eligibility and the +mode of election were changed, to the end that, if, as is the +case in certain nations, one branch of the Legislature represents +the same interests as the other, it may at least represent a +superior degree of intelligence and discretion. A mature age was +made one of the conditions of the senatorial dignity, and the +Upper House was chosen by an elected assembly of a limited number +of members. + +To concentrate the whole social force in the hands of the +legislative body is the natural tendency of democracies; for as +this is the power which emanates the most directly from the +people, it is made to participate most fully in the +preponderating authority of the multitude, and it is naturally +led to monopolize every species of influence. This concentration +is at once prejudicial to a well-conducted administration, and +favorable to the despotism of the majority. The legislators of +the States frequently yielded to these democratic propensities, +which were invariably and courageously resisted by the founders +of the Union. + +In the States the executive power is vested in the hands of +a magistrate, who is apparently placed upon a level with the +Legislature, but who is in reality nothing more than the blind +agent and the passive instrument of its decisions. He can derive +no influence from the duration of his functions, which terminate +with the revolving year, or from the exercise of prerogatives +which can scarcely be said to exist. The Legislature can condemn +him to inaction by intrusting the execution of the laws to +special committees of its own members, and can annul his +temporary dignity by depriving him of his salary. The Federal +Constitution vests all the privileges and all the responsibility +of the executive power in a single individual. The duration of +the Presidency is fixed at four years; the salary of the +individual who fills that office cannot be altered during the +term of his functions; he is protected by a body of official +dependents, and armed with a suspensive veto. In short, every +effort was made to confer a strong and independent position upon +the executive authority within the limits which had been +prescribed to it. + +In the Constitutions of all the States the judicial power is +that which remains the most independent of the legislative +authority; nevertheless, in all the States the Legislature has +reserved to itself the right of regulating the emoluments of the +judges, a practice which necessarily subjects these magistrates +to its immediate influence. In some States the judges are only +temporarily appointed, which deprives them of a great portion of +their power and their freedom. In others the legislative and +judicial powers are entirely confounded; thus the Senate of New +York, for instance, constitutes in certain cases the Superior +Court of the State. The Federal Constitution, on the other hand, +carefully separates the judicial authority from all external +influences; and it provides for the independence of the judges, +by declaring that their salary shall not be altered, and that +their functions shall be inalienable. + +The practical consequences of these different systems may +easily be perceived. An attentive observer will soon remark that +the business of the Union is incomparably better conducted than +that of any individual State. The conduct of the Federal +Government is more fair and more temperate than that of the +States, its designs are more fraught with wisdom, its projects +are more durable and more skilfully combined, its measures are +put into execution with more vigor and consistency. + +I recapitulate the substance of this chapter in a few words: +The existence of democracies is threatened by two dangers, viz., +the complete subjection of the legislative body to the caprices +of the electoral body, and the concentration of all the powers of +the Government in the legislative authority. The growth of these +evils has been encouraged by the policy of the legislators of the +States, but it has been resisted by the legislators of the Union +by every means which lay within their control. + +Characteristics Which Distinguish The Federal Constitution Of The +United States Of America From All Other Federal Constitutions +American Union appears to resemble all other confederations - +Nevertheless its effects are different - Reason of this - +Distinctions between the Union and all other confederations - The +American Government not a federal but an imperfect national +Government. + +The United States of America do not afford either the first +or the only instance of confederate States, several of which have +existed in modern Europe, without adverting to those of +antiquity. Switzerland, the Germanic Empire, and the Republic of +the United Provinces either have been or still are +confederations. In studying the constitutions of these different +countries, the politician is surprised to observe that the powers +with which they invested the Federal Government are nearly +identical with the privileges awarded by the American +Constitution to the Government of the United States. They confer +upon the central power the same rights of making peace and war, +of raising money and troops, and of providing for the general +exigencies and the common interests of the nation. Nevertheless +the Federal Government of these different peoples has always been +as remarkable for its weakness and inefficiency as that of the +Union is for its vigorous and enterprising spirit. Again, the +first American Confederation perished through the excessive +weakness of its Government; and this weak Government was, +notwithstanding, in possession of rights even more extensive than +those of the Federal Government of the present day. But the more +recent Constitution of the United States contains certain +principles which exercise a most important influence, although +they do not at once strike the observer. + +This Constitution, which may at first sight be confounded +with the federal constitutions which preceded it, rests upon a +novel theory, which may be considered as a great invention in +modern political science. In all the confederations which had +been formed before the American Constitution of 1789 the allied +States agreed to obey the injunctions of a Federal Government; +but they reserved to themselves the right of ordaining and +enforcing the execution of the laws of the Union. The American +States which combined in 1789 agreed that the Federal Government +should not only dictate the laws, but that it should execute it +own enactments. In both cases the right is the same, but the +exercise of the right is different; and this alteration produced +the most momentous consequences. + +In all the confederations which had been formed before the +American Union the Federal Government demanded its supplies at +the hands of the separate Governments; and if the measure it +prescribed was onerous to any one of those bodies means were +found to evade its claims: if the State was powerful, it had +recourse to arms; if it was weak, it connived at the resistance +which the law of the Union, its sovereign, met with, and resorted +to inaction under the plea of inability. Under these +circumstances one of the two alternatives has invariably +occurred; either the most preponderant of the allied peoples has +assumed the privileges of the Federal authority and ruled all the +States in its name, *p or the Federal Government has been +abandoned by its natural supporters, anarchy has arisen between +the confederates, and the Union has lost all powers of action. *q + +[Footnote p: This was the case in Greece, when Philip undertook +to execute the decree of the Amphictyons; in the Low Countries, +where the province of Holland always gave the law; and, in our +own time, in the Germanic Confederation, in which Austria and +Prussia assume a great degree of influence over the whole +country, in the name of the Diet.] + +[Footnote q: Such has always been the situation of the Swiss +Confederation, which would have perished ages ago but for the +mutual jealousies of its neighbors.] + +In America the subjects of the Union are not States, but +private citizens: the national Government levies a tax, not upon +the State of Massachusetts, but upon each inhabitant of +Massachusetts. All former confederate governments presided over +communities, but that of the Union rules individuals; its force +is not borrowed, but self-derived; and it is served by its own +civil and military officers, by its own army, and its own courts +of justice. It cannot be doubted that the spirit of the nation, +the passions of the multitude, and the provincial prejudices of +each State tend singularly to diminish the authority of a Federal +authority thus constituted, and to facilitate the means of +resistance to its mandates; but the comparative weakness of a +restricted sovereignty is an evil inherent in the Federal system. +In America, each State has fewer opportunities of resistance and +fewer temptations to non-compliance; nor can such a design be put +in execution (if indeed it be entertained) without an open +violation of the laws of the Union, a direct interruption of the +ordinary course of justice, and a bold declaration of revolt; in +a word, without taking a decisive step which men hesitate to +adopt. + +In all former confederations the privileges of the Union +furnished more elements of discord than of power, since they +multiplied the claims of the nation without augmenting the means +of enforcing them: and in accordance with this fact it may be +remarked that the real weakness of federal governments has almost +always been in the exact ratio of their nominal power. Such is +not the case in the American Union, in which, as in ordinary +governments, the Federal Government has the means of enforcing +all it is empowered to demand. + +The human understanding more easily invents new things than +new words, and we are thence constrained to employ a multitude of +improper and inadequate expressions. When several nations form a +permanent league and establish a supreme authority, which, +although it has not the same influence over the members of the +community as a national government, acts upon each of the +Confederate States in a body, this Government, which is so +essentially different from all others, is denominated a Federal +one. Another form of society is afterwards discovered, in which +several peoples are fused into one and the same nation with +regard to certain common interests, although they remain +distinct, or at least only confederate, with regard to all their +other concerns. In this case the central power acts directly +upon those whom it governs, whom it rules, and whom it judges, in +the same manner, as, but in a more limited circle than, a +national government. Here the term Federal Government is clearly +no longer applicable to a state of things which must be styled an +incomplete national Government: a form of government has been +found out which is neither exactly national nor federal; but no +further progress has been made, and the new word which will one +day designate this novel invention does not yet exist. + +The absence of this new species of confederation has been +the cause which has brought all Unions to Civil War, to +subjection, or to a stagnant apathy, and the peoples which formed +these leagues have been either too dull to discern, or too +pusillanimous to apply this great remedy. The American +Confederation perished by the same defects. + +But the Confederate States of America had been long +accustomed to form a portion of one empire before they had won +their independence; they had not contracted the habit of +governing themselves, and their national prejudices had not taken +deep root in their minds. Superior to the rest of the world in +political knowledge, and sharing that knowledge equally amongst +themselves, they were little agitated by the passions which +generally oppose the extension of federal authority in a nation, +and those passions were checked by the wisdom of the chief +citizens. The Americans applied the remedy with prudent firmness +as soon as they were conscious of the evil; they amended their +laws, and they saved their country. + + +Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution - Part V + +Advantages Of The Federal System In General, And Its Special +Utility In America + +Happiness and freedom of small nations - Power of great nations - +Great empires favorable to the growth of civilization - Strength +often the first element of national prosperity - Aim of the +Federal system to unite the twofold advantages resulting from a +small and from a large territory -Advantages derived by the +United States from this system - The law adapts itself to the +exigencies of the population; population does not conform to the +exigencies of the law - Activity, amelioration, love and +enjoyment of freedom in the American communities - Public spirit +of the Union the abstract of provincial patriotism - Principles +and things circulate freely over the territory of the United +States - The Union is happy and free as a little nation, and +respected as a great empire. + +In small nations the scrutiny of society penetrates into +every part, and the spirit of improvement enters into the most +trifling details; as the ambition of the people is necessarily +checked by its weakness, all the efforts and resources of the +citizens are turned to the internal benefit of the community, and +are not likely to evaporate in the fleeting breath of glory. The +desires of every individual are limited, because extraordinary +faculties are rarely to be met with. The gifts of an equal +fortune render the various conditions of life uniform, and the +manners of the inhabitants are orderly and simple. Thus, if one +estimate the gradations of popular morality and enlightenment, we +shall generally find that in small nations there are more persons +in easy circumstances, a more numerous population, and a more +tranquil state of society, than in great empires. + +When tyranny is established in the bosom of a small nation, +it is more galling than elsewhere, because, as it acts within a +narrow circle, every point of that circle is subject to its +direct influence. It supplies the place of those great designs +which it cannot entertain by a violent or an exasperating +interference in a multitude of minute details; and it leaves the +political world, to which it properly belongs, to meddle with the +arrangements of domestic life. Tastes as well as actions are to +be regulated at its pleasure; and the families of the citizens as +well as the affairs of the State are to be governed by its +decisions. This invasion of rights occurs, however, but seldom, +and freedom is in truth the natural state of small communities. +The temptations which the Government offers to ambition are too +weak, and the resources of private individuals are too slender, +for the sovereign power easily to fall within the grasp of a +single citizen; and should such an event have occurred, the +subjects of the State can without difficulty overthrow the tyrant +and his oppression by a +simultaneous effort. + +Small nations have therefore ever been the cradle of +political liberty; and the fact that many of them have lost their +immunities by extending their dominion shows that the freedom +they enjoyed was more a consequence of the inferior size than of +the character of the people. + +The history of the world affords no instance of a great +nation retaining the form of republican government for a long +series of years, *r and this has led to the conclusion that such +a state of things is impracticable. For my own part, I cannot +but censure the imprudence of attempting to limit the possible +and to judge the future on the part of a being who is hourly +deceived by the most palpable realities of life, and who is +constantly taken by surprise in the circumstances with which he +is most familiar. But it may be advanced with confidence that +the existence of a great republic will always be exposed to far +greater perils than that of a small one. + +[Footnote r: I do not speak of a confederation of small +republics, but of a great consolidated Republic.] + +All the passions which are most fatal to republican +institutions spread with an increasing territory, whilst the +virtues which maintain their dignity do not augment in the same +proportion. The ambition of the citizens increases with the +power of the State; the strength of parties with the importance +of the ends they have in view; but that devotion to the common +weal which is the surest check on destructive passions is not +stronger in a large than in a small republic. It might, indeed, +be proved without difficulty that it is less powerful and less +sincere. The arrogance of wealth and the dejection of +wretchedness, capital cities of unwonted extent, a lax morality, +a vulgar egotism, and a great confusion of interests, are the +dangers which almost invariably arise from the magnitude of +States. But several of these evils are scarcely prejudicial to a +monarchy, and some of them contribute to maintain its existence. +In monarchical States the strength of the government is its own; +it may use, but it does not depend on, the community, and the +authority of the prince is proportioned to the prosperity of the +nation; but the only security which a republican government +possesses against these evils lies in the support of the +majority. This support is not, however, proportionably greater +in a large republic than it is in a small one; and thus, whilst +the means of attack perpetually increase both in number and in +influence, the power of resistance remains the same, or it may +rather be said to diminish, since the propensities and interests +of the people are diversified by the increase of the population, +and the difficulty of forming a compact majority is constantly +augmented. It has been observed, moreover, that the intensity of +human passions is heightened, not only by the importance of the +end which they propose to attain, but by the multitude of +individuals who are animated by them at the same time. Every one +has had occasion to remark that his emotions in the midst of a +sympathizing crowd are far greater than those which he would have +felt in solitude. In great republics the impetus of political +passion is irresistible, not only because it aims at gigantic +purposes, but because it is felt and shared by millions of men at +the same time. + +It may therefore be asserted as a general proposition that +nothing is more opposed to the well-being and the freedom of man +than vast empires. Nevertheless it is important to acknowledge +the peculiar advantages of great States. For the very reason +which renders the desire of power more intense in these +communities than amongst ordinary men, the love of glory is also +more prominent in the hearts of a class of citizens, who regard +the applause of a great people as a reward worthy of their +exertions, and an elevating encouragement to man. If we would +learn why it is that great nations contribute more powerfully to +the spread of human improvement than small States, we shall +discover an adequate cause in the rapid and energetic circulation +of ideas, and in those great cities which are the intellectual +centres where all the rays of human genius are reflected and +combined. To this it may be added that most important +discoveries demand a display of national power which the +Government of a small State is unable to make; in great nations +the Government entertains a greater number of general notions, +and is more completely disengaged from the routine of precedent +and the egotism of local prejudice; its designs are conceived +with more talent, and executed with more boldness. + +In time of peace the well-being of small nations is +undoubtedly more general and more complete, but they are apt to +suffer more acutely from the calamities of war than those great +empires whose distant frontiers may for ages avert the presence +of the danger from the mass of the people, which is therefore +more frequently afflicted than ruined by the evil. + +But in this matter, as in many others, the argument derived +from the necessity of the case predominates over all others. If +none but small nations existed, I do not doubt that mankind would +be more happy and more free; but the existence of great nations +is unavoidable. + +This consideration introduces the element of physical +strength as a condition of national prosperity. It profits a +people but little to be affluent and free if it is perpetually +exposed to be pillaged or subjugated; the number of its +manufactures and the extent of its commerce are of small +advantage if another nation has the empire of the seas and gives +the law in all the markets of the globe. Small nations are often +impoverished, not because they are small, but because they are +weak; the great empires prosper less because they are great than +because they are strong. Physical strength is therefore one of +the first conditions of the happiness and even of the existence +of nations. Hence it occurs that, unless very peculiar +circumstances intervene, small nations are always united to large +empires in the end, either by force or by their own consent: yet +I am unacquainted with a more deplorable spectacle than that of a +people unable either to defend or to maintain its independence. + +The Federal system was created with the intention of +combining the different advantages which result from the greater +and the lesser extent of nations; and a single glance over the +United States of America suffices to discover the advantages +which they have derived from its adoption. + +In great centralized nations the legislator is obliged to +impart a character of uniformity to the laws which does not +always suit the diversity of customs and of districts; as he +takes no cognizance of special cases, he can only proceed upon +general principles; and the population is obliged to conform to +the exigencies of the legislation, since the legislation cannot +adapt itself to the exigencies and the customs of the population, +which is the cause of endless trouble and misery. This +disadvantage does not exist in confederations. Congress +regulates the principal measures of the national Government, and +all the details of the administration are reserved to the +provincial legislatures. It is impossible to imagine how much +this division of sovereignty contributes to the well-being of +each of the States which compose the Union. In these small +communities, which are never agitated by the desire of +aggrandizement or the cares of self-defence, all public authority +and private energy is employed in internal amelioration. The +central government of each State, which is in immediate +juxtaposition to the citizens, is daily apprised of the wants +which arise in society; and new projects are proposed every year, +which are discussed either at town meetings or by the legislature +of the State, and which are transmitted by the press to stimulate +the zeal and to excite the interest of the citizens. This spirit +of amelioration is constantly alive in the American republics, +without compromising their tranquillity; the ambition of power +yields to the less refined and less dangerous love of comfort. +It is generally believed in America that the existence and the +permanence of the republican form of government in the New World +depend upon the existence and the permanence of the Federal +system; and it is not unusual to attribute a large share of the +misfortunes which have befallen the new States of South America +to the injudicious erection of great republics, instead of a +divided and confederate sovereignty. + +It is incontestably true that the love and the habits of +republican government in the United States were engendered in the +townships and in the provincial assemblies. In a small State, +like that of Connecticut for instance, where cutting a canal or +laying down a road is a momentous political question, where the +State has no army to pay and no wars to carry on, and where much +wealth and much honor cannot be bestowed upon the chief citizens, +no form of government can be more natural or more appropriate +than that of a republic. But it is this same republican spirit, +it is these manners and customs of a free people, which are +engendered and nurtured in the different States, to be afterwards +applied to the country at large. The public spirit of the Union +is, so to speak, nothing more than an abstract of the patriotic +zeal of the provinces. Every citizen of the United States +transfuses his attachment to his little republic in the common +store of American patriotism. In defending the Union he defends +the increasing prosperity of his own district, the right of +conducting its affairs, and the hope of causing measures of +improvement to be adopted which may be favorable to his own +interest; and these are motives which are wont to stir men more +readily than the general interests of the country and the glory +of the nation. + +On the other hand, if the temper and the manners of the +inhabitants especially fitted them to promote the welfare of a +great republic, the Federal system smoothed the obstacles which +they might have encountered. The confederation of all the +American States presents none of the ordinary disadvantages +resulting from great agglomerations of men. The Union is a great +republic in extent, but the paucity of objects for which its +Government provides assimilates it to a small State. Its acts +are important, but they are rare. As the sovereignty of th +Union is limited and incomplete, its exercise is not incompatible +with liberty; for it does not excite those insatiable desires of +fame and power which have proved so fatal to great republics. As +there is no common centre to the country, vast capital cities, +colossal wealth, abject poverty, and sudden revolutions are alike +unknown; and political passion, instead of spreading over the +land like a torrent of desolation, spends its strength against +the interests and the individual passions of every State. + +Nevertheless, all commodities and ideas circulate throughout +the Union as freely as in a country inhabited by one people. +Nothing checks the spirit of enterprise. Government avails +itself of the assistance of all who have talents or knowledge to +serve it. Within the frontiers of the Union the profoundest +peace prevails, as within the heart of some great empire; abroad, +it ranks with the most powerful nations of the earth; two +thousand miles of coast are open to the commerce of the world; +and as it possesses the keys of the globe, its flags is respected +in the most remote seas. The Union is as happy and as free as a +small people, and as glorious and as strong as a great nation. + +Why The Federal System Is Not Adapted To All Peoples, And How The +Anglo-Americans Were Enabled To Adopt It + +Every Federal system contains defects which baffle the efforts of +the legislator - The Federal system is complex - It demands a +daily exercise of discretion on the part of the citizens - +Practical knowledge of government common amongst the Americans - +Relative weakness of the Government of the Union, another defect +inherent in the Federal system - The Americans have diminished +without remedying it - The sovereignty of the separate States +apparently weaker, but really stronger, than that of the Union - +Why? -Natural causes of union must exist between confederate +peoples besides the laws - What these causes are amongst the +Anglo-Americans - Maine and Georgia, separated by a distance of a +thousand miles, more naturally united than Normandy and Brittany +- War, the main peril of confederations - This proved even by the +example of the United States - The Union has no great wars to +fear - Why? - Dangers to which Europeans would be exposed if they +adopted the Federal system of the Americans. + +When a legislator succeeds, after persevering efforts, in +exercising an indirect influence upon the destiny of nations, his +genius is lauded by mankind, whilst, in point of fact, the +geographical position of the country which he is unable to +change, a social condition which arose without his co-operation, +manners and opinions which he cannot trace to their source, and +an origin with which he is unacquainted, exercise so irresistible +an influence over the courses of society that he is himself borne +away by the current, after an ineffectual resistance. Like the +navigator, he may direct the vessel which bears him along, but he +can neither change its structure, nor raise the winds, nor lull +the waters which swell beneath him. + +I have shown the advantages which the Americans derive from +their federal system; it remains for me to point out the +circumstances which rendered that system practicable, as its +benefits are not to be enjoyed by all nations. The incidental +defects of the Federal system which originate in the laws may be +corrected by the skill of the legislator, but there are further +evils inherent in the system which cannot be counteracted by the +peoples which adopt it. These nations must therefore find the +strength necessary to support the natural imperfections of their +Government. + +The most prominent evil of all Federal systems is the very +complex nature of the means they employ. Two sovereignties are +necessarily in presence of each other. The legislator may +simplify and equalize the action of these two sovereignties, by +limiting each of them to a sphere of authority accurately +defined; but he cannot combine them into one, or prevent them +from coming into collision at certain points. The Federal system +therefore rests upon a theory which is necessarily complicated, +and which demands the daily exercise of a considerable share of +discretion on the part of those it governs. + +A proposition must be plain to be adopted by the +understanding of a people. A false notion which is clear and +precise will always meet with a greater number of adherents in +the world than a true principle which is obscure or involved. +Hence it arises that parties, which are like small communities in +the heart of the nation, invariably adopt some principle or some +name as a symbol, which very inadequately represents the end they +have in view and the means which are at their disposal, but +without which they could neither act nor subsist. The +governments which are founded upon a single principle or a single +feeling which is easily defined are perhaps not the best, but +they are unquestionably the strongest and the most durable in the +world. + +In examining the Constitution of the United States, which is +the most perfect federal constitution that ever existed, one is +startled, on the other hand, at the variety of information and +the excellence of discretion which it presupposes in the people +whom it is meant to govern. The government of the Union depends +entirely upon legal fictions; the Union is an ideal nation which +only exists in the mind, and whose limits and extent can only be +discerned by the understanding. + +When once the general theory is comprehended, numberless +difficulties remain to be solved in its application; for the +sovereignty of the Union is so involved in that of the States +that it is impossible to distinguish its boundaries at the first +glance. The whole structure of the Government is artificial and +conventional; and it would be ill adapted to a people which has +not been long accustomed to conduct its own affairs, or to one in +which the science of politics has not descended to the humblest +classes of society. I have never been more struck by the good +sense and the practical judgment of the Americans than in the +ingenious devices by which they elude the numberless difficulties +resulting from their Federal Constitution. I scarcely ever met +with a plain American citizen who could not distinguish, with +surprising facility, the obligations created by the laws of +Congress from those created by the laws of his own State; and +who, after having discriminated between the matters which come +under the cognizance of the Union and those which the local +legislature is competent to regulate, could not point out the +exact limit of the several jurisdictions of the Federal courts +and the tribunals of the State. + +The Constitution of the United States is like those +exquisite productions of human industry which ensure wealth and +renown to their inventors, but which are profitless in any other +hands. This truth is exemplified by the condition of Mexico at +the present time. The Mexicans were desirous of establishing a +federal system, and they took the Federal Constitution of their +neighbors, the Anglo-Americans, as their model, and copied it +with considerable accuracy. *s But although they had borrowed the +letter of the law, they were unable to create or to introduce the +spirit and the sense which give it life. They were involved in +ceaseless embarrassments between the mechanism of their double +government; the sovereignty of the States and that of the Union +perpetually exceeded their respective privileges, and entered +into collision; and to the present day Mexico is alternately the +victim of anarchy and the slave of military despotism. + +[Footnote s: See the Mexican Constitution of 1824.] + +The second and the most fatal of all the defects I have +alluded to, and that which I believe to be inherent in the +federal system, is the relative weakness of the government of the +Union. The principle upon which all confederations rest is that +of a divided sovereignty. The legislator may render this +partition less perceptible, he may even conceal it for a time +from the public eye, but he cannot prevent it from existing, and +a divided sovereignty must always be less powerful than an entire +supremacy. The reader has seen in the remarks I have made on the +Constitution of the United States that the Americans have +displayed singular ingenuity in combining the restriction of the +power of the Union within the narrow limits of a federal +government with the semblance and, to a certain extent, with the +force of a national government. By this means the legislators of +the Union have succeeded in diminishing, though not in +counteracting the natural danger of confederations. + +It has been remarked that the American Government does not +apply itself to the States, but that it immediately transmits its +injunctions to the citizens, and compels them as isolated +individuals to comply with its demands. But if the Federal law +were to clash with the interests and the prejudices of a State, +it might be feared that all the citizens of that State would +conceive themselves to be interested in the cause of a single +individual who should refuse to obey. If all the citizens of the +State were aggrieved at the same time and in the same manner by +the authority of the Union, the Federal Government would vainly +attempt to subdue them individually; they would instinctively +unite in a common defence, and they would derive a ready-prepared +organization from the share of sovereignty which the institution +of their State allows them to enjoy. Fiction would give way to +reality, and an organized portion of the territory might then +contest the central authority. *t The same observation holds good +with regard to the Federal jurisdiction. If the courts of the +Union violated an important law of a State in a private case, the +real, if not the apparent, contest would arise between the +aggrieved State represented by a citizen and the Union +represented by its courts of justice. *u + +[Footnote t: [This is precisely what occurred in 1862, and the +following paragraph describes correctly the feelings and notions +of the South. General Lee held that his primary allegiance was +due, not to the Union, but to Virginia.]] + +[Footnote u: For instance, the Union possesses by the +Constitution the right of selling unoccupied lands for its own +profit. Supposing that the State of Ohio should claim the same +right in behalf of certain territories lying within its +boundaries, upon the plea that the Constitution refers to those +lands alone which do not belong to the jurisdiction of any +particular State, and consequently should choose to dispose of +them itself, the litigation would be carried on in the names of +the purchasers from the State of Ohio and the purchasers from the +Union, and not in the names of Ohio and the Union. But what would +become of this legal fiction if the Federal purchaser was +confirmed in his right by the courts of the Union, whilst the +other competitor was ordered to retain possession by the +tribunals of the State of Ohio?] + +He would have but a partial knowledge of the world who +should imagine that it is possible, by the aid of legal fictions, +to prevent men from finding out and employing those means of +gratifying their passions which have been left open to them; and +it may be doubted whether the American legislators, when they +rendered a collision between the two sovereigns less probable, +destroyed the cause of such a misfortune. But it may even be +affirmed that they were unable to ensure the preponderance of the +Federal element in a case of this kind. The Union is possessed +of money and of troops, but the affections and the prejudices of +the people are in the bosom of the States. The sovereignty of the +Union is an abstract being, which is connected with but few +external objects; the sovereignty of the States is hourly +perceptible, easily understood, constantly active; and if the +former is of recent creation, the latter is coeval with the +people itself. The sovereignty of the Union is factitious, that +of the States is natural, and derives its existence from its own +simple influence, like the authority of a parent. The supreme +power of the nation only affects a few of the chief interests of +society; it represents an immense but remote country, and claims +a feeling of patriotism which is vague and ill defined; but the +authority of the States controls every individual citizen at +every hour and in all circumstances; it protects his property, +his freedom, and his life; and when we recollect the traditions, +the customs, the prejudices of local and familiar attachment with +which it is connected, we cannot doubt of the superiority of a +power which is interwoven with every circumstance that renders +the love of one's native country instinctive in the human heart. + +Since legislators are unable to obviate such dangerous +collisions as occur between the two sovereignties which coexist +in the federal system, their first object must be, not only to +dissuade the confederate States from warfare, but to encourage +such institutions as may promote the maintenance of peace. Hence +it results that the Federal compact cannot be lasting unless +there exists in the communities which are leagued together a +certain number of inducements to union which render their common +dependence agreeable, and the task of the Government light, and +that system cannot succeed without the presence of favorable +circumstances added to the influence of good laws. All the +peoples which have ever formed a confederation have been held +together by a certain number of common interests, which served as +the intellectual ties of association. + +But the sentiments and the principles of man must be taken +into consideration as well as his immediate interests. A certain +uniformity of civilization is not less necessary to the +durability of a confederation than a uniformity of interests in +the States which compose it. In Switzerland the difference which +exists between the Canton of Uri and the Canton of Vaud is equal +to that between the fifteenth and the nineteenth centuries; and, +properly speaking, Switzerland has never possessed a federal +government. The union between these two cantons only subsists +upon the map, and their discrepancies would soon be perceived if +an attempt were made by a central authority to prescribe the same +laws to the whole territory. + +One of the circumstances which most powerfully contribute to +support the Federal Government in America is that the States have +not only similar interests, a common origin, and a common tongue, +but that they are also arrived at the same stage of civilization; +which almost always renders a union feasible. I do not know of +any European nation, how small soever it may be, which does not +present less uniformity in its different provinces than the +American people, which occupies a territory as extensive as +one-half of Europe. The distance from the State of Maine to that +of Georgia is reckoned at about one thousand miles; but the +difference between the civilization of Maine and that of Georgia +is slighter than the difference between the habits of Normandy +and those of Brittany. Maine and Georgia, which are placed at +the opposite extremities of a great empire, are consequently in +the natural possession of more real inducements to form a +confederation than Normandy and Brittany, which are only +separated by a bridge. + +The geographical position of the country contributed to +increase the facilities which the American legislators derived +from the manners and customs of the inhabitants; and it is to +this circumstance that the adoption and the maintenance of the +Federal system are mainly attributable. + +The most important occurrence which can mark the annals of a +people is the breaking out of a war. In war a people struggles +with the energy of a single man against foreign nations in the +defence of its very existence. The skill of a government, the +good sense of the community, and the natural fondness which men +entertain for their country, may suffice to maintain peace in the +interior of a district, and to favor its internal prosperity; but +a nation can only carry on a great war at the cost of more +numerous and more painful sacrifices; and to suppose that a great +number of men will of their own accord comply with these +exigencies of the State is to betray an ignorance of mankind. +All the peoples which have been obliged to sustain a long and +serious warfare have consequently been led to augment the power +of their government. Those which have not succeeded in this +attempt have been subjugated. A long war almost always places +nations in the wretched alternative of being abandoned to ruin by +defeat or to despotism by success. War therefore renders the +symptoms of the weakness of a government most palpable and most +alarming; and I have shown that the inherent defeat of federal +governments is that of being weak. + +The Federal system is not only deficient in every kind of +centralized administration, but the central government itself is +imperfectly organized, which is invariably an influential cause +of inferiority when the nation is opposed to other countries +which are themselves governed by a single authority. In the +Federal Constitution of the United States, by which the central +government possesses more real force, this evil is still +extremely sensible. An example will illustrate the case to the +reader. + +The Constitution confers upon Congress the right of calling +forth militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress +insurrections, and repel invasions; and another article declares +that the President of the United States is the commander-in-chief +of the militia. In the war of 1812 the President ordered the +militia of the Northern States to march to the frontiers; but +Connecticut and Massachusetts, whose interests were impaired by +the war, refused to obey the command. They argued that the +Constitution authorizes the Federal Government to call forth the +militia in case of insurrection or invasion, but that in the +present instance there was neither invasion nor insurrection. +They added, that the same Constitution which conferred upon the +Union the right of calling forth the militia reserved to the +States that of naming the officers; and that consequently (as +they understood the clause) no officer of the Union had any right +to command the militia, even during war, except the President in +person; and in this case they were ordered to join an army +commanded by another individual. These absurd and pernicious +doctrines received the sanction not only of the governors and the +legislative bodies, but also of the courts of justice in both +States; and the Federal Government was constrained to raise +elsewhere the troops which it required. *v + +[Footnote v: Kent's "Commentaries," vol. i. p. 244. I have +selected an example which relates to a time posterior to the +promulgation of the present Constitution. If I had gone back to +the days of the Confederation, I might have given still more +striking instances. The whole nation was at that time in a state +of enthusiastic excitement; the Revolution was represented by a +man who was the idol of the people; but at that very period +Congress had, to say the truth, no resources at all at its +disposal. Troops and supplies were perpetually wanting. The +best-devised projects failed in the execution, and the Union, +which was constantly on the verge of destruction, was saved by +the weakness of its enemies far more than by its own strength. +[All doubt as to the powers of the Federal Executive was, +however, removed by its efforts in the Civil War, and those +powers were largely extended.]] + +The only safeguard which the American Union, with all the +relative perfection of its laws, possesses against the +dissolution which would be produced by a great war, lies in its +probable exemption from that calamity. Placed in the centre of an +immense continent, which offers a boundless field for human +industry, the Union is almost as much insulated from the world as +if its frontiers were girt by the ocean. Canada contains only a +million of inhabitants, and its population is divided into two +inimical nations. The rigor of the climate limits the extension +of its territory, and shuts up its ports during the six months of +winter. From Canada to the Gulf of Mexico a few savage tribes +are to be met with, which retire, perishing in their retreat, +before six thousand soldiers. To the South, the Union has a +point of contact with the empire of Mexico; and it is thence that +serious hostilities may one day be expected to arise. But for a +long while to come the uncivilized state of the Mexican +community, the depravity of its morals, and its extreme poverty, +will prevent that country from ranking high amongst nations. *w +As for the Powers of Europe, they are too distant to be +formidable. + +[Footnote w: [War broke out between the United States and Mexico +in 1846, and ended in the conquest of an immense territory, +including California.]] + +The great advantage of the United States does not, then, +consist in a Federal Constitution which allows them to carry on +great wars, but in a geographical position which renders such +enterprises extremely improbable. + +No one can be more inclined than I am myself to appreciate +the advantages of the federal system, which I hold to be one of +the combinations most favorable to the prosperity and freedom of +man. I envy the lot of those nations which have been enabled to +adopt it; but I cannot believe that any confederate peoples could +maintain a long or an equal contest with a nation of similar +strength in which the government should be centralized. A people +which should divide its sovereignty into fractional powers, in +the presence of the great military monarchies of Europe, would, +in my opinion, by that very act, abdicate its power, and perhaps +its existence and its name. But such is the admirable position +of the New World that man has no other enemy than himself; and +that, in order to be happy and to be free, it suffices to seek +the gifts of prosperity and the knowledge of freedom. + + +Chapter XI: Why The People May Strictly Be Said To Govern In The +United States + +I have hitherto examined the institutions of the United +States; I have passed their legislation in review, and I have +depicted the present characteristics of political society in that +country. But a sovereign power exists above these institutions +and beyond these characteristic features which may destroy or +modify them at its pleasure - I mean that of the people. It +remains to be shown in what manner this power, which regulates +the laws, acts: its propensities and its passions remain to be +pointed out, as well as the secret springs which retard, +accelerate, or direct its irresistible course; and the effects of +its unbounded authority, with the destiny which is probably +reserved for it. + + +Chapter X: Why The People May Strictly Be Said To Govern In The +United States + +In America the people appoints the legislative and the +executive power, and furnishes the jurors who punish all offences +against the laws. The American institutions are democratic, not +only in their principle but in all their consequences; and the +people elects its representatives directly, and for the most part +annually, in order to ensure their dependence. The people is +therefore the real directing power; and although the form of +government is representative, it is evident that the opinions, +the prejudices, the interests, and even the passions of the +community are hindered by no durable obstacles from exercising a +perpetual influence on society. In the United States the +majority governs in the name of the people, as is the case in all +the countries in which the people is supreme. The majority is +principally composed of peaceful citizens who, either by +inclination or by interest, are sincerely desirous of the welfare +of their country. But they are surrounded by the incessant +agitation of parties, which attempt to gain their co-operation +and to avail themselves of their support. +Chapter X: Parties In The United States + +Chapter Summary + +Great distinction to be made between parties - Parties which are +to each other as rival nations - Parties properly so called - +Difference between great and small parties - Epochs which produce +them - Their characteristics - America has had great parties - +They are extinct - Federalists - Republicans - Defeat of the +Federalists - Difficulty of creating parties in the United States +-What is done with this intention - Aristocratic or democratic +character to be met with in all parties - Struggle of General +Jackson against the Bank. + +Parties In The United States + +A great distinction must be made between parties. Some +countries are so large that the different populations which +inhabit them have contradictory interests, although they are the +subjects of the same Government, and they may thence be in a +perpetual state of opposition. In this case the different +fractions of the people may more properly be considered as +distinct nations than as mere parties; and if a civil war breaks +out, the struggle is carried on by rival peoples rather than by +factions in the State. + +But when the citizens entertain different opinions upon +subjects which affect the whole country alike, such, for +instance, as the principles upon which the government is to be +conducted, then distinctions arise which may correctly be styled +parties. Parties are a necessary evil in free governments; but +they have not at all times the same character and the same +propensities. + +At certain periods a nation may be oppressed by such +insupportable evils as to conceive the design of effecting a +total change in its political constitution; at other times the +mischief lies still deeper, and the existence of society itself +is +endangered. Such are the times of great revolutions and of great +parties. But between these epochs of misery and of confusion +there are periods during which human society seems to rest, and +mankind to make a pause. This pause is, indeed, only apparent, +for time does not stop its course for nations any more than for +men; they are all advancing towards a goal with which they are +unacquainted; and we only imagine them to be stationary when +their progress escapes our observation, as men who are going at a +foot-pace seem to be standing still to those who run. + +But however this may be, there are certain epochs at which +the changes that take place in the social and political +constitution of nations are so slow and so insensible that men +imagine their present condition to be a final state; and the +human mind, believing itself to be firmly based upon certain +foundations, does not extend its researches beyond the horizon +which it descries. These are the times of small parties and of +intrigue. + +The political parties which I style great are those which +cling to principles more than to their consequences; to general, +and not to especial cases; to ideas, and not to men. These +parties are usually distinguished by a nobler character, by more +generous passions, more genuine convictions, and a more bold and +open conduct than the others. In them private interest, which +always plays the chief part in political passions, is more +studiously veiled under the pretext of the public good; and it +may even be sometimes concealed from the eyes of the very persons +whom it excites and impels. + +Minor parties are, on the other hand, generally deficient in +political faith. As they are not sustained or dignified by a +lofty purpose, they ostensibly display the egotism of their +character in their actions. They glow with a factitious zeal; +their language is vehement, but their conduct is timid and +irresolute. The means they employ are as wretched as the end at +which they aim. Hence it arises that when a calm state of things +succeeds a violent revolution, the leaders of society seem +suddenly to disappear, and the powers of the human mind to lie +concealed. Society is convulsed by great parties, by minor ones +it is agitated; it is torn by the former, by the latter it is +degraded; and if these sometimes save it by a salutary +perturbation, those invariably disturb it to no good end. + +America has already lost the great parties which once +divided the nation; and if her happiness is considerably +increased, her morality has suffered by their extinction. When +the War of Independence was terminated, and the foundations of +the new Government were to be laid down, the nation was divided +between two opinions - two opinions which are as old as the +world, and which are perpetually to be met with under all the +forms and all the names which have ever obtained in free +communities - the one tending to limit, the other to extend +indefinitely, the power of the people. The conflict of these two +opinions never assumed that degree of violence in America which +it has frequently displayed elsewhere. Both parties of the +Americans were, in fact, agreed upon the most essential points; +and neither of them had to destroy a traditionary constitution, +or to overthrow the structure of society, in order to ensure its +own triumph. In neither of them, consequently, were a great +number of private interests affected by success or by defeat; but +moral principles of a high order, such as the love of equality +and of independence, were concerned in the struggle, and they +sufficed to kindle violent passions. + +The party which desired to limit the power of the people +endeavored to apply its doctrines more especially to the +Constitution of the Union, whence it derived its name of Federal. +The other party, which affected to be more exclusively attached +to the cause of liberty, took that of Republican. America is a +land of democracy, and the Federalists were always in a minority; +but they reckoned on their side almost all the great men who had +been called forth by the War of Independence, and their moral +influence was very considerable. Their cause was, moreover, +favored by circumstances. The ruin of the Confederation had +impressed the people with a dread of anarchy, and the Federalists +did not fail to profit by this transient disposition of the +multitude. For ten or twelve years they were at the head of +affairs, and they were able to apply some, though not all, of +their principles; for the hostile current was becoming from day +to day too violent to be checked or stemmed. In 1801 the +Republicans got possession of the Government; Thomas Jefferson +was named President; and he increased the influence of their +party by the weight of his celebrity, the greatness of his +talents, and the immense extent of his popularity. + +The means by which the Federalists had maintained their +position were artificial, and their resources were temporary; it +was by the virtues or the talents of their leaders that they had +risen to power. When the Republicans attained to that lofty +station, their opponents were overwhelmed by utter defeat. An +immense majority declared itself against the retiring party, and +the Federalists found themselves in so small a minority that they +at once despaired of their future success. From that moment the +Republican or Democratic party *a has proceeded from conquest to +conquest, until it has acquired absolute supremacy in the +country. The Federalists, perceiving that they were vanquished +without resource, and isolated in the midst of the nation, fell +into two divisions, of which one joined the victorious +Republicans, and the other abandoned its rallying-point and its +name. Many years have already elapsed since they ceased to exist +as a party. + +[Footnote a: [It is scarcely necessary to remark that in more +recent times the signification of these terms has changed. The +Republicans are the representatives of the old Federalists, and +the Democrats of the old Republicans. - Trans. Note (1861).]] The +accession of the Federalists to power was, in my opinion, one of +the most fortunate incidents which accompanied the formation of +the great American Union; they resisted the inevitable +propensities of their age and of the country. But whether their +theories were good or bad, they had the effect of being +inapplicable, as a system, to the society which they professed to +govern, and that which occurred under the auspices of Jefferson +must therefore have taken place sooner or later. But their +Government gave the new republic time to acquire a certain +stability, and afterwards to support the rapid growth of the very +doctrines which they had combated. A considerable number of +their principles were in point of fact embodied in the political +creed of their opponents; and the Federal Constitution which +subsists at the present day is a lasting monument of their +patriotism and their wisdom. + +Great political parties are not, then, to be met with in the +United States at the present time. Parties, indeed, may be found +which threaten the future tranquillity of the Union; but there +are none which seem to contest the present form of Government or +the present course of society. The parties by which the Union is +menaced do not rest upon abstract principles, but upon temporal +interests. These interests, disseminated in the provinces of so +vast an empire, may be said to constitute rival nations rather +than parties. Thus, upon a recent occasion, the North contended +for the system of commercial prohibition, and the South took up +arms in favor of free trade, simply because the North is a +manufacturing and the South an agricultural district; and that +the restrictive system which was profitable to the one was +prejudicial to the other. *b + +[Footnote b: [The divisions of North and South have since +acquired a far greater degree of intensity, and the South, though +conquered, still presents a formidable spirit of opposition to +Northern government. - Translator's Note, 1875.]] + +In the absence of great parties, the United States abound +with lesser controversies; and public opinion is divided into a +thousand minute shades of difference upon questions of very +little moment. The pains which are taken to create parties are +inconceivable, and at the present day it is no easy task. In the +United States there is no religious animosity, because all +religion is respected, and no sect is predominant; there is no +jealousy of rank, because the people is everything, and none can +contest its authority; lastly, there is no public indigence to +supply the means of agitation, because the physical position of +the country opens so wide a field to industry that man is able to +accomplish the most surprising undertakings with his own native +resources. Nevertheless, ambitious men are interbsted in the +creation of parties, since it is difficult to eject a person from +authority upon the mere ground that his place is coveted by +others. The skill of the actors in the political world lies +therefore in the art of creating parties. A political aspirant in +the United States begins by discriminating his own interest, and +by calculating upon those interests which may be collected around +and amalgamated with it; he then contrives to discover some +doctrine or some principle which may suit the purposes of this +new association, and which he adopts in order to bring forward +his party and to secure his popularity; just as the imprimatur of +a King was in former days incorporated with the volume which it +authorized, but to which it nowise belonged. When these +preliminaries are terminated, the new party is ushered into the +political world. + +All the domestic controversies of the Americans at first +appear to a stranger to be so incomprehensible and so puerile +that he is at a loss whether to pity a people which takes such +arrant trifles in good earnest, or to envy the happiness which +enables it to discuss them. But when he comes to study the +secret propensities which govern the factions of America, he +easily perceives that the greater part of them are more or less +connected with one or the other of those two divisions which have +always existed in free communities. The deeper we penetrate into +the working of these parties, the more do we perceive that the +object of the one is to limit, and that of the other to extend, +the popular authority. I do not assert that the ostensible end, +or even that the secret aim, of American parties is to promote +the rule of aristocracy or democracy in the country; but I affirm +that aristocratic or democratic passions may easily be detected +at the bottom of all parties, and that, although they escape a +superficial observation, they are the main point and the very +soul of every faction in the United States. + +To quote a recent example. When the President attacked the +Bank, the country was excited and parties were formed; the well- +informed classes rallied round the Bank, the common people round +the President. But it must not be imagined that the people had +formed a rational opinion upon a question which offers so many +difficulties to the most experienced statesmen. The Bank is a +great establishment which enjoys an independent existence, and +the people, accustomed to make and unmake whatsoever it pleases, +is startled to meet with this obstacle to its authority. In the +midst of the perpetual fluctuation of society the community is +irritated by so permanent an institution, and is led to attack it +in order to see whether it can be shaken and controlled, like all +the other institutions of the country. + +Remains Of The Aristocratic Party In The United States + +Secret opposition of wealthy individuals to democracy - Their +retirement -Their taste for exclusive pleasures and for luxury at +home - Their simplicity abroad - Their affected condescension +towards the people. + +It sometimes happens in a people amongst which various +opinions prevail that the balance of the several parties is lost, +and one of them obtains an irresistible preponderance, overpowers +all obstacles, harasses its opponents, and appropriates all the +resources of society to its own purposes. The vanquished +citizens despair of success and they conceal their +dissatisfaction in silence and in general apathy. The nation +seems to be governed by a single principle, and the prevailing +party assumes the credit of having restored peace and unanimity +to the country. But this apparent unanimity is merely a cloak to +alarming dissensions and perpetual opposition. + +This is precisely what occurred in America; when the +democratic party got the upper hand, it took exclusive possession +of the conduct of affairs, and from that time the laws and the +customs of society have been adapted to its caprices. At the +present day the more affluent classes of society are so entirely +removed from the direction of political affairs in the United +States that wealth, far from conferring a right to the exercise +of power, is rather an obstacle than a means of attaining to it. +The wealthy members of the community abandon the lists, through +unwillingness to contend, and frequently to contend in vain, +against the poorest classes of their fellow citizens. They +concentrate all their enjoyments in the privacy of their homes, +where they occupy a rank which cannot be assumed in public; and +they constitute a private society in the State, which has its own +tastes and its own pleasures. They submit to this state of things +as an irremediable evil, but they are careful not to show that +they are galled by its continuance; it is even not uncommon to +hear them laud the delights of a republican government, and the +advantages of democratic institutions when they are in public. +Next to hating their enemies, men are most inclined to flatter +them. + +Mark, for instance, that opulent citizen, who is as anxious +as a Jew of the Middle Ages to conceal his wealth. His dress is +plain, his demeanor unassuming; but the interior of his dwelling +glitters with luxury, and none but a few chosen guests whom he +haughtily styles his equals are allowed to penetrate into this +sanctuary. No European noble is more exclusive in his pleasures, +or more jealous of the smallest advantages which his privileged +station confers upon him. But the very same individual crosses +the city to reach a dark counting-house in the centre of traffic, +where every one may accost him who pleases. If he meets his +cobbler upon the way, they stop and converse; the two citizens +discuss the affairs of the State in which they have an equal +interest, and they shake hands before they part. + +But beneath this artificial enthusiasm, and these obsequious +attentions to the preponderating power, it is easy to perceive +that the wealthy members of the community entertain a hearty +distaste to the democratic institutions of their country. The +populace is at once the object of their scorn and of their fears. +If the maladministration of the democracy ever brings about a +revolutionary crisis, and if monarchical institutions ever become +practicable in the United States, the truth of what I advance +will become obvious. + +The two chief weapons which parties use in order to ensure +success are the public press and the formation of associations. + +Chapter XI: Liberty Of The Press In The United States + +Chapter Summary + +Difficulty of restraining the liberty of the press - Particular +reasons which some nations have to cherish this liberty - The +liberty of the press a necessary consequence of the sovereignty +of the people as it is understood in America - Violent language +of the periodical press in the United States -Propensities of the +periodical press - Illustrated by the United States -Opinion of +the Americans upon the repression of the abuse of the liberty of +the press by judicial prosecutions - Reasons for which the press +is less powerful in America than in France. + +Liberty Of The Press In The United States + +The influence of the liberty of the press does not affect +political opinions alone, but it extends to all the opinions of +men, and it modifies customs as well as laws. In another part of +this work I shall attempt to determinate the degree of influence +which the liberty of the press has exercised upon civil society +in the United States, and to point out the direction which it has +given to the ideas, as well as the tone which it has imparted to +the character and the feelings, of the Anglo-Americans, but at +present I purpose simply to examine the effects produced by the +liberty of the press in the political world. + +I confess that I do not entertain that firm and complete +attachment to the liberty of the press which things that are +supremely good in their very nature are wont to excite in the +mind; and I approve of it more from a recollection of the evils +it prevents than from a consideration of the advantages it +ensures. + +If any one could point out an intermediate and yet a tenable +position between the complete independence and the entire +subjection of the public expression of opinion, I should perhaps +be inclined to adopt it; but the difficulty is to discover this +position. If it is your intention to correct the abuses of +unlicensed printing and to restore the use of orderly language, +you may in the first instance try the offender by a jury; but if +the jury acquits him, the opinion which was that of a single +individual becomes the opinion of the country at large. Too much +and too little has therefore hitherto been done. If you proceed, +you must bring the delinquent before a court of permanent judges. +But even here the cause must be heard before it can be decided; +and the very principles which no book would have ventured to avow +are blazoned forth in the pleadings, and what was obscurely +hinted at in a single composition is then repeated in a multitude +of other publications. The language in which a thought is +embodied is the mere carcass of the thought, and not the idea +itself; tribunals may condemn the form, but the sense and spirit +of the work is too subtle for their authority. Too much has still +been done to recede, too little to attain your end; you must +therefore proceed. If you establish a censorship of the press, +the tongue of the public speaker will still make itself heard, +and you have only increased the mischief. The powers of thought +do not rely, like the powers of physical strength, upon the +number of their mechanical agents, nor can a host of authors be +reckoned like the troops which compose an army; on the contrary, +the authority of a principle is often increased by the smallness +of the number of men by whom it is expressed. The words of a +strong-minded man, which penetrate amidst the passions of a +listening assembly, have more power than the vociferations of a +thousand orators; and if it be allowed to speak freely in any +public place, the consequence is the same as if free speaking was +allowed in every village. The liberty of discourse must +therefore be destroyed as well as the liberty of the press; this +is the necessary term of your efforts; but if your object was to +repress the abuses of liberty, they have brought you to the feet +of a despot. You have been led from the extreme of independence +to the extreme of subjection without meeting with a single +tenable position for shelter or repose. + +There are certain nations which have peculiar reasons for +cherishing the liberty of the press, independently of the general +motives which I have just pointed out. For in certain countries +which profess to enjoy the privileges of freedom every individual +agent of the Government may violate the laws with impunity, since +those whom he oppresses cannot prosecute him before the courts of +justice. In this case the liberty of the press is not merely a +guarantee, but it is the only guarantee, of their liberty and +their security which the citizens possess. If the rulers of +these nations propose to abolish the independence of the press, +the people would be justified in saying: Give us the right of +prosecuting your offences before the ordinary tribunals, and +perhaps we may then waive our right of appeal to the tribunal of +public opinion. + +But in the countries in which the doctrine of the +sovereignty of the people ostensibly prevails, the censorship of +the press is not only dangerous, but it is absurd. When the +right of every citizen to co-operate in the government of society +is acknowledged, every citizen must be presumed to possess the +power of discriminating between the different opinions of his +contemporaries, and of appreciating the different facts from +which inferences may be drawn. The sovereignty of the people and +the liberty of the press may therefore be looked upon as +correlative institutions; just as the censorship of the press and +universal suffrage are two things which are irreconcilably +opposed, and which cannot long be retained among the institutions +of the same people. Not a single individual of the twelve +millions who inhabit the territory of the United States has as +yet dared to propose any restrictions to the liberty of the +press. The first newspaper over which I cast my eyes, upon my +arrival in America, contained the following article: + +In all this affair the language of Jackson has been that of +a heartless despot, solely occupied with the preservation of +his own authority. Ambition is his crime, and it will be his +punishment too: intrigue is his native element, and intrigue +will confound his tricks, and will deprive him of his power: +he governs by means of corruption, and his immoral practices +will redound to his shame and confusion. His conduct in the +political arena has been that of a shameless and lawless +gamester. He succeeded at the time, but the hour of +retribution approaches, and he will be obliged to disgorge +his winnings, to throw aside his false dice, and to end his +days in some retirement, where he may curse his madness at +his leisure; for repentance is a virtue with which his heart is +likely to remain forever unacquainted. + +It is not uncommonly imagined in France that the virulence +of the press originates in the uncertain social condition, in the +political excitement, and the general sense of consequent evil +which prevail in that country; and it is therefore supposed that +as soon as society has resumed a certain degree of composure the +press will abandon its present vehemence. I am inclined to think +that the above causes explain the reason of the extraordinary +ascendency it has acquired over the nation, but that they do not +exercise much influence upon the tone of its language. The +periodical press appears to me to be actuated by passions and +propensities independent of the circumstances in which it is +placed, and the present position of America corroborates this +opinion. + +America is perhaps, at this moment, the country of the whole +world which contains the fewest germs of revolution; but the +press is not less destructive in its principles than in France, +and it displays the same violence without the same reasons for +indignation. In America, as in France, it constitutes a singular +power, so strangely composed of mingled good and evil that it is +at the same time indispensable to the existence of freedom, and +nearly incompatible with the maintenance of public order. Its +power is certainly much greater in France than in the United +States; though nothing is more rare in the latter country than to +hear of a prosecution having been instituted against it. The +reason of this is perfectly simple: the Americans, having once +admitted the doctrine of the sovereignty of the people, apply it +with perfect consistency. It was never their intention to found +a permanent state of things with elements which undergo daily +modifications; and there is consequently nothing criminal in an +attack upon the existing laws, provided it be not attended with a +violent infraction of them. They are moreover of opinion that +courts of justice are unable to check the abuses of the press; +and that as the subtilty of human language perpetually eludes the +severity of judicial analysis, offences of this nature are apt to +escape the hand which attempts to apprehend them. They hold that +to act with efficacy upon the press it would be necessary to find +a tribunal, not only devoted to the existing order of things, but +capable of surmounting the influence of public opinion; a +tribunal which should conduct its proceedings without publicity, +which should pronounce its decrees without assigning its motives, +and punish the intentions even more than the language of an +author. Whosoever should have the power of creating and +maintaining a tribunal of this kind would waste his time in +prosecuting the liberty of the press; for he would be the supreme +master of the whole community, and he would be as free to rid +himself of the authors as of their writings. In this question, +therefore, there is no medium between servitude and extreme +license; in order to enjoy the inestimable benefits which the +liberty of the press ensures, it is necessary to submit to the +inevitable evils which it engenders. To expect to acquire the +former and to escape the latter is to cherish one of those +illusions which commonly mislead nations in their times of +sickness, when, tired with faction and exhausted by effort, they +attempt to combine hostile opinions and contrary principles upon +the same soil. + +The small influence of the American journals is attributable +to several reasons, amongst which are the following: + +The liberty of writing, like all other liberty, is most +formidable when it is a novelty; for a people which has never +been accustomed to co-operate in the conduct of State affairs +places implicit confidence in the first tribune who arouses its +attention. The Anglo-Americans have enjoyed this liberty ever +since the foundation of the settlements; moreover, the press +cannot create human passions by its own power, however skillfully +it may kindle them where they exist. In America politics are +discussed with animation and a varied activity, but they rarely +touch those deep passions which are excited whenever the positive +interest of a part of the community is impaired: but in the +United States the interests of the community are in a most +prosperous condition. A single glance upon a French and an +American newspaper is sufficient to show the difference which +exists between the two nations on this head. In France the space +allotted to commercial advertisements is very limited, and the +intelligence is not considerable, but the most essential part of +the journal is that which contains the discussion of the politics +of the day. In America three-quarters of the enormous sheet +which is set before the reader are filled with advertisements, +and the remainder is frequently occupied by political +intelligence or trivial anecdotes: it is only from time to time +that one finds a corner devoted to passionate discussions like +those with which the journalists of France are wont to indulge +their readers. + +It has been demonstrated by observation, and discovered by +the innate sagacity of the pettiest as well as the greatest of +despots, that the influence of a power is increased in proportion +as its direction is rendered more central. In France the press +combines a twofold centralization; almost all its power is +centred in the same spot, and vested in the same hands, for its +organs are far from numerous. The influence of a public press +thus constituted, upon a sceptical nation, must be unbounded. It +is an enemy with which a Government may sign an occasional truce, +but which it is difficult to resist for any length of time. + +Neither of these kinds of centralization exists in America. +The United States have no metropolis; the intelligence as well as +the power of the country are dispersed abroad, and instead of +radiating from a point, they cross each other in every direction; +the Americans have established no central control over the +expression of opinion, any more than over the conduct of +business. These are circumstances which do not depend on human +foresight; but it is owing to the laws of the Union that there +are no licenses to be granted to printers, no securities demanded +from editors as in France, and no stamp duty as in France and +formerly in England. The consequence of this is that nothing is +easier than to set up a newspaper, and a small number of readers +suffices to defray the expenses of the editor. + +The number of periodical and occasional publications which +appears in the United States actually surpasses belief. The most +enlightened Americans attribute the subordinate influence of the +press to this excessive dissemination; and it is adopted as an +axiom of political science in that country that the only way to +neutralize the effect of public journals is to multiply them +indefinitely. I cannot conceive that a truth which is so self- +evident should not already have been more generally admitted in +Europe; it is comprehensible that the persons who hope to bring +about revolutions by means of the press should be desirous of +confining its action to a few powerful organs, but it is +perfectly incredible that the partisans of the existing state of +things, and the natural supporters of the law, should attempt to +diminish the influence of the press by concentrating its +authority. The Governments of Europe seem to treat the press with +the courtesy of the knights of old; they are anxious to furnish +it with the same central power which they have found to be so +trusty a weapon, in order to enhance the glory of their +resistance to its attacks. + +In America there is scarcely a hamlet which has not its own +newspaper. It may readily be imagined that neither discipline nor +unity of design can be communicated to so multifarious a host, +and each one is consequently led to fight under his own standard. +All the political journals of the United States are indeed +arrayed on the side of the administration or against it; but they +attack and defend in a thousand different ways. They cannot +succeed in forming those great currents of opinion which +overwhelm the most solid obstacles. This division of the +influence of the press produces a variety of other consequences +which are scarcely less remarkable. The facility with which +journals can be established induces a multitude of individuals to +take a part in them; but as the extent of competition precludes +the possibility of considerable profit, the most distinguished +classes of society are rarely led to engage in these +undertakings. But such is the number of the public prints that, +even if they were a source of wealth, writers of ability could +not be found to direct them all. The journalists of the United +States are usually placed in a very humble position, with a +scanty education and a vulgar turn of mind. The will of the +majority is the most general of laws, and it establishes certain +habits which form the characteristics of each peculiar class of +society; thus it dictates the etiquette practised at courts and +the etiquette of the bar. The characteristics of the French +journalist consist in a violent, but frequently an eloquent and +lofty, manner of discussing the politics of the day; and the +exceptions to this habitual practice are only occasional. The +characteristics of the American journalist consist in an open and +coarse appeal to the passions of the populace; and he habitually +abandons the principles of political science to assail the +characters of individuals, to track them into private life, and +disclose all their weaknesses and errors. + +Nothing can be more deplorable than this abuse of the powers +of thought; I shall have occasion to point out hereafter the +influence of the newspapers upon the taste and the morality of +the American people, but my present subject exclusively concerns +the political world. It cannot be denied that the effects of +this extreme license of the press tend indirectly to the +maintenance of public order. The individuals who are already in +the possession of a high station in the esteem of their +fellow-citizens are afraid to write in the newspapers, and they +are thus deprived of the most powerful instrument which they can +use to excite the passions of the multitude to their own +advantage. *a + +[Footnote a: They only write in the papers when they choose to +address the people in their own name; as, for instance, when they +are called upon to repel calumnious imputations, and to correct a +misstatement of facts.] + +The personal opinions of the editors have no kind of weight +in the eyes of the public: the only use of a journal is, that it +imparts the knowledge of certain facts, and it is only by +altering or distorting those facts that a journalist can +contribute to the support of his own views. + +But although the press is limited to these resources, its +influence in America is immense. It is the power which impels +the circulation of political life through all the districts of +that vast territory. Its eye is constantly open to detect the +secret springs of political designs, and to summon the leaders of +all parties to the bar of public opinion. It rallies the +interests of the community round certain principles, and it draws +up the creed which factions adopt; for it affords a means of +intercourse between parties which hear, and which address each +other without ever having been in immediate contact. When a +great number of the organs of the press adopt the same line of +conduct, their influence becomes irresistible; and public +opinion, when it is perpetually assailed from the same side, +eventually yields to the attack. In the United States each +separate journal exercises but little authority, but the power of +the periodical press is only second to that of the people. *b + +[Footnote b: See Appendix, P.] + +The opinions established in the United States under the +empire of the liberty of the press are frequently more +firmly rooted than those which are formed elsewhere under +the sanction of a censor. + +In the United States the democracy perpetually raises fresh +individuals to the conduct of public affairs; and the measures of +the administration are consequently seldom regulated by the +strict rules of consistency or of order. But the general +principles of the Government are more stable, and the opinions +most prevalent in society are generally more durable than in many +other countries. When once the Americans have taken up an idea, +whether it be well or ill founded, nothing is more difficult than +to eradicate it from their minds. The same tenacity of opinion +has been observed in England, where, for the last century, +greater freedom of conscience and more invincible prejudices have +existed than in all the other countries of Europe. I attribute +this consequence to a cause which may at first sight appear to +have a very opposite tendency, namely, to the liberty of the +press. The nations amongst which this liberty exists are as apt +to cling to their opinions from pride as from conviction. They +cherish them because they hold them to be just, and because they +exercised their own free-will in choosing them; and they maintain +them not only because they are true, but because they are their +own. Several other reasons conduce to the same end. + +It was remarked by a man of genius that "ignorance lies at +the two ends of knowledge." Perhaps it would have been more +correct to have said, that absolute convictions are to be met +with at the two extremities, and that doubt lies in the middle; +for the human intellect may be considered in three distinct +states, which frequently succeed one another. A man believes +implicitly, because he adopts a proposition without inquiry. He +doubts as soon as he is assailed by the objections which his +inquiries may have aroused. But he frequently succeeds in +satisfying these doubts, and then he begins to believe afresh: he +no longer lays hold on a truth in its most shadowy and uncertain +form, but he sees it clearly before him, and he advances onwards +by the light it gives him. *c + +[Footnote c: It may, however, be doubted whether this rational +and self-guiding conviction arouses as much fervor or +enthusiastic devotedness in men as their first dogmatical +belief.] + +When the liberty of the press acts upon men who are in the +first of these three states, it does not immediately disturb +their habit of believing implicitly without investigation, but it +constantly modifies the objects of their intuitive convictions. +The human mind continues to discern but one point upon the whole +intellectual horizon, and that point is in continual motion. +Such are the symptoms of sudden revolutions, and of the +misfortunes which are sure to befall those generations which +abruptly adopt the unconditional freedom of the press. + +The circle of novel ideas is, however, soon terminated; the +touch of experience is upon them, and the doubt and mistrust +which their uncertainty produces become universal. We may rest +assured that the majority of mankind will either believe they +know not wherefore, or will not know what to believe. Few are the +beings who can ever hope to attain to that state of rational and +independent conviction which true knowledge can beget in defiance +of the attacks of doubt. + +It has been remarked that in times of great religious fervor +men sometimes change their religious opinions; whereas in times +of general scepticism everyone clings to his own persuasion. The +same thing takes place in politics under the liberty of the +press. In countries where all the theories of social science +have been contested in their turn, the citizens who have adopted +one of them stick to it, not so much because they are assured of +its excellence, as because they are not convinced of the +superiority of any other. In the present age men are not very +ready to die in defence of their opinions, but they are rarely +inclined to change them; and there are fewer martyrs as well as +fewer apostates. + +Another still more valid reason may yet be adduced: when no +abstract opinions are looked upon as certain, men cling to the +mere propensities and external interests of their position, which +are naturally more tangible and more permanent than any opinions +in the world. + +It is not a question of easy solution whether aristocracy or +democracy is most fit to govern a country. But it is certain +that democracy annoys one part of the community, and that +aristocracy oppresses another part. When the question is reduced +to the simple expression of the struggle between poverty and +wealth, the tendency of each side of the dispute becomes +perfectly evident without further controversy. + + + +Chapter XII: Political Associations In The United States + +Chapter Summary + +Daily use which the Anglo-Americans make of the right of +association - Three kinds of political associations - In what +manner the Americans apply the representative system to +associations - Dangers resulting to the State - Great Convention +of 1831 relative to the Tariff - Legislative character of this +Convention - Why the unlimited exercise of the right of +association is less dangerous in the United States than elsewhere +- Why it may be looked upon as necessary - Utility of +associations in a democratic people. + +Political Associations In The United States + +In no country in the world has the principle of association +been more successfully used, or more unsparingly applied to a +multitude of different objects, than in America. Besides the +permanent associations which are established by law under the +names of townships, cities, and counties, a vast number of others +are formed and maintained by the agency of private individuals. + +The citizen of the United States is taught from his earliest +infancy to rely upon his own exertions in order to resist the +evils and the difficulties of life; he looks upon social +authority with an eye of mistrust and anxiety, and he only claims +its assistance when he is quite unable to shift without it. This +habit may even be traced in the schools of the rising generation, +where the children in their games are wont to submit to rules +which they have themselves established, and to punish +misdemeanors which they have themselves defined. The same spirit +pervades every act of social life. If a stoppage occurs in a +thoroughfare, and the circulation of the public is hindered, the +neighbors immediately constitute a deliberative body; and this +extemporaneous assembly gives rise to an executive power which +remedies the inconvenience before anybody has thought of +recurring to an authority superior to that of the persons +immediately concerned. If the public pleasures are concerned, an +association is formed to provide for the splendor and the +regularity of the entertainment. Societies are formed to resist +enemies which are exclusively of a moral nature, and to diminish +the vice of intemperance: in the United States associations are +established to promote public order, commerce, industry, +morality, and religion; for there is no end which the human will, +seconded by the collective exertions of individuals, despairs of +attaining. + +I shall hereafter have occasion to show the effects of +association upon the course of society, and I must confine myself +for the present to the political world. When once the right of +association is recognized, the citizens may employ it in several +different ways. + +An association consists simply in the public assent which a +number of individuals give to certain doctrines, and in the +engagement which they contract to promote the spread of those +doctrines by their exertions. The right of association with +these views is very analogous to the liberty of unlicensed +writing; but societies thus formed possess more authority than +the press. When an opinion is represented by a society, it +necessarily assumes a more exact and explicit form. It numbers +its partisans, and compromises their welfare in its cause: they, +on the other hand, become acquainted with each other, and their +zeal is increased by their number. An association unites the +efforts of minds which have a tendency to diverge in one single +channel, and urges them vigorously towards one single end which +it points out. + +The second degree in the right of association is the power +of meeting. When an association is allowed to establish centres +of action at certain important points in the country, its +activity is increased and its influence extended. Men have the +opportunity of seeing each other; means of execution are more +readily combined, and opinions are maintained with a degree of +warmth and energy which written language cannot approach. + +Lastly, in the exercise of the right of political +association, there is a third degree: the partisans of an opinion +may unite in electoral bodies, and choose delegates to represent +them in a central assembly. This is, properly speaking, the +application of the representative system to a party. + +Thus, in the first instance, a society is formed between +individuals professing the same opinion, and the tie which keeps +it together is of a purely intellectual nature; in the second +case, small assemblies are formed which only represent a fraction +of the party. Lastly, in the third case, they constitute a +separate nation in the midst of the nation, a government within +the Government. Their delegates, like the real delegates of the +majority, represent the entire collective force of their party; +and they enjoy a certain degree of that national dignity and +great influence which belong to the chosen representatives of the +people. It is true that they have not the right of making the +laws, but they have the power of attacking those which are in +being, and of drawing up beforehand those which they may +afterwards cause to be adopted. + +If, in a people which is imperfectly accustomed to the +exercise of freedom, or which is exposed to violent political +passions, a deliberating minority, which confines itself to the +contemplation of future laws, be placed in juxtaposition to the +legislative majority, I cannot but believe that public +tranquillity incurs very great risks in that nation. There is +doubtless a very wide difference between proving that one law is +in itself better than another and proving that the former ought +to be substituted for the latter. But the imagination of the +populace is very apt to overlook this difference, which is so +apparent to the minds of thinking men. It sometimes happens that +a nation is divided into two nearly equal parties, each of which +affects to represent the majority. If, in immediate contiguity +to the directing power, another power be established, which +exercises almost as much moral authority as the former, it is not +to be believed that it will long be content to speak without +acting; or that it will always be restrained by the abstract +consideration of the nature of associations which are meant to +direct but not to enforce opinions, to suggest but not to make +the laws. + +The more we consider the independence of the press in its +principal consequences, the more are we convinced that it is the +chief and, so to speak, the constitutive element of freedom in +the modern world. A nation which is determined to remain free is +therefore right in demanding the unrestrained exercise of this +independence. But the unrestrained liberty of political +association cannot be entirely assimilated to the liberty of the +press. The one is at the same time less necessary and more +dangerous than the other. A nation may confine it within certain +limits without forfeiting any part of its self-control; and it +may sometimes be obliged to do so in order to maintain its own +authority. + +In America the liberty of association for political purposes +is unbounded. An example will show in the clearest light to what +an extent this privilege is tolerated. + +The question of the tariff, or of free trade, produced a +great manifestation of party feeling in America; the tariff was +not only a subject of debate as a matter of opinion, but it +exercised a favorable or a prejudicial influence upon several +very powerful interests of the States. The North attributed a +great portion of its prosperity, and the South all its +sufferings, to this system; insomuch that for a long time the +tariff was the sole source of the political animosities which +agitated the Union. + +In 1831, when the dispute was raging with the utmost +virulence, a private citizen of Massachusetts proposed to all the +enemies of the tariff, by means of the public prints, to send +delegates to Philadelphia in order to consult together upon the +means which were most fitted to promote freedom of trade. This +proposal circulated in a few days from Maine to New Orleans by +the power of the printing-press: the opponents of the tariff +adopted it with enthusiasm; meetings were formed on all sides, +and delegates were named. The majority of these individuals were +well known, and some of them had earned a considerable degree of +celebrity. South Carolina alone, which afterwards took up arms +in the same cause, sent sixty-three delegates. On October 1, +1831, this assembly, which according to the American custom had +taken the name of a Convention, met at Philadelphia; it consisted +of more than two hundred members. Its debates were public, and +they at once assumed a legislative character; the extent of the +powers of Congress, the theories of free trade, and the different +clauses of the tariff, were discussed in turn. At the end of ten +days' deliberation the Convention broke up, after having +published an address to the American people, in which it +declared: + +I. That Congress had not the right of making a tariff, and +that the existing tariff was unconstitutional; + +II. That the prohibition of free trade was prejudicial to +the interests of all nations, and to that of the American people +in particular. + +It must be acknowledged that the unrestrained liberty of +political association has not hitherto produced, in the United +States, those fatal consequences which might perhaps be expected +from it elsewhere. The right of association was imported from +England, and it has always existed in America; so that the +exercise of this privilege is now amalgamated with the manners +and customs of the people. At the present time the liberty of +association is become a necessary guarantee against the tyranny +of the majority. In the United States, as soon as a party is +become preponderant, all public authority passes under its +control; its private supporters occupy all the places, and have +all the force of the administration at their disposal. As the +most distinguished partisans of the other side of the question +are unable to surmount the obstacles which exclude them from +power, they require some means of establishing themselves upon +their own basis, and of opposing the moral authority of the +minority to the physical power which domineers over it. Thus a +dangerous expedient is used to obviate a still more formidable +danger. + +The omnipotence of the majority appears to me to present +such extreme perils to the American Republics that the dangerous +measure which is used to repress it seems to be more advantageous +than prejudicial. And here I am about to advance a proposition +which may remind the reader of what I said before in speaking of +municipal freedom: There are no countries in which associations +are more needed, to prevent the despotism of faction or the +arbitrary power of a prince, than those which are democratically +constituted. In aristocratic nations the body of the nobles and +the more opulent part of the community are in themselves natural +associations, which act as checks upon the abuses of power. In +countries in which these associations do not exist, if private +individuals are unable to create an artificial and a temporary +substitute for them, I can imagine no permanent protection +against the most galling tyranny; and a great people may be +oppressed by a small faction, or by a single individual, with +impunity. + +The meeting of a great political Convention (for there are +Conventions of all kinds), which may frequently become a +necessary measure, is always a serious occurrence, even in +America, and one which is never looked forward to, by the +judicious friends of the country, without alarm. This was very +perceptible in the Convention of 1831, at which the exertions of +all the most distinguished members of the Assembly tended to +moderate its language, and to restrain the subjects which it +treated within certain limits. It is probable, in fact, that the +Convention of 1831 exercised a very great influence upon the +minds of the malcontents, and prepared them for the open revolt +against the commercial laws of the Union which took place in +1832. + +It cannot be denied that the unrestrained liberty of +association for political purposes is the privilege which a +people is longest in learning how to exercise. If it does not +throw the nation into anarchy, it perpetually augments the +chances of that calamity. On one point, however, this perilous +liberty offers a security against dangers of another kind; in +countries where associations are free, secret societies are +unknown. In America there are numerous factions, but no +conspiracies. + +Different ways in which the right of association is +understood in Europeand in the United States - Different +use which is made of it. + +The most natural privilege of man, next to the right of +acting for himself, is that of combining his exertions with those +of his fellow-creatures, and of acting in common with them. I am +therefore led to conclude that the right of association is almost +as inalienable as the right of personal liberty. No legislator +can attack it without impairing the very foundations of society. +Nevertheless, if the liberty of association is a fruitful source +of advantages and prosperity to some nations, it may be perverted +or carried to excess by others, and the element of life may be +changed into an element of destruction. A comparison of the +different methods which associations pursue in those countries in +which they are managed with discretion, as well as in those where +liberty degenerates into license, may perhaps be thought useful +both to governments and to parties. + +The greater part of Europeans look upon an association as a +weapon which is to be hastily fashioned, and immediately tried in +the conflict. A society is formed for discussion, but the idea +of impending action prevails in the minds of those who constitute +it: it is, in fact, an army; and the time given to parley serves +to reckon up the strength and to animate the courage of the host, +after which they direct their march against the enemy. Resources +which lie within the bounds of the law may suggest themselves to +the persons who compose it as means, but never as the only means, +of success. + +Such, however, is not the manner in which the right of +association is understood in the United States. In America the +citizens who form the minority associate, in order, in the first +place, to show their numerical strength, and so to diminish the +moral authority of the majority; and, in the second place, to +stimulate competition, and to discover those arguments which are +most fitted to act upon the majority; for they always entertain +hopes of drawing over their opponents to their own side, and of +afterwards disposing of the supreme power in their name. +Political associations in the United States are therefore +peaceable in their intentions, and strictly legal in the means +which they employ; and they assert with perfect truth that they +only aim at success by lawful expedients. + +The difference which exists between the Americans and +ourselves depends on several causes. In Europe there are +numerous parties so diametrically opposed to the majority that +they can never hope to acquire its support, and at the same time +they think that they are sufficiently strong in themselves to +struggle and to defend their cause. When a party of this kind +forms an association, its object is, not to conquer, but to +fight. In America the individuals who hold opinions very much +opposed to those of the majority are no sort of impediment to its +power, and all other parties hope to win it over to their own +principles in the end. The exercise of the right of association +becomes dangerous in proportion to the impossibility which +excludes great parties from acquiring the majority. In a country +like the United States, in which the differences of opinion are +mere differences of hue, the right of association may remain +unrestrained without evil consequences. The inexperience of many +of the European nations in the enjoyment of liberty leads them +only to look upon the liberty of association as a right of +attacking the Government. The first notion which presents itself +to a party, as well as to an individual, when it has acquired a +consciousness of its own strength, is that of violence: the +notion of persuasion arises at a later period and is only derived +from experience. The English, who are divided into parties which +differ most essentially from each other, rarely abuse the right +of association, because they have long been accustomed to +exercise it. In France the passion for war is so intense that +there is no undertaking so mad, or so injurious to the welfare of +the State, that a man does not consider himself honored in +defending it, at the risk of his life. + +But perhaps the most powerful of the causes which tend to +mitigate the excesses of political association in the United +States is Universal Suffrage. In countries in which universal +suffrage exists the majority is never doubtful, because neither +party can pretend to represent that portion of the community +which has not voted. The associations which are formed are +aware, as well as the nation at large, that they do not represent +the majority: this is, indeed, a condition inseparable from their +existence; for if they did represent the preponderating power, +they would change the law instead of soliciting its reform. The +consequence of this is that the moral influence of the Government +which they attack is very much increased, and their own power is +very much enfeebled. + +In Europe there are few associations which do not affect to +represent the majority, or which do not believe that they +represent it. This conviction or this pretension tends to +augment their force amazingly, and contributes no less to +legalize their measures. Violence may seem to be excusable in +defence of the cause of oppressed right. Thus it is, in the vast +labyrinth of human laws, that extreme liberty sometimes corrects +the abuses of license, and that extreme democracy obviates the +dangers of democratic government. In Europe, associations +consider themselves, in some degree, as the legislative and +executive councils of the people, which is unable to speak for +itself. In America, where they only represent a minority of the +nation, they argue and they petition. + +The means which the associations of Europe employ are in +accordance with the end which they propose to obtain. As the +principal aim of these bodies is to act, and not to debate, to +fight rather than to persuade, they are naturally led to adopt a +form of organization which differs from the ordinary customs of +civil bodies, and which assumes the habits and the maxims of +military life. They centralize the direction of their resources +as much as possible, and they intrust the power of the whole +party to a very small number of leaders. + +The members of these associations respond to a watchword, +like soldiers on duty; they profess the doctrine of passive +obedience; say rather, that in uniting together they at once +abjure the exercise of their own judgment and free will; and the +tyrannical control which these societies exercise is often far +more insupportable than the authority possessed over society by +the Government which they attack. Their moral force is much +diminished by these excesses, and they lose the powerful interest +which is always excited by a struggle between oppressors and the +oppressed. The man who in given cases consents to obey his +fellows with servility, and who submits his activity and even his +opinions to their control, can have no claim to rank as a free +citizen. + +The Americans have also established certain forms of +government which are applied to their associations, but these are +invariably borrowed from the forms of the civil administration. +The independence of each individual is formally recognized; the +tendency of the members of the association points, as it does in +the body of the community, towards the same end, but they are not +obliged to follow the same track. No one abjures the exercise of +his reason and his free will; but every one exerts that reason +and that will for the benefit of a common undertaking. + + +Chapter XIII: Government Of The Democracy In America - Part I +I am well aware of the difficulties which attend this part +of my subject, but although every expression which I am about to +make use of may clash, upon some one point, with the feelings of +the different parties which divide my country, I shall speak my +opinion with the most perfect openness. + +In Europe we are at a loss how to judge the true character +and the more permanent propensities of democracy, because in +Europe two conflicting principles exist, and we do not know what +to attribute to the principles themselves, and what to refer to +the passions which they bring into collision. Such, however, is +not the case in America; there the people reigns without any +obstacle, and it has no perils to dread and no injuries to +avenge. In America, democracy is swayed by its own free +propensities; its course is natural and its activity is +unrestrained; the United States consequently afford the most +favorable opportunity of studying its real character. And to no +people can this inquiry be more vitally interesting than to the +French nation, which is blindly driven onwards by a daily and +irresistible impulse towards a state of things which may prove +either despotic or republican, but which will assuredly be +democratic. + +Universal Suffrage + +I have already observed that universal suffrage has been +adopted in all the States of the Union; it consequently occurs +amongst different populations which occupy very different +positions in the scale of society. I have had opportunities of +observing its effects in different localities, and amongst races +of men who are nearly strangers to each other by their language, +their religion, and their manner of life; in Louisiana as well as +in New England, in Georgia and in Canada. I have remarked that +Universal Suffrage is far from producing in America either all +the good or all the evil consequences which are assigned to it in +Europe, and that its effects differ very widely from those which +are usually attributed to it. + +Choice Of The People, And Instinctive Preferences Of The American +Democracy + +In the United States the most able men are rarely placed at the +head of affairs - Reason of this peculiarity - The envy which +prevails in the lower orders of France against the higher classes +is not a French, but a purely democratic sentiment - For what +reason the most distinguished men in America frequently seclude +themselves from public affairs. + +Many people in Europe are apt to believe without saying it, +or to say without believing it, that one of the great advantages +of universal suffrage is, that it entrusts the direction of +public affairs to men who are worthy of the public confidence. +They admit that the people is unable to govern for itself, but +they aver that it is always sincerely disposed to promote the +welfare of the State, and that it instinctively designates those +persons who are animated by the same good wishes, and who are the +most fit to wield the supreme authority. I confess that the +observations I made in America by no means coincide with these +opinions. On my arrival in the United States I was surprised to +find so much distinguished talent among the subjects, and so +little among the heads of the Government. It is a +well-authenticated fact, that at the present day the most able +men in the United States are very rarely placed at the head of +affairs; and it must be acknowledged that such has been the +result in proportion as democracy has outstepped all its former +limits. The race of American statesmen has evidently dwindled +most remarkably in the course of the last fifty years. + +Several causes may be assigned to this phenomenon. It is +impossible, notwithstanding the most strenuous exertions, to +raise the intelligence of the people above a certain level. +Whatever may be the facilities of acquiring information, whatever +may be the profusion of easy methods and of cheap science, the +human mind can never be instructed and educated without devoting +a considerable space of time to those objects. + +The greater or the lesser possibility of subsisting without +labor is therefore the necessary boundary of intellectual +improvement. This boundary is more remote in some countries and +more restricted in others; but it must exist somewhere as long as +the people is constrained to work in order to procure the means +of physical subsistence, that is to say, as long as it retains +its popular character. It is therefore quite as difficult to +imagine a State in which all the citizens should be very well +informed as a State in which they should all be wealthy; these +two difficulties may be looked upon as correlative. It may very +readily be admitted that the mass of the citizens are sincerely +disposed to promote the welfare of their country; nay more, it +may even be allowed that the lower classes are less apt to be +swayed by considerations of personal interest than the higher +orders: but it is always more or less impossible for them to +discern the best means of attaining the end which they desire +with sincerity. Long and patient observation, joined to a +multitude of different notions, is required to form a just +estimate of the character of a single individual; and can it be +supposed that the vulgar have the power of succeeding in an +inquiry which misleads the penetration of genius itself? The +people has neither the time nor the means which are essential to +the prosecution of an investigation of this kind: its conclusions +are hastily formed from a superficial inspection of the more +prominent features of a question. Hence it often assents to the +clamor of a mountebank who knows the secret of stimulating its +tastes, while its truest friends frequently fail in their +exertions. + +Moreover, the democracy is not only deficient in that +soundness of judgment which is necessary to select men really +deserving of its confidence, but it has neither the desire nor +the inclination to find them out. It cannot be denied that +democratic institutions have a very strong tendency to promote +the feeling of envy in the human heart; not so much because they +afford to every one the means of rising to the level of any of +his fellow-citizens, as because those means perpetually +disappoint the persons who employ them. Democratic institutions +awaken and foster a passion for equality which they can never +entirely satisfy. This complete equality eludes the grasp of the +people at the very moment at which it thinks to hold it fast, and +"flies," as Pascal says, "with eternal flight"; the people is +excited in the pursuit of an advantage, which is more precious +because it is not sufficiently remote to be unknown, or +sufficiently near to be enjoyed. The lower orders are agitated by +the chance of success, they are irritated by its uncertainty; and +they pass from the enthusiasm of pursuit to the exhaustion of +ill-success, and lastly to the acrimony of disappointment. +Whatever transcends their own limits appears to be an obstacle to +their desires, and there is no kind of superiority, however +legitimate it may be, which is not irksome in their sight. + +It has been supposed that the secret instinct which leads +the lower orders to remove their superiors as much as possible +from the direction of public affairs is peculiar to France. +This, however, is an error; the propensity to which I allude is +not inherent in any particular nation, but in democratic +institutions in general; and although it may have been heightened +by peculiar political circumstances, it owes its origin to a +higher cause. + +In the United States the people is not disposed to hate the +superior classes of society; but it is not very favorably +inclined towards them, and it carefully excludes them from the +exercise of authority. It does not entertain any dread of +distinguished talents, but it is rarely captivated by them; and +it awards its approbation very sparingly to such as have risen +without the popular support. + +Whilst the natural propensities of democracy induce the +people to reject the most distinguished citizens as its rulers, +these individuals are no less apt to retire from a political +career in which it is almost impossible to retain their +independence, or to advance without degrading themselves. This +opinion has been very candidly set forth by Chancellor Kent, who +says, in speaking with great eulogiums of that part of the +Constitution which empowers the Executive to nominate the judges: +"It is indeed probable that the men who are best fitted to +discharge the duties of this high office would have too much +reserve in their manners, and too much austerity in their +principles, for them to be returned by the majority at an +election where universal suffrage is adopted." Such were the +opinions which were printed without contradiction in America in +the year 1830! + +I hold it to be sufficiently demonstrated that universal +suffrage is by no means a guarantee of the wisdom of the popular +choice, and that, whatever its advantages may be, this is not one +of them. + + +Causes Which May Partly Correct These Tendencies Of The Democracy +Contrary effects produced on peoples as well as on individuals by +great dangers - Why so many distinguished men stood at the head +of affairs in America fifty years ago - Influence which the +intelligence and the manners of the people exercise upon its +choice - Example of New England - States of the Southwest - +Influence of certain laws upon the choice of the people - +Election by an elected body - Its effects upon the composition of +the Senate. + +When a State is threatened by serious dangers, the people +frequently succeeds in selecting the citizens who are the most +able to save it. It has been observed that man rarely retains +his customary level in presence of very critical circumstances; +he rises above or he sinks below his usual condition, and the +same thing occurs in nations at large. Extreme perils sometimes +quench the energy of a people instead of stimulating it; they +excite without directing its passions, and instead of clearing +they confuse its powers of perception. The Jews deluged the +smoking ruins of their temple with the carnage of the remnant of +their host. But it is more common, both in the case of nations +and in that of individuals, to find extraordinary virtues arising +from the very imminence of the danger. Great characters are then +thrown into relief, as edifices which are concealed by the gloom +of night are illuminated by the glare of a conflagration. At +those dangerous times genius no longer abstains from presenting +itself in the arena; and the people, alarmed by the perils of its +situation, buries its envious passions in a short oblivion. Great +names may then be drawn from the balloting-box. + +I have already observed that the American statesmen of the +present day are very inferior to those who stood at the head of +affairs fifty years ago. This is as much a consequence of the +circumstances as of the laws of the country. When America was +struggling in the high cause of independence to throw off the +yoke of another country, and when it was about to usher a new +nation into the world, the spirits of its inhabitants were roused +to the height which their great efforts required. In this +general excitement the most distinguished men were ready to +forestall the wants of the community, and the people clung to +them for support, and placed them at its head. But events of +this magnitude are rare, and it is from an inspection of the +ordinary course of affairs that our judgment must be formed. + +If passing occurrences sometimes act as checks upon the +passions of democracy, the intelligence and the manners of the +community exercise an influence which is not less powerful and +far more permanent. This is extremely perceptible in the United +States. + +In New England the education and the liberties of the +communities were engendered by the moral and religious principles +of their founders. Where society has acquired a sufficient +degree of stability to enable it to hold certain maxims and to +retain fixed habits, the lower orders are accustomed to respect +intellectual superiority and to submit to it without complaint, +although they set at naught all those privileges which wealth and +birth have introduced among mankind. The democracy in New +England consequently makes a more judicious choice than it does +elsewhere. + +But as we descend towards the South, to those States in +which the constitution of society is more modern and less strong, +where instruction is less general, and where the principles of +morality, of religion, and of liberty are less happily combined, +we perceive that the talents and the virtues of those who are in +authority become more and more rare. + +Lastly, when we arrive at the new South-western States, in +which the constitution of society dates but from yesterday, and +presents an agglomeration of adventurers and speculators, we are +amazed at the persons who are invested with public authority, and +we are led to ask by what force, independent of the legislation +and of the men who direct it, the State can be protected, and +society be made to flourish. + +There are certain laws of a democratic nature which +contribute, nevertheless, to correct, in some measure, the +dangerous tendencies of democracy. On entering the House of +Representatives of Washington one is struck by the vulgar +demeanor of that great assembly. The eye frequently does not +discover a man of celebrity within its walls. Its members are +almost all obscure individuals whose names present no +associations to the mind: they are mostly village lawyers, men in +trade, or even persons belonging to the lower classes of society. +In a country in which education is very general, it is said that +the representatives of the people do not always know how to write +correctly. + +At a few yards' distance from this spot is the door of the +Senate, which contains within a small space a large proportion of +the celebrated men of America. Scarcely an individual is to be +perceived in it who does not recall the idea of an active and +illustrious career: the Senate is composed of eloquent advocates, +distinguished generals, wise magistrates, and statesmen of note, +whose language would at all times do honor to the most remarkable +parliamentary debates of Europe. + +What then is the cause of this strange contrast, and why are +the most able citizens to be found in one assembly rather than in +the other? Why is the former body remarkable for its vulgarity +and its poverty of talent, whilst the latter seems to enjoy a +monopoly of intelligence and of sound judgment? Both of these +assemblies emanate from the people; both of them are chosen by +universal suffrage; and no voice has hitherto been heard to +assert in America that the Senate is hostile to the interests of +the people. From what cause, then, does so startling a +difference arise? The only reason which appears to me adequately +to account for it is, that the House of Representatives is +elected by the populace directly, and that the Senate is elected +by elected bodies. The whole body of the citizens names the +legislature of each State, and the Federal Constitution converts +these legislatures into so many electoral bodies, which return +the members of the Senate. The senators are elected by an +indirect application of universal suffrage; for the legislatures +which name them are not aristocratic or privileged bodies which +exercise the electoral franchise in their own right; but they are +chosen by the totality of the citizens; they are generally +elected every year, and new members may constantly be chosen who +will employ their electoral rights in conformity with the wishes +of the public. But this transmission of the popular authority +through an assembly of chosen men operates an important change in +it, by refining its discretion and improving the forms which it +adopts. Men who are chosen in this manner accurately represent +the majority of the nation which governs them; but they represent +the elevated thoughts which are current in the community, the +propensities which prompt its nobler actions, rather than the +petty passions which disturb or the vices which disgrace it. + +The time may be already anticipated at which the American +Republics will be obliged to introduce the plan of election by an +elected body more frequently into their system of representation, +or they will incur no small risk of perishing miserably amongst +the shoals of democracy. + +And here I have no scruple in confessing that I look upon +this peculiar system of election as the only means of bringing +the exercise of political power to the level of all classes of +the people. Those thinkers who regard this institution as the +exclusive weapon of a party, and those who fear, on the other +hand, to make use of it, seem to me to fall into as great an +error in the one case as in the other. + +Influence Which The American Democracy Has Exercised On The Laws +Relating To Elections + +When elections are rare, they expose the State to a violent +crisis - When they are frequent, they keep up a degree of +feverish excitement - The Americans have preferred the second of +these two evils - Mutability of the laws -Opinions of Hamilton +and Jefferson on this subject. + +When elections recur at long intervals the State is exposed +to violent agitation every time they take place. Parties exert +themselves to the utmost in order to gain a prize which is so +rarely within their reach; and as the evil is almost irremediable +for the candidates who fail, the consequences of their +disappointed ambition may prove most disastrous; if, on the other +hand, the legal struggle can be repeated within a short space of +time, the defeated parties take patience. When elections occur +frequently, their recurrence keeps society in a perpetual state +of feverish excitement, and imparts a continual instability to +public affairs. + + +Thus, on the one hand the State is exposed to the perils of +a revolution, on the other to perpetual mutability; the former +system threatens the very existence of the Government, the latter +is an obstacle to all steady and consistent policy. The +Americans have preferred the second of these evils to the first; +but they were led to this conclusion by their instinct much more +than by their reason; for a taste for variety is one of the +characteristic passions of democracy. An extraordinary +mutability has, by this means, been introduced into their +legislation. Many of the Americans consider the instability of +their laws as a necessary consequence of a system whose general +results are beneficial. But no one in the United States affects +to deny the fact of this instability, or to contend that it is +not a great evil. + +Hamilton, after having demonstrated the utility of a power +which might prevent, or which might at least impede, the +promulgation of bad laws, adds: "It might perhaps be said that +the power of preventing bad laws includes that of preventing good +ones, and may be used to the one purpose as well as to the other. +But this objection will have little weight with those who can +properly estimate the mischiefs of that inconstancy and +mutability in the laws which form the greatest blemish in the +character and genius of our governments." (Federalist, No. 73.) +And again in No. 62 of the same work he observes: "The facility +and excess of law-making seem to be the diseases to which our +governments are most liable. . . . The mischievous effects of the +mutability in the public councils arising from a rapid succession +of new members would fill a volume: every new election in the +States is found to change one-half of the representatives. From +this change of men must proceed a change of opinions and of +measures, which forfeits the respect and confidence of other +nations, poisons the blessings of liberty itself, and diminishes +the attachment and reverence of the people toward a political +system which betrays so many marks of infirmity." + +Jefferson himself, the greatest Democrat whom the democracy +of America has yet produced, pointed out the same evils. "The +instability of our laws," said he in a letter to Madison, "is +really a very serious inconvenience. I think that we ought to +have obviated it by deciding that a whole year should always be +allowed to elapse between the bringing in of a bill and the final +passing of it. It should afterward be discussed and put to the +vote without the possibility of making any alteration in it; and +if the circumstances of the case required a more speedy decision, +the question should not be decided by a simple majority, but by a +majority of at least two-thirds of both houses." + +Public Officers Under The Control Of The Democracy In America +Simple exterior of the American public officers - No official +costume - All public officers are remunerated - Political +consequences of this system - No public career exists in America +- Result of this. + +Public officers in the United States are commingled with the +crowd of citizens; they have neither palaces, nor guards, nor +ceremonial costumes. This simple exterior of the persons in +authority is connected not only with the peculiarities of the +American character, but with the fundamental principles of that +society. In the estimation of the democracy a government is not +a benefit, but a necessary evil. A certain degree of power must +be granted to public officers, for they would be of no use +without it. But the ostensible semblance of authority is by no +means indispensable to the conduct of affairs, and it is +needlessly offensive to the susceptibility of the public. The +public officers themselves are well aware that they only enjoy +the superiority over their fellow-citizens which they derive from +their authority upon condition of putting themselves on a level +with the whole community by their manners. A public officer in +the United States is uniformly civil, accessible to all the +world, attentive to all requests, and obliging in his replies. I +was pleased by these characteristics of a democratic government; +and I was struck by the manly independence of the citizens, who +respect the office more than the officer, and who are less +attached to the emblems of authority than to the man who bears +them. + +I am inclined to believe that the influence which costumes +really exercise, in an age like that in which we live, has been a +good deal exaggerated. I never perceived that a public officer +in America was the less respected whilst he was in the discharge +of his duties because his own merit was set off by no +adventitious signs. On the other hand, it is very doubtful +whether a peculiar dress contributes to the respect which public +characters ought to have for their own position, at least when +they are not otherwise inclined to respect it. When a magistrate +(and in France such instances are not rare) indulges his trivial +wit at the expense of the prisoner, or derides the predicament in +which a culprit is placed, it would be well to deprive him of his +robes of office, to see whether he would recall some portion of +the natural dignity of mankind when he is reduced to the apparel +of a private citizen. + +A democracy may, however, allow a certain show of +magisterial pomp, and clothe its officers in silks and gold, +without seriously compromising its principles. Privileges of +this kind are transitory; they belong to the place, and are +distinct from the individual: but if public officers are not +uniformly remunerated by the State, the public charges must be +entrusted to men of opulence and independence, who constitute the +basis of an aristocracy; and if the people still retains its +right of election, that election can only be made from a certain +class of citizens. When a democratic republic renders offices +which had formerly been remunerated gratuitous, it may safely be +believed that the State is advancing to monarchical institutions; +and when a monarchy begins to remunerate such officers as had +hitherto been unpaid, it is a sure sign that it is approaching +toward a despotic or a republican form of government. The +substitution of paid for unpaid functionaries is of itself, in my +opinion, sufficient to constitute a serious revolution. + +I look upon the entire absence of gratuitous functionaries +in America as one of the most prominent signs of the absolute +dominion which democracy exercises in that country. All public +services, of whatsoever nature they may be, are paid; so that +every one has not merely the right, but also the means of +performing them. Although, in democratic States, all the +citizens are qualified to occupy stations in the Government, all +are not tempted to try for them. The number and the capacities +of the candidates are more apt to restrict the choice of electors +than the coneitions of the candidateship. + +In nations in which the principle of election extends to +every place in the State no political career can, properly +speaking, be said to exist. Men are promoted as if by chance to +the rank which they enjoy, and they are by no means sure of +retaining it. The consequence is that in tranquil times public +functions offer but few lures to ambition. In the United States +the persons who engage in the perplexities of political life are +individuals of very moderate pretensions. The pursuit of wealth +generally diverts men of great talents and of great passions from +the pursuit of power, and it very frequently happens that a man +does not undertake to direct the fortune of the State until he +has discovered his incompetence to conduct his own affairs. The +vast number of very ordinary men who occupy public stations is +quite as attributable to these causes as to the bad choice of the +democracy. In the United States, I am not sure that the people +would return the men of superior abilities who might solicit its +support, but it is certain that men of this description do not +come forward. + +Arbitrary Power Of Magistrates Under The Rule Of The American +Democracy + +For what reason the arbitrary power of Magistrates is greater in +absolute monarchies and in democratic republics than it is in +limited monarchies -Arbitrary power of the Magistrates in New +England. + +In two different kinds of government the magistrates *a +exercise a considerable degree of arbitrary power; namely, under +the absolute government of a single individual, and under that of +a democracy. This identical result proceeds from causes which +are nearly analogous. + +[Footnote a: I here use the word magistrates in the widest sense +in which it can be taken; I apply it to all the officers to whom +the execution of the laws is intrusted.] + +In despotic States the fortune of no citizen is secure; and +public officers are not more safe than private individuals. The +sovereign, who has under his control the lives, the property, and +sometimes the honor of the men whom he employs, does not scruple +to allow them a great latitude of action, because he is convinced +that they will not use it to his prejudice. In despotic States +the sovereign is so attached to the exercise of his power, that +he dislikes the constraint even of his own regulations; and he is +well pleased that his agents should follow a somewhat fortuitous +line of conduct, provided he be certain that their actions will +never counteract his desires. + +In democracies, as the majority has every year the right of +depriving the officers whom it has appointed of their power, it +has no reason to fear any abuse of their authority. As the +people is always able to signify its wishes to those who conduct +the Government, it prefers leaving them to make their own +exertions to prescribing an invariable rule of conduct which +would at once fetter their activity and the popular authority. + +It may even be observed, on attentive consideration, that +under the rule of a democracy the arbitrary power of the +magistrate must be still greater than in despotic States. In the +latter the sovereign has the power of punishing all the faults +with which he becomes acquainted, but it would be vain for him to +hope to become acquainted with all those which are committed. In +the former the sovereign power is not only supreme, but it is +universally present. The American functionaries are, in point of +fact, much more independent in the sphere of action which the law +traces out for them than any public officer in Europe. Very +frequently the object which they are to accomplish is simply +pointed out to them, and the choice of the means is left to their +own discretion. + +In New England, for instance, the selectmen of each township +are bound to draw up the list of persons who are to serve on the +jury; the only rule which is laid down to guide them in their +choice is that they are to select citizens possessing the +elective franchise and enjoying a fair reputation. *b In France +the lives and liberties of the subjects would be thought to be in +danger if a public officer of any kind was entrusted with so +formidable a right. In New England the same magistrates are +empowered to post the names of habitual drunkards in +public-houses, and to prohibit the inhabitants of a town from +supplying them with liquor. *c A censorial power of this +excessive kind would be revolting to the population of the most +absolute monarchies; here, however, it is submitted to without +difficulty. + +[Footnote b: See the Act of February 27, 1813. "General +Collection of the Laws of Massachusetts," vol. ii. p. 331. It +should be added that the jurors are afterwards drawn from these +lists by lot.] + +[Footnote c: See Act of February 28, 1787. "General Collection +of the Laws of Massachusetts," vol. i. p. 302.] + +Nowhere has so much been left by the law to the arbitrary +determination of the magistrate as in democratic republics, +because this arbitrary power is unattended by any alarming +consequences. It may even be asserted that the freedom of the +magistrate increases as the elective franchise is extended, and +as the duration of the time of office is shortened. Hence arises +the great difficulty which attends the conversion of a democratic +republic into a monarchy. The magistrate ceases to be elective, +but he retains the rights and the habits of an elected officer, +which lead directly to despotism. + +It is only in limited monarchies that the law, which +prescribes the sphere in which public officers are to act, +superintends all their measures. The cause of this may be easily +detected. In limited monarchies the power is divided between the +King and the people, both of whom are interested in the stability +of the magistrate. The King does not venture to place the public +officers under the control of the people, lest they should be +tempted to betray his interests; on the other hand, the people +fears lest the magistrates should serve to oppress the liberties +of the country, if they were entirely dependent upon the Crown; +they cannot therefore be said to depend on either one or the +other. The same cause which induces the king and the people to +render public officers independent suggests the necessity of such +securities as may prevent their independence from encroaching +upon the authority of the former and the liberties of the latter. +They consequently agree as to the necessity of restricting the +functionary to a line of conduct laid down beforehand, and they +are interested in confining him by certain regulations which he +cannot evade. + +Chapter XIII: Government Of The Democarcy In America - Part II +Instability Of The Administration In The United States + +In America the public acts of a community frequently leave fewer +traces than the occurrences of a family - Newspapers the only +historical remains -Instability of the administration prejudicial +to the art of government. + +The authority which public men possess in America is so +brief, and they are so soon commingled with the ever-changing +population of the country, that the acts of a community +frequently leave fewer traces than the occurrences of a private +family. The public administration is, so to speak, oral and +traditionary. But little is committed to writing, and that +little is wafted away forever, like the leaves of the Sibyl, by +the smallest breeze. + +The only historical remains in the United States are the +newspapers; but if a number be wanting, the chain of time is +broken, and the present is severed from the past. I am convinced +that in fifty years it will be more difficult to collect +authentic documents concerning the social condition of the +Americans at the present day than it is to find remains of the +administration of France during the Middle Ages; and if the +United States were ever invaded by barbarians, it would be +necessary to have recourse to the history of other nations in +order to learn anything of the people which now inhabits them. + +The instability of the administration has penetrated into +the habits of the people: it even appears to suit the general +taste, and no one cares for what occurred before his time. No +methodical system is pursued; no archives are formed; and no +documents are brought together when it would be very easy to do +so. Where they exist, little store is set upon them; and I have +amongst my papers several original public documents which were +given to me in answer to some of my inquiries. In America +society seems to live from hand to mouth, like an army in the +field. Nevertheless, the art of administration may undoubtedly +be ranked as a science, and no sciences can be improved if the +discoveries and observations of successive generations are not +connected together in the order in which they occur. One man, in +the short space of his life remarks a fact; another conceives an +idea; the former invents a means of execution, the latter reduces +a truth to a fixed proposition; and mankind gathers the fruits of +individual experience upon its way and gradually forms the +sciences. But the persons who conduct the administration in +America can seldom afford any instruction to each other; and when +they assume the direction of society, they simply possess those +attainments which are most widely disseminated in the community, +and no experience peculiar to themselves. Democracy, carried to +its furthest limits, is therefore prejudicial to the art of +government; and for this reason it is better adapted to a people +already versed in the conduct of an administration than to a +nation which is uninitiated in public affairs. + +This remark, indeed, is not exclusively applicable to the +science of administration. Although a democratic government is +founded upon a very simple and natural principle, it always +presupposes the existence of a high degree of culture and +enlightenment in society. *d At the first glance it may be +imagined to belong to the earliest ages of the world; but maturer +observation will convince us that it could only come last in the +succession of human history. + +[Footnote d: It is needless to observe that I speak here of the +democratic form of government as applied to a people, not merely +to a tribe.] + +Charges Levied By The State Under The Rule Of The American +Democracy + +In all communities citizens divisible into three classes - Habits +of each of these classes in the direction of public finances - +Why public expenditure must tend to increase when the people +governs - What renders the extravagance of a democracy less to be +feared in America - Public expenditure under a democracy. + +Before we can affirm whether a democratic form of government +is economical or not, we must establish a suitable standard of +comparison. The question would be one of easy solution if we +were to attempt to draw a parallel between a democratic republic +and an absolute monarchy. The public expenditure would be found +to be more considerable under the former than under the latter; +such is the case with all free States compared to those which are +not so. It is certain that despotism ruins individuals by +preventing them from producing wealth, much more than by +depriving them of the wealth they have produced; it dries up the +source of riches, whilst it usually respects acquired property. +Freedom, on the contrary, engenders far more benefits than it +destroys; and the nations which are favored by free institutions +invariably find that their resources increase even more rapidly +than their taxes. + +My present object is to compare free nations to each other, +and to point out the influence of democracy upon the finances of +a State. + +Communities, as well as organic bodies, are subject to +certain fixed rules in their formation which they cannot evade. +They are composed of certain elements which are common to them at +all times and under all circumstances. The people may always be +mentally divided into three distinct classes. The first of these +classes consists of the wealthy; the second, of those who are in +easy circumstances; and the third is composed of those who have +little or no property, and who subsist more especially by the +work which they perform for the two superior orders. The +proportion of the individuals who are included in these three +divisions may vary according to the condition of society, but the +divisions themselves can never be obliterated. + +It is evident that each of these classes will exercise an +influence peculiar to its own propensities upon the +administration of the finances of the State. If the first of the +three exclusively possesses the legislative power, it is probable +that it will not be sparing of the public funds, because the +taxes which are levied on a large fortune only tend to diminish +the sum of superfluous enjoyment, and are, in point of fact, but +little felt. If the second class has the power of making the +laws, it will certainly not be lavish of taxes, because nothing +is so onerous as a large impost which is levied upon a small +income. The government of the middle classes appears to me to be +the most economical, though perhaps not the most enlightened, and +certainly not the most generous, of free governments. + +But let us now suppose that the legislative authority is +vested in the lowest orders: there are two striking reasons which +show that the tendency of the expenditure will be to increase, +not to diminish. As the great majority of those who create the +laws are possessed of no property upon which taxes can be +imposed, all the money which is spent for the community appears +to be spent to their advantage, at no cost of their own; and +those who are possessed of some little property readily find +means of regulating the taxes so that they are burdensome to the +wealthy and profitable to the poor, although the rich are unable +to take the same advantage when they are in possession of the +Government. + +In countries in which the poor *e should be exclusively +invested with the power of making the laws no great economy of +public expenditure ought to be expected: that expenditure will +always be considerable; either because the taxes do not weigh +upon those who levy them, or because they are levied in such a +manner as not to weigh upon those classes. In other words, the +government of the democracy is the only one under which the power +which lays on taxes escapes the payment of them. + +[Footnote e: The word poor is used here, and throughout the +remainder of this chapter, in a relative, not in an absolute +sense. Poor men in America would often appear rich in comparison +with the poor of Europe; but they may with propriety by styled +poor in comparison with their more affluent countrymen.] + +It may be objected (but the argument has no real weight) +that the true interest of the people is indissolubly connected +with that of the wealthier portion of the community, since it +cannot but suffer by the severe measures to which it resorts. +But is it not the true interest of kings to render their subjects +happy, and the true interest of nobles to admit recruits into +their order on suitable grounds? If remote advantages had power +to prevail over the passions and the exigencies of the moment, no +such thing as a tyrannical sovereign or an exclusive aristocracy +could ever exist. + +Again, it may be objected that the poor are never invested +with the sole power of making the laws; but I reply, that +wherever universal suffrage has been established the majority of +the community unquestionably exercises the legislative authority; +and if it be proved that the poor always constitute the majority, +it may be added, with perfect truth, that in the countries in +which they possess the elective franchise they possess the sole +power of making laws. But it is certain that in all the nations +of the world the greater number has always consisted of those +persons who hold no property, or of those whose property is +insufficient to exempt them from the necessity of working in +order to procure an easy subsistence. Universal suffrage does +therefore, in point of fact, invest the poor with the government +of society. + +The disastrous influence which popular authority may +sometimes exercise upon the finances of a State was very clearly +seen in some of the democratic republics of antiquity, in which +the public treasure was exhausted in order to relieve indigent +citizens, or to supply the games and theatrical amusements of the +populace. It is true that the representative system was then +very imperfectly known, and that, at the present time, the +influence of popular passion is less felt in the conduct of +public affairs; but it may be believed that the delegate will in +the end conform to the principles of his constituents, and favor +their propensities as much as their interests. + +The extravagance of democracy is, however, less to be +dreaded in proportion as the people acquires a share of property, +because on the one hand the contributions of the rich are then +less needed, and, on the other, it is more difficult to lay on +taxes which do not affect the interests of the lower classes. On +this account universal suffrage would be less dangerous in France +than in England, because in the latter country the property on +which taxes may be levied is vested in fewer hands. America, +where the great majority of the citizens possess some fortune, is +in a still more favorable position than France. + +There are still further causes which may increase the sum of +public expenditure in democratic countries. When the aristocracy +governs, the individuals who conduct the affairs of State are +exempted by their own station in society from every kind of +privation; they are contented with their position; power and +renown are the objects for which they strive; and, as they are +placed far above the obscurer throng of citizens, they do not +always distinctly perceive how the well-being of the mass of the +people ought to redound to their own honor. They are not indeed +callous to the sufferings of the poor, but they cannot feel those +miseries as acutely as if they were themselves partakers of them. +Provided that the people appear to submit to its lot, the rulers +are satisfied, and they demand nothing further from the +Government. An aristocracy is more intent upon the means of +maintaining its influence than upon the means of improving its +condition. + +When, on the contrary, the people is invested with the +supreme authority, the perpetual sense of their own miseries +impels the rulers of society to seek for perpetual ameliorations. +A thousand different objects are subjected to improvement; the +most trivial details are sought out as susceptible of amendment; +and those changes which are accompanied with considerable expense +are more especially advocated, since the object is to render the +condition of the poor more tolerable, who cannot pay for +themselves. + +Moreover, all democratic communities are agitated by an ill- +defined excitement and by a kind of feverish impatience, that +engender a multitude of innovations, almost all of which are +attended with expense. + +In monarchies and aristocracies the natural taste which the +rulers have for power and for renown is stimulated by the +promptings of ambition, and they are frequently incited by these +temptations to very costly undertakings. In democracies, where +the rulers labor under privations, they can only be courted by +such means as improve their well-being, and these improvements +cannot take place without a sacrifice of money. When a people +begins to reflect upon its situation, it discovers a multitude of +wants to which it had not before been subject, and to satisfy +these exigencies recourse must be had to the coffers of the +State. Hence it arises that the public charges increase in +proportion as civilization spreads, and that imposts are +augmented as knowledge pervades the community. + +The last cause which frequently renders a democratic +government dearer than any other is, that a democracy does not +always succeed in moderating its expenditure, because it does not +understand the art of being economical. As the designs which it +entertains are frequently changed, and the agents of those +designs are still more frequently removed, its undertakings are +often ill conducted or left unfinished: in the former case the +State spends sums out of all proportion to the end which it +proposes to accomplish; in the second, the expense itself is +unprofitable. *f + +[Footnote f: The gross receipts of the Treasury of the United +States in 1832 were about $28,000,000; in 1870 they had risen to +$411,000,000. The gross expenditure in 1832 was $30,000,000; in +1870, $309,000,000.] + +Tendencies Of The American Democracy As Regards The Salaries Of +Public Officers + +In the democracies those who establish high salaries have no +chance of profiting by them - Tendency of the American democracy +to increase the salaries of subordinate officers and to lower +those of the more important functionaries - Reason of this - +Comparative statement of the salaries of public officers in the +United States and in France. + +There is a powerful reason which usually induces democracies +to economize upon the salaries of public officers. As the number +of citizens who dispense the remuneration is extremely large in +democratic countries, so the number of persons who can hope to be +benefited by the receipt of it is comparatively small. In +aristocratic countries, on the contrary, the individuals who fix +high salaries have almost always a vague hope of profiting by +them. These appointments may be looked upon as a capital which +they create for their own use, or at least as a resource for +their children. + +It must, however, be allowed that a democratic State is most +parsimonious towards its principal agents. In America the +secondary officers are much better paid, and the dignitaries of +the administration much worse, than they are elsewhere. + +These opposite effects result from the same cause; the +people fixes the salaries of the public officers in both cases; +and the scale of remuneration is determined by the consideration +of its own wants. It is held to be fair that the servants of the +public should be placed in the same easy circumstances as the +public itself; *g but when the question turns upon the salaries +of the great officers of State, this rule fails, and chance alone +can guide the popular decision. The poor have no adequate +conception of the wants which the higher classes of society may +feel. The sum which is scanty to the rich appears enormous to +the poor man whose wants do not extend beyond the necessaries of +life; and in his estimation the Governor of a State, with his +twelve or fifteen hundred dollars a year, is a very fortunate and +enviable being. *h If you undertake to convince him that the +representative of a great people ought to be able to maintain +some show of splendor in the eyes of foreign nations, he will +perhaps assent to your meaning; but when he reflects on his own +humble dwelling, and on the hard- earned produce of his wearisome +toil, he remembers all that he could do with a salary which you +say is insufficient, and he is startled or almost frightened at +the sight of such uncommon wealth. Besides, the secondary public +officer is almost on a level with the people, whilst the others +are raised above it. The former may therefore excite his +interest, but the latter begins to arouse his envy. + +[Footnote g: The easy circumstances in which secondary +functionaries are placed in the United States result also from +another cause, which is independent of the general tendencies of +democracy; every kind of private business is very lucrative, and +the State would not be served at all if it did not pay its +servants. The country is in the position of a commercial +undertaking, which is obliged to sustain an expensive +competition, notwithstanding its tastes for economy.] + +[Footnote h: The State of Ohio, which contains a million of +inhabitants, gives its Governor a salary of only $1,200 a year.] + +This is very clearly seen in the United States, where the +salaries seem to decrease as the authority of those who receive +them augments *i + +[Footnote i: To render this assertion perfectly evident, it will +suffice to examine the scale of salaries of the agents of the +Federal Government. I have added the salaries attached to the +corresponding officers in France under the constitutional +monarchy to complete the comparison. + + United States + Treasury Department +Messenger ............................ $700 +Clerk with lowest salary ............. 1,000 +Clerk with highest salary ............ 1,600 +Chief Clerk .......................... 2,000 +Secretary of State ................... 6,000 +The President ........................ 25,000 + +France +Ministere des Finances +Hussier ........................... 1,500 fr. +Clerk with lowest salary, 1,000 to 1,800 fr. +Clerk with highest salary 3,200 to 8,600 fr. +Secretaire-general ................20,000 fr. +The Minister ......................80,000 fr. +The King ......................12,000,000 fr. + +I have perhaps done wrong in selecting France as my standard +of comparison. In France the democratic tendencies of the nation +exercise an ever-increasing influence upon the Government, and +the Chambers show a disposition to raise the low salaries and to +lower the principal ones. Thus, the Minister of Finance, who +received 160,000 fr. under the Empire, receives 80,000 fr. in +1835: the Directeurs-generaux of Finance, who then received +50,000 fr. now receive only 20,000 fr. [This comparison is based +on the state of things existing in France and the United States +in 1831. It has since materially altered in both countries, but +not so much as to impugn the truth of the author's observation.]] + +Under the rule of an aristocracy it frequently happens, on +the contrary, that whilst the high officers are receiving +munificent salaries, the inferior ones have not more than enough +to procure the necessaries of life. The reason of this fact is +easily discoverable from causes very analogous to those to which +I have just alluded. If a democracy is unable to conceive the +pleasures of the rich or to witness them without envy, an +aristocracy is slow to understand, or, to speak more correctly, +is unacquainted with, the privations of the poor. The poor man +is not (if we use the term aright) the fellow of the rich one; +but he is a being of another species. An aristocracy is +therefore apt to care but little for the fate of its subordinate +agents; and their salaries are only raised when they refuse to +perform their service for too scanty a remuneration. + +It is the parsimonious conduct of democracy towards its +principal officers which has countenanced a supposition of far +more economical propensities than any which it really possesses. +It is true that it scarcely allows the means of honorable +subsistence to the individuals who conduct its affairs; but +enormous sums are lavished to meet the exigencies or to +facilitate the enjoyments of the people. *j The money raised by +taxation may be better employed, but it is not saved. In +general, democracy gives largely to the community, and very +sparingly to those who govern it. The reverse is the case in +aristocratic countries, where the money of the State is expended +to the profit of the persons who are at the head of affairs. + +[Footnote j: See the American budgets for the cost of indigent +citizens and gratuitous instruction. In 1831 $250,000 were spent +in the State of New York for the maintenance of the poor, and at +least $1,000,000 were devoted to gratuitous instruction. +(William's "New York Annual Register," 1832, pp. 205 and 243.) +The State of New York contained only 1,900,000 inhabitants in the +year 1830, which is not more than double the amount of population +in the Department du Nord in France.] + +Difficulty of Distinguishing The Causes Which Contribute To The +Economy Of The American Government + +We are liable to frequent errors in the research of those +facts which exercise a serious influence upon the fate of +mankind, since nothing is more difficult than to appreciate their +real value. One people is naturally inconsistent and +enthusiastic; another is sober and calculating; and these +characteristics originate in their physical constitution or in +remote causes with which we are unacquainted. + +These are nations which are fond of parade and the bustle of +festivity, and which do not regret the costly gaieties of an +hour. Others, on the contrary, are attached to more retiring +pleasures, and seem almost ashamed of appearing to be pleased. +In some countries the highest value is set upon the beauty of +public edifices; in others the productions of art are treated +with indifference, and everything which is unproductive is looked +down upon with contempt. In some renown, in others money, is the +ruling passion. + +Independently of the laws, all these causes concur to +exercise a very powerful influence upon the conduct of the +finances of the State. If the Americans never spend the money of +the people in galas, it is not only because the imposition of +taxes is under the control of the people, but because the people +takes no delight in public rejoicings. If they repudiate all +ornament from their architecture, and set no store on any but the +more practical and homely advantages, it is not only because they +live under democratic institutions, but because they are a +commercial nation. The habits of private life are continued in +public; and we ought carefully to distinguish that economy which +depends upon their institutions from that which is the natural +result of their manners and customs. + +Whether The Expenditure Of The United States Can Be Compared To +That Of France + +Two points to be established in order to estimate the extent of +the public charges, viz., the national wealth and the rate of +taxation - The wealth and the charges of France not accurately +known - Why the wealth and charges of the Union cannot be +accurately known - Researches of the author with a view to +discover the amount of taxation of Pennsylvania - General +symptoms which may serve to indicate the amount of the public +charges in a given nation - Result of this investigation for the +Union. + +Many attempts have recently been made in France to compare +the public expenditure of that country with the expenditure of +the United States; all these attempts have, however, been +unattended by success, and a few words will suffice to show that +they could not have had a satisfactory result. + + +In order to estimate the amount of the public charges of a +people two preliminaries are indispensable: it is necessary, in +the first place, to know the wealth of that people; and in the +second, to learn what portion of that wealth is devoted to the +expenditure of the State. To show the amount of taxation without +showing the resources which are destined to meet the demand, is +to undertake a futile labor; for it is not the expenditure, but +the relation of the expenditure to the revenue, which it is +desirable to know. + +The same rate of taxation which may easily be supported by a +wealthy contributor will reduce a poor one to extreme misery. +The wealth of nations is composed of several distinct elements, +of which population is the first, real property the second, and +personal property the third. The first of these three elements +may be discovered without difficulty. Amongst civilized nations +it is easy to obtain an accurate census of the inhabitants; but +the two others cannot be determined with so much facility. It is +difficult to take an exact account of all the lands in a country +which are under cultivation, with their natural or their acquired +value; and it is still more impossible to estimate the entire +personal property which is at the disposal of a nation, and which +eludes the strictest analysis by the diversity and the number of +shapes under which it may occur. And, indeed, we find that the +most ancient civilized nations of Europe, including even those in +which the administration is most central, have not succeeded, as +yet, in determining the exact condition of their wealth. + +In America the attempt has never been made; for how would +such an investigation be possible in a country where society has +not yet settled into habits of regularity and tranquillity; where +the national Government is not assisted by a multiple of agents +whose exertions it can command and direct to one sole end; and +where statistics are not studied, because no one is able to +collect the necessary documents, or to find time to peruse them? +Thus the primary elements of the calculations which have been +made in France cannot be obtained in the Union; the relative +wealth of the two countries is unknown; the property of the +former is not accurately determined, and no means exist of +computing that of the latter. + +I consent, therefore, for the sake of the discussion, to +abandon this necessary term of the comparison, and I confine +myself to a computation of the actual amount of taxation, without +investigating the relation which subsists between the taxation +and the revenue. But the reader will perceive that my task has +not been facilitated by the limits which I here lay down for my +researches. + +It cannot be doubted that the central administration of +France, assisted by all the public officers who are at its +disposal, might determine with exactitude the amount of the +direct and indirect taxes levied upon the citizens. But this +investigation, which no private individual can undertake, has not +hitherto been completed by the French Government, or, at least, +its results have not been made public. We are acquainted with +the sum total of the charges of the State; we know the amount of +the departmental expenditure; but the expenses of the communal +divisions have not been computed, and the amount of the public +expenses of France is consequently unknown. + +If we now turn to America, we shall perceive that the +difficulties are multiplied and enhanced. The Union publishes an +exact return of the amount of its expenditure; the budgets of the +four and twenty States furnish similar returns of their revenues; +but the expenses incident to the affairs of the counties and the +townships are unknown. *k + +[Footnote k: The Americans, as we have seen, have four separate +budgets, the Union, the States, the Counties, and the Townships +having each severally their own. During my stay in America I +made every endeavor to discover the amount of the public +expenditure in the townships and counties of the principal States +of the Union, and I readily obtained the budget of the larger +townships, but I found it quite impossible to procure that of the +smaller ones. I possess, however, some documents relating to +county expenses, which, although incomplete, are still curious. +I have to thank Mr. Richards, Mayor of Philadelphia, for the +budgets of thirteen of the counties of Pennsylvania, viz., +Lebanon, Centre, Franklin, Fayette, Montgomery, Luzerne, Dauphin, +Butler, Alleghany, Columbia, Northampton, Northumberland, and +Philadelphia, for the year 1830. Their population at that time +consisted of 495,207 inhabitants. On looking at the map of +Pennsylvania, it will be seen that these thirteen counties are +scattered in every direction, and so generally affected by the +causes which usually influence the condition of a country, that +they may easily be supposed to furnish a correct average of the +financial state of the counties of Pennsylvania in general; and +thus, upon reckoning that the expenses of these counties amounted +in the year 1830 to about $361,650, or nearly 75 cents for each +inhabitant, and calculating that each of them contributed in the +same year about $2.55 towards the Union, and about 75 cents to +the State of Pennsylvania, it appears that they each contributed +as their share of all the public expenses (except those of the +townships) the sum of $4.05. This calculation is doubly +incomplete, as it applies only to a single year and to one part +of the public charges; but it has at least the merit of not being +conjectural.] + +The authority of the Federal government cannot oblige the +provincial governments to throw any light upon this point; and +even if these governments were inclined to afford their +simultaneous co- operation, it may be doubted whether they +possess the means of procuring a satisfactory answer. +Independently of the natural difficulties of the task, the +political organization of the country would act as a hindrance to +the success of their efforts. The county and town magistrates +are not appointed by the authorities of the State, and they are +not subjected to their control. It is therefore very allowable +to suppose that, if the State was desirous of obtaining the +returns which we require, its design would be counteracted by the +neglect of those subordinate officers whom it would be obliged to +employ. *l It is, in point of fact, useless to inquire what the +Americans might do to forward this inquiry, since it is certain +that they have hitherto done nothing at all. There does not exist +a single individual at the present day, in America or in Europe, +who can inform us what each citizen of the Union annually +contributes to the public charges of the nation. *m +[Footnote l: Those who have attempted to draw a comparison +between the expenses of France and America have at once perceived +that no such comparison could be drawn between the total +expenditure of the two countries; but they have endeavored to +contrast detached portions of this expenditure. It may readily +be shown that this second system is not at all less defective +than the first. If I attempt to compare the French budget with +the budget of the Union, it must be remembered that the latter +embraces much fewer objects than then central Government of the +former country, and that the expenditure must consequently be +much smaller. If I contrast the budgets of the Departments with +those of the States which constitute the Union, it must be +observed that, as the power and control exercised by the States +is much greater than that which is exercised by the Departments, +their expenditure is also more considerable. As for the budgets +of the counties, nothing of the kind occurs in the French system +of finances; and it is, again, doubtful whether the corresponding +expenses should be referred to the budget of the State or to +those of the municipal divisions. Municipal expenses exist in +both countries, but they are not always analogous. In America +the townships discharge a variety of offices which are reserved +in France to the Departments or to the State. It may, moreover, +be asked what is to be understood by the municipal expenses of +America. The organization of the municipal bodies or townships +differs in the several States. Are we to be guided by what +occurs in New England or in Georgia, in Pennsylvania or in the +State of Illinois? A kind of analogy may very readily be +perceived between certain budgets in the two countries; but as +the elements of which they are composed always differ more or +less, no fair comparison can be instituted between them. [The +same difficulty exists, perhaps to a greater degree at the +present time, when the taxation of America has largely increased. +- 1874.]] + +[Footnote m: Even if we knew the exact pecuniary contributions of +every French and American citizen to the coffers of the State, we +should only come at a portion of the truth. Governments do not +only demand supplies of money, but they call for personal +services, which may be looked upon as equivalent to a given sum. +When a State raises an army, besides the pay of the troops, which +is furnished by the entire nation, each soldier must give up his +time, the value of which depends on the use he might make of it +if he were not in the service. The same remark applies to the +militia; the citizen who is in the militia devotes a certain +portion of valuable time to the maintenance of the public peace, +and he does in reality surrender to the State those earnings +which he is prevented from gaining. Many other instances might +be cited in addition to these. The governments of France and of +America both levy taxes of this kind, which weigh upon the +citizens; but who can estimate with accuracy their relative +amount in the two countries? + +This, however, is not the last of the difficulties which +prevent us from comparing the expenditure of the Union with that +of France. The French Government contracts certain obligations +which do not exist in America, and vice versa. The French +Government pays the clergy; in America the voluntary principle +prevails. In America there is a legal provision for the poor; in +France they are abandoned to the charity of the public. The +French public officers are paid by a fixed salary; in America +they are allowed certain perquisites. In France contributions in +kind take place on very few roads; in America upon almost all the +thoroughfares: in the former country the roads are free to all +travellers; in the latter turnpikes abound. All these +differences in the manner in which contributions are levied in +the two countries enhance the difficulty of comparing their +expenditure; for there are certain expenses which the citizens +would not be subject to, or which would at any rate be much less +considerable, if the State did not take upon itself to act in the +name of the public.] + +Hence we must conclude that it is no less difficult to +compare the social expenditure than it is to estimate the +relative wealth of France and America. I will even add that it +would be dangerous to attempt this comparison; for when +statistics are not based upon computations which are strictly +accurate, they mislead instead of guiding aright. The mind is +easily imposed upon by the false affectation of exactness, which +prevails even in the misstatements of science, and it adopts with +confidence errors which are dressed in the forms of mathematical +truth. + +We abandon, therefore, our numerical investigation, with the +hope of meeting with data of another kind. In the absence of +positive documents, we may form an opinion as to the proportion +which the taxation of a people bears to its real prosperity, by +observing whether its external appearance is flourishing; +whether, after having discharged the calls of the State, the poor +man retains the means of subsistence, and the rich the means of +enjoyment; and whether both classes are contented with their +position, seeking, however, to ameliorate it by perpetual +exertions, so that industry is never in want of capital, nor +capital unemployed by industry. The observer who draws his +inferences from these signs will, undoubtedly, be led to the +conclusion that the American of the United States contributes a +much smaller portion of his income to the State than the citizen +of France. Nor, indeed, can the result be otherwise. + +A portion of the French debt is the consequence of two +successive invasions; and the Union has no similar calamity to +fear. A nation placed upon the continent of Europe is obliged to +maintain a large standing army; the isolated position of the +Union enables it to have only 6,000 soldiers. The French have a +fleet of 300 sail; the Americans have 52 vessels. *n How, then, +can the inhabitants of the Union be called upon to contribute as +largely as the inhabitants of France? No parallel can be drawn +between the finances of two countries so differently situated. + +[Footnote n: See the details in the Budget of the French Minister +of Marine; and for America, the National Calendar of 1833, p. +228. [But the public debt of the United States in 1870, caused +by the Civil War, amounted to $2,480,672,427; that of France was +more than doubled by the extravagance of the Second Empire and by +the war of 1870.]] + +It is by examining what actually takes place in the Union, +and not by comparing the Union with France, that we may discover +whether the American Government is really economical. On casting +my eyes over the different republics which form the +confederation, I perceive that their Governments lack +perseverance in their undertakings, and that they exercise no +steady control over the men whom they employ. Whence I naturally +infer that they must often spend the money of the people to no +purpose, or consume more of it than is really necessary to their +undertakings. Great efforts are made, in accordance with the +democratic origin of society, to satisfy the exigencies of the +lower orders, to open the career of power to their endeavors, and +to diffuse knowledge and comfort amongst them. The poor are +maintained, immense sums are annually devoted to public +instruction, all services whatsoever are remunerated, and the +most subordinate agents are liberally paid. If this kind of +government appears to me to be useful and rational, I am +nevertheless constrained to admit that it is expensive. + +Wherever the poor direct public affairs and dispose of the +national resources, it appears certain that, as they profit by +the expenditure of the State, they are apt to augment that +expenditure. + +I conclude, therefore, without having recourse to inaccurate +computations, and without hazarding a comparison which might +prove incorrect, that the democratic government of the Americans +is not a cheap government, as is sometimes asserted; and I have +no hesitation in predicting that, if the people of the United +States is ever involved in serious difficulties, its taxation +will speedily be increased to the rate of that which prevails in +the greater part of the aristocracies and the monarchies of +Europe. *o + +[Footnote o: [That is precisely what has since occurred.]] + +Chapter XIII: Government Of The Democracy In America - Part III +Corruption And Vices Of The Rulers In A Democracy, And Consequent +Effects Upon Public Morality + +In aristocracies rulers sometimes endeavor to corrupt the people +- In democracies rulers frequently show themselves to be corrupt +- In the former their vices are directly prejudicial to the +morality of the people - In the latter their indirect influence +is still more pernicious. + +A distinction must be made, when the aristocratic and the +democratic principles mutually inveigh against each other, as +tending to facilitate corruption. In aristocratic governments +the individuals who are placed at the head of affairs are rich +men, who are solely desirous of power. In democracies statesmen +are poor, and they have their fortunes to make. The consequence +is that in aristocratic States the rulers are rarely accessible +to corruption, and have very little craving for money; whilst the +reverse is the case in democratic nations. + +But in aristocracies, as those who are desirous of arriving +at the head of affairs are possessed of considerable wealth, and +as the number of persons by whose assistance they may rise is +comparatively small, the government is, if I may use the +expression, put up to a sort of auction. In democracies, on the +contrary, those who are covetous of power are very seldom +wealthy, and the number of citizens who confer that power is +extremely great. Perhaps in democracies the number of men who +might be bought is by no means smaller, but buyers are rarely to +be met with; and, besides, it would be necessary to buy so many +persons at once that the attempt is rendered nugatory. + +Many of the men who have been in the administration in +France during the last forty years have been accused of making +their fortunes at the expense of the State or of its allies; a +reproach which was rarely addressed to the public characters of +the ancient monarchy. But in France the practice of bribing +electors is almost unknown, whilst it is notoriously and publicly +carried on in England. In the United States I never heard a man +accused of spending his wealth in corrupting the populace; but I +have often heard the probity of public officers questioned; still +more frequently have I heard their success attributed to low +intrigues and immoral practices. + +If, then, the men who conduct the government of an +aristocracy sometimes endeavor to corrupt the people, the heads +of a democracy are themselves corrupt. In the former case the +morality of the people is directly assailed; in the latter an +indirect influence is exercised upon the people which is still +more to be dreaded. + +As the rulers of democratic nations are almost always +exposed to the suspicion of dishonorable conduct, they in some +measure lend the authority of the Government to the base +practices of which they are accused. They thus afford an example +which must prove discouraging to the struggles of virtuous +independence, and must foster the secret calculations of a +vicious ambition. If it be asserted that evil passions are +displayed in all ranks of society, that they ascend the throne by +hereditary right, and that despicable characters are to be met +with at the head of aristocratic nations as well as in the sphere +of a democracy, this objection has but little weight in my +estimation. The corruption of men who have casually risen to +power has a coarse and vulgar infection in it which renders it +contagious to the multitude. On the contrary, there is a kind of +aristocratic refinement and an air of grandeur in the depravity +of the great, which frequently prevent it from spreading abroad. + +The people can never penetrate into the perplexing labyrinth +of court intrigue, and it will always have difficulty in +detecting the turpitude which lurks under elegant manners, +refined tastes, and graceful language. But to pillage the public +purse, and to vend the favors of the State, are arts which the +meanest villain may comprehend, and hope to practice in his turn. + +In reality it is far less prejudicial to witness the +immorality of the great than to witness that immorality which +leads to greatness. In a democracy private citizens see a man of +their own rank in life, who rises from that obscure position, and +who becomes possessed of riches and of power in a few years; the +spectacle excites their surprise and their envy, and they are led +to inquire how the person who was yesterday their equal is to-day +their ruler. To attribute his rise to his talents or his virtues +is unpleasant; for it is tacitly to acknowledge that they are +themselves less virtuous and less talented than he was. They are +therefore led (and not unfrequently their conjecture is a correct +one) to impute his success mainly to some one of his defects; and +an odious mixture is thus formed of the ideas of turpitude and +power, unworthiness and success, utility and dishonor. + +Efforts Of Which A Democracy Is Capable + +The Union has only had one struggle hitherto for its existence - +Enthusiasm at the commencement of the war - Indifference towards +its close - Difficulty of establishing military conscription or +impressment of seamen in America - Why a democratic people is +less capable of sustained effort than another. + +I here warn the reader that I speak of a government which +implicitly follows the real desires of a people, and not of a +government which simply commands in its name. Nothing is so +irresistible as a tyrannical power commanding in the name of the +people, because, whilst it exercises that moral influence which +belongs to the decision of the majority, it acts at the same time +with the promptitude and the tenacity of a single man. + +It is difficult to say what degree of exertion a democratic +government may be capable of making a crisis in the history of +the nation. But no great democratic republic has hitherto +existed in the world. To style the oligarchy which ruled over +France in 1793 by that name would be to offer an insult to the +republican form of government. The United States afford the +first example of the kind. + +The American Union has now subsisted for half a century, in +the course of which time its existence has only once been +attacked, namely, during the War of Independence. At the +commencement of that long war, various occurrences took place +which betokened an extraordinary zeal for the service of the +country. *p But as the contest was prolonged, symptoms of private +egotism began to show themselves. No money was poured into the +public treasury; few recruits could be raised to join the army; +the people wished to acquire independence, but was very +ill-disposed to undergo the privations by which alone it could be +obtained. "Tax laws," says Hamilton in the "Federalist" (No. +12), "have in vain been multiplied; new methods to enforce the +collection have in vain been tried; the public expectation has +been uniformly disappointed and the treasuries of the States have +remained empty. The popular system of administration inherent in +the nature of popular government, coinciding with the real +scarcity of money incident to a languid and mutilated state of +trade, has hitherto defeated every experiment for extensive +collections, and has at length taught the different legislatures +the folly of attempting them." + +[Footnote p: One of the most singular of these occurrences was +the resolution which the Americans took of temporarily abandoning +the use of tea. Those who know that men usually cling more to +their habits than to their life will doubtless admire this great +though obscure sacrifice which was made by a whole people.] + +The United States have not had any serious war to carry on +ever since that period. In order, therefore, to appreciate the +sacrifices which democratic nations may impose upon themselves, +we must wait until the American people is obliged to put half its +entire income at the disposal of the Government, as was done by +the English; or until it sends forth a twentieth part of its +population to the field of battle, as was done by France. *q + +[Footnote q: [The Civil War showed that when the necessity arose +the American people, both in the North and in the South, are +capable of making the most enormous sacrifices, both in money and +in men.]] + +In America the use of conscription is unknown, and men are +induced to enlist by bounties. The notions and habits of the +people of the United States are so opposed to compulsory +enlistment that I do not imagine it can ever be sanctioned by the +laws. What is termed the conscription in France is assuredly the +heaviest tax upon the population of that country; yet how could a +great continental war be carried on without it? The Americans +have not adopted the British impressment of seamen, and they have +nothing which corresponds to the French system of maritime +conscription; the navy, as well as the merchant service, is +supplied by voluntary service. But it is not easy to conceive +how a people can sustain a great maritime war without having +recourse to one or the other of these two systems. Indeed, the +Union, which has fought with some honor upon the seas, has never +possessed a very numerous fleet, and the equipment of the small +number of American vessels has always been excessively expensive. + +I have heard American statesmen confess that the Union will +have great difficulty in maintaining its rank on the seas without +adopting the system of impressment or of maritime conscription; +but the difficulty is to induce the people, which exercises the +supreme authority, to submit to impressment or any compulsory +system. + +It is incontestable that in times of danger a free people +displays far more energy than one which is not so. But I incline +to believe that this is more especially the case in those free +nations in which the democratic element preponderates. Democracy +appears to me to be much better adapted for the peaceful conduct +of society, or for an occasional effort of remarkable vigor, than +for the hardy and prolonged endurance of the storms which beset +the political existence of nations. The reason is very evident; +it is enthusiasm which prompts men to expose themselves to +dangers and privations, but they will not support them long +without reflection. There is more calculation, even in the +impulses of bravery, than is generally attributed to them; and +although the first efforts are suggested by passion, perseverance +is maintained by a distinct regard of the purpose in view. A +portion of what we value is exposed, in order to save the +remainder. + +But it is this distinct perception of the future, founded +upon a sound judgment and an enlightened experience, which is +most frequently wanting in democracies. The populace is more apt +to feel than to reason; and if its present sufferings are great, +it is to be feared that the still greater sufferings attendant +upon defeat will be forgotten. + +Another cause tends to render the efforts of a democratic +government less persevering than those of an aristocracy. Not +only are the lower classes less awakened than the higher orders +to the good or evil chances of the future, but they are liable to +suffer far more acutely from present privations. The noble +exposes his life, indeed, but the chance of glory is equal to the +chance of harm. If he sacrifices a large portion of his income +to the State, he deprives himself for a time of the pleasures of +affluence; but to the poor man death is embellished by no pomp or +renown, and the imposts which are irksome to the rich are fatal +to him. + +This relative impotence of democratic republics is, perhaps, +the greatest obstacle to the foundation of a republic of this +kind in Europe. In order that such a State should subsist in one +country of the Old World, it would be necessary that similar +institutions should be introduced into all the other nations. + +I am of opinion that a democratic government tends in the +end to increase the real strength of society; but it can never +combine, upon a single point and at a given time, so much power +as an aristocracy or a monarchy. If a democratic country +remained during a whole century subject to a republican +government, it would probably at the end of that period be more +populous and more prosperous than the neighboring despotic +States. But it would have incurred the risk of being conquered +much oftener than they would in that lapse of years. + +Self-Control Of The American Democracy + +The American people acquiesces slowly, or frequently does not +acquiesce, in what is beneficial to its interests - The faults of +the American democracy are for the most part reparable. + +The difficulty which a democracy has in conquering the +passions and in subduing the exigencies of the moment, with a +view to the future, is conspicuous in the most trivial +occurrences of the United States. The people, which is +surrounded by flatterers, has great difficulty in surmounting its +inclinations, and whenever it is solicited to undergo a privation +or any kind of inconvenience, even to attain an end which is +sanctioned by its own rational conviction, it almost always +refuses to comply at first. The deference of the Americans to +the laws has been very justly applauded; but it must be added +that in America the legislation is made by the people and for the +people. Consequently, in the United States the law favors those +classes which are most interested in evading it elsewhere. It +may therefore be supposed that an offensive law, which should not +be acknowledged to be one of immediate utility, would either not +be enacted or would not be obeyed. + +In America there is no law against fraudulent bankruptcies; +not because they are few, but because there are a great number of +bankruptcies. The dread of being prosecuted as a bankrupt acts +with more intensity upon the mind of the majority of the people +than the fear of being involved in losses or ruin by the failure +of other parties, and a sort of guilty tolerance is extended by +the public conscience to an offence which everyone condemns in +his individual capacity. In the new States of the Southwest the +citizens generally take justice into their own hands, and murders +are of very frequent occurrence. This arises from the rude +manners and the ignorance of the inhabitants of those deserts, +who do not perceive the utility of investing the law with +adequate force, and who prefer duels to prosecutions. + +Someone observed to me one day, in Philadelphia, that almost +all crimes in America are caused by the abuse of intoxicating +liquors, which the lower classes can procure in great abundance, +from their excessive cheapness. "How comes it," said I, "that +you do not put a duty upon brandy?" "Our legislators," rejoined +my informant, "have frequently thought of this expedient; but the +task of putting it in operation is a difficult one; a revolt +might be apprehended, and the members who should vote for a law +of this kind would be sure of losing their seats." "Whence I am +to infer," replied I, "that the drinking population constitutes +the majority in your country, and that temperance is somewhat +unpopular." + +When these things are pointed out to the American statesmen, +they content themselves with assuring you that time will operate +the necessary change, and that the experience of evil will teach +the people its true interests. This is frequently true, although +a democracy is more liable to error than a monarch or a body of +nobles; the chances of its regaining the right path when once it +has acknowledged its mistake, are greater also; because it is +rarely embarrassed by internal interests, which conflict with +those of the majority, and resist the authority ofreason. But a +democracy can only obtain truth as the result of experience, and +many nations may forfeit their existence whilst they are awaiting +the consequences of their errors. + +The great privilege of the Americans does not simply consist +in their being more enlightened than other nations, but in their +being able to repair the faults they may commit. To which it +must be added, that a democracy cannot derive substantial benefit +from past experience, unless it be arrived at a certain pitch of +knowledge and civilization. There are tribes and peoples whose +education has been so vicious, and whose character presents so +strange a mixture of passion, of ignorance, and of erroneous +notions upon all subjects, that they are unable to discern the +causes of their own wretchedness, and they fall a sacrifice to +ills with which they are unacquainted. + +I have crossed vast tracts of country that were formerly +inhabited by powerful Indian nations which are now extinct; I +have myself passed some time in the midst of mutilated tribes, +which witness the daily decline of their numerical strength and +of the glory of their independence; and I have heard these +Indians themselves anticipate the impending doom of their race. +Every European can perceive means which would rescue these +unfortunate beings from inevitable destruction. They alone are +insensible to the expedient; they feel the woe which year after +year heaps upon their heads, but they will perish to a man +without accepting the remedy. It would be necessary to employ +force to induce them to submit to the protection and the +constraint of civilization. + +The incessant revolutions which have convulsed the South +American provinces for the last quarter of a century have +frequently been adverted to with astonishment, and expectations +have been expressed that those nations would speedily return to +their natural state. But can it be affirmed that the turmoil of +revolution is not actually the most natural state of the South +American Spaniards at the present time? In that country society +is plunged into difficulties from which all its efforts are +insufficient to rescue it. The inhabitants of that fair portion +of the Western Hemisphere seem obstinately bent on pursuing the +work of inward havoc. If they fall into a momentary repose from +the effects of exhaustion, that repose prepares them for a fresh +state of frenzy. When I consider their condition, which +alternates between misery and crime, I should be inclined to +believe that despotism itself would be a benefit to them, if it +were possible that the words despotism and benefit could ever be +united in my mind. + +Conduct Of Foreign Affairs By The American Democracy + +Direction given to the foreign policy of the United States by +Washington and Jefferson - Almost all the defects inherent in +democratic institutions are brought to light in the conduct of +foreign affairs - Their advantages are less perceptible. + +We have seen that the Federal Constitution entrusts the +permanent direction of the external interests of the nation to +the President and the Senate, *r which tends in some degree to +detach the general foreign policy of the Union from the control +of the people. It cannot therefore be asserted with truth that +the external affairs of State are conducted by the democracy. + +[Footnote r: "The President," says the Constitution, Art. II, +sect. 2, Section 2, "shall have power, by and with the advice and +consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of +the senators present concur." The reader is reminded that the +senators are returned for a term of six years, and that they are +chosen by the legislature of each State.] + +The policy of America owes its rise to Washington, and after +him to Jefferson, who established those principles which it +observes at the present day. Washington said in the admirable +letter which he addressed to his fellow-citizens, and which may +be looked upon as his political bequest to the country: "The +great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in +extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little +political connection as possible. So far as we have already +formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good +faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests +which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence, she must +be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are +essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must +be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties, in +the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary +combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities. Our +detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a +different course. If we remain one people, under an efficient +government, the period is not far off when we may defy material +injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude +as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to +be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the +impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly +hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or +war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel. Why +forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our +own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our +destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and +prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, +interest, humor, or caprice? It is our true policy to steer +clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign +world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let +me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to +existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to +public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best +policy. I repeat it; therefore, let those engagements be +observed in their genuine sense; but in my opinion it is +unnecessary, and would be unwise, to extend them. Taking care +always to keep ourselves, by suitable establishments, in a +respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary +alliances for extraordinary emergencies." In a previous part of +the same letter Washington makes the following admirable and just +remark: "The nation which indulges towards another an habitual +hatred or an habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is +a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is +sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest." + +The political conduct of Washington was always guided by +these maxims. He succeeded in maintaining his country in a state +of peace whilst all the other nations of the globe were at war; +and he laid it down as a fundamental doctrine, that the true +interest of the Americans consisted in a perfect neutrality with +regard to the internal dissensions of the European Powers. + +Jefferson went still further, and he introduced a maxim into +the policy of the Union, which affirms that "the Americans ought +never to solicit any privileges from foreign nations, in order +not to be obliged to grant similar privileges themselves." + +These two principles, which were so plain and so just as to +be adapted to the capacity of the populace, have greatly +simplified the foreign policy of the United States. As the Union +takes no part in the affairs of Europe, it has, properly +speaking, no foreign interests to discuss, since it has at +present no powerful neighbors on the American continent. The +country is as much removed from the passions of the Old World by +its position as by the line of policy which it has chosen, and it +is neither called upon to repudiate nor to espouse the +conflicting interests of Europe; whilst the dissensions of the +New World are still concealed within the bosom of the future. + +The Union is free from all pre-existing obligations, and it +is consequently enabled to profit by the experience of the old +nations of Europe, without being obliged, as they are, to make +the best of the past, and to adapt it to their present +circumstances; or to accept that immense inheritance which they +derive from their forefathers - an inheritance of glory mingled +with calamities, and of alliances conflicting with national +antipathies. The foreign policy of the United States is reduced +by its very nature to await the chances of the future history of +the nation, and for the present it consists more in abstaining +from interference than in exerting its activity. + +It is therefore very difficult to ascertain, at present, +what degree of sagacity the American democracy will display in +the conduct of the foreign policy of the country; and upon this +point its adversaries, as well as its advocates, must suspend +their judgment. As for myself I have no hesitation in avowing my +conviction, that it is most especially in the conduct of foreign +relations that democratic governments appear to me to be +decidedly inferior to governments carried on upon different +principles. Experience, instruction, and habit may almost always +succeed in creating a species of practical discretion in +democracies, and that science of the daily occurrences of life +which is called good sense. Good sense may suffice to direct the +ordinary course of society; and amongst a people whose education +has been provided for, the advantages of democratic liberty in +the internal affairs of the country may more than compensate for +the evils inherent in a democratic government. But such is not +always the case in the mutual relations of foreign nations. + +Foreign politics demand scarcely any of those qualities +which a democracy possesses; and they require, on the contrary, +the perfect use of almost all those faculties in which it is +deficient. Democracy is favorable to the increase of the +internal resources of the State; it tends to diffuse a moderate +independence; it promotes the growth of public spirit, and +fortifies the respect which is entertained for law in all classes +of society; and these are advantages which only exercise an +indirect influence over the relations which one people bears to +another. But a democracy is unable to regulate the details of an +important undertaking, to persevere in a design, and to work out +its execution in the presence of serious obstacles. It cannot +combine its measures with secrecy, and it will not await their +consequences with patience. These are qualities which more +especially belong to an individual or to an aristocracy; and they +are precisely the means by which an individual people attains to +a predominant position. + +If, on the contrary, we observe the natural defects of +aristocracy, we shall find that their influence is comparatively +innoxious in the direction of the external affairs of a State. +The capital fault of which aristocratic bodies may be accused is +that they are more apt to contrive their own advantage than that +of the mass of the people. In foreign politics it is rare for +the interest of the aristocracy to be in any way distinct from +that of the people. + +The propensity which democracies have to obey the impulse of +passion rather than the suggestions of prudence, and to abandon a +mature design for the gratification of a momentary caprice, was +very clearly seen in America on the breaking out of the French +Revolution. It was then as evident to the simplest capacity as +it is at the present time that the interest of the Americans +forbade them to take any part in the contest which was about to +deluge Europe with blood, but which could by no means injure the +welfare of their own country. Nevertheless the sympathies of the +people declared themselves with so much violence in behalf of +France that nothing but the inflexible character of Washington, +and the immense popularity which he enjoyed, could have prevented +the Americans from declaring war against England. And even then, +the exertions which the austere reason of that great man made to +repress the generous but imprudent passions of his +fellow-citizens, very nearly deprived him of the sole recompense +which he had ever claimed - that of his country's love. The +majority then reprobated the line of policy which he adopted, and +which has since been unanimously approved by the nation. *s If +the Constitution and the favor of the public had not entrusted +the direction of the foreign affairs of the country to +Washington, it is certain that the American nation would at that +time have taken the very measures which it now condemns. + +[Footnote s: See the fifth volume of Marshall's "Life of +Washington." In a government constituted like that of the United +States," he says, "it is impossible for the chief magistrate, +however firm he may be, to oppose for any length of time the +torrent of popular opinion; and the prevalent opinion of that day +seemed to incline to war. In fact, in the session of Congress +held at the time, it was frequently seen that Washington had lost +the majority in the House of Representatives." The violence of +the language used against him in public was extreme, and in a +political meeting they did not scruple to compare him indirectly +to the treacherous Arnold. "By the opposition," says Marshall, +"the friends of the administration were declared to be an +aristocratic and corrupt faction, who, from a desire to introduce +monarchy, were hostile to France and under the influence of +Britain; that they were a paper nobility, whose extreme +sensibility at every measure which threatened the funds, induced +a tame submission to injuries and insults, which the interests +and honor of the nation required them to resist."] + +Almost all the nations which have ever exercised a powerful +influence upon the destinies of the world by conceiving, +following up, and executing vast designs - from the Romans to the +English - have been governed by aristocratic institutions. Nor +will this be a subject of wonder when we recollect that nothing +in the world has so absolute a fixity of purpose as an +aristocracy. The mass of the people may be led astray by +ignorance or passion; the mind of a king may be biased, and his +perseverance in his designs may be shaken - besides which a king +is not immortal - but an aristocratic body is too numerous to be +led astray by the blandishments of intrigue, and yet not numerous +enough to yield readily to the intoxicating influence of +unreflecting passion: it has the energy of a firm and enlightened +individual, added to the power which it derives from perpetuity. + + +Chapter XIV: Advantages American Society Derive From Democracy - +Part I + +What The Real Advantages Are Which American Society Derives From +The Government Of The Democracy + +Before I enter upon the subject of the present chapter I am +induced to remind the reader of what I have more than once +adverted to in the course of this book. The political +institutions of the United States appear to me to be one of the +forms of government which a democracy may adopt; but I do not +regard the American Constitution as the best, or as the only one, +which a democratic people may establish. In showing the +advantages which the Americans derive from the government of +democracy, I am therefore very far from meaning, or from +believing, that similar advantages can only be obtained from the +same laws. + +General Tendency Of The Laws Under The Rule Of The American +Democracy, And Habits Of Those Who Apply Them + +Defects of a democratic government easy to be discovered - Its +advantages only to be discerned by long observation - Democracy +in America often inexpert, but the general tendency of the laws +advantageous - In the American democracy public officers have no +permanent interests distinct from those of the majority - Result +of this state of things. + +The defects and the weaknesses of a democratic government +may very readily be discovered; they are demonstrated by the most +flagrant instances, whilst its beneficial influence is less +perceptibly exercised. A single glance suffices to detect its +evil consequences, but its good qualities can only be discerned +by long observation. The laws of the American democracy are +frequently defective or incomplete; they sometimes attack vested +rights, or give a sanction to others which are dangerous to the +community; but even if they were good, the frequent changes which +they undergo would be an evil. How comes it, then, that the +American republics prosper and maintain their position? + +In the consideration of laws a distinction must be carefully +observed between the end at which they aim and the means by which +they are directed to that end, between their absolute and their +relative excellence. If it be the intention of the legislator to +favor the interests of the minority at the expense of the +majority, and if the measures he takes are so combined as to +accomplish the object he has in view with the least possible +expense of time and exertion, the law may be well drawn up, +although its purpose be bad; and the more efficacious it is, the +greater is the mischief which it causes. + +Democratic laws generally tend to promote the welfare of the +greatest possible number; for they emanate from the majority of +the citizens, who are subject to error, but who cannot have an +interest opposed to their own advantage. The laws of an +aristocracy tend, on the contrary, to concentrate wealth and +power in the hands of the minority, because an aristocracy, by +its very nature, +constitutes a minority. It may therefore be asserted, as a +general proposition, that the purpose of a democracy in the +conduct of its legislation is useful to a greater number of +citizens than that of an aristocracy. This is, however, the sum +total of its advantages. + +Aristocracies are infinitely more expert in the science of +legislation than democracies ever can be. They are possessed of +a self-control which protects them from the errors of temporary +excitement, and they form lasting designs which they mature with +the assistance of favorable opportunities. Aristocratic +government proceeds with the dexterity of art; it understands how +to make the collective force of all its laws converge at the same +time to a given point. Such is not the case with democracies, +whose laws are almost always ineffective or inopportune. The +means of democracy are therefore more imperfect than those of +aristocracy, and the measures which it unwittingly adopts are +frequently opposed to its own cause; but the object it has in +view is more useful. + +Let us now imagine a community so organized by nature, or by +its constitution, that it can support the transitory action of +bad laws, and that it can await, without destruction, the general +tendency of the legislation: we shall then be able to conceive +that a democratic government, notwithstanding its defects, will +be most fitted to conduce to the prosperity of this community. +This is precisely what has occurred in the United States; and I +repeat, what I have before remarked, that the great advantage of +the Americans consists in their being able to commit faults which +they may afterward repair. + +An analogous observation may be made respecting public +officers. It is easy to perceive that the American democracy +frequently errs in the choice of the individuals to whom it +entrusts the power of the administration; but it is more +difficult to say why the State prospers under their rule. In the +first place it is to be remarked, that if in a democratic State +the governors have less honesty and less capacity than elsewhere, +the governed, on the other hand, are more enlightened and more +attentive to their interests. As the people in democracies is +more incessantly vigilant in its affairs and more jealous of its +rights, it prevents its representatives from abandoning that +general line of conduct which its own interest prescribes. In +the second place, it must be remembered that if the democratic +magistrate is more apt to misuse his power, he possesses it for a +shorter period of time. But there is yet another reason which is +still more general and conclusive. It is no doubt of importance +to the welfare of nations that they should be governed by men of +talents and virtue; but it is perhaps still more important that +the interests of those men should not differ from the interests +of the community at large; for, if such were the case, virtues of +a high order might become useless, and talents might be turned to +a bad account. I say that it is important that the interests of +the persons in authority should not conflict with or oppose the +interests of the community at large; but I do not insist upon +their having the same interests as the whole population, because +I am not aware that such a state of things ever existed in any +country. + +No political form has hitherto been discovered which is +equally favorable to the prosperity and the development of all +the classes into which society is divided. These classes +continue to form, as it were, a certain number of distinct +nations in the same nation; and experience has shown that it is +no less dangerous to place the fate of these classes exclusively +in the hands of any one of them than it is to make one people the +arbiter of the destiny of another. When the rich alone govern, +the interest of the poor is always endangered; and when the poor +make the laws, that of the rich incurs very serious risks. The +advantage of democracy does not consist, therefore, as has +sometimes been asserted, in favoring the prosperity of all, but +simply in contributing to the well-being of the greatest possible +number. + +The men who are entrusted with the direction of public +affairs in the United States are frequently inferior, both in +point of capacity and of morality, to those whom aristocratic +institutions would raise to power. But their interest is +identified and confounded with that of the majority of their +fellow-citizens. They may frequently be faithless and frequently +mistaken, but they will never systematically adopt a line of +conduct opposed to the will of the majority; and it is impossible +that they should give a dangerous or an exclusive tendency to the +government. + +The mal-administration of a democratic magistrate is a mere +isolated fact, which only occurs during the short period for +which he is elected. Corruption and incapacity do not act as +common interests, which may connect men permanently with one +another. A corrupt or an incapable magistrate will not concert +his measures with another magistrate, simply because that +individual is as corrupt and as incapable as himself; and these +two men will never unite their endeavors to promote the +corruption and inaptitude of their remote posterity. The +ambition and the manoeuvres of the one will serve, on the +contrary, to unmask the other. The vices of a magistrate, in +democratic states, are usually peculiar to his own person. + +But under aristocratic governments public men are swayed by +the interest of their order, which, if it is sometimes confounded +with the interests of the majority, is very frequently distinct +from them. This interest is the common and lasting bond which +unites them together; it induces them to coalesce, and to combine +their efforts in order to attain an end which does not always +ensure the greatest happiness of the greatest number; and it +serves not only to connect the persons in authority, but to unite +them to a considerable portion of the community, since a numerous +body of citizens belongs to the aristocracy, without being +invested with official functions. The aristocratic magistrate is +therefore constantly supported by a portion of the community, as +well as by the Government of which he is a member. + +The common purpose which connects the interest of the +magistrates in aristocracies with that of a portion of their +contemporaries identifies it with that of future generations; +their influence belongs to the future as much as to the present. +The aristocratic magistrate is urged at the same time toward the +same point by the passions of the community, by his own, and I +may almost add by those of his posterity. Is it, then, wonderful +that he does not resist such repeated impulses? And indeed +aristocracies are often carried away by the spirit of their order +without being corrupted by it; and they unconsciously fashion +society to their own ends, and prepare it for their own +descendants. + +The English aristocracy is perhaps the most liberal which +ever existed, and no body of men has ever, uninterruptedly, +furnished so many honorable and enlightened individuals to the +government of a country. It cannot, however, escape observation +that in the legislation of England the good of the poor has been +sacrificed to the advantage of the rich, and the rights of the +majority to the privileges of the few. The consequence is, that +England, at the present day, combines the extremes of fortune in +the bosom of her society, and her perils and calamities are +almost equal to her power and her renown. *a + +[Footnote a: [The legislation of England for the forty years is +certainly not fairly open to this criticism, which was written +before the Reform Bill of 1832, and accordingly Great Britain has +thus far escaped and surmounted the perils and calamities to +which she seemed to be exposed.]] + +In the United States, where the public officers have no +interests to promote connected with their caste, the general and +constant influence of the Government is beneficial, although the +individuals who conduct it are frequently unskilful and sometimes +contemptible. There is indeed a secret tendency in democratic +institutions to render the exertions of the citizens subservient +to the prosperity of the community, notwithstanding their private +vices and mistakes; whilst in aristocratic institutions there is +a secret propensity which, notwithstanding the talents and the +virtues of those who conduct the government, leads them to +contribute to the evils which oppress their fellow-creatures. In +aristocratic governments public men may frequently do injuries +which they do not intend, and in democratic states they produce +advantages which they never thought of. + +Public Spirit In The United States + +Patriotism of instinct - Patriotism of reflection - Their +different characteristics - Nations ought to strive to acquire +the second when the first has disappeared - Efforts of the +Americans to it - Interest of the individual intimately connected +with that of the country. + +There is one sort of patriotic attachment which principally +arises from that instinctive, disinterested, and undefinable +feeling which connects the affections of man with his birthplace. +This natural fondness is united to a taste for ancient customs, +and to a reverence for ancestral traditions of the past; those +who cherish it love their country as they love the mansions of +their fathers. They enjoy the tranquillity which it affords +them; they cling to the peaceful habits which they have +contracted within its bosom; they are attached to the +reminiscences which it awakens, and they are even pleased by the +state of obedience in which they are placed. This patriotism is +sometimes stimulated by religious enthusiasm, and then it is +capable of making the most prodigious efforts. It is in itself a +kind of religion; it does not reason, but it acts from the +impulse of faith and of sentiment. By some nations the monarch +has been regarded as a personification of the country; and the +fervor of patriotism being converted into the fervor of loyalty, +they took a sympathetic pride in his conquests, and gloried in +his power. At one time, under the ancient monarchy, the French +felt a sort of satisfaction in the sense of their dependence upon +the arbitrary pleasure of their king, and they were wont to say +with pride, "We are the subjects of the most powerful king in the +world." + +But, like all instinctive passions, this kind of patriotism +is more apt to prompt transient exertion than to supply the +motives of continuous endeavor. It may save the State in +critical circumstances, but it will not unfrequently allow the +nation to decline in the midst of peace. Whilst the manners of a +people are simple and its faith unshaken, whilst society is +steadily based upon traditional institutions whose legitimacy has +never been contested, this instinctive patriotism is wont to +endure. + +But there is another species of attachment to a country +which is more rational than the one we have been describing. It +is perhaps less generous and less ardent, but it is more fruitful +and more lasting; it is coeval with the spread of knowledge, it +is nurtured by the laws, it grows by the exercise of civil +rights, and, in the end, it is confounded with the personal +interest of the citizen. A man comprehends the influence which +the prosperity of his country has upon his own welfare; he is +aware that the laws authorize him to contribute his assistance to +that prosperity, and he labors to promote it as a portion of his +interest in the first place, and as a portion of his right in the +second. + +But epochs sometimes occur, in the course of the existence +of a nation, at which the ancient customs of a people are +changed, public morality destroyed, religious belief disturbed, +and the spell of tradition broken, whilst the diffusion of +knowledge is yet imperfect, and the civil rights of the community +are ill secured, or confined within very narrow limits. The +country then assumes a dim and dubious shape in the eyes of the +citizens; they no longer behold it in the soil which they +inhabit, for that soil is to them a dull inanimate clod; nor in +the usages of their forefathers, which they have been taught to +look upon as a debasing yoke; nor in religion, for of that they +doubt; nor in the laws, which do not originate in their own +authority; nor in the legislator, whom they fear and despise. +The country is lost to their senses, they can neither discover it +under its own nor under borrowed features, and they entrench +themselves within the dull precincts of a narrow egotism. They +are emancipated from prejudice without having acknowledged the +empire of reason; they are neither animated by the instinctive +patriotism of monarchical subjects nor by the thinking patriotism +of republican citizens; but they have stopped halfway between the +two, in the midst of confusion and of distress. + +In this predicament, to retreat is impossible; for a people +cannot restore the vivacity of its earlier times, any more than a +man can return to the innocence and the bloom of childhood; such +things may be regretted, but they cannot be renewed. The only +thing, then, which remains to be done is to proceed, and to +accelerate the union of private with public interests, since the +period of disinterested patriotism is gone by forever. + +I am certainly very far from averring that, in order to +obtain this result, the exercise of political rights should be +immediately granted to all the members of the community. But I +maintain that the most powerful, and perhaps the only, means of +interesting men in the welfare of their country which we still +possess is to make them partakers in the Government. At the +present time civic zeal seems to me to be inseparable from the +exercise of political rights; and I hold that the number of +citizens will be found to augment or to decrease in Europe in +proportion as those rights are extended. + +In the United States the inhabitants were thrown but as +yesterday upon the soil which they now occupy, and they brought +neither customs nor traditions with them there; they meet each +other for the first time with no previous acquaintance; in short, +the instinctive love of their country can scarcely exist in their +minds; but everyone takes as zealous an interest in the affairs +of his township, his county, and of the whole State, as if they +were his own, because everyone, in his sphere, takes an active +part in the government of society. + +The lower orders in the United States are alive to the +perception of the influence exercised by the general prosperity +upon their own welfare; and simple as this observation is, it is +one which is but too rarely made by the people. But in America +the people regards this prosperity as the result of its own +exertions; the citizen looks upon the fortune of the public as +his private interest, and he co-operates in its success, not so +much from a sense of pride or of duty, as from what I shall +venture to term cupidity. + +It is unnecessary to study the institutions and the history +of the Americans in order to discover the truth of this remark, +for their manners render it sufficiently evident. As the +American participates in all that is done in his country, he +thinks himself obliged to defend whatever may be censured; for it +is not only his country which is attacked upon these occasions, +but it is himself. The consequence is, that his national pride +resorts to a thousand artifices, and to all the petty tricks of +individual vanity. + +Nothing is more embarrassing in the ordinary intercourse of +life than this irritable patriotism of the Americans. A stranger +may be very well inclined to praise many of the institutions of +their country, but he begs permission to blame some of the +peculiarities which he observes - a permission which is, however, +inexorably refused. America is therefore a free country, in +which, lest anybody should be hurt by your remarks, you are not +allowed to speak freely of private individuals, or of the State, +of the citizens or of the authorities, of public or of private +undertakings, or, in short, of anything at all, except it be of +the climate and the soil; and even then Americans will be found +ready to defend either the one or the other, as if they had been +contrived by the inhabitants of the country. + +In our times option must be made between the patriotism of +all and the government of a few; for the force and activity which +the first confers are irreconcilable with the guarantees of +tranquillity which the second furnishes. + +Notion Of Rights In The United States + +No great people without a notion of rights - How the notion of +rights can be given to people - Respect of rights in the United +States - Whence it arises. + +After the idea of virtue, I know no higher principle than +that of right; or, to speak more accurately, these two ideas are +commingled in one. The idea of right is simply that of virtue +introduced into the political world. It is the idea of right +which enabled men to define anarchy and tyranny; and which taught +them to remain independent without arrogance, as well as to obey +without servility. The man who submits to violence is debased by +his compliance; but when he obeys the mandate of one who +possesses that right of authority which he acknowledges in a +fellow-creature, he rises in some measure above the person who +delivers the command. There are no great men without virtue, and +there are no great nations - it may almost be added that there +would be no society - without the notion of rights; for what is +the condition of a mass of rational and intelligent beings who +are only united together by the bond of force? + +I am persuaded that the only means which we possess at the +present time of inculcating the notion of rights, and of +rendering it, as it were, palpable to the senses, is to invest +all the members of the community with the peaceful exercise of +certain rights: this is very clearly seen in children, who are +men without the strength and the experience of manhood. When a +child begins to move in the midst of the objects which surround +him, he is instinctively led to turn everything which he can lay +his hands upon to his own purposes; he has no notion of the +property of others; but as he gradually learns the value of +things, and begins to perceive that he may in his turn be +deprived of his possessions, he becomes more circumspect, and he +observes those rights in others which he wishes to have respected +in himself. The principle which the child derives from the +possession of his toys is taught to the man by the objects which +he may call his own. In America those complaints against +property in general which are so frequent in Europe are never +heard, because in America there are no paupers; and as everyone +has property of his own to defend, everyone recognizes the +principle upon which he holds it. + +The same thing occurs in the political world. In America +the lowest classes have conceived a very high notion of political +rights, because they exercise those rights; and they refrain from +attacking those of other people, in order to ensure their own +from attack. Whilst in Europe the same classes sometimes +recalcitrate even against the supreme power, the American submits +without a murmur to the authority of the pettiest magistrate. + +This truth is exemplified by the most trivial details of +national peculiarities. In France very few pleasures are +exclusively reserved for the higher classes; the poor are +admitted wherever the rich are received, and they consequently +behave with propriety, and respect whatever contributes to the +enjoyments in which they themselves participate. In England, +where wealth has a monopoly of amusement as well as of power, +complaints are made that whenever the poor happen to steal into +the enclosures which are reserved for the pleasures of the rich, +they commit acts of wanton mischief: can this be wondered at, +since care has been taken that they should have nothing to lose? +*b + +[Footnote b: [This, too, has been amended by much larger +provisions for the amusements of the people in public parks, +gardens, museums, etc.; and the conduct of the people in these +places of amusement has improved in the same proportion.]] + +The government of democracy brings the notion of political +rights to the level of the humblest citizens, just as the +dissemination of wealth brings the notion of property within the +reach of all the members of the community; and I confess that, to +my mind, this is one of its greatest advantages. I do not assert +that it is easy to teach men to exercise political rights; but I +maintain that, when it is possible, the effects which result from +it are highly important; and I add that, if there ever was a time +at which such an attempt ought to be made, that time is our own. +It is clear that the influence of religious belief is shaken, and +that the notion of divine rights is declining; it is evident that +public morality is vitiated, and the notion of moral rights is +also disappearing: these are general symptoms of the substitution +of argument for faith, and of calculation for the impulses of +sentiment. If, in the midst of this general disruption, you do +not succeed in connecting the notion of rights with that of +personal interest, which is the only immutable point in the human +heart, what means will you have of governing the world except by +fear? When I am told that, since the laws are weak and the +populace is wild, since passions are excited and the authority of +virtue is paralyzed, no measures must be taken to increase the +rights of the democracy, I reply, that it is for these very +reasons that some measures of the kind must be taken; and I am +persuaded that governments are still more interested in taking +them than society at large, because governments are liable to be +destroyed and society cannot perish. + +I am not, however, inclined to exaggerate the example which +America furnishes. In those States the people are invested with +political rights at a time when they could scarcely be abused, +for the citizens were few in number and simple in their manners. +As they have increased, the Americans have not augmented the +power of the democracy, but they have, if I may use the +expression, extended its dominions. It cannot be doubted that the +moment at which political rights are granted to a people that had +before been without them is a very critical, though it be a +necessary one. A child may kill before he is aware of the value +of life; and he may deprive another person of his property before +he is aware that his own may be taken away from him. The lower +orders, when first they are invested with political rights, +stand, in relation to those rights, in the same position as the +child does to the whole of nature, and the celebrated adage may +then be applied to them, Homo puer robustus. This truth may even +be perceived in America. The States in which the citizens have +enjoyed their rights longest are those in which they make the +best use of them. + +It cannot be repeated too often that nothing is more fertile +in prodigies than the art of being free; but there is nothing +more arduous than the apprenticeship of liberty. Such is not the +case with despotic institutions: despotism often promises to make +amends for a thousand previous ills; it supports the right, it +protects the oppressed, and it maintains public order. The nation +is lulled by the temporary prosperity which accrues to it, until +it is roused to a sense of its own misery. Liberty, on the +contrary, is generally established in the midst of agitation, it +is perfected by civil discord, and its benefits cannot be +appreciated until it is already old. + + +Chapter XIV: Advantages American Society Derive From Democracy - +Part II + +Respect For The Law In The United States + +Respect of the Americans for the law - Parental affection which +they entertain for it - Personal interest of everyone to increase +the authority of the law. + +It is not always feasible to consult the whole people, +either directly or indirectly, in the formation of the law; but +it cannot be denied that, when such a measure is possible the +authority of the law is very much augmented. This popular origin, +which impairs the excellence and the wisdom of legislation, +contributes prodigiously to increase its power. There is an +amazing strength in the expression of the determination of a +whole people, and when it declares itself the imagination of +those who are most inclined to contest it is overawed by its +authority. The truth of this fact is very well known by parties, +and they consequently strive to make out a majority whenever they +can. If they have not the greater number of voters on their +side, they assert that the true majority abstained from voting; +and if they are foiled even there, they have recourse to the body +of those persons who had no votes to give. + +In the United States, except slaves, servants, and paupers +in the receipt of relief from the townships, there is no class of +persons who do not exercise the elective franchise, and who do +not indirectly contribute to make the laws. Those who design to +attack the laws must consequently either modify the opinion of +the nation or trample upon its decision. + +A second reason, which is still more weighty, may be further +adduced; in the United States everyone is personally interested +in enforcing the obedience of the whole community to the law; for +as the minority may shortly rally the majority to its principles, +it is interested in professing that respect for the decrees of +the legislator which it may soon have occasion to claim for its +own. However irksome an enactment may be, the citizen of the +United States complies with it, not only because it is the work +of the majority, but because it originates in his own authority, +and he regards it as a contract to which he is himself a party. + +In the United States, then, that numerous and turbulent +multitude does not exist which always looks upon the law as its +natural enemy, and accordingly surveys it with fear and with fear +and with distrust. It is impossible, on the other hand, not to +perceive that all classes display the utmost reliance upon the +legislation of their country, and that they are attached to it by +a kind of parental affection. + +I am wrong, however, in saying all classes; for as in +America the European scale of authority is inverted, the wealthy +are there placed in a position analogous to that of the poor in +the Old World, and it is the opulent classes which frequently +look upon the law with suspicion. I have already observed that +the advantage of democracy is not, as has been sometimes +asserted, that it protects the interests of the whole community, +but simply that it protects those of the majority. In the United +States, where the poor rule, the rich have always some reason to +dread the abuses of their power. This natural anxiety of the rich +may produce a sullen dissatisfaction, but society is not +disturbed by it; for the same reason which induces the rich to +withhold their confidence in the legislative authority makes them +obey its mandates; their wealth, which prevents them from making +the law, prevents them from withstanding it. Amongst civilized +nations revolts are rarely excited, except by such persons as +have nothing to lose by them; and if the laws of a democracy are +not always worthy of respect, at least they always obtain it; for +those who usually infringe the laws have no excuse for not +complying with the enactments they have themselves made, and by +which they are themselves benefited, whilst the citizens whose +interests might be promoted by the infraction of them are +induced, by their character and their stations, to submit to the +decisions of the legislature, whatever they may be. Besides +which, the people in America obeys the law not only because it +emanates from the popular authority, but because that authority +may modify it in any points which may prove vexatory; a law is +observed because it is a self-imposed evil in the first place, +and an evil of transient duration in the second. + +Activity Which Pervades All The Branches Of The Body Politic In +The United States; Influence Which It Exercises Upon Society + +More difficult to conceive the political activity which pervades +the United States than the freedom and equality which reign there +- The great activity which perpetually agitates the legislative +bodies is only an episode to the general activity - Difficult for +an American to confine himself to his own business - Political +agitation extends to all social intercourse - Commercial activity +of the Americans partly attributable to this cause - Indirect +advantages which society derives from a democratic government. + +On passing from a country in which free institutions are +established to one where they do not exist, the traveller is +struck by the change; in the former all is bustle and activity, +in the latter everything is calm and motionless. In the one, +amelioration and progress are the general topics of inquiry; in +the other, it seems as if the community only aspired to repose in +the enjoyment of the advantages which it has acquired. +Nevertheless, the country which exerts itself so strenuously to +promote its welfare is generally more wealthy and more prosperous +than that which appears to be so contented with its lot; and when +we compare them together, we can scarcely conceive how so many +new wants are daily felt in the former, whilst so few seem to +occur in the latter. + +If this remark is applicable to those free countries in +which monarchical and aristocratic institutions subsist, it is +still more striking with regard to democratic republics. In +these States it is not only a portion of the people which is +busied with the amelioration of its social condition, but the +whole community is engaged in the task; and it is not the +exigencies and the convenience of a single class for which a +provision is to be made, but the exigencies and the convenience +of all ranks of life. + +It is not impossible to conceive the surpassing liberty +which the Americans enjoy; some idea may likewise be formed of +the extreme equality which subsists amongst them, but the +political activity which pervades the United States must be seen +in order to be understood. No sooner do you set foot upon the +American soil than you are stunned by a kind of tumult; a +confused clamor is heard on every side; and a thousand +simultaneous voices demand the immediate satisfaction of their +social wants. Everything is in motion around you; here, the +people of one quarter of a town are met to decide upon the +building of a church; there, the election of a representative is +going on; a little further the delegates of a district are +posting to the town in order to consult upon some local +improvements; or in another place the laborers of a village quit +their ploughs to deliberate upon the project of a road or a +public school. Meetings are called for the sole purpose of +declaring their disapprobation of the line of conduct pursued by +the Government; whilst in other assemblies the citizens salute +the authorities of the day as the fathers of their country. +Societies are formed which regard drunkenness as the principal +cause of the evils under which the State labors, and which +solemnly bind themselves to give a constant example of +temperance. *c + +[Footnote c: At the time of my stay in the United States the +temperance societies already consisted of more than 270,000 +members, and their effect had been to diminish the consumption of +fermented liquors by 500,000 gallons per annum in the State of +Pennsylvania alone.] + +The great political agitation of the American legislative +bodies, which is the only kind of excitement that attracts the +attention of foreign countries, is a mere episode or a sort of +continuation of that universal movement which originates in the +lowest classes of the people and extends successively to all the +ranks of society. It is impossible to spend more efforts in the +pursuit of enjoyment. + +The cares of political life engross a most prominent place +in the occupation of a citizen in the United States, and almost +the only pleasure of which an American has any idea is to take a +part in the Government, and to discuss the part he has taken. +This feeling pervades the most trifling habits of life; even the +women frequently attend public meetings and listen to political +harangues as a recreation after their household labors. Debating +clubs are to a certain extent a substitute for theatrical +entertainments: an American cannot converse, but he can discuss; +and when he attempts to talk he falls into a dissertation. He +speaks to you as if he was addressing a meeting; and if he should +chance to warm in the course of the discussion, he will +infallibly say, "Gentlemen," to the person with whom he is +conversing. + +In some countries the inhabitants display a certain +repugnance to avail themselves of the political privileges with +which the law invests them; it would seem that they set too high +a value upon their time to spend it on the interests of the +community; and they prefer to withdraw within the exact limits of +a wholesome egotism, marked out by four sunk fences and a +quickset hedge. But if an American were condemned to confine his +activity to his own affairs, he would be robbed of one half of +his existence; he would feel an immense void in the life which he +is accustomed to lead, and his wretchedness would be unbearable. +*d I am persuaded that, if ever a despotic government is +established in America, it will find it more difficult to +surmount the habits which free institutions have engendered than +to conquer the attachment of the citizens to freedom. + +[Footnote d: The same remark was made at Rome under the first +Caesars. Montesquieu somewhere alludes to the excessive +despondency of certain Roman citizens who, after the excitement +of political life, were all at once flung back into the +stagnation of private life.] + +This ceaseless agitation which democratic government has +introduced into the political world influences all social +intercourse. I am not sure that upon the whole this is not the +greatest advantage of democracy. And I am much less inclined to +applaud it for what it does than for what it causes to be done. +It is incontestable that the people frequently conducts +public business very ill; but it is impossible that the lower +orders should take a part in public business without extending +the circle of their ideas, and without quitting the ordinary +routine of their mental acquirements. The humblest individual +who is called upon to co-operate in the government of society +acquires a certain degree of self-respect; and as he possesses +authority, he can command the services of minds much more +enlightened than his own. He is canvassed by a multitude of +applicants, who seek to deceive him in a thousand different ways, +but who instruct him by their deceit. He takes a part in +political undertakings which did not originate in his own +conception, but which give him a taste for undertakings of the +kind. New ameliorations are daily pointed out in the property +which he holds in common with others, and this gives him the +desire of improving that property which is more peculiarly his +own. He is perhaps neither happier nor better than those who +came before him, but he is better informed and more active. I +have no doubt that the democratic institutions of the United +States, joined to the physical constitution of the country, are +the cause (not the direct, as is so often asserted, but the +indirect cause) of the prodigious commercial activity of the +inhabitants. It is not engendered by the laws, but the people +learns how to promote it by the experience derived from +legislation. + +When the opponents of democracy assert that a single +individual performs the duties which he undertakes much better +than the government of the community, it appears to me that they +are perfectly right. The government of an individual, supposing +an equality of instruction on either side, is more consistent, +more persevering, and more accurate than that of a multitude, and +it is much better qualified judiciously to discriminate the +characters of the men it employs. If any deny what I advance, +they have certainly never seen a democratic government, or have +formed their opinion upon very partial evidence. It is true that +even when local circumstances and the disposition of the people +allow democratic institutions to subsist, they never display a +regular and methodical system of government. Democratic liberty +is far from accomplishing all the projects it undertakes, with +the skill of an adroit despotism. It frequently abandons them +before they have borne their fruits, or risks them when the +consequences may prove dangerous; but in the end it produces more +than any absolute government, and if it do fewer things well, it +does a greater number of things. Under its sway the transactions +of the public administration are not nearly so important as what +is done by private exertion. Democracy does not confer the most +skilful kind of government upon the people, but it produces that +which the most skilful governments are frequently unable to +awaken, namely, an all-pervading and restless activity, a +superabundant force, and an energy which is inseparable from it, +and which may, under favorable circumstances, beget the most +amazing benefits. These are the true advantages of democracy. + +In the present age, when the destinies of Christendom seem +to be in suspense, some hasten to assail democracy as its foe +whilst it is yet in its early growth; and others are ready with +their vows of adoration for this new deity which is springing +forth from chaos: but both parties are very imperfectly +acquainted with the object of their hatred or of their desires; +they strike in the dark, and distribute their blows by mere +chance. + +We must first understand what the purport of society and the +aim of government is held to be. If it be your intention to +confer a certain elevation upon the human mind, and to teach it +to regard the things of this world with generous feelings, to +inspire men with a scorn of mere temporal advantage, to give +birth to living convictions, and to keep alive the spirit of +honorable devotedness; if you hold it to be a good thing to +refine the habits, to embellish the manners, to cultivate the +arts of a nation, and to promote the love of poetry, of beauty, +and of renown; if you would constitute a people not unfitted to +act with power upon all other nations, nor unprepared for those +high enterprises which, whatever be the result of its efforts, +will leave a name forever famous in time - if you believe such to +be the principal object of society, you must avoid the government +of democracy, which would be a very uncertain guide to the end +you have in view. + +But if you hold it to be expedient to divert the moral and +intellectual activity of man to the production of comfort, and to +the acquirement of the necessaries of life; if a clear +understanding be more profitable to man than genius; if your +object be not to stimulate the virtues of heroism, but to create +habits of peace; if you had rather witness vices than crimes and +are content to meet with fewer noble deeds, provided offences be +diminished in the same proportion; if, instead of living in the +midst of a brilliant state of society, you are contented to have +prosperity around you; if, in short, you are of opinion that the +principal object of a Government is not to confer the greatest +possible share of power and of glory upon the body of the nation, +but to ensure the greatest degree of enjoyment and the least +degree of misery to each of the individuals who compose it - if +such be your desires, you can have no surer means of satisfying +them than by equalizing the conditions of men, and establishing +democratic institutions. + +But if the time be passed at which such a choice was +possible, and if some superhuman power impel us towards one or +the other of these two governments without consulting our wishes, +let us at least endeavor to make the best of that which is +allotted to us; and let us so inquire into its good and its evil +propensities as to be able to foster the former and repress the +latter to the utmost. + +Chapter XV: Unlimited Power Of Majority, And Its Consequences - +Part I + +Chapter Summary + +Natural strength of the majority in democracies - Most of the +American Constitutions have increased this strength by artificial +means - How this has been done - Pledged delegates - Moral power +of the majority - Opinion as to its infallibility - Respect for +its rights, how augmented in the United States. + +Unlimited Power Of The Majority In The United States, And Its +Consequences + +The very essence of democratic government consists in the +absolute sovereignty of the majority; for there is nothing in +democratic States which is capable of resisting it. Most of the +American Constitutions have sought to increase this natural +strength of the majority by artificial means. *a + +[Footnote a: We observed, in examining the Federal Constitution, +that the efforts of the legislators of the Union had been +diametrically opposed to the present tendency. The consequence +has been that the Federal Government is more independent in its +sphere than that of the States. But the Federal Government +scarcely ever interferes in any but external affairs; and the +governments of the State are in the governments of the States are +in reality the authorities which direct society in America.] + +The legislature is, of all political institutions, the one +which is most easily swayed by the wishes of the majority. The +Americans determined that the members of the legislature should +be elected by the people immediately, and for a very brief term, +in order to subject them, not only to the general convictions, +but even to the daily passion, of their constituents. The +members of both houses are taken from the same class in society, +and are nominated in the same manner; so that the modifications +of the legislative bodies are almost as rapid and quite as +irresistible as those of a single assembly. It is to a +legislature thus constituted that almost all the authority of the +government has been entrusted. + +But whilst the law increased the strength of those +authorities which of themselves were strong, it enfeebled more +and more those which were naturally weak. It deprived the +representatives of the executive of all stability and +independence, and by subjecting them completely to the caprices +of the legislature, it robbed them of the slender influence which +the nature of a democratic government might have allowed them to +retain. In several States the judicial power was also submitted +to the elective discretion of the majority, and in all of them +its existence was made to depend on the pleasure of the +legislative authority, since the representatives were empowered +annually to regulate the stipend of the judges. + +Custom, however, has done even more than law. A proceeding +which will in the end set all the guarantees of representative +government at naught is becoming more and more general in the +United States; it frequently happens that the electors, who +choose a delegate, point out a certain line of conduct to him, +and impose upon him a certain number of positive obligations +which he is pledged to fulfil. With the exception of the tumult, +this comes to the same thing as if the majority of the populace +held its deliberations in the market-place. + +Several other circumstances concur in rendering the power of +the majority in America not only preponderant, but irresistible. +The moral authority of the majority is partly based upon the +notion that there is more intelligence and more wisdom in a great +number of men collected together than in a single individual, and +that the quantity of legislators is more important than their +quality. The theory of equality is in fact applied to the +intellect of man: and human pride is thus assailed in its last +retreat by a doctrine which the minority hesitate to admit, and +in which they very slowly concur. Like all other powers, and +perhaps more than all other powers, the authority of the many +requires the sanction of time; at first it enforces obedience by +constraint, but its laws are not respected until they have long +been maintained. + +The right of governing society, which the majority supposes +itself to derive from its superior intelligence, was introduced +into the United States by the first settlers, and this idea, +which would be sufficient of itself to create a free nation, has +now been amalgamated with the manners of the people and the minor +incidents of social intercourse. + +The French, under the old monarchy, held it for a maxim +(which is still a fundamental principle of the English +Constitution) that the King could do no wrong; and if he did do +wrong, the blame was imputed to his advisers. This notion was +highly favorable to habits of obedience, and it enabled the +subject to complain of the law without ceasing to love and honor +the lawgiver. The Americans entertain the same opinion with +respect to the majority. + +The moral power of the majority is founded upon yet another +principle, which is, that the interests of the many are to be +preferred to those of the few. It will readily be perceived that +the respect here professed for the rights of the majority must +naturally increase or diminish according to the state of parties. +When a nation is divided into several irreconcilable factions, +the privilege of the majority is often overlooked, because it is +intolerable to comply with its demands. + +If there existed in America a class of citizens whom the +legislating majority sought to deprive of exclusive privileges +which they had possessed for ages, and to bring down from an +elevated station to the level of the ranks of the multitude, it +is probable that the minority would be less ready to comply with +its laws. But as the United States were colonized by men holding +equal rank amongst themselves, there is as yet no natural or +permanent source of dissension between the interests of its +different inhabitants. + +There are certain communities in which the persons who +constitute the minority can never hope to draw over the majority +to their side, because they must then give up the very point +which is at issue between them. Thus, an aristocracy can never +become a majority whilst it retains its exclusive privileges, and +it cannot cede its privileges without ceasing to be an +aristocracy. + +In the United States political questions cannot be taken up +in so general and absolute a manner, and all parties are willing +to recognize the right of the majority, because they all hope to +turn those rights to their own advantage at some future time. +The majority therefore in that country exercises a prodigious +actual authority, and a moral influence which is scarcely less +preponderant; no obstacles exist which can impede or so much as +retard its progress, or which can induce it to heed the +complaints of those whom it crushes upon its path. This state of +things is fatal in itself and dangerous for the future. + +How The Unlimited Power Of The Majority Increases In America The +Instability Of Legislation And Administration Inherent In +Democracy The Americans increase the mutability of the laws which +is inherent in democracy by changing the legislature every year, +and by investing it with unbounded authority - The same effect is +produced upon the administration - In America social amelioration +is conducted more energetically but less perseveringly than in +Europe. + +I have already spoken of the natural defects of democratic +institutions, and they all of them increase at the exact ratio of +the power of the majority. To begin with the most evident of them +all; the mutability of the laws is an evil inherent in democratic +government, because it is natural to democracies to raise men to +power in very rapid succession. But this evil is more or less +sensible in proportion to the authority and the means of action +which the legislature possesses. + +In America the authority exercised by the legislative bodies +is supreme; nothing prevents them from accomplishing their wishes +with celerity, and with irresistible power, whilst they are +supplied by new representatives every year. That is to say, the +circumstances which contribute most powerfully to democratic +instability, and which admit of the free application of caprice +to every object in the State, are here in full operation. In +conformity with this principle, America is, at the present day, +the country in the world where laws last the shortest time. +Almost all the American constitutions have been amended within +the course of thirty years: there is therefore not a single +American State which has not modified the principles of its +legislation in that lapse of time. As for the laws themselves, a +single glance upon the archives of the different States of the +Union suffices to convince one that in America the activity of +the legislator never slackens. Not that the American democracy is +naturally less stable than any other, but that it is allowed to +follow its capricious propensities in the formation of the laws. +*b + +[Footnote b: The legislative acts promulgated by the State of +Massachusetts alone, from the year 1780 to the present time, +already fill three stout volumes; and it must not be forgotten +that the collection to which I allude was published in 1823, when +many old laws which had fallen into disuse were omitted. The +State of Massachusetts, which is not more populous than a +department of France, may be considered as the most stable, the +most consistent, and the most sagacious in its undertakings of +the whole Union.] + +The omnipotence of the majority, and the rapid as well as +absolute manner in which its decisions are executed in the United +States, has not only the effect of rendering the law unstable, +but it exercises the same influence upon the execution of the law +and the conduct of the public administration. As the majority is +the only power which it is important to court, all its projects +are taken up with the greatest ardor, but no sooner is its +attention distracted than all this ardor ceases; whilst in the +free States of Europe the administration is at once independent +and secure, so that the projects of the legislature are put into +execution, although its immediate attention may be directed to +other objects. + +In America certain ameliorations are undertaken with much +more zeal and activity than elsewhere; in Europe the same ends +are promoted by much less social effort, more continuously +applied. + +Some years ago several pious individuals undertook to +ameliorate the condition of the prisons. The public was excited +by the statements which they put forward, and the regeneration of +criminals became a very popular undertaking. New prisons were +built, and for the first time the idea of reforming as well as of +punishing the delinquent formed a part of prison discipline. But +this happy alteration, in which the public had taken so hearty an +interest, and which the exertions of the citizens had +irresistibly accelerated, could not be completed in a moment. +Whilst the new penitentiaries were being erected (and it was the +pleasure of the majority that they should be terminated with all +possible celerity), the old prisons existed, which still +contained a great number of offenders. These jails became more +unwholesome and more corrupt in proportion as the new +establishments were beautified and improved, forming a contrast +which may readily be understood. The majority was so eagerly +employed in founding the new prisons that those which already +existed were forgotten; and as the general attention was diverted +to a novel object, the care which had hitherto been bestowed upon +the others ceased. The salutary regulations of discipline were +first relaxed, and afterwards broken; so that in the immediate +neighborhood of a prison which bore witness to the mild and +enlightened spirit of our time, dungeons might be met with which +reminded the visitor of the barbarity of the Middle Ages. + + +Chapter XV: Unlimited Power Of Majority, And Its Consequences - +Part II + +Tyranny Of The Majority + +How the principle of the sovereignty of the people is to be +understood -Impossibility of conceiving a mixed government - The +sovereign power must centre somewhere - Precautions to be taken +to control its action - These precautions have not been taken in +the United States - Consequences. + +I hold it to be an impious and an execrable maxim that, +politically speaking, a people has a right to do whatsoever it +pleases, and yet I have asserted that all authority originates in +the will of the majority. Am I then, in contradiction with +myself? + +A general law - which bears the name of Justice - has been +made and sanctioned, not only by a majority of this or that +people, but by a majority of mankind. The rights of every people +are consequently confined within the limits of what is just. A +nation may be considered in the light of a jury which is +empowered to represent society at large, and to apply the great +and general law of justice. Ought such a jury, which represents +society, to have more power than the society in which the laws it +applies originate? + +When I refuse to obey an unjust law, I do not contest the +right which the majority has of commanding, but I simply appeal +from the sovereignty of the people to the sovereignty of mankind. +It has been asserted that a people can never entirely outstep the +boundaries of justice and of reason in those affairs which are +more peculiarly its own, and that consequently, full power may +fearlessly be given to the majority by which it is represented. +But this language is that of a slave. + +A majority taken collectively may be regarded as a being +whose opinions, and most frequently whose interests, are opposed +to those of another being, which is styled a minority. If it be +admitted that a man, possessing absolute power, may misuse that +power by wronging his adversaries, why should a majority not be +liable to the same reproach? Men are not apt to change their +characters by agglomeration; nor does their patience in the +presence of obstacles increase with the consciousness of their +strength. *c And for these reasons I can never willingly invest +any number of my fellow- creatures with that unlimited authority +which I should refuse to any one of them. + +[Footnote c: No one will assert that a people cannot forcibly +wrong another people; but parties may be looked upon as lesser +nations within a greater one, and they are aliens to each other: +if, therefore, it be admitted that a nation can act tyrannically +towards another nation, it cannot be denied that a party may do +the same towards another party.] + +I do not think that it is possible to combine several +principles in the same government, so as at the same time to +maintain freedom, and really to oppose them to one another. The +form of government which is usually termed mixed has always +appeared to me to be a mere chimera. Accurately speaking there +is no such thing as a mixed government (with the meaning usually +given to that word), because in all communities some one +principle of action may be discovered which preponderates over +the others. England in the last century, which has been more +especially cited as an example of this form of Government, was in +point of fact an essentially aristocratic State, although it +comprised very powerful elements of democracy; for the laws and +customs of the country were such that the aristocracy could not +but preponderate in the end, and subject the direction of public +affairs to its own will. The error arose from too much attention +being paid to the actual struggle which was going on between the +nobles and the people, without considering the probable issue of +the contest, which was in reality the important point. When a +community really has a mixed government, that is to say, when it +is equally divided between two adverse principles, it must either +pass through a revolution or fall into complete dissolution. + +I am therefore of opinion that some one social power must +always be made to predominate over the others; but I think that +liberty is endangered when this power is checked by no obstacles +which may retard its course, and force it to moderate its own +vehemence. + +Unlimited power is in itself a bad and dangerous thing; +human beings are not competent to exercise it with discretion, +and God alone can be omnipotent, because His wisdom and His +justice are always equal to His power. But no power upon earth is +so worthy of honor for itself, or of reverential obedience to the +rights which it represents, that I would consent to admit its +uncontrolled and all-predominant authority. When I see that the +right and the means of absolute command are conferred on a people +or upon a king, upon an aristocracy or a democracy, a monarchy or +a republic, I recognize the germ of tyranny, and I journey onward +to a land of more hopeful institutions. + +In my opinion the main evil of the present democratic +institutions of the United States does not arise, as is often +asserted in Europe, from their weakness, but from their +overpowering strength; and I am not so much alarmed at the +excessive liberty which reigns in that country as at the very +inadequate securities which exist against tyranny. + +When an individual or a party is wronged in the United +States, to whom can he apply for redress? If to public opinion, +public opinion constitutes the majority; if to the legislature, +it represents the majority, and implicitly obeys its injunctions; +if to the executive power, it is appointed by the majority, and +remains a passive tool in its hands; the public troops consist of +the majority under arms; the jury is the majority invested with +the right of hearing judicial cases; and in certain States even +the judges are elected by the majority. However iniquitous or +absurd the evil of which you complain may be, you must submit to +it as well as you can. *d + +[Footnote d: A striking instance of the excesses which may be +occasioned by the despotism of the majority occurred at Baltimore +in the year 1812. At that time the war was very popular in +Baltimore. A journal which had taken the other side of the +question excited the indignation of the inhabitants by its +opposition. The populace assembled, broke the printing-presses, +and attacked the houses of the newspaper editors. The militia +was called out, but no one obeyed the call; and the only means of +saving the poor wretches who were threatened by the frenzy of the +mob was to throw them into prison as common malefactors. But +even this precaution was ineffectual; the mob collected again +during the night, the magistrates again made a vain attempt to +call out the militia, the prison was forced, one of the newspaper +editors was killed upon the spot, and the others were left for +dead; the guilty parties were acquitted by the jury when they +were brought to trial. + +I said one day to an inhabitant of Pennsylvania, "Be so good +as to explain to me how it happens that in a State founded by +Quakers, and celebrated for its toleration, freed blacks are not +allowed to exercise civil rights. They pay the taxes; is it not +fair that they should have a vote?" + +"You insult us," replied my informant, "if you imagine that +our legislators could have committed so gross an act of injustice +and intolerance." + +"What! then the blacks possess the right of voting in this +county?" + +"Without the smallest doubt." + +"How comes it, then, that at the polling-booth this morning +I did not perceive a single negro in the whole meeting?" + +"This is not the fault of the law: the negroes have an +undisputed right of voting, but they voluntarily abstain from +making their appearance." + +"A very pretty piece of modesty on their parts!" rejoined I. + +"Why, the truth is, that they are not disinclined to vote, +but they are afraid of being maltreated; in this country the law +is sometimes unable to maintain its authority without the support +of the majority. But in this case the majority entertains very +strong prejudices against the blacks, and the magistrates are +unable to protect them in the exercise of their legal +privileges." + +"What! then the majority claims the right not only of +making the laws, but of breaking the laws it has made?"] + +If, on the other hand, a legislative power could be so +constituted as to represent the majority without necessarily +being the slave of its passions; an executive, so as to retain a +certain degree of uncontrolled authority; and a judiciary, so as +to remain independent of the two other powers; a government would +be formed which would still be democratic without incurring any +risk of tyrannical abuse. + +I do not say that tyrannical abuses frequently occur in +America at the present day, but I maintain that no sure barrier +is established against them, and that the causes which mitigate +the government are to be found in the circumstances and the +manners of the country more than in its laws. + +Effects Of The Unlimited Power Of The Majority Upon The Arbitrary +Authority Of The American Public Officers + +Liberty left by the American laws to public officers within a +certain sphere -Their power. + + +A distinction must be drawn between tyranny and arbitrary +power. Tyranny may be exercised by means of the law, and in that +case it is not arbitrary; arbitrary power may be exercised for +the good of the community at large, in which case it is not +tyrannical. Tyranny usually employs arbitrary means, but, if +necessary, it can rule without them. + +In the United States the unbounded power of the majority, +which is favorable to the legal despotism of the legislature, is +likewise favorable to the arbitrary authority of the magistrate. +The majority has an entire control over the law when it is made +and when it is executed; and as it possesses an equal authority +over those who are in power and the community at large, it +considers public officers as its passive agents, and readily +confides the task of serving its designs to their vigilance. The +details of their office and the privileges which they are to +enjoy are rarely defined beforehand; but the majority treats them +as a master does his servants when they are always at work in his +sight, and he has the power of directing or reprimanding them at +every instant. + +In general the American functionaries are far more +independent than the French civil officers within the sphere +which is prescribed to them. Sometimes, even, they are allowed by +the popular authority to exceed those bounds; and as they are +protected by the opinion, and backed by the co-operation, of the +majority, they venture upon such manifestations of their power as +astonish a European. By this means habits are formed in the +heart of a free country which may some day prove fatal to its +liberties. + +Power Exercised By The Majority In America Upon Opinion + +In America, when the majority has once irrevocably decided a +question, all discussion ceases - Reason of this - Moral power +exercised by the majority upon opinion - Democratic republics +have deprived despotism of its physical instruments - Their +despotism sways the minds of men. + +It is in the examination of the display of public opinion in +the United States that we clearly perceive how far the power of +the majority surpasses all the powers with which we are +acquainted in Europe. Intellectual principles exercise an +influence which is so invisible, and often so inappreciable, that +they baffle the toils of oppression. At the present time the +most absolute monarchs in Europe are unable to prevent certain +notions, which are opposed to their authority, from circulating +in secret throughout their dominions, and even in their courts. +Such is not the case in America; as long as the majority is still +undecided, discussion is carried on; but as soon as its decision +is irrevocably pronounced, a submissive silence is observed, and +the friends, as well as the opponents, of the measure unite in +assenting to its propriety. The reason of this is perfectly +clear: no monarch is so absolute as to combine all the powers of +society in his own hands, and to conquer all opposition with the +energy of a majority which is invested with the right of making +and of executing the laws. + +The authority of a king is purely physical, and it controls +the actions of the subject without subduing his private will; but +the majority possesses a power which is physical and moral at the +same time; it acts upon the will as well as upon the actions of +men, and it represses not only all contest, but all controversy. +I know no country in which there is so little true +independence of mind and freedom of discussion as in America. In +any constitutional state in Europe every sort of religious and +political theory may be advocated and propagated abroad; for +there is no country in Europe so subdued by any single authority +as not to contain citizens who are ready to protect the man who +raises his voice in the cause of truth from the consequences of +his hardihood. If he is unfortunate enough to live under an +absolute government, the people is upon his side; if he inhabits +a free country, he may find a shelter behind the authority of the +throne, if he require one. The aristocratic part of society +supports him in some countries, and the democracy in others. But +in a nation where democratic institutions exist, organized like +those of the United States, there is but one sole authority, one +single element of strength and of success, with nothing beyond +it. + +In America the majority raises very formidable barriers to +the liberty of opinion: within these barriers an author may write +whatever he pleases, but he will repent it if he ever step beyond +them. Not that he is exposed to the terrors of an auto-da-fe, +but he is tormented by the slights and persecutions of daily +obloquy. His political career is closed forever, since he has +offended the only authority which is able to promote his success. +Every sort of compensation, even that of celebrity, is refused to +him. Before he published his opinions he imagined that he held +them in common with many others; but no sooner has he declared +them openly than he is loudly censured by his overbearing +opponents, whilst those who think without having the courage to +speak, like him, abandon him in silence. He yields at length, +oppressed by the daily efforts he has been making, and he +subsides into silence, as if he was tormented by remorse for +having spoken the truth. + +Fetters and headsmen were the coarse instruments which +tyranny formerly employed; but the civilization of our age has +refined the arts of despotism which seemed, however, to have been +sufficiently perfected before. The excesses of monarchical power +had devised a variety of physical means of oppression: the +democratic republics of the present day have rendered it as +entirely an affair of the mind as that will which it is intended +to coerce. Under the absolute sway of an individual despot the +body was attacked in order to subdue the soul, and the soul +escaped the blows which were directed against it and rose +superior to the attempt; but such is not the course adopted by +tyranny in democratic republics; there the body is left free, and +the soul is enslaved. The sovereign can no longer say, "You +shall think as I do on pain of death;" but he says, "You are free +to think differently from me, and to retain your life, your +property, and all that you possess; but if such be your +determination, you are henceforth an alien among your people. You +may retain your civil rights, but they will be useless to you, +for you will never be chosen by your fellow-citizens if you +solicit their suffrages, and they will affect to scorn you if you +solicit their esteem. You will remain among men, but you will be +deprived of the rights of mankind. Your fellow-creatures will +shun you like an impure being, and those who are most persuaded +of your innocence will abandon you too, lest they should be +shunned in their turn. Go in peace! I have given you your life, +but it is an existence in comparably worse than death." + +Monarchical institutions have thrown an odium upon +despotism; let us beware lest democratic republics should restore +oppression, and should render it less odious and less degrading +in the eyes of the many, by making it still more onerous to the +few. + +Works have been published in the proudest nations of the Old +World expressly intended to censure the vices and deride the +follies of the times; Labruyere inhabited the palace of Louis XIV +when he composed his chapter upon the Great, and Moliere +criticised the courtiers in the very pieces which were acted +before the Court. But the ruling power in the United States is +not to be made game of; the smallest reproach irritates its +sensibility, and the slightest joke which has any foundation in +truth renders it indignant; from the style of its language to the +more solid virtues of its character, everything must be made the +subject of encomium. No writer, whatever be his eminence, can +escape from this tribute of adulation to his fellow-citizens. The +majority lives in the perpetual practice of self-applause, and +there are certain truths which the Americans can only learn from +strangers or from experience. + +If great writers have not at present existed in America, the +reason is very simply given in these facts; there can be no +literary genius without freedom of opinion, and freedom of +opinion does not exist in America. The Inquisition has never +been able to prevent a vast number of anti-religious books from +circulating in Spain. The empire of the majority succeeds much +better in the United States, since it actually removes the wish +of publishing them. Unbelievers are to be met with in America, +but, to say the truth, there is no public organ of infidelity. +Attempts have been made by some governments to protect the +morality of nations by prohibiting licentious books. In the +United States no one is punished for this sort of works, but no +one is induced to write them; not because all the citizens are +immaculate in their manners, but because the majority of the +community is decent and orderly. + + +In these cases the advantages derived from the exercise of +this power are unquestionable, and I am simply discussing the +nature of the power itself. This irresistible authority is a +constant fact, and its judicious exercise is an accidental +occurrence. + +Effects Of The Tyranny Of The Majority Upon The National +Character Of The Americans + +Effects of the tyranny of the majority more sensibly felt +hitherto in the manners than in the conduct of society - They +check the development of leading characters - Democratic +republics organized like the United States bring the practice of +courting favor within the reach of the many - Proofs of this +spirit in the United States - Why there is more patriotism in the +people than in those who govern in its name. + +The tendencies which I have just alluded to are as yet very +slightly perceptible in political society, but they already begin +to exercise an unfavorable influence upon the national character +of the Americans. I am inclined to attribute the singular +paucity of distinguished political characters to the +ever-increasing activity of the despotism of the majority in the +United States. When the American Revolution broke out they arose +in great numbers, for public opinion then served, not to +tyrannize over, but to direct the exertions of individuals. +Those celebrated men took a full part in the general agitation of +mind common at that period, and they attained a high degree of +personal fame, which was reflected back upon the nation, but +which was by no means borrowed from it. + +In absolute governments the great nobles who are nearest to +the throne flatter the passions of the sovereign, and voluntarily +truckle to his caprices. But the mass of the nation does not +degrade itself by servitude: it often submits from weakness, from +habit, or from ignorance, and sometimes from loyalty. Some +nations have been known to sacrifice their own desires to those +of the sovereign with pleasure and with pride, thus exhibiting a +sort of independence in the very act of submission. These +peoples are miserable, but they are not degraded. There is a +great difference between doing what one does not approve and +feigning to approve what one does; the one is the necessary case +of a weak person, the other befits the temper of a lackey. + +In free countries, where everyone is more or less called +upon to give his opinion in the affairs of state; in democratic +republics, where public life is incessantly commingled with +domestic affairs, where the sovereign authority is accessible on +every side, and where its attention can almost always be +attracted by vociferation, more persons are to be met with who +speculate upon its foibles and live at the cost of its passions +than in absolute monarchies. Not because men are naturally worse +in these States than elsewhere, but the temptation is stronger, +and of easier access at the same time. The result is a far more +extensive debasement of the characters of citizens. + + +Democratic republics extend the practice of currying favor +with the many, and they introduce it into a greater number of +classes at once: this is one of the most serious reproaches that +can be addressed to them. In democratic States organized on the +principles of the American republics, this is more especially the +case, where the authority of the majority is so absolute and so +irresistible that a man must give up his rights as a citizen, and +almost abjure his quality as a human being, if te intends to +stray from the track which it lays down. + +In that immense crowd which throngs the avenues to power in +the United States I found very few men who displayed any of that +manly candor and that masculine independence of opinion which +frequently distinguished the Americans in former times, and which +constitutes the leading feature in distinguished characters, +wheresoever they may be found. It seems, at first sight, as if +all the minds of the Americans were formed upon one model, so +accurately do they correspond in their manner of judging. A +stranger does, indeed, sometimes meet with Americans who dissent +from these rigorous formularies; with men who deplore the defects +of the laws, the mutability and the ignorance of democracy; who +even go so far as to observe the evil tendencies which impair the +national character, and to point out such remedies as it might be +possible to apply; but no one is there to hear these things +besides yourself, and you, to whom these secret reflections are +confided, are a stranger and a bird of passage. They are very +ready to communicate truths which are useless to you, but they +continue to hold a different language in public. + +If ever these lines are read in America, I am well assured +of two things: in the first place, that all who peruse them will +raise their voices to condemn me; and in the second place, that +very many of them will acquit me at the bottom of their +conscience. + +I have heard of patriotism in the United States, and it is a +virtue which may be found among the people, but never among the +leaders of the people. This may be explained by analogy; +despotism debases the oppressed much more than the oppressor: in +absolute monarchies the king has often great virtues, but the +courtiers are invariably servile. It is true that the American +courtiers do not say "Sire," or "Your Majesty" - a distinction +without a difference. They are forever talking of the natural +intelligence of the populace they serve; they do not debate the +question as to which of the virtues of their master is +pre-eminently worthy of admiration, for they assure him that he +possesses all the virtues under heaven without having acquired +them, or without caring to acquire them; they do not give him +their daughters and their wives to be raised at his pleasure to +the rank of his concubines, but, by sacrificing their opinions, +they prostitute themselves. Moralists and philosophers in America +are not obliged to conceal their opinions under the veil of +allegory; but, before they venture upon a harsh truth, they say, +"We are aware that the people which we are addressing is too +superior to all the weaknesses of human nature to lose the +command of its temper for an instant; and we should not hold this +language if we were not speaking to men whom their virtues and +their intelligence render more worthy of freedom than all the +rest of the world." It would have been impossible for the +sycophants of Louis XIV to flatter more dexterously. For my +part, I am persuaded that in all governments, whatever their +nature may be, servility will cower to force, and adulation will +cling to power. The only means of preventing men from degrading +themselves is to invest no one with that unlimited authority +which is the surest method of debasing them. + +The Greatest Dangers Of The American Republics Proceed From The +Unlimited Power Of The Majority + +Democratic republics liable to perish from a misuse of their +power, and not by impotence - The Governments of the American +republics are more centralized and more energetic than those of +the monarchies of Europe - Dangers resulting from this - Opinions +of Hamilton and Jefferson upon this point. + +Governments usually fall a sacrifice to impotence or to +tyranny. In the former case their power escapes from them; it is +wrested from their grasp in the latter. Many observers, who have +witnessed the anarchy of democratic States, have imagined that +the government of those States was naturally weak and impotent. +The truth is, that when once hostilities are begun between +parties, the government loses its control over society. But I do +not think that a democratic power is naturally without force or +without resources: say, rather, that it is almost always by the +abuse of its force and the misemployment of its resources that a +democratic government fails. Anarchy is almost always produced +by its tyranny or its mistakes, but not by its want of strength. + +It is important not to confound stability with force, or the +greatness of a thing with its duration. In democratic republics, +the power which directs *e society is not stable; for it often +changes hands and assumes a new direction. But whichever way it +turns, its force is almost irresistible. The Governments of the +American republics appear to me to be as much centralized as +those of the absolute monarchies of Europe, and more energetic +than they are. I do not, therefore, imagine that they will +perish from weakness. *f + +[Footnote e: This power may be centred in an assembly, in which +case it will be strong without being stable; or it may be centred +in an individual, in which case it will be less strong, but more +stable.] + +[Footnote f: I presume that it is scarcely necessary to remind +the reader here, as well as throughout the remainder of this +chapter, that I am speaking, not of the Federal Government, but +of the several governments of each State, which the majority +controls at its pleasure.] + +If ever the free institutions of America are destroyed, that +event may be attributed to the unlimited authority of the +majority, which may at some future time urge the minorities to +desperation, and oblige them to have recourse to physical force. +Anarchy will then be the result, but it will have been brought +about by despotism. + +Mr. Hamilton expresses the same opinion in the "Federalist," +No. 51. "It is of great importance in a republic not only to +guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to +guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other +part. Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil +society. It ever has been, and ever will be, pursued until it be +obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. In a society, +under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite +and oppress the weaker, anarchy may as truly be said to reign as +in a state of nature, where the weaker individual is not secured +against the violence of the stronger: and as in the latter state +even the stronger individuals are prompted by the uncertainty of +their condition to submit to a government which may protect the +weak as well as themselves, so in the former state will the more +powerful factions be gradually induced by a like motive to wish +for a government which will protect all parties, the weaker as +well as the more powerful. It can be little doubted that, if the +State of Rhode Island was separated from the Confederacy and left +to itself, the insecurity of right under the popular form of +government within such narrow limits would be displayed by such +reiterated oppressions of the factious majorities, that some +power altogether independent of the people would soon be called +for by the voice of the very factions whose misrule had proved +the necessity of it." + +Jefferson has also thus expressed himself in a letter to +Madison: *g "The executive power in our Government is not the +only, perhaps not even the principal, object of my solicitude. +The tyranny of the Legislature is really the danger most to be +feared, and will continue to be so for many years to come. The +tyranny of the executive power will come in its turn, but at a +more distant period." I am glad to cite the opinion of Jefferson +upon this subject rather than that of another, because I consider +him to be the most powerful advocate democracy has ever sent +forth. + +[Footnote g: March 15, 1789.] + + +Chapter XVI: Causes Mitigating Tyranny In The United States - +Part I + +Chapter Summary + +The national majority does not pretend to conduct all business - +Is obliged to employ the town and county magistrates to execute +its supreme decisions. + +I have already pointed out the distinction which is to be +made between a centralized government and a centralized +administration. The former exists in America, but the latter is +nearly unknown there. If the directing power of the American +communities had both these instruments of government at its +disposal, and united the habit of executing its own commands to +the right of commanding; if, after having established the general +principles of government, it descended to the details of public +business; and if, having regulated the great interests of the +country, it could penetrate into the privacy of individual +interests, freedom would soon be banished from the New World. + +But in the United States the majority, which so frequently +displays the tastes and the propensities of a despot, is still +destitute of the more perfect instruments of tyranny. In the +American republics the activity of the central Government has +never as yet been extended beyond a limited number of objects +sufficiently prominent to call forth its attention. The +secondary affairs of society have never been regulated by its +authority, and nothing has hitherto betrayed its desire of +interfering in them. The majority is become more and more +absolute, but it has not increased the prerogatives of the +central government; those great prerogatives have been confined +to a certain sphere; and although the despotism of the majority +may be galling upon one point, it cannot be said to extend to +all. However the predominant party in the nation may be carried +away by its passions, however ardent it may be in the pursuit of +its projects, it cannot oblige all the citizens to comply with +its desires in the same manner and at the same time throughout +the country. When the central Government which represents that +majority has issued a decree, it must entrust the execution of +its will to agents, over whom it frequently has no control, and +whom it cannot perpetually direct. The townships, municipal +bodies, and counties may therefore be looked upon as concealed +break-waters, which check or part the tide of popular excitement. +If an oppressive law were passed, the liberties of the people +would still be protected by the means by which that law would be +put in execution: the majority cannot descend to the details and +(as I will venture to style them) the puerilities of +administrative tyranny. Nor does the people entertain that full +consciousness of its authority which would prompt it to interfere +in these matters; it knows the extent of its natural powers, but +it is unacquainted with the increased resources which the art of +government might furnish. + +This point deserves attention, for if a democratic republic +similar to that of the United States were ever founded in a +country where the power of a single individual had previously +subsisted, and the effects of a centralized administration had +sunk deep into the habits and the laws of the people, I do not +hesitate to assert, that in that country a more insufferable +despotism would prevail than any which now exists in the +monarchical States of Europe, or indeed than any which could be +found on this side of the confines of Asia. + +The Profession Of The Law In The United States Serves To +Counterpoise The Democracy + +Utility of discriminating the natural propensities of the members +of the legal profession - These men called upon to act a +prominent part in future society -In what manner the peculiar +pursuits of lawyers give an aristocratic turn to their ideas - +Accidental causes which may check this tendency - Ease with which +the aristocracy coalesces with legal men - Use of lawyers to a +despot - The profession of the law constitutes the only +aristocratic element with which the natural elements of democracy +will combine - Peculiar causes which tend to give an aristocratic +turn of mind to the English and American lawyers - The +aristocracy of America is on the bench and at the bar - Influence +of lawyers upon American society - Their peculiar magisterial +habits affect the legislature, the administration, and even the +people. + +In visiting the Americans and in studying their laws we +perceive that the authority they have entrusted to members of the +legal profession, and the influence which these individuals +exercise in the Government, is the most powerful existing +security against the excesses of democracy. This effect seems to +me to result from a general cause which it is useful to +investigate, since it may produce analogous consequences +elsewhere. + +The members of the legal profession have taken an important +part in all the vicissitudes of political society in Europe +during the last five hundred years. At one time they have been +the instruments of those who were invested with political +authority, and at another they have succeeded in converting +political authorities into their instrument. In the Middle Ages +they afforded a powerful support to the Crown, and since that +period they have exerted themselves to the utmost to limit the +royal prerogative. In England they have contracted a close +alliance with the aristocracy; in France they have proved to be +the most dangerous enemies of that class. It is my object to +inquire whether, under all these circumstances, the members of +the legal profession have been swayed by sudden and momentary +impulses; or whether they have been impelled by principles which +are inherent in their pursuits, and which will always recur in +history. I am incited to this investigation by reflecting that +this particular class of men will most likely play a prominent +part in that order of things to which the events of our time are +giving birth. + +Men who have more especially devoted themselves to legal +pursuits derive from those occupations certain habits of order, a +taste for formalities, and a kind of instinctive regard for the +regular connection of ideas, which naturally render them very +hostile to the revolutionary spirit and the unreflecting passions +of the multitude. + +The special information which lawyers derive from their +studies ensures them a separate station in society, and they +constitute a sort of privileged body in the scale of +intelligence. This notion of their superiority perpetually +recurs to them in the practice of their profession: they are the +masters of a science which is necessary, but which is not very +generally known; they serve as arbiters between the citizens; and +the habit of directing the blind passions of parties in +litigation to their purpose inspires them with a certain contempt +for the judgment of the multitude. To this it may be added that +they naturally constitute a body, not by any previous +understanding, or by an agreement which directs them to a common +end; but the analogy of their studies and the uniformity of their +proceedings connect their minds together, as much as a common +interest could combine their endeavors. + +A portion of the tastes and of the habits of the aristocracy +may consequently be discovered in the characters of men in the +profession of the law. They participate in the same instinctive +love of order and of formalities; and they entertain the same +repugnance to the actions of the multitude, and the same secret +contempt of the government of the people. I do not mean to say +that the natural propensities of lawyers are sufficiently strong +to sway them irresistibly; for they, like most other men, are +governed by their private interests and the advantages of the +moment. + +In a state of society in which the members of the legal +profession are prevented from holding that rank in the political +world which they enjoy in private life, we may rest assured that +they will be the foremost agents of revolution. But it must then +be inquired whether the cause which induces them to innovate and +to destroy is accidental, or whether it belongs to some lasting +purpose which they entertain. It is true that lawyers mainly +contributed to the overthrow of the French monarchy in 1789; but +it remains to be seen whether they acted thus because they had +studied the laws, or because they were prohibited from +co-operating in the work of legislation. + +Five hundred years ago the English nobles headed the people, +and spoke in its name; at the present time the aristocracy +supports the throne, and defends the royal prerogative. But +aristocracy has, notwithstanding this, its peculiar instincts and +propensities. We must be careful not to confound isolated +members of a body with the body itself. In all free governments, +of whatsoever form they may be, members of the legal profession +will be found at the head of all parties. The same remark is +also applicable to the aristocracy; for almost all the democratic +convulsions which have agitated the world have been directed by +nobles. + +A privileged body can never satisfy the ambition of all its +members; it has always more talents and more passions to content +and to employ than it can find places; so that a considerable +number of individuals are usually to be met with who are inclined +to attack those very privileges which they find it impossible to +turn to their own account. + +I do not, then, assert that all the members of the legal +profession are at all times the friends of order and the +opponents of innovation, but merely that most of them usually are +so. In a community in which lawyers are allowed to occupy, +without opposition, that high station which naturally belongs to +them, their general spirit will be eminently conservative and +anti-democratic. When an aristocracy excludes the leaders of that +profession from its ranks, it excites enemies which are the more +formidable to its security as they are independent of the +nobility by their industrious pursuits; and they feel themselves +to be its equal in point of intelligence, although they enjoy +less opulence and less power. But whenever an aristocracy +consents to impart some of its privileges to these same +individuals, the two classes coalesce very readily, and assume, +as it were, the consistency of a single order of family +interests. + +I am, in like manner, inclined to believe that a monarch +will always be able to convert legal practitioners into the most +serviceable instruments of his authority. There is a far greater +affinity between this class of individuals and the executive +power than there is between them and the people; just as there is +a greater natural affinity between the nobles and the monarch +than between the nobles and the people, although the higher +orders of society have occasionally resisted the prerogative of +the Crown in concert with the lower classes. + +Lawyers are attached to public order beyond every other +consideration, and the best security of public order is +authority. It must not be forgotten that, if they prize the free +institutions of their country much, they nevertheless value the +legality of those institutions far more: they are less afraid of +tyranny than of arbitrary power; and provided that the +legislature take upon itself to deprive men of their +independence, they are not dissatisfied. + +I am therefore convinced that the prince who, in presence of +an encroaching democracy, should endeavor to impair the judicial +authority in his dominions, and to diminish the political +influence of lawyers, would commit a great mistake. He would let +slip the substance of authority to grasp at the shadow. He would +act more wisely in introducing men connected with the law into +the government; and if he entrusted them with the conduct of a +despotic power, bearing some marks of violence, that power would +most likely assume the external features of justice and of +legality in their hands. + + +The government of democracy is favorable to the political +power of lawyers; for when the wealthy, the noble, and the prince +are excluded from the government, they are sure to occupy the +highest stations, in their own right, as it were, since they are +the only men of information and sagacity, beyond the sphere of +the people, who can be the object of the popular choice. If, +then, they are led by their tastes to combine with the +aristocracy and to support the Crown, they are naturally brought +into contact with the people by their interests. They like the +government of democracy, without participating in its +propensities and without imitating its weaknesses; whence they +derive a twofold authority, from it and over it. The people in +democratic states does not mistrust the members of the legal +profession, because it is well known that they are interested in +serving the popular cause; and it listens to them without +irritation, because it does not attribute to them any sinister +designs. The object of lawyers is not, indeed, to overthrow the +institutions of democracy, but they constantly endeavor to give +it an impulse which diverts it from its real tendency, by means +which are foreign to its nature. Lawyers belong to the people by +birth and interest, to the aristocracy by habit and by taste, and +they may be looked upon as the natural bond and connecting link +of the two great classes of society. + +The profession of the law is the only aristocratic element +which can be amalgamated without violence with the natural +elements of democracy, and which can be advantageously and +permanently combined with them. I am not unacquainted with the +defects which are inherent in the character of that body of men; +but without this admixture of lawyer-like sobriety with the +democratic principle, I question whether democratic institutions +could long be maintained, and I cannot believe that a republic +could subsist at the present time if the influence of lawyers in +public business did not increase in proportion to the power of +the people. + +This aristocratic character, which I hold to be common to +the legal profession, is much more distinctly marked in the +United States and in England than in any other country. This +proceeds not only from the legal studies of the English and +American lawyers, but from the nature of the legislation, and the +position which those persons occupy in the two countries. The +English and the Americans have retained the law of precedents; +that is to say, they continue to found their legal opinions and +the decisions of their courts upon the opinions and the decisions +of their forefathers. In the mind of an English or American +lawyer a taste and a reverence for what is old is almost always +united to a love of regular and lawful proceedings. + +This predisposition has another effect upon the character of +the legal profession and upon the general course of society. The +English and American lawyers investigate what has been done; the +French advocate inquires what should have been done; the former +produce precedents, the latter reasons. A French observer is +surprised to hear how often an English dr an American lawyer +quotes the opinions of others, and how little he alludes to his +own; whilst the reverse occurs in France. There the most +trifling litigation is never conducted without the introduction +of an entire system of ideas peculiar to the counsel employed; +and the fundamental principles of law are discussed in order to +obtain a perch of land by the decision of the court. This +abnegation of his own opinion, and this implicit deference to the +opinion of his forefathers, which are common to the English and +American lawyer, this subjection of thought which he is obliged +to profess, necessarily give him more timid habits and more +sluggish inclinations in England and America than in France. + +The French codes are often difficult of comprehension, but +they can be read by every one; nothing, on the other hand, can be +more impenetrable to the uninitiated than a legislation founded +upon precedents. The indispensable want of legal assistance +which is felt in England and in the United States, and the high +opinion which is generally entertained of the ability of the +legal profession, tend to separate it more and more from the +people, and to place it in a distinct class. The French lawyer +is simply a man extensively acquainted with the statutes of his +country; but the English or American lawyer resembles the +hierophants of Egypt, for, like them, he is the sole interpreter +of an occult science. + +The station which lawyers occupy in England and America +exercises no less an influence upon their habits and their +opinions. The English aristocracy, which has taken care to +attract to its sphere whatever is at all analogous to itself, has +conferred a high degree of importance and of authority upon the +members of the legal profession. In English society lawyers do +not occupy the first rank, but they are contented with the +station assigned to them; they constitute, as it were, the +younger branch of the English aristocracy, and they are attached +to their elder brothers, although they do not enjoy all their +privileges. The English lawyers consequently mingle the taste +and the ideas of the aristocratic circles in which they move with +the aristocratic interests of their profession. + +And indeed the lawyer-like character which I am endeavoring +to depict is most distinctly to be met with in England: there +laws are esteemed not so much because they are good as because +they are old; and if it be necessary to modify them in any +respect, or to adapt them the changes which time operates in +society, recourse is had to the most inconceivable contrivances +in order to uphold the traditionary fabric, and to maintain that +nothing has been done which does not square with the intentions +and complete the labors of former generations. The very +individuals who conduct these changes disclaim all intention of +innovation, and they had rather resort to absurd expedients than +plead guilty to so great a crime. This spirit appertains more +especially to the English lawyers; they seem indifferent to the +real meaning of what they treat, and they direct all their +attention to the letter, seeming inclined to infringe the rules +of common sense and of humanity rather than to swerve one title +from the law. The English legislation may be compared to the +stock of an old tree, upon which lawyers have engrafted the most +various shoots, with the hope that, although their fruits may +differ, their foliage at least will be confounded with the +venerable trunk which supports them all. + +In America there are no nobles or men of letters, and the +people is apt to mistrust the wealthy; lawyers consequently form +the highest political class, and the most cultivated circle of +society. They have therefore nothing to gain by innovation, +which adds a conservative interest to their natural taste for +public order. If I were asked where I place the American +aristocracy, I should reply without hesitation that it is not +composed of the rich, who are united together by no common tie, +but that it occupies the judicial bench and the bar. + +The more we reflect upon all that occurs in the United +States the more shall we be persuaded that the lawyers as a body +form the most powerful, if not the only, counterpoise to the +democratic element. In that country we perceive how eminently +the legal profession is qualified by its powers, and even by its +defects, to neutralize the vices which are inherent in popular +government. When the American people is intoxicated by passion, +or carried away by the impetuosity of its ideas, it is checked +and stopped by the almost invisible influence of its legal +counsellors, who secretly oppose their aristocratic propensities +to its democratic instincts, their superstitious attachment to +what is antique to its love of novelty, their narrow views to its +immense designs, and their habitual procrastination to its ardent +impatience. + +The courts of justice are the most visible organs by which +the legal profession is enabled to control the democracy. The +judge is a lawyer, who, independently of the taste for regularity +and order which he has contracted in the study of legislation, +derives an additional love of stability from his own inalienable +functions. His legal attainments have already raised him to a +distinguished rank amongst his fellow-citizens; his political +power completes the distinction of his station, and gives him the +inclinations natural to privileged classes. + +Armed with the power of declaring the laws to be +unconstitutional, *a the American magistrate perpetually +interferes in political affairs. He cannot force the people to +make laws, but at least he can oblige it not to disobey its own +enactments; or to act inconsistently with its own principles. I +am aware that a secret tendency to diminish the judicial power +exists in the United States, and by most of the constitutions of +the several States the Government can, upon the demand of the two +houses of the legislature, remove the judges from their station. +By some other constitutions the members of the tribunals are +elected, and they are even subjected to frequent re-elections. I +venture to predict that these innovations will sooner or later be +attended with fatal consequences, and that it will be found out +at some future period that the attack which is made upon the +judicial power has affected the democratic republic itself. + +[Footnote a: See chapter VI. on the "Judicial Power in the United +States."] + +It must not, however, be supposed that the legal spirit of +which I have been speaking has been confined, in the United +States, to the courts of justice; it extends far beyond them. As +the lawyers constitute the only enlightened class which the +people does not mistrust, they are naturally called upon to +occupy most of the public stations. They fill the legislative +assemblies, and they conduct the administration; they +consequently exercise a powerful influence upon the formation of +the law, and upon its execution. The lawyers are, however, +obliged to yield to the current of public opinion, which is too +strong for them to resist it, but it is easy to find indications +of what their conduct would be if they were free to act as they +chose. The Americans, who have made such copious innovations in +their political legislation, have introduced very sparing +alterations in their civil laws, and that with great difficulty, +although those laws are frequently repugnant to their social +condition. The reason of this is, that in matters of civil law +the majority is obliged to defer to the authority of the legal +profession, and that the American lawyers are disinclined to +innovate when they are left to their own choice. + +It is curious for a Frenchman, accustomed to a very +different state of things, to hear the perpetual complaints which +are made in the United States against the stationary propensities +of legal men, and their prejudices in favor of existing +institutions. + +The influence of the legal habits which are common in +America extends beyond the limits I have just pointed out. +Scarcely any question arises in the United States which does not +become, sooner or later, a subject of judicial debate; hence all +parties are obliged to borrow the ideas, and even the language, +usual in judicial proceedings in their daily controversies. As +most public men are, or have been, legal practitioners, they +introduce the customs and technicalities of their profession into +the affairs of the country. The jury extends this habitude to +all classes. The language of the law thus becomes, in some +measure, a vulgar tongue; the spirit of the law, which is +produced in the schools and courts of justice, gradually +penetrates beyond their walls into the bosom of society, where it +descends to the lowest classes, so that the whole people +contracts the habits and the tastes of the magistrate. The +lawyers of the United States form a party which is but little +feared and scarcely perceived, which has no badge peculiar to +itself, which adapts itself with great flexibility to the +exigencies of the time, and accommodates itself to all the +movements of the social body; but this party extends over the +whole community, and it penetrates into all classes of society; +it acts upon the country imperceptibly, but it finally fashions +it to suit its purposes. + + +Chapter XVI: Causes Mitigating Tyranny In The United States - +Part II + +Trial By Jury In The United States Considered As A Political +Institution + +Trial by jury, which is one of the instruments of the sovereignty +of the people, deserves to be compared with the other laws which +establish that sovereignty - Composition of the jury in the +United States - Effect of trial by jury upon the national +character - It educates the people - It tends to establish the +authority of the magistrates and to extend a knowledge of law +among the people. + +Since I have been led by my subject to recur to the +administration of justice in the United States, I will not pass +over this point without adverting to the institution of the jury. +Trial by jury may be considered in two separate points of view, +as a judicial and as a political institution. If it entered into +my present purpose to inquire how far trial by jury (more +especially in civil cases) contributes to insure the best +administration of justice, I admit that its utility might be +contested. As the jury was first introduced at a time when +society was in an uncivilized state, and when courts of justice +were merely called upon to decide on the evidence of facts, it is +not an easy task to adapt it to the wants of a highly civilized +community when the mutual relations of men are multiplied to a +surprising extent, and have assumed the enlightened and +intellectual character of the age. *b + +[Footnote b: The investigation of trial by jury as a judicial +institution, and the appreciation of its effects in the United +States, together with the advantages the Americans have derived +from it, would suffice to form a book, and a book upon a very +useful and curious subject. The State of Louisiana would in +particular afford the curious phenomenon of a French and English +legislation, as well as a French and English population, which +are gradually combining with each other. See the "Digeste des +Lois de la Louisiane," in two volumes; and the "Traite sur les +Regles des Actions civiles," printed in French and English at New +Orleans in 1830.] + +My present object is to consider the jury as a political +institution, and any other course would divert me from my +subject. Of trial by jury, considered as a judicial institution, +I shall here say but very few words. When the English adopted +trial by jury they were a semi-barbarous people; they are become, +in course of time, one of the most enlightened nations of the +earth; and their attachment to this institution seems to have +increased with their increasing cultivation. They soon spread +beyond their insular boundaries to every corner of the habitable +globe; some have formed colonies, others independent states; the +mother-country has maintained its monarchical constitution; many +of its offspring have founded powerful republics; but wherever +the English have been they have boasted of the privilege of trial +by jury. *c They have established it, or hastened to re-establish +it, in all their settlements. A judicial institution which +obtains the suffrages of a great people for so long a series of +ages, which is zealously renewed at every epoch of civilization, +in all the climates of the earth and under every form of human +government, cannot be contrary to the spirit of justice. *d + +[Footnote c: All the English and American jurists are unanimous +upon this head. Mr. Story, judge of the Supreme Court of the +United States, speaks, in his "Treatise on the Federal +Constitution," of the advantages of trial by jury in civil cases: +- " The inestimable privilege of a trial by jury in civil cases - +a privilege scarcely inferior to that in criminal cases, which is +counted by all persons to be essential to political and civil +liberty. . . ." (Story, book iii., chap. xxxviii.)] + +[Footnote d: If it were our province to point out the utility of +the jury as a judicial institution in this place, much might be +said, and the following arguments might be brought forward +amongst others: - + +By introducing the jury into the business of the courts you +are enabled to diminish the number of judges, which is a very +great advantage. When judges are very numerous, death is +perpetually thinning the ranks of the judicial functionaries, and +laying places vacant for newcomers. The ambition of the +magistrates is therefore continually excited, and they are +naturally made dependent upon the will of the majority, or the +individual who fills up the vacant appointments; the officers of +the court then rise like the officers of an army. This state of +things is entirely contrary to the sound administration of +justice, and to the intentions of the legislator. The office of +a judge is made inalienable in order that he may remain +independent: but of what advantage is it that his independence +should be protected if he be tempted to sacrifice it of his own +accord? When judges are very numerous many of them must +necessarily be incapable of performing their important duties, +for a great magistrate is a man of no common powers; and I am +inclined to believe that a half-enlightened tribunal is the +worst of all instruments for attaining those objects which it is +the purpose of courts of justice to accomplish. For my own part, +I had rather submit the decision of a case to ignorant jurors +directed by a skilful judge than to judges a majority of whom are +imperfectly acquainted with jurisprudence and with the laws.] + +I turn, however, from this part of the subject. To look +upon the jury as a mere judicial institution is to confine our +attention to a very narrow view of it; for however great its +influence may be upon the decisions of the law courts, that +influence is very subordinate to the powerful effects which it +produces on the destinies of the community at large. The jury is +above all a political institution, and it must be regarded in +this light in order to be duly appreciated. + +By the jury I mean a certain number of citizens chosen +indiscriminately, and invested with a temporary right of judging. +Trial by jury, as applied to the repression of crime, appears to +me to introduce an eminently republican element into the +government upon the following grounds:- + +The institution of the jury may be aristocratic or +democratic, according to the class of society from which the +jurors are selected; but it always preserves its republican +character, inasmuch as it places the real direction of society in +the hands of the governed, or of a portion of the governed, +instead of leaving it under the authority of the Government. +Force is never more than a transient element of success; and +after force comes the notion of right. A government which should +only be able to crush its enemies upon a field of battle would +very soon be destroyed. The true sanction of political laws is +to be found in penal legislation, and if that sanction be wanting +the law will sooner or later lose its cogency. He who punishes +infractions of the law is therefore the real master of society. +Now the institution of the jury raises the people itself, or at +least a class of citizens, to the bench of judicial authority. +The institution of the jury consequently invests the people, or +that class of citizens, with the direction of society. *e + +[Footnote e: An important remark must, however, be made. Trial +by jury does unquestionably invest the people with a general +control over the actions of citizens, but it does not furnish +means of exercising this control in all cases, or with an +absolute authority. When an absolute monarch has the right of +trying offences by his representatives, the fate of the prisoner +is, as it were, decided beforehand. But even if the people were +predisposed to convict, the composition and the +non-responsibility of the jury would still afford some chances +favorable to the protection of innocence.] + +In England the jury is returned from the aristocratic +portion of the nation; *f the aristocracy makes the laws, applies +the laws, and punishes all infractions of the laws; everything is +established upon a consistent footing, and England may with truth +be said to constitute an aristocratic republic. In the United +States the same system is applied to the whole people. Every +American citizen is qualified to be an elector, a juror, and is +eligible to office. *g The system of the jury, as it is +understood in America, appears to me to be as direct and as +extreme a consequence of the sovereignty of the people as +universal suffrage. These institutions are two instruments of +equal power, which contribute to the supremacy of the majority. +All the sovereigns who have chosen to govern by their own +authority, and to direct society instead of obeying its +directions, have destroyed or enfeebled the institution of the +jury. The monarchs of the House of Tudor sent to prison jurors +who refused to convict, and Napoleon caused them to be returned +by his agents. + +[Footnote f: [This may be true to some extent of special juries, +but not of common juries. The author seems not to have been +aware that the qualifications of jurors in England vary +exceedingly.]] + +[Footnote g: See Appendix, Q.] + +However clear most of these truths may seem to be, they do +not command universal assent, and in France, at least, the +institution of trial by jury is still very imperfectly +understood. If the question arises as to the proper +qualification of jurors, it is confined to a discussion of the +intelligence and knowledge of the citizens who may be returned, +as if the jury was merely a judicial institution. This appears +to me to be the least part of the subject. The jury is +pre-eminently a political institution; it must be regarded as one +form of the sovereignty of the people; when that sovereignty is +repudiated, it must be rejected, or it must be adapted to the +laws by which that sovereignty is established. The jury is that +portion of the nation to which the execution of the laws is +entrusted, as the Houses of Parliament constitute that part of +the nation which makes the laws; and in order that society may be +governed with consistency and uniformity, the list of citizens +qualified to serve on juries must increase and diminish with the +list of electors. This I hold to be the point of view most +worthy of the attention of the legislator, and all that remains +is merely accessory. + +I am so entirely convinced that the jury is pre-eminently a +political institution that I still consider it in this light when +it is applied in civil causes. Laws are always unstable unless +they are founded upon the manners of a nation; manners are the +only durable and resisting power in a people. When the jury is +reserved for criminal offences, the people only witnesses its +occasional action in certain particular cases; the ordinary +course of life goes on without its interference, and it is +considered as an instrument, but not as the only instrument, of +obtaining justice. This is true a fortiori when the jury is only +applied to certain criminal causes. + +When, on the contrary, the influence of the jury is extended +to civil causes, its application is constantly palpable; it +affects all the interests of the community; everyone co-operates +in its work: it thus penetrates into all the usages of life, it +fashions the human mind to its peculiar forms, and is gradually +associated with the idea of justice itself. + +The institution of the jury, if confined to criminal causes, +is always in danger, but when once it is introduced into civil +proceedings it defies the aggressions of time and of man. If it +had been as easy to remove the jury from the manners as from the +laws of England, it would have perished under Henry VIII, and +Elizabeth, and the civil jury did in reality, at that period, +save the liberties of the country. In whatever manner the jury +be applied, it cannot fail to exercise a powerful influence upon +the national character; but this influence is prodigiously +increased when it is introduced into civil causes. The jury, and +more especially the jury in civil cases, serves to communicate +the spirit of the judges to the minds of all the citizens; and +this spirit, with the habits which attend it, is the soundest +preparation for free institutions. It imbues all classes with a +respect for the thing judged, and with the notion of right. If +these two elements be removed, the love of independence is +reduced to a mere destructive passion. It teaches men to practice +equity, every man learns to judge his neighbor as he would +himself be judged; and this is especially true of the jury in +civil causes, for, whilst the number of persons who have reason +to apprehend a criminal prosecution is small, every one is liable +to have a civil action brought against him. The jury teaches +every man not to recoil before the responsibility of his own +actions, and impresses him with that manly confidence without +which political virtue cannot exist. It invests each citizen +with a kind of magistracy, it makes them all feel the duties +which they are bound to discharge towards society, and the part +which they take in the Government. By obliging men to turn their +attention to affairs which are not exclusively their own, it rubs +off that individual egotism which is the rust of society. + +The jury contributes most powerfully to form the judgement +and to increase the natural intelligence of a people, and this +is, in my opinion, its greatest advantage. It may be regarded as +a gratuitous public school ever open, in which every juror learns +to exercise his rights, enters into daily communication with the +most learned and enlightened members of the upper classes, and +becomes practically acquainted with the laws of his country, +which are brought within the reach of his capacity by the efforts +of the bar, the advice of the judge, and even by the passions of +the parties. I think that the practical intelligence and +political good sense of the Americans are mainly attributable to +the long use which they have made of the jury in civil causes. I +do not know whether the jury is useful to those who are in +litigation; but I am certain it is highly beneficial to those who +decide the litigation; and I look upon it as one of the most +efficacious means for the education of the people which society +can employ. + +What I have hitherto said applies to all nations, but the +remark I am now about to make is peculiar to the Americans and to +democratic peoples. I have already observed that in democracies +the members of the legal profession and the magistrates +constitute the only aristocratic body which can check the +irregularities of the people. This aristocracy is invested with +no physical power, but it exercises its conservative influence +upon the minds of men, and the most abundant source of its +authority is the institution of the civil jury. In criminal +causes, when society is armed against a single individual, the +jury is apt to look upon the judge as the passive instrument of +social power, and to mistrust his advice. Moreover, criminal +causes are entirely founded upon the evidence of facts which +common sense can readily appreciate; upon this ground the judge +and the jury are equal. Such, however, is not the case in civil +causes; then the judge appears as a disinterested arbiter between +the conflicting passions of the parties. The jurors look up to +him with confidence and listen to him with respect, for in this +instance their intelligence is completely under the control of +his learning. It is the judge who sums up the various arguments +with which their memory has been wearied out, and who guides them +through the devious course of the proceedings; he points their +attention to the exact question of fact which they are called +upon to solve, and he puts the answer to the question of law into +their mouths. His influence upon their verdict is almost +unlimited. + +If I am called upon to explain why I am but little moved by +the arguments derived from the ignorance of jurors in civil +causes, I reply, that in these proceedings, whenever the question +to be solved is not a mere question of fact, the jury has only +the semblance of a judicial body. The jury sanctions the +decision of the judge, they by the authority of society which +they represent, and he by that of reason and of law. *h + +[Footnote h: See Appendix, R.] + +In England and in America the judges exercise an influence +upon criminal trials which the French judges have never +possessed. The reason of this difference may easily be +discovered; the English and American magistrates establish their +authority in civil causes, and only transfer it afterwards to +tribunals of another kind, where that authority was not acquired. +In some cases (and they are frequently the most important ones) +the American judges have the right of deciding causes alone. *i +Upon these occasions they are accidentally placed in the position +which the French judges habitually occupy, but they are invested +with far more power than the latter; they are still surrounded by +the reminiscence of the jury, and their judgment has almost as +much authority as the voice of the community at large, +represented by that institution. Their influence extends beyond +the limits of the courts; in the recreations of private life as +well as in the turmoil of public business, abroad and in the +legislative assemblies, the American judge is constantly +surrounded by men who are accustomed to regard his intelligence +as superior to their own, and after having exercised his power in +the decision of causes, he continues to influence the habits of +thought and the characters of the individuals who took a part in +his judgment. + + +[Footnote i: The Federal judges decide upon their own authority +almost all the questions most important to the country.] + +The jury, then, which seems to restrict the rights of +magistracy, does in reality consolidate its power, and in no +country are the judges so powerful as there, where the people +partakes their privileges. It is more especially by means of the +jury in civil causes that the American magistrates imbue all +classes of society with the spirit of their profession. Thus the +jury, which is the most energetic means of making the people +rule, is also the most efficacious means of teaching it to rule +well. + +Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic +Republic - Part I + +Principal Causes Which Tend To Maintain The Democratic Republic +In The United States + +A democratic republic subsists in the United States, and the +principal object of this book has been to account for the fact of +its existence. Several of the causes which contribute to maintain +the institutions of America have been involuntarily passed by or +only hinted at as I was borne along by my subject. Others I have +been unable to discuss, and those on which I have dwelt most are, +as it were, buried in the details of the former parts of this +work. I think, therefore, that before I proceed to speak of the +future, I cannot do better than collect within a small compass +the reasons which best explain the present. In this +retrospective chapter I shall be succinct, for I shall take care +to remind the reader very summarily of what he already knows; and +I shall only select the most prominent of those facts which I +have not yet pointed out. + +All the causes which contribute to the maintenance of the +democratic republic in the United States are reducible to three +heads: - + +I. The peculiar and accidental situation in which Providence +has placed the Americans. + +II. The laws. + +III. The manners and customs of the people. + +Accidental Or Providential Causes Which Contribute To The +Maintenance Of The Democratic Republic In The United States +The Union has no neighbors - No metropolis - The Americans have +had the chances of birth in their favor - America an empty +country - How this circumstance contributes powerfully to the +maintenance of the democratic republic in America - How the +American wilds are peopled - Avidity of the Anglo-Americans in +taking possession of the solitudes of the New World -Influence of +physical prosperity upon the political opinions of the Americans. + +A thousand circumstances, independent of the will of man, +concur to facilitate the maintenance of a democratic republic in +the United States. Some of these peculiarities are known, the +others may easily be pointed out; but I shall confine myself to +the most prominent amongst them. + +The Americans have no neighbors, and consequently they have +no great wars, or financial crises, or inroads, or conquest to +dread; they require neither great taxes, nor great armies, nor +great generals; and they have nothing to fear from a scourge +which is more formidable to republics than all these evils +combined, namely, military glory. It is impossible to deny the +inconceivable influence which military glory exercises upon the +spirit of a nation. General Jackson, whom the Americans have +twice elected to the head of their Government, is a man of a +violent temper and mediocre talents; no one circumstance in the +whole course of his career ever proved that he is qualified to +govern a free people, and indeed the majority of the enlightened +classes of the Union has always been opposed to him. But he was +raised to the Presidency, and has been maintained in that lofty +station, solely by the recollection of a victory which he gained +twenty years ago under the walls of New Orleans, a victory which +was, however, a very ordinary achievement, and which could only +be remembered in a country where battles are rare. Now the +people which is thus carried away by the illusions of glory is +unquestionably the most cold and calculating, the most unmilitary +(if I may use the expression), and the most prosaic of all the +peoples of the earth. + +America has no great capital *a city, whose influence is +directly or indirectly felt over the whole extent of the country, +which I hold to be one of the first causes of the maintenance of +republican institutions in the United States. In cities men +cannot be prevented from concerting together, and from awakening +a mutual excitement which prompts sudden and passionate +resolutions. Cities may be looked upon as large assemblies, of +which all the inhabitants are members; their populace exercises a +prodigious influence upon the magistrates, and frequently +executes its own wishes without their intervention. + +[Footnote a: The United States have no metropolis, but they +already contain several very large cities. Philadelphia reckoned +161,000 inhabitants and New York 202,000 in the year 1830. The +lower orders which inhabit these cities constitute a rabble even +more formidable than the populace of European towns. They consist +of freed blacks in the first place, who are condemned by the laws +and by public opinion to a hereditary state of misery and +degradation. They also contain a multitude of Europeans who have +been driven to the shores of the New World by their misfortunes +or their misconduct; and these men inoculate the United States +with all our vices, without bringing with them any of those +interests which counteract their baneful influence. As +inhabitants of a country where they have no civil rights, they +are ready to turn all the passions which agitate the community to +their own advantage; thus, within the last few months serious +riots have broken out in Philadelphia and in New York. +Disturbances of this kind are unknown in the rest of the country, +which is nowise alarmed by them, because the population of the +cities has hitherto exercised neither power nor influence over +the rural districts. Nevertheless, I look upon the size of +certain American cities, and especially on the nature of their +population, as a real danger which threatens the future security +of the democratic republics of the New World; and I venture to +predict that they will perish from this circumstance unless the +government succeeds in creating an armed force, which, whilst it +remains under the control of the majority of the nation, will be +independent of the town population, and able to repress its +excesses. + +[The population of the city of New York had risen, in 1870, +to 942,292, and that of Philadelphia to 674,022. Brooklyn, which +may be said to form part of New York city, has a population of +396,099, in addition to that of New York. The frequent +disturbances in the great cities of America, and the excessive +corruption of their local governments - over which there is no +effectual control - are amongst the greatest evils and dangers of +the country.]] + +To subject the provinces to the metropolis is therefore not +only to place the destiny of the empire in the hands of a portion +of the community, which may be reprobated as unjust, but to place +it in the hands of a populace acting under its own impulses, +which must be avoided as dangerous. The preponderance of capital +cities is therefore a serious blow upon the representative +system, and it exposes modern republics to the same defect as the +republics of antiquity, which all perished from not having been +acquainted with that form of government. + +It would be easy for me to adduce a great number of +secondary causes which have contributed to establish, and which +concur to maintain, the democratic republic of the United States. +But I discern two principal circumstances amongst these favorable +elements, which I hasten to point out. I have already observed +that the origin of the American settlements may be looked upon as +the first and most efficacious cause to which the present +prosperity of the United States may be attributed. The Americans +had the chances of birth in their favor, and their forefathers +imported that equality of conditions into the country whence the +democratic republic has very naturally taken its rise. Nor was +this all they did; for besides this republican condition of +society, the early settler bequeathed to their descendants those +customs, manners, and opinions which contribute most to the +success of a republican form of government. When I reflect upon +the consequences of this primary circumstance, methinks I see the +destiny of America embodied in the first Puritan who landed on +those shores, just as the human race was represented by the first +man. + +The chief circumstance which has favored the establishment +and the maintenance of a democratic republic in the United States +is the nature of the territory which the American inhabit. Their +ancestors gave them the love of equality and of freedom, but God +himself gave them the means of remaining equal and free, by +placing them upon a boundless continent, which is open to their +exertions. General prosperity is favorable to the stability of +all governments, but more particularly of a democratic +constitution, which depends upon the dispositions of the +majority, and more particularly of that portion of the community +which is most exposed to feel the pressure of want. When the +people rules, it must be rendered happy, or it will overturn the +State, and misery is apt to stimulate it to those excesses to +which ambition rouses kings. The physical causes, independent of +the laws, which contribute to promote general prosperity, are +more numerous in America than they have ever been in any other +country in the world, at any other period of history. In the +United States not only is legislation democratic, but nature +herself favors the cause of the people. + +In what part of human tradition can be found anything at all +similar to that which is occurring under our eyes in North +America? The celebrated communities of antiquity were all +founded in the midst of hostile nations, which they were obliged +to subjugate before they could flourish in their place. Even the +moderns have found, in some parts of South America, vast regions +inhabited by a people of inferior civilization, but which +occupied and cultivated the soil. To found their new states it +was necessary to extirpate or to subdue a numerous population, +until civilization has been made to blush for their success. But +North America was only inhabited by wandering tribes, who took no +thought of the natural riches of the soil, and that vast country +was still, properly speaking, an empty continent, a desert land +awaiting its +inhabitants. + +Everything is extraordinary in America, the social condition +of the inhabitants, as well as the laws; but the soil upon which +these institutions are founded is more extraordinary than all the +rest. When man was first placed upon the earth by the Creator, +the earth was inexhaustible in its youth, but man was weak and +ignorant; and when he had learned to explore the treasures which +it contained, hosts of his fellow creatures covered its surface, +and he was obliged to earn an asylum for repose and for freedom +by the sword. At that same period North America was discovered, +as if it had been kept in reserve by the Deity, and had just +risen from beneath the waters of the deluge. + +That continent still presents, as it did in the primeval +time, rivers which rise from never-failing sources, green and +moist solitudes, and fields which the ploughshare of the +husbandman has never turned. In this state it is offered to man, +not in the barbarous and isolated condition of the early ages, +but to a being who is already in possession of the most potent +secrets of the natural world, who is united to his fellow-men, +and instructed by the experience of fifty centuries. At this +very time thirteen millions of civilized Europeans are peaceably +spreading over those fertile plains, with whose resources and +whose extent they are not yet themselves accurately acquainted. +Three or four thousand soldiers drive the wandering races of the +aborigines before them; these are followed by the pioneers, who +pierce the woods, scare off the beasts of prey, explore the +courses of the inland streams, and make ready the triumphal +procession of civilization across the waste. + +The favorable influence of the temporal prosperity of +America upon the institutions of that country has been so often +described by others, and adverted to by myself, that I shall not +enlarge upon it beyond the addition of a few facts. An erroneous +notion is generally entertained that the deserts of America are +peopled by European emigrants, who annually disembark upon the +coasts of the New World, whilst the American population increases +and multiplies upon the soil which its forefathers tilled. The +European settler, however, usually arrives in the United States +without friends, and sometimes without resources; in order to +subsist he is obliged to work for hire, and he rarely proceeds +beyond that belt of industrious population which adjoins the +ocean. The desert cannot be explored without capital or credit; +and the body must be accustomed to the rigors of a new climate +before it can be exposed to the chances of forest life. It is +the Americans themselves who daily quit the spots which gave them +birth to acquire extensive domains in a remote country. Thus the +European leaves his cottage for the trans-Atlantic shores; and +the American, who is born on that very coast, plunges in his turn +into the wilds of Central America. This double emigration is +incessant; it begins in the remotest parts of Europe, it crosses +the Atlantic Ocean, and it advances over the solitudes of the New +World. Millions of men are marching at once towards the same +horizon; their language, their religion, their manners differ, +their object is the same. The gifts of fortune are promised in +the West, and to the West they bend their course. *b + +[Footnote b: [The number of foreign immigrants into the United +States in the last fifty years (from 1820 to 1871) is stated to +be 7,556,007. Of these, 4,104,553 spoke English - that is, they +came from Great Britain, Ireland, or the British colonies; +2,643,069 came from Germany or northern Europe; and about half a +million from the south of Europe.]] + +No event can be compared with this continuous removal of the +human race, except perhaps those irruptions which preceded the +fall of the Roman Empire. Then, as well as now, generations of +men were impelled forwards in the same direction to meet and +struggle on the same spot; but the designs of Providence were not +the same; then, every newcomer was the harbinger of destruction +and of death; now, every adventurer brings with him the elements +of prosperity and of life. The future still conceals from us the +ulterior consequences of this emigration of the Americans towards +the West; but we can readily apprehend its more immediate +results. As a portion of the inhabitants annually leave the +States in which they were born, the population of these States +increases very slowly, although they have long been established: +thus in Connecticut, which only contains fifty-nine inhabitants +to the square mile, the population has not increased by more than +one-quarter in forty years, whilst that of England has been +augmented by one-third in the lapse of the same period. The +European emigrant always lands, therefore, in a country which is +but half full, and where hands are in request: he becomes a +workman in easy circumstances; his son goes to seek his fortune +in unpeopled regions, and he becomes a rich landowner. The +former amasses the capital which the latter invests, and the +stranger as well as the native is unacquainted with want. + +The laws of the United States are extremely favorable to the +division of property; but a cause which is more powerful than the +laws prevents property from being divided to excess. *c This is +very perceptible in the States which are beginning to be thickly +peopled; Massachusetts is the most populous part of the Union, +but it contains only eighty inhabitants to the square mile, which +is must less than in France, where 162 are reckoned to the same +extent of country. But in Massachusetts estates are very rarely +divided; the eldest son takes the land, and the others go to seek +their fortune in the desert. The law has abolished the rights of +primogeniture, but circumstances have concurred to re-establish +it under a form of which none can complain, and by which no just +rights are impaired. + +[Footnote c: In New England the estates are exceedingly small, +but they are rarely subjected to further division.] + +A single fact will suffice to show the prodigious number of +individuals who leave New England, in this manner, to settle +themselves in the wilds. We were assured in 1830 that thirty-six +of the members of Congress were born in the little State of +Connecticut. The population of Connecticut, which constitutes +only one forty-third part of that of the United States, thus +furnished one-eighth of the whole body of representatives. The +States of Connecticut, however, only sends five delegates to +Congress; and the thirty-one others sit for the new Western +States. If these thirty-one individuals had remained in +Connecticut, it is probable that instead of becoming rich +landowners they would have remained humble laborers, that they +would have lived in obscurity without being able to rise into +public life, and that, far from becoming useful members of the +legislature, they might have been unruly citizens. + +These reflections do not escape the observation of the +Americans any more than of ourselves. "It cannot be doubted," +says Chancellor Kent in his "Treatise on American Law," "that the +division of landed estates must produce great evils when it is +carried to such excess as that each parcel of land is +insufficient to support a family; but these disadvantages have +never been felt in the United States, and many generations must +elapse before they can be felt. The extent of our inhabited +territory, the abundance of adjacent land, and the continual +stream of emigration flowing from the shores of the Atlantic +towards the interior of the country, suffice as yet, and will +long suffice, to prevent the parcelling out of estates." + +It is difficult to describe the rapacity with which the +American rushes forward to secure the immense booty which fortune +proffers to him. In the pursuit he fearlessly braves the arrow +of the Indian and the distempers of the forest; he is unimpressed +by the silence of the woods; the approach of beasts of prey does +not disturb him; for he is goaded onwards by a passion more +intense than the love of life. Before him lies a boundless +continent, and he urges onwards as if time pressed, and he was +afraid of finding no room for his exertions. I have spoken of +the emigration from the older States, but how shall I describe +that which takes place from the more recent ones? Fifty years +have scarcely elapsed since that of Ohio was founded; the greater +part of its inhabitants were not born within its confines; its +capital has only been built thirty years, and its territory is +still covered by an immense extent of uncultivated fields; +nevertheless the population of Ohio is already proceeding +westward, and most of the settlers who descend to the fertile +savannahs of Illinois are citizens of Ohio. These men left their +first country to improve their condition; they quit their +resting-place to ameliorate it still more; fortune awaits them +everywhere, but happiness they cannot attain. The desire of +prosperity is become an ardent and restless passion in their +minds which grows by what it gains. They early broke the ties +which bound them to their natal earth, and they have +contracted no fresh ones on their way. Emigration was at first +necessary to them as a means of subsistence; and it soon becomes +a sort of game of chance, which they pursue for the emotions it +excites as much as for the gain it procures. + +Sometimes the progress of man is so rapid that the desert +reappears behind him. The woods stoop to give him a passage, and +spring up again when he has passed. It is not uncommon in +crossing the new States of the West to meet with deserted +dwellings in the midst of the wilds; the traveller frequently +discovers the vestiges of a log house in the most solitary +retreats, which bear witness to the power, and no less to the +inconstancy of man. In these abandoned fields, and over these +ruins of a day, the primeval forest soon scatters a fresh +vegetation, the beasts resume the haunts which were once their +own, and Nature covers the traces of man's path with branches and +with flowers, which obliterate his evanescent track. + +I remember that, in crossing one of the woodland districts +which still cover the State of New York, I reached the shores of +a lake embosomed in forests coeval with the world. A small +island, covered with woods whose thick foliage concealed its +banks, rose from the centre of the waters. Upon the shores of +the lake no object attested the presence of man except a column +of smoke which might be seen on the horizon rising from the tops +of the trees to the clouds, and seeming to hang from heaven +rather than to be mounting to the sky. An Indian shallop was +hauled up on the sand, which tempted me to visit the islet that +had first attracted my attention, and in a few minutes I set foot +upon its banks. The whole island formed one of those delicious +solitudes of the New World which almost lead civilized man to +regret the haunts of the savage. A luxuriant vegetation bore +witness to the incomparable fruitfulness of the soil. The deep +silence which is common to the wilds of North America was only +broken by the hoarse cooing of the wood-pigeon, and the tapping +of the woodpecker upon the bark of trees. I was far from +supposing that this spot had ever been inhabited, so completely +did Nature seem to be left to her own caprices; but when I +reached the centre of the isle I thought that I discovered some +traces of man. I then proceeded to examine the surrounding +objects with care, and I soon perceived that a European had +undoubtedly been led to seek a refuge in this retreat. Yet what +changes had taken place in the scene of his labors! The logs +which he had hastily hewn to build himself a shed had sprouted +afresh; the very props were intertwined with living verdure, and +his cabin was transformed into a bower. In the midst of these +shrubs a few stones were to be seen, blackened with fire and +sprinkled with thin ashes; here the hearth had no doubt been, and +the chimney in falling had covered it with rubbish. I stood for +some time in silent admiration of the exuberance of Nature and +the littleness of man: and when I was obliged to leave that +enchanting solitude, I exclaimed with melancholy, "Are ruins, +then, already here?" + +In Europe we are wont to look upon a restless disposition, +an unbounded desire of riches, and an excessive love of +independence, as propensities very formidable to society. Yet +these are the very elements which ensure a long and peaceful +duration to the republics of America. Without these unquiet +passions the population would collect in certain spots, and would +soon be subject to wants like those of the Old World, which it is +difficult to satisfy; for such is the present good fortune of the +New World, that the vices of its inhabitants are scarcely less +favorable to society than their virtues. These circumstances +exercise a great influence on the estimation in which human +actions are held in the two hemispheres. The Americans +frequently term what we should call cupidity a laudable industry; +and they blame as faint-heartedness what we consider to be the +virtue of moderate desires. + +In France, simple tastes, orderly manners, domestic +affections, and the attachments which men feel to the place of +their birth, are looked upon as great guarantees of the +tranquillity and happiness of the State. But in America nothing +seems to be more prejudicial to society than these virtues. The +French Canadians, who have faithfully preserved the traditions of +their pristine manners, are already embarrassed for room upon +their small territory; and this little community, which has so +recently begun to exist, will shortly be a prey to the calamities +incident to old nations. In Canada, the most enlightened, +patriotic, and humane inhabitants make extraordinary efforts to +render the people dissatisfied with those simple enjoyments which +still content it. There, the seductions of wealth are vaunted +with as much zeal as the charms of an honest but limited income +in the Old World, and more exertions are made to excite the +passions of the citizens there than to calm them elsewhere. If +we listen to their eulogies, we shall hear that nothing is more +praiseworthy than to exchange the pure and homely pleasures which +even the poor man tastes in his own country for the dull delights +of prosperity under a foreign sky; to leave the patrimonial +hearth and the turf beneath which his forefathers sleep; in +short, to abandon the living and the dead in quest of fortune. + +At the present time America presents a field for human +effort far more extensive than any sum of labor which can be +applied to work it. In America too much knowledge cannot be +diffused; for all knowledge, whilst it may serve him who +possesses it, turns also to the advantage of those who are +without it. New wants are not to be feared, since they can be +satisfied without difficulty; the growth of human passions need +not be dreaded, since all passions may find an easy and a +legitimate object; nor can men be put in possession of too much +freedom, since they are scarcely ever tempted to misuse their +liberties. + +The American republics of the present day are like companies +of adventurers formed to explore in common the waste lands of the +New World, and busied in a flourishing trade. The passions which +agitate the Americans most deeply are not their political but +their commercial passions; or, to speak more correctly, they +introduce the habits they contract in business into their +political life. They love order, without which affairs do not +prosper; and they set an especial value upon a regular conduct, +which is the foundation of a solid business; they prefer the good +sense which amasses large fortunes to that enterprising spirit +which frequently dissipates them; general ideas alarm their +minds, which are accustomed to positive calculations, and they +hold practice in more honor than theory. + +It is in America that one learns to understand the influence +which physical prosperity exercises over political actions, and +even over opinions which ought to acknowledge no sway but that of +reason; and it is more especially amongst strangers that this +truth is perceptible. Most of the European emigrants to the New +World carry with them that wild love of independence and of +change which our calamities are so apt to engender. I sometimes +met with Europeans in the United States who had been obliged to +leave their own country on account of their political opinions. +They all astonished me by the language they held, but one of them +surprised me more than all the rest. As I was crossing one of +the most remote districts of Pennsylvania I was benighted, and +obliged to beg for hospitality at the gate of a wealthy planter, +who was a Frenchman by birth. He bade me sit down beside his +fire, and we began to talk with that freedom which befits persons +who meet in the backwoods, two thousand leagues from their native +country. I was aware that my host had been a great leveller and +an ardent demagogue forty years ago, and that his name was not +unknown to fame. I was, therefore, not a little surprised to +hear him discuss the rights of property as an economist or a +landowner might have done: he spoke of the necessary gradations +which fortune establishes among men, of obedience to established +laws, of the influence of good morals in commonwealths, and of +the support which religious opinions give to order and to +freedom; he even went to far as to quote an evangelical authority +in corroboration of one of his political tenets. + +I listened, and marvelled at the feebleness of human reason. +A proposition is true or false, but no art can prove it to be one +or the other, in the midst of the uncertainties of science and +the conflicting lessons of experience, until a new incident +disperses the clouds of doubt; I was poor, I become rich, and I +am not to expect that prosperity will act upon my conduct, and +leave my judgment free; my opinions change with my fortune, and +the happy circumstances which I turn to my advantage furnish me +with that decisive argument which was before wanting. The +influence of prosperity acts still more freely upon the American +than upon strangers. The American has always seen the connection +of public order and public prosperity, intimately united as they +are, go on before his eyes; he does not conceive that one can +subsist without the other; he has therefore nothing to forget; +nor has he, like so many Europeans, to unlearn the lessons of his +early education. + +Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic +Republic - Part II + +Influence Of The Laws Upon The Maintenance Of The Democratic +Republic In The United States + +Three principal causes of the maintenance of the democratic +republic - Federal Constitutions - Municipal institutions - +Judicial power. + +The principal aim of this book has been to make known the +laws of the United States; if this purpose has been accomplished, +the reader is already enabled to judge for himself which are the +laws that really tend to maintain the democratic republic, and +which endanger its existence. If I have not succeeded in +explaining this in the whole course of my work, I cannot hope to +do so within the limits of a single chapter. It is not my +intention to retrace the path I have already pursued, and a very +few lines will suffice to recapitulate what I have previously +explained. + + +Three circumstances seem to me to contribute most powerfully +to the maintenance of the democratic republic in the United +States. + +The first is that Federal form of Government which the +Americans have adopted, and which enables the Union to combine +the power of a great empire with the security of a small State. + +The second consists in those municipal institutions which +limit the despotism of the majority, and at the same time impart +a taste for freedom and a knowledge of the art of being free to +the people. + +The third is to be met with in the constitution of the +judicial power. I have shown in what manner the courts of justice +serve to repress the excesses of democracy, and how they check +and direct the impulses of the majority without stopping its +activity. + + +Influence Of Manners Upon The Maintenance Of The Democratic +Republic In The United States + + +I have previously remarked that the manners of the people +may be considered as one of the general causes to which the +maintenance of a democratic republic in the United States is +attributable. I here used the word manners with the meaning +which the ancients attached to the word mores, for I apply it not +only to manners in their proper sense of what constitutes the +character of social intercourse, but I extend it to the various +notions and opinions current among men, and to the mass of those +ideas which constitute their character of mind. I comprise, +therefore, under this term the whole moral and intellectual +condition of a people. My intention is not to draw a picture of +American manners, but simply to point out such features of them +as are favorable to the maintenance of political institutions. + +Religion Considered As A Political Institution, Which Powerfully +Contributes To The Maintenance Of The Democratic Republic Amongst +The Americans + +North America peopled by men who professed a democratic and +republican Christianity - Arrival of the Catholics - For what +reason the Catholics form the most democratic and the most +republican class at the present time. + +Every religion is to be found in juxtaposition to a +political opinion which is connected with it by affinity. If the +human mind be left to follow its own bent, it will regulate the +temporal and spiritual institutions of society upon one uniform +principle; and man will endeavor, if I may use the expression, to +harmonize the state in which he lives upon earth with the state +which he believes to await him in heaven. The greatest part of +British America was peopled by men who, after having shaken off +the authority of the Pope, acknowledged no other religious +supremacy; they brought with them into the New World a form of +Christianity which I cannot better describe than by styling it a +democratic and republican religion. This sect contributed +powerfully to the establishment of a democracy and a republic, +and from the earliest settlement of the emigrants politics and +religion contracted an alliance which has never been dissolved. + +About fifty years ago Ireland began to pour a Catholic +population into the United States; on the other hand, the +Catholics of America made proselytes, and at the present moment +more than a million of Christians professing the truths of the +Church of Rome are to be met with in the Union. *d The Catholics +are faithful to the observances of their religion; they are +fervent and zealous in the support and belief of their doctrines. +Nevertheless they constitute the most republican and the most +democratic class of citizens which exists in the United States; +and although this fact may surprise the observer at first, the +causes by which it is occasioned may easily be discovered upon +reflection. + +[Footnote d: [It is difficult to ascertain with accuracy the +amount of the Roman Catholic population of the United States, but +in 1868 an able writer in the "Edinburgh Review" (vol. cxxvii. p. +521) affirmed that the whole Catholic population of the United +States was then about 4,000,000, divided into 43 dioceses, with +3,795 churches, under the care of 45 bishops and 2,317 clergymen. +But this rapid increase is mainly supported by immigration from +the Catholic countries of Europe.]] + +I think that the Catholic religion has erroneously been +looked upon as the natural enemy of democracy. Amongst the +various sects of Christians, Catholicism seems to me, on the +contrary, to be one of those which are most favorable to the +equality of conditions. In the Catholic Church, the religious +community is composed of only two elements, the priest and the +people. The priest alone rises above the rank of his flock, and +all below him are equal. + +On doctrinal points the Catholic faith places all human +capacities upon the same level; it subjects the wise and +ignorant, the man of genius and the vulgar crowd, to the details +of the same creed; it imposes the same observances upon the rich +and needy, it inflicts the same austerities upon the strong and +the weak, it listens to no compromise with mortal man, but, +reducing all the human race to the same standard, it confounds +all the distinctions of society at the foot of the same altar, +even as they are confounded in the sight of God. If Catholicism +predisposes the faithful to obedience, it certainly does not +prepare them for inequality; but the contrary may be said of +Protestantism, which generally tends to make men independent, +more than to render them equal. + +Catholicism is like an absolute monarchy; if the sovereign +be removed, all the other classes of society are more equal than +they are in republics. It has not unfrequently occurred that the +Catholic priest has left the service of the altar to mix with the +governing powers of society, and to take his place amongst the +civil gradations of men. This religious influence has sometimes +been used to secure the interests of that political state of +things to which he belonged. At other times Catholics have taken +the side of aristocracy from a spirit of religion. + +But no sooner is the priesthood entirely separated from the +government, as is the case in the United States, than is found +that no class of men are more naturally disposed than the +Catholics to transfuse the doctrine of the equality of conditions +into the political world. If, then, the Catholic citizens of the +United States are not forcibly led by the nature of their tenets +to adopt democratic and republican principles, at least they are +not necessarily opposed to them; and their social position, as +well as their limited number, obliges them to adopt these +opinions. Most of the Catholics are poor, and they have no +chance of taking a part in the government unless it be open to +all the citizens. They constitute a minority, and all rights +must be respected in order to insure to them the free exercise of +their own privileges. These two causes induce them, +unconsciously, to adopt political doctrines, which they would +perhaps support with less zeal if they were rich and +preponderant. + +The Catholic clergy of the United States has never attempted +to oppose this political tendency, but it seeks rather to justify +its results. The priests in America have divided the +intellectual world into two parts: in the one they place the +doctrines of revealed religion, which command their assent; in +the other they leave those truths which they believe to have been +freely left open to the researches of political inquiry. Thus +the Catholics of the United States are at the same time the most +faithful believers and the most zealous citizens. + +It may be asserted that in the United States no religious +doctrine displays the slightest hostility to democratic and +republican institutions. The clergy of all the different sects +hold the same language, their opinions are consonant to the laws, +and the human intellect flows onwards in one sole current. + +I happened to be staying in one of the largest towns in the +Union, when I was invited to attend a public meeting which had +been called for the purpose of assisting the Poles, and of +sending them supplies of arms and money. I found two or three +thousand persons collected in a vast hall which had been prepared +to receive them. In a short time a priest in his ecclesiastical +robes advanced to the front of the hustings: the spectators rose, +and stood +uncovered, whilst he spoke in the following terms: - + +"Almighty God! the God of Armies! Thou who didst +strengthen the hearts and guide the arms of our fathers when they +were fighting for the sacred rights of national independence; +Thou who didst make them triumph over a hateful oppression, and +hast granted to our people the benefits of liberty and peace; +Turn, O Lord, a favorable eye upon the other hemisphere; +pitifully look down upon that heroic nation which is even now +struggling as we did in the former time, and for the same rights +which we defended with our blood. Thou, who didst create Man in +the likeness of the same image, let not tyranny mar Thy work, and +establish inequality upon the earth. Almighty God! do Thou +watch over the destiny of the Poles, and render them worthy to be +free. May Thy wisdom direct their councils, and may Thy strength +sustain their arms! Shed forth Thy terror over their enemies, +scatter the powers which take counsel against them; and vouchsafe +that the injustice which the world has witnessed for fifty years, +be not consummated in our time. O Lord, who holdest alike the +hearts of nations and of men in Thy powerful hand; raise up +allies to the sacred cause of right; arouse the French nation +from the apathy in which its rulers retain it, that it go forth +again to fight for the liberties of the world. + +"Lord, turn not Thou Thy face from us, and grant that we may +always be the most religious as well as the freest people of the +earth. Almighty God, hear our supplications this day. Save the +Poles, we beseech Thee, in the name of Thy well-beloved Son, our +Lord Jesus Christ, who died upon the cross for the salvation of +men. Amen." + +The whole meeting responded "Amen!" with devotion. + + +Indirect Influence Of Religious Opinions Upon Political Society +In The United States + + +Christian morality common to all sects - Influence of religion +upon the manners of the Americans - Respect for the marriage tie +- In what manner religion confines the imagination of the +Americans within certain limits, and checks the passion of +innovation - Opinion of the Americans on the political utility of +religion - Their exertions to extend and secure its predominance. + +I have just shown what the direct influence of religion upon +politics is in the United States, but its indirect influence +appears to me to be still more considerable, and it never +instructs the Americans more fully in the art of being free than +when it says nothing of freedom. + +The sects which exist in the United States are innumerable. +They all differ in respect to the worship which is due from man +to his Creator, but they all agree in respect to the duties which +are due from man to man. Each sect adores the Deity in its own +peculiar manner, but all the sects preach the same moral law in +the name of God. If it be of the highest importance to man, as +an individual, that his religion should be true, the case of +society is not the same. Society has no future life to hope for +or to fear; and provided the citizens profess a religion, the +peculiar tenets of that religion are of very little importance to +its interests. Moreover, almost all the sects of the United +States are comprised within the great unity of Christianity, and +Christian morality is everywhere the same. + + +It may be believed without unfairness that a certain number +of Americans pursue a peculiar form of worship, from habit more +than from conviction. In the United States the sovereign +authority is religious, and consequently hypocrisy must be +common; but there is no country in the whole world in which the +Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of +men than in America; and there can be no greater proof of its +utility, and of its conformity to human nature, than that its +influence is most powerfully felt over the most enlightened and +free nation of the earth. + +I have remarked that the members of the American clergy in +general, without even excepting those who do not admit religious +liberty, are all in favor of civil freedom; but they do not +support any particular political system. They keep aloof from +parties and from public affairs. In the United States religion +exercises but little influence upon the laws and upon the details +of public opinion, but it directs the manners of the community, +and by regulating domestic life it regulates the State. + +I do not question that the great austerity of manners which +is observable in the United States, arises, in the first +instance, from religious faith. Religion is often unable to +restrain man from the numberless temptations of fortune; nor can +it check that passion for gain which every incident of his life +contributes to arouse, but its influence over the mind of woman +is supreme, and women are the protectors of morals. There is +certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is so +much respected as in America, or where conjugal happiness is more +highly or worthily appreciated. In Europe almost all the +disturbances of society arise from the irregularities of domestic +life. To despise the natural bonds and legitimate pleasures of +home, is to contract a taste for excesses, a restlessness of +heart, and the evil of fluctuating desires. Agitated by the +tumultuous passions which frequently disturb his dwelling, the +European is galled by the obedience which the legislative powers +of the State exact. But when the American retires from the +turmoil of public life to the bosom of his family, he finds in it +the image of order and of peace. There his pleasures are simple +and natural, his joys are innocent and calm; and as he finds that +an orderly life is the surest path to happiness, he accustoms +himself without difficulty to moderate his opinions as well as +his tastes. Whilst the European endeavors to forget his domestic +troubles by agitating society, the American derives from his own +home that love of order which he afterwards carries with him into +public affairs. + +In the United States the influence of religion is not +confined to the manners, but it extends to the intelligence of +the people. Amongst the Anglo-Americans, there are some who +profess the doctrines of Christianity from a sincere belief in +them, and others who do the same because they are afraid to be +suspected of unbelief. Christianity, therefore, reigns without +any obstacle, by universal consent; the consequence is, as I have +before observed, that every principle of the moral world is fixed +and determinate, although the political world is abandoned to the +debates and the experiments of men. Thus the human mind is never +left to wander across a boundless field; and, whatever may be its +pretensions, it is checked from time to time by barriers which it +cannot surmount. Before it can perpetrate innovation, certain +primal and immutable principles are laid down, and the boldest +conceptions of human device are subjected to certain forms which +retard and stop their completion. + +The imagination of the Americans, even in its greatest +flights, is circumspect and undecided; its impulses are checked, +and its works unfinished. These habits of restraint recur in +political society, and are singularly favorable both to the +tranquillity of the people and to the durability of the +institutions it has established. Nature and circumstances +concurred to make the inhabitants of the United States bold men, +as is sufficiently attested by the enterprising spirit with which +they seek for fortune. If the mind of the Americans were free +from all trammels, they would very shortly become the most daring +innovators and the most implacable disputants in the world. But +the revolutionists of America are obliged to profess an +ostensible respect for Christian morality and equity, which does +not easily permit them to violate the laws that oppose their +designs; nor would they find it easy to surmount the scruples of +their partisans, even if they were able to get over their own. +Hitherto no one in the United States has dared to advance the +maxim, that everything is permissible with a view to the +interests of society; an impious adage which seems to have been +invented in an age of freedom to shelter all the tyrants of +future ages. Thus whilst the law permits the Americans to do what +they please, religion prevents them from conceiving, and forbids +them to commit, what is rash or unjust. + +Religion in America takes no direct part in the government +of society, but it must nevertheless be regarded as the foremost +of the political institutions of that country; for if it does not +impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of free +institutions. Indeed, it is in this same point of view that the +inhabitants of the United States themselves look upon religious +belief. I do not know whether all the Americans have a sincere +faith in their religion, for who can search the human heart? but +I am certain that they hold it to be indispensable to the +maintenance of republican institutions. This opinion is not +peculiar to a class of citizens or to a party, but it belongs to +the whole nation, and to every rank of society. + +In the United States, if a political character attacks a +sect, this may not prevent even the partisans of that very sect +from supporting him; but if he attacks all the sects together, +everyone abandons him, and he remains alone. + +Whilst I was in America, a witness, who happened to be +called at the assizes of the county of Chester (State of New +York), declared that he did not believe in the existence of God, +or in the immortality of the soul. The judge refused to admit +his evidence, on the ground that the witness had destroyed +beforehand all the confidence of the Court in what he was about +to say. *e The newspapers related the fact without any further +comment. + +[Footnote e: The New York "Spectator" of August 23, 1831, relates +the fact in the following terms: - "The Court of Common Pleas of +Chester county (New York) a few days since rejected a witness who +declared his disbelief in the existence of God. The presiding +judge remarked that he had not before been aware that there was a +man living who did not believe in the existence of God; that this +belief constituted the sanction of all testimony in a court of +justice, and that he knew of no cause in a Christian country +where a witness had been permitted to testify without such +belief."] + +The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of +liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to +make them conceive the one without the other; and with them this +conviction does not spring from that barren traditionary faith +which seems to vegetate in the soul rather than to live. + +I have known of societies formed by the Americans to send +out ministers of the Gospel into the new Western States to found +schools and churches there, lest religion should be suffered to +die away in those remote settlements, and the rising States be +less fitted to enjoy free institutions than the people from which +they emanated. I met with wealthy New Englanders who abandoned +the country in which they were born in order to lay the +foundations of Christianity and of freedom on the banks of the +Missouri, or in the prairies of Illinois. Thus religious zeal is +perpetually stimulated in the United States by the duties of +patriotism. These men do not act from an exclusive consideration +of the promises of a future life; eternity is only one motive of +their devotion to the cause; and if you converse with these +missionaries of Christian civilization, you will be surprised to +find how much value they set upon the goods of this world, and +that you meet with a politician where you expected to find a +priest. They will tell you that "all the American republics are +collectively involved with each other; if the republics of the +West were to fall into anarchy, or to be mastered by a despot, +the republican institutions which now flourish upon the shores of +the Atlantic Ocean would be in great peril. It is, therefore, +our interest that the new States should be religious, in order to +maintain our liberties." + +Such are the opinions of the Americans, and if any hold that +the religious spirit which I admire is the very thing most amiss +in America, and that the only element wanting to the freedom and +happiness of the human race is to believe in some blind +cosmogony, or to assert with Cabanis the secretion of thought by +the brain, I can only reply that those who hold this language +have never been in America, and that they have never seen a +religious or a free nation. When they return from their +expedition, we shall hear what they have to say. + +There are persons in France who look upon republican +institutions as a temporary means of power, of wealth, and +distinction; men who are the condottieri of liberty, and who +fight for their own advantage, whatever be the colors they wear: +it is not to these that I address myself. But there are others +who look forward to the republican form of government as a +tranquil and lasting state, towards which modern society is daily +impelled by the ideas and manners of the time, and who sincerely +desire to prepare men to be free. When these men attack +religious opinions, they obey the dictates of their passions to +the prejudice of their interests. Despotism may govern without +faith, but liberty cannot. Religion is much more necessary in +the republic which they set forth in glowing colors than in the +monarchy which they attack; and it is more needed in democratic +republics than in any others. How is it possible that society +should escape destruction if the moral tie be not strengthened in +proportion as the political tie is relaxed? and what can be done +with a people which is its own master, if it be not submissive to +the Divinity? + + +Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic +Republic - Part III + + +Principal Causes Which Render Religion Powerful In America +Care taken by the Americans to separate the Church from the State +- The laws, public opinion, and even the exertions of the clergy +concur to promote this end - Influence of religion upon the mind +in the United States attributable to this cause - Reason of this +- What is the natural state of men with regard to religion at the +present time - What are the peculiar and incidental causes which +prevent men, in certain countries, from arriving at this state. + +The philosophers of the eighteenth century explained the +gradual decay of religious faith in a very simple manner. +Religious zeal, said they, must necessarily fail, the more +generally liberty is established and knowledge diffused. +Unfortunately, facts are by no means in accordance with their +theory. There are certain populations in Europe whose unbelief +is only equalled by their ignorance and their debasement, whilst +in America one of the freest and most enlightened nations in the +world fulfils all the outward duties of religious fervor. + +Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect +of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and +the longer I stayed there the more did I perceive the great +political consequences resulting from this state of things, to +which I was unaccustomed. In France I had almost always seen the +spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom pursuing courses +diametrically opposed to each other; but in America I found that +they were intimately united, and that they reigned in common over +the same country. My desire to discover the causes of this +phenomenon increased from day to day. In order to satisfy it I +questioned the members of all the different sects; and I more +especially sought the society of the clergy, who are the +depositaries of the different persuasions, and who are more +especially interested in their duration. As a member of the +Roman Catholic Church I was more particularly brought into +contact with several of its priests, with whom I became +intimately acquainted. To each of these men I expressed my +astonishment and I explained my doubts; I found that they +differed upon matters of detail alone; and that they mainly +attributed the peaceful dominion of religion in their country to +the separation of Church and State. I do not hesitate to affirm +that during my stay in America I did not meet with a single +individual, of the clergy or of the laity, who was not of the +same opinion upon this point. + +This led me to examine more attentively than I had hitherto +done, the station which the American clergy occupy in political +society. I learned with surprise that they filled no public +appointments; *f not one of them is to be met with in the +administration, and they are not even represented in the +legislative assemblies. In several States *g the law excludes +them from political life, public opinion in all. And when I came +to inquire into the prevailing spirit of the clergy I found that +most of its members seemed to retire of their own accord from the +exercise of power, and that they made it the pride of their +profession to abstain from politics. + +[Footnote f: Unless this term be applied to the functions which +many of them fill in the schools. Almost all education is +entrusted to the clergy.] + +[Footnote g: See the Constitution of New York, art. 7, Section 4: +- +"And whereas the ministers of the gospel are, by their +profession, dedicated to the service of God and the care of +souls, and ought not to be diverted from the great duties of +their functions: therefore no minister of the gospel, or priest +of any denomination whatsoever, shall at any time hereafter, +under any pretence or description whatever, be eligible to, or +capable of holding, any civil or military office or place within +this State." + +See also the constitutions of North Carolina, art. 31; +Virginia; South Carolina, art. I, Section 23; Kentucky, art. 2, +Section 26; Tennessee, art. 8, Section I; Louisiana, art. 2, +Section 22.] + +I heard them inveigh against ambition and deceit, under +whatever political opinions these vices might chance to lurk; but +I learned from their discourses that men are not guilty in the +eye of God for any opinions concerning political government which +they may profess with sincerity, any more than they are for their +mistakes in building a house or in driving a furrow. I perceived +that these ministers of the gospel eschewed all parties with the +anxiety attendant upon personal interest. These facts convinced +me that what I had been told was true; and it then became my +object to investigate their causes, and to inquire how it +happened that the real authority of religion was increased by a +state of things which diminished its apparent force: these causes +did not long escape my researches. + +The short space of threescore years can never content the +imagination of man; nor can the imperfect joys of this world +satisfy his heart. Man alone, of all created beings, displays a +natural contempt of existence, and yet a boundless desire to +exist; he scorns life, but he dreads annihilation. These +different feelings incessantly urge his soul to the contemplation +of a future state, and religion directs his musings thither. +Religion, then, is simply another form of hope; and it is no less +natural to the human heart than hope itself. Men cannot abandon +their religious faith without a kind of aberration of intellect, +and a sort of violent distortion of their true natures; but they +are invincibly brought back to more pious sentiments; for +unbelief is an accident, and faith is the only permanent state of +mankind. If we only consider religious institutions in a purely +human point of view, they may be said to derive an inexhaustible +element of strength from man himself, since they belong to one of +the constituent principles of human nature. + +I am aware that at certain times religion may strengthen +this influence, which originates in itself, by the artificial +power of the laws, and by the support of those temporal +institutions which direct society. Religions, intimately united +to the governments of the earth, have been known to exercise a +sovereign authority derived from the twofold source of terror and +of faith; but when a religion contracts an alliance of this +nature, I do not hesitate to affirm that it commits the same +error as a man who should sacrifice his future to his present +welfare; and in obtaining a power to which it has no claim, it +risks that authority which is rightfully its own. When a religion +founds its empire upon the desire of immortality which lives in +every human heart, it may aspire to universal dominion; but when +it connects itself with a government, it must necessarily adopt +maxims which are only applicable to certain nations. Thus, in +forming an alliance with a political power, religion augments its +authority over a few, and forfeits the hope of reigning over all. + +As long as a religion rests upon those sentiments which are +the consolation of all affliction, it may attract the affections +of mankind. But if it be mixed up with the bitter passions of +the world, it may be constrained to defend allies whom its +interests, and not the principle of love, have given to it; or to +repel as antagonists men who are still attached to its own +spirit, however opposed they may be to the powers to which it is +allied. The Church cannot share the temporal power of the State +without being the object of a portion of that animosity which the +latter excites. + +The political powers which seem to be most firmly +established have frequently no better guarantee for their +duration than the opinions of a generation, the interests of the +time, or the life of an individual. A law may modify the social +condition which seems to be most fixed and determinate; and with +the social condition everything else must change. The powers of +society are more or less fugitive, like the years which we spend +upon the earth; they succeed each other with rapidity, like the +fleeting cares of life; and no government has ever yet been +founded upon an invariable disposition of the human heart, or +upon an imperishable interest. + +As long as a religion is sustained by those feelings, +propensities, and passions which are found to occur under the +same forms, at all the different periods of history, it may defy +the efforts of time; or at least it can only be destroyed by +another religion. But when religion clings to the interests of +the world, it becomes almost as fragile a thing as the powers of +earth. It is the only one of them all which can hope for +immortality; but if it be connected with their ephemeral +authority, it shares their fortunes, and may fall with those +transient passions which supported them for a day. The alliance +which religion contracts with political powers must needs be +onerous to itself; since it does not require their assistance to +live, and by giving them its assistance to live, and by giving +them its assistance it may be exposed to decay. + +The danger which I have just pointed out always exists, but +it is not always equally visible. In some ages governments seem +to be imperishable; in others, the existence of society appears +to be more precarious than the life of man. Some constitutions +plunge the citizens into a lethargic somnolence, and others rouse +them to feverish excitement. When governments appear to be so +strong, and laws so stable, men do not perceive the dangers which +may accrue from a union of Church and State. When governments +display so much weakness, and laws so much inconstancy, the +danger is self-evident, but it is no longer possible to avoid it; +to be effectual, measures must be taken to discover its approach. + +In proportion as a nation assumes a democratic condition of +society, and as communities display democratic propensities, it +becomes more and more dangerous to connect religion with +political institutions; for the time is coming when authority +will be bandied from hand to hand, when political theories will +succeed each other, and when men, laws, and constitutions will +disappear, or be modified from day to day, and this, not for a +season only, but unceasingly. Agitation and mutability are +inherent in the nature of democratic republics, just as +stagnation and inertness are the law of absolute monarchies. + +If the Americans, who change the head of the Government once +in four years, who elect new legislators every two years, and +renew the provincial officers every twelvemonth; if the +Americans, who have abandoned the political world to the attempts +of innovators, had not placed religion beyond their reach, where +could it abide in the ebb and flow of human opinions? where would +that respect which belongs to it be paid, amidst the struggles of +faction? and what would become of its immortality, in the midst +of perpetual decay? The American clergy were the first to +perceive this truth, and to act in conformity with it. They saw +that they must renounce their religious influence, if they were +to strive for political power; and they chose to give up the +support of the State, rather than to share its vicissitudes. + +In America, religion is perhaps less powerful than it has +been at certain periods in the history of certain peoples; but +its influence is more lasting. It restricts itself to its own +resources, but of those none can deprive it: its circle is +limited to certain principles, but those principles are entirely +its own, and under its undisputed control. + +On every side in Europe we hear voices complaining of the +absence of religious faith, and inquiring the means of restoring +to religion some remnant of its pristine authority. It seems to +me that we must first attentively consider what ought to be the +natural state of men with regard to religion at the present time; +and when we know what we have to hope and to fear, we may discern +the end to which our efforts ought to be directed. + +The two great dangers which threaten the existence of +religions are schism and indifference. In ages of fervent +devotion, men sometimes abandon their religion, but they only +shake it off in order to adopt another. Their faith changes the +objects to which it is directed, but it suffers no decline. The +old religion then excites enthusiastic attachment or bitter +enmity in either party; some leave it with anger, others cling to +it with increased devotedness, and although persuasions differ, +irreligion is unknown. Such, however, is not the case when a +religious belief is secretly undermined by doctrines which may be +termed negative, since they deny the truth of one religion +without affirming that of any other. Progidious revolutions then +take place in the human mind, without the apparent co-operation +of the passions of man, and almost without his knowledge. Men +lose the objects of their fondest hopes, as if through +forgetfulness. They are carried away by an imperceptible current +which they have not the courage to stem, but which they follow +with regret, since it bears them from a faith they love, to a +scepticism that plunges them into despair. + +In ages which answer to this description, men desert their +religious opinions from lukewarmness rather than from dislike; +they do not reject them, but the sentiments by which they were +once fostered disappear. But if the unbeliever does not admit +religion to be true, he still considers it useful. Regarding +religious institutions in a human point of view, he acknowledges +their influence upon manners and legislation. He admits that +they may serve to make men live in peace with one another, and to +prepare them gently for the hour of death. He regrets the faith +which he has lost; and as he is deprived of a treasure which he +has learned to estimate at its full value, he scruples to take it +from those who still possess it. + +On the other hand, those who continue to believe are not +afraid openly to avow their faith. They look upon those who do +not share their persuasion as more worthy of pity than of +opposition; and they are aware that to acquire the esteem of the +unbelieving, they are not obliged to follow their example. They +are hostile to no one in the world; and as they do not consider +the society in which they live as an arena in which religion is +bound to face its thousand deadly foes, they love their +contemporaries, whilst they condemn their weaknesses and lament +their errors. + +As those who do not believe, conceal their incredulity; and +as those who believe, display their faith, public opinion +pronounces itself in favor of religion: love, support, and honor +are bestowed upon it, and it is only by searching the human soul +that we can detect the wounds which it has received. The mass of +mankind, who are never without the feeling of religion, do not +perceive anything at variance with the established faith. The +instinctive desire of a future life brings the crowd about the +altar, and opens the hearts of men to the precepts and +consolations of religion. + +But this picture is not applicable to us: for there are men +amongst us who have ceased to believe in Christianity, without +adopting any other religion; others who are in the perplexities +of doubt, and who already affect not to believe; and others, +again, who are afraid to avow that Christian faith which they +still cherish in secret. + +Amidst these lukewarm partisans and ardent antagonists a +small number of believers exist, who are ready to brave all +obstacles and to scorn all dangers in defence of their faith. +They have done violence to human weakness, in order to rise +superior to public opinion. Excited by the effort they have +made, they scarcely knew where to stop; and as they know that the +first use which the French made of independence was to attack +religion, they look upon their contemporaries with dread, and +they recoil in alarm from the liberty which their fellow-citizens +are seeking to obtain. As unbelief appears to them to be a +novelty, they comprise all that is new in one indiscriminate +animosity. They are at war with their age and country, and they +look upon every opinion which is put forth there as the necessary +enemy of the faith. + +Such is not the natural state of men with regard to religion +at the present day; and some extraordinary or incidental cause +must be at work in France to prevent the human mind from +following its original propensities and to drive it beyond the +limits at which it ought naturally to stop. I am intimately +convinced that this extraordinary and incidental cause is the +close connection of politics and religion. The unbelievers of +Europe attack the Christians as their political opponents, rather +than as their religious adversaries; they hate the Christian +religion as the opinion of a party, much more than as an error of +belief; and they reject the clergy less because they are the +representatives of the Divinity than because they are the allies +of authority. + +In Europe, Christianity has been intimately united to the +powers of the earth. Those powers are now in decay, and it is, +as it were, buried under their ruins. The living body of +religion has been bound down to the dead corpse of superannuated +polity: cut but the bonds which restrain it, and that which is +alive will rise once more. I know not what could restore the +Christian Church of Europe to the energy of its earlier days; +that power belongs to God alone; but it may be the effect of +human policy to leave the faith in the full exercise of the +strength which it still retains. + + +How The Instruction, The Habits, And The Practical Experience Of +The Americans Promote The Success Of Their Democratic +Institutions + + +What is to be understood by the instruction of the American +people - The human mind more superficially instructed in the +United States than in Europe - No one completely uninstructed - +Reason of this - Rapidity with which opinions are diffused even +in the uncultivated States of the West - Practical experience +more serviceable to the Americans than book-learning. + +I have but little to add to what I have already said +concerning the influence which the instruction and the habits of +the Americans exercise upon the maintenance of their political +institutions. + +America has hitherto produced very few writers of +distinction; it possesses no great historians, and not a single +eminent poet. The inhabitants of that country look upon what are +properly styled literary pursuits with a kind of disapprobation; +and there are towns of very second-rate importance in Europe in +which more literary works are annually published than in the +twenty-four States of the Union put together. The spirit of the +Americans is averse to general ideas; and it does not seek +theoretical discoveries. Neither politics nor manufactures direct +them to these occupations; and although new laws are perpetually +enacted in the United States, no great writers have hitherto +inquired into the general principles of their legislation. The +Americans have lawyers and commentators, but no jurists; *h and +they furnish examples rather than lessons to the world. The same +observation applies to the mechanical arts. In America, the +inventions of Europe are adopted with sagacity; they are +perfected, and adapted with admirable skill to the wants of the +country. Manufactures exist, but the science of manufacture is +not cultivated; and they have good workmen, but very few +inventors. Fulton was obliged to proffer his services to foreign +nations for a long time before he was able to devote them to his +own country. + + +[Footnote h: [This cannot be said with truth of the country of +Kent, Story, and Wheaton.]] + +The observer who is desirous of forming an opinion on the +state of instruction amongst the Anglo-Americans must consider +the same object from two different points of view. If he only +singles out the learned, he will be astonished to find how rare +they are; but if he counts the ignorant, the American people will +appear to be the most enlightened community in the world. The +whole population, as I observed in another place, is situated +between these two extremes. In New England, every citizen +receives the elementary notions of human knowledge; he is +moreover taught the doctrines and the evidences of his religion, +the history of his country, and the leading features of its +Constitution. In the States of Connecticut and Massachusetts, it +is extremely rare to find a man imperfectly acquainted with all +these things, and a person wholly ignorant of them is a sort of +phenomenon. + +When I compare the Greek and Roman republics with these +American States; the manuscript libraries of the former, and +their rude population, with the innumerable journals and the +enlightened people of the latter; when I remember all the +attempts which are made to judge the modern republics by the +assistance of those of antiquity, and to infer what will happen +in our time from what took place two thousand years ago, I am +tempted to burn my books, in order to apply none but novel ideas +to so novel a condition of society. + +What I have said of New England must not, however, be +applied indistinctly to the whole Union; as we advance towards +the West or the South, the instruction of the people diminishes. +In the States which are adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico, a certain +number of individuals may be found, as in our own countries, who +are devoid of the rudiments of instruction. But there is not a +single district in the United States sunk in complete ignorance; +and for a very simple reason: the peoples of Europe started from +the darkness of a barbarous condition, to advance toward the +light of civilization; their progress has been unequal; some of +them have improved apace, whilst others have loitered in their +course, and some have stopped, and are still sleeping upon the +way. *i + +[Footnote i: [In the Northern States the number of persons +destitute of instruction is inconsiderable, the largest number +being 241,152 in the State of New York (according to Spaulding's +"Handbook of American Statistics" for 1874); but in the South no +less than 1,516,339 whites and 2,671,396 colored persons are +returned as "illiterate."]] + +Such has not been the case in the United States. The Anglo- +Americans settled in a state of civilization, upon that territory +which their descendants occupy; they had not to begin to learn, +and it was sufficient for them not to forget. Now the children +of these same Americans are the persons who, year by year, +transport their dwellings into the wilds; and with their +dwellings their acquired information and their esteem for +knowledge. Education has taught them the utility of instruction, +and has enabled them to transmit that instruction to their +posterity. In the United States society has no infancy, but it +is born in man's estate. + +The Americans never use the word "peasant," because they +have no idea of the peculiar class which that term denotes; the +ignorance of more remote ages, the simplicity of rural life, and +the rusticity of the villager have not been preserved amongst +them; and they are alike unacquainted with the virtues, the +vices, the coarse habits, and the simple graces of an early stage +of civilization. At the extreme borders of the Confederate +States, upon the confines of society and of the wilderness, a +population of bold adventurers have taken up their abode, who +pierce the solitudes of the American woods, and seek a country +there, in order to escape that poverty which awaited them in +their native provinces. As soon as the pioneer arrives upon the +spot which is to serve him for a retreat, he fells a few trees +and builds a loghouse. Nothing can offer a more miserable aspect +than these isolated dwellings. The traveller who approaches one +of them towards nightfall, sees the flicker of the hearth-flame +through the chinks in the walls; and at night, if the wind rises, +he hears the roof of boughs shake to and fro in the midst of the +great forest trees. Who would not suppose that this poor hut is +the asylum of rudeness and ignorance? Yet no sort of comparison +can be drawn between the pioneer and the dwelling which shelters +him. Everything about him is primitive and unformed, but he is +himself the result of the labor and the experience of eighteen +centuries. He wears the dress, and he speaks the language of +cities; he is acquainted with the past, curious of the future, +and ready for argument upon the present; he is, in short, a +highly civilized being, who consents, for a time, to inhabit the +backwoods, and who penetrates into the wilds of the New World +with the Bible, an axe, and a file of newspapers. + +It is difficult to imagine the incredible rapidity with +which public opinion circulates in the midst of these deserts. *j +I do not think that so much intellectual intercourse takes place +in the most enlightened and populous districts of France. *k It +cannot be doubted that, in the United States, the instruction of +the people powerfully contributes to the support of a democratic +republic; and such must always be the case, I believe, where +instruction which awakens the understanding is not separated from +moral education which amends the heart. But I by no means +exaggerate this benefit, and I am still further from thinking, as +so many people do think in Europe, that men can be +instantaneously made citizens by teaching them to read and write. +True information is mainly derived from experience; and if the +Americans had not been gradually accustomed to govern themselves, +their book-learning would not assist them much at the present +day. + +[Footnote j: I travelled along a portion of the frontier of the +United States in a sort of cart which was termed the mail. We +passed, day and night, with great rapidity along the roads which +were scarcely marked out, through immense forests; when the gloom +of the woods became impenetrable the coachman lighted branches of +fir, and we journeyed along by the light they cast. From time to +time we came to a hut in the midst of the forest, which was a +post- office. The mail dropped an enormous bundle of letters at +the door of this isolated dwelling, and we pursued our way at +full gallop, leaving the inhabitants of the neighboring log +houses to send for their share of the treasure. + +[When the author visited America the locomotive and the +railroad were scarcely invented, and not yet introduced in the +United States. It is superfluous to point out the immense effect +of those inventions in extending civilization and developing the +resources of that vast continent. In 1831 there were 51 miles of +railway in the United States; in 1872 there were 60,000 miles of +railway.]] + +[Footnote k: In 1832 each inhabitant of Michigan paid a sum +equivalent to 1 fr. 22 cent. (French money) to the post-office +revenue, and each inhabitant of the Floridas paid 1 fr. 5 cent. +(See "National Calendar," 1833, p. 244.) In the same year each +inhabitant of the Departement du Nord paid 1 fr. 4 cent. to the +revenue of the French post-office. (See the "Compte rendu de +l'administration des Finances," 1833, p. 623.) Now the State of +Michigan only contained at that time 7 inhabitants per square +league and Florida only 5: the public instruction and the +commercial activity of these districts is inferior to that of +most of the States in the Union, whilst the Departement du Nord, +which contains 3,400 inhabitants per square league, is one of the +most enlightened and manufacturing parts of France.] + +I have lived a great deal with the people in the United +States, and I cannot express how much I admire their experience +and their good sense. An American should never be allowed to +speak of Europe; for he will then probably display a vast deal of +presumption and very foolish pride. He will take up with those +crude and vague notions which are so useful to the ignorant all +over the world. But if you question him respecting his own +country, the cloud which dimmed his intelligence will immediately +disperse; his language will become as clear and as precise as his +thoughts. He will inform you what his rights are, and by what +means he exercises them; he will be able to point out the customs +which obtain in the political world. You will find that he is +well acquainted with the rules of the administration, and that he +is familiar with the mechanism of the laws. The citizen of the +United States does not acquire his practical science and his +positive notions from books; the instruction he has acquired may +have prepared him for receiving those ideas, but it did not +furnish them. The American learns to know the laws by +participating in the act of legislation; and he takes a lesson in +the forms of government from governing. The great work of +society is ever going on beneath his eyes, and, as it were, under +his hands. + +In the United States politics are the end and aim of +education; in Europe its principal object is to fit men for +private life. The interference of the citizens in public affairs +is too rare an occurrence for it to be anticipated beforehand. +Upon casting a glance over society in the two hemispheres, these +differences are indicated even by its external aspect. + +In Europe we frequently introduce the ideas and the habits +of private life into public affairs; and as we pass at once from +the domestic circle to the government of the State, we may +frequently be heard to discuss the great interests of society in +the same manner in which we converse with our friends. The +Americans, on the other hand, transfuse the habits of public life +into their manners in private; and in their country the jury is +introduced into the games of schoolboys, and parliamentary forms +are observed in the order of a feast. + + +Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic +Republic - Part IV + +The Laws Contribute More To The Maintenance Of The Democratic +Republic In The United States Than The Physical Circumstances Of +The Country, And The Manners More Than The Laws + +All the nations of America have a democratic state of society - +Yet democratic institutions only subsist amongst the +Anglo-Americans - The Spaniards of South America, equally favored +by physical causes as the Anglo-Americans, unable to maintain a +democratic republic - Mexico, which has adopted the Constitution +of the United States, in the same predicament - The +Anglo-Americans of the West less able to maintain it than those +of the East - Reason of these different results. + +I have remarked that the maintenance of democratic +institutions in the United States is attributable to the +circumstances, the laws, and the manners of that country. *l Most +Europeans are only acquainted with the first of these three +causes, and they are apt to give it a preponderating importance +which it does not really possess. + +[Footnote l: I remind the reader of the general signification +which I give to the word "manners," namely, the moral and +intellectual characteristics of social man taken collectively.] + +It is true that the Anglo-Saxons settled in the New World in +a state of social equality; the low-born and the noble were not +to be found amongst them; and professional prejudices were always +as entirely unknown as the prejudices of birth. Thus, as the +condition of society was democratic, the empire of democracy was +established without difficulty. But this circumstance is by no +means peculiar to the United States; almost all the +trans-Atlantic colonies were founded by men equal amongst +themselves, or who became so by inhabiting them. In no one part +of the New World have Europeans been able to create an +aristocracy. Nevertheless, democratic institutions prosper +nowhere but in the United States. + +The American Union has no enemies to contend with; it stands +in the wilds like an island in the ocean. But the Spaniards of +South America were no less isolated by nature; yet their position +has not relieved them from the charge of standing armies. They +make war upon each other when they have no foreign enemies to +oppose; and the Anglo-American democracy is the only one which +has hitherto been able to maintain itself in peace. *m + +[Footnote m: [A remark which, since the great Civil War of +1861-65, ceases to be applicable.]] + +The territory of the Union presents a boundless field to +human activity, and inexhaustible materials for industry and +labor. The passion of wealth takes the place of ambition, and +the warmth of faction is mitigated by a sense of prosperity. But +in what portion of the globe shall we meet with more fertile +plains, with mightier rivers, or with more unexplored and +inexhaustible riches than in South America? + +Nevertheless, South America has been unable to maintain +democratic institutions. If the welfare of nations depended on +their being placed in a remote position, with an unbounded space +of habitable territory before them, the Spaniards of South +America would have no reason to complain of their fate. And +although they might enjoy less prosperity than the inhabitants of +the United States, their lot might still be such as to excite the +envy of some nations in Europe. There are, however, no nations +upon the face of the earth more miserable than those of South +America. + +Thus, not only are physical causes inadequate to produce +results analogous to those which occur in North America, but they +are unable to raise the population of South America above the +level of European States, where they act in a contrary direction. +Physical causes do not, therefore, affect the destiny of nations +so much as has been supposed. + +I have met with men in New England who were on the point of +leaving a country, where they might have remained in easy +circumstances, to go to seek their fortune in the wilds. Not far +from that district I found a French population in Canada, which +was closely crowded on a narrow territory, although the same +wilds were at hand; and whilst the emigrant from the United +States purchased an extensive estate with the earnings of a short +term of labor, the Canadian paid as much for land as he would +have done in France. Nature offers the solitudes of the New World +to Europeans; but they are not always acquainted with the means +of turning her gifts to account. Other peoples of America have +the same physical conditions of prosperity as the +Anglo-Americans, but without their laws and their manners; and +these peoples are wretched. The laws and manners of the +Anglo-Americans are therefore that efficient cause of their +greatness which is the object of my inquiry. + +I am far from supposing that the American laws are +preeminently good in themselves; I do not hold them to be +applicable to all democratic peoples; and several of them seem to +be dangerous, even in the United States. Nevertheless, it cannot +be denied that the American legislation, taken collectively, is +extremely well adapted to the genius of the people and the nature +of the country which it is intended to govern. The American laws +are therefore good, and to them must be attributed a large +portion of the success which attends the government of democracy +in America: but I do not believe them to be the principal cause +of that success; and if they seem to me to have more influence +upon the social happiness of the Americans than the nature of the +country, on the other hand there is reason to believe that their +effect is still inferior to that produced by the manners of the +people. + +The Federal laws undoubtedly constitute the most important +part of the legislation of the United States. Mexico, which is +not less fortunately situated than the Anglo-American Union, has +adopted the same laws, but is unable to accustom itself to the +government of democracy. Some other cause is therefore at work, +independently of those physical circumstances and peculiar laws +which enable the democracy to rule in the United States. + +Another still more striking proof may be adduced. Almost +all the inhabitants of the territory of the Union are the +descendants of a common stock; they speak the same language, they +worship God in the same manner, they are affected by the same +physical causes, and they obey the same laws. Whence, then, do +their characteristic differences arise? Why, in the Eastern +States of the Union, does the republican government display vigor +and regularity, and proceed with mature deliberation? Whence +does it derive the wisdom and the durability which mark its acts, +whilst in the Western States, on the contrary, society seems to +be ruled by the powers of chance? There, public business is +conducted with an irregularity and a passionate and feverish +excitement, which does not announce a long or sure duration. + +I am no longer comparing the Anglo-American States to +foreign nations; but I am contrasting them with each other, and +endeavoring to discover why they are so unlike. The arguments +which are derived from the nature of the country and the +difference of legislation are here all set aside. Recourse must +be had to some other cause; and what other cause can there be +except the manners of the people? + +It is in the Eastern States that the Anglo-Americans have +been longest accustomed to the government of democracy, and that +they have adopted the habits and conceived the notions most +favorable to its maintenance. Democracy has gradually penetrated +into their customs, their opinions, and the forms of social +intercourse; it is to be found in all the details of daily life +equally as in the laws. In the Eastern States the instruction +and practical education of the people have been most perfected, +and religion has been most thoroughly amalgamated with liberty. +Now these habits, opinions, customs, and convictions are +precisely the constituent elements of that which I have +denominated manners. + +In the Western States, on the contrary, a portion of the +same advantages is still wanting. Many of the Americans of the +West were born in the woods, and they mix the ideas and the +customs of savage life with the civilization of their parents. +Their passions are more intense; their religious morality less +authoritative; and their convictions less secure. The +inhabitants exercise no sort of control over their +fellow-citizens, for they are scarcely acquainted with each +other. The nations of the West display, to a certain extent, the +inexperience and the rude habits of a people in its infancy; for +although they are composed of old elements, their assemblage is +of recent date. + +The manners of the Americans of the United States are, then, +the real cause which renders that people the only one of the +American nations that is able to support a democratic government; +and it is the influence of manners which produces the different +degrees of order and of prosperity that may be distinguished in +the several Anglo-American democracies. Thus the effect which +the geographical position of a country may have upon the duration +of democratic institutions is exaggerated in Europe. Too much +importance is attributed to legislation, too little to manners. +These three great causes serve, no doubt, to regulate and direct +the American democracy; but if they were to be classed in their +proper order, I should say that the physical circumstances are +less efficient than the laws, and the laws very subordinate to +the manners of the people. I am convinced that the most +advantageous situation and the best possible laws cannot maintain +a constitution in spite of the manners of a country; whilst the +latter may turn the most unfavorable positions and the worst laws +to some advantage. The importance of manners is a common truth +to which study and experience incessantly direct our attention. +It may be regarded as a central point in the range of human +observation, and the common termination of all inquiry. So +seriously do I insist upon this head, that if I have hitherto +failed in making the reader feel the important influence which I +attribute to the practical experience, the habits, the opinions, +in short, to the manners of the Americans, upon the maintenance +of their institutions, I have failed in the principal object of +my work. + +Whether Laws And Manners Are Sufficient To Maintain Democratic +Institutions In Other Countries Besides America + +The Anglo-Americans, if transported into Europe, would be obliged +to modify their laws - Distinction to be made between democratic +institutions and American institutions - Democratic laws may be +conceived better than, or at least different from, those which +the American democracy has adopted - The example of America only +proves that it is possible to regulate democracy by the +assistance of manners and legislation. + +I have asserted that the success of democratic institutions +in the United States is more intimately connected with the laws +themselves, and the manners of the people, than with the nature +of the country. But does it follow that the same causes would of +themselves produce the same results, if they were put into +operation elsewhere; and if the country is no adequate substitute +for laws and manners, can laws and manners in their turn prove a +substitute for the country? It will readily be understood that +the necessary elements of a reply to this question are wanting: +other peoples are to be found in the New World besides the Anglo- +Americans, and as these people are affected by the same physical +circumstances as the latter, they may fairly be compared +together. But there are no nations out of America which have +adopted the same laws and manners, being destitute of the +physical advantages peculiar to the Anglo-Americans. No standard +of comparison therefore exists, and we can only hazard an opinion +upon this subject. + +It appears to me, in the first place, that a careful +distinction must be made between the institutions of the United +States and democratic institutions in general. When I reflect +upon the state of Europe, its mighty nations, its populous +cities, its formidable armies, and the complex nature of its +politics, I cannot suppose that even the Anglo-Americans, if they +were transported to our hemisphere, with their ideas, their +religion, and their manners, could exist without considerably +altering their laws. But a democratic nation may be imagined, +organized differently from the American people. It is not +impossible to conceive a government really established upon the +will of the majority; but in which the majority, repressing its +natural propensity to equality, should consent, with a view to +the order and the stability of the State, to invest a family or +an individual with all the prerogatives of the executive. A +democratic society might exist, in which the forces of the nation +would be more centralized than they are in the United States; the +people would exercise a less direct and less irresistible +influence upon public affairs, and yet every citizen invested +with certain rights would participate, within his sphere, in the +conduct of the government. The observations I made amongst the +Anglo-Americans induce me to believe that democratic +institutions of this kind, prudently introduced into society, so +as gradually to mix with the habits and to be interfused with the +opinions of the people, might subsist in other countries besides +America. If the laws of the United States were the only +imaginable democratic laws, or the most perfect which it is +possible to conceive, I should admit that the success of those +institutions affords no proof of the success of democratic +institutions in general, in a country less favored by natural +circumstances. But as the laws of America appear to me to be +defective in several respects, and as I can readily imagine +others of the same general nature, the peculiar advantages of +that country do not prove that democratic institutions cannot +succeed in a nation less favored by circumstances, if ruled by +better laws. + +If human nature were different in America from what it is +elsewhere; or if the social condition of the Americans engendered +habits and opinions amongst them different from those which +originate in the same social condition in the Old World, the +American democracies would afford no means of predicting what may +occur in other democracies. If the Americans displayed the same +propensities as all other democratic nations, and if their +legislators had relied upon the nature of the country and the +favor of circumstances to restrain those propensities within due +limits, the prosperity of the United States would be exclusively +attributable to physical causes, and it would afford no +encouragement to a people inclined to imitate their example, +without sharing their natural advantages. But neither of these +suppositions is borne out by facts. + +In America the same passions are to be met with as in +Europe; some originating in human nature, others in the +democratic condition of society. Thus in the United States I +found that restlessness of heart which is natural to men, when +all ranks are nearly equal and the chances of elevation are the +same to all. I found the democratic feeling of envy expressed +under a thousand different forms. I remarked that the people +frequently displayed, in the conduct of affairs, a consummate +mixture of ignorance and presumption; and I inferred that in +America, men are liable to the same failings and the same +absurdities as amongst ourselves. But upon examining the state +of society more attentively, I speedily discovered that the +Americans had made great and successful efforts to counteract +these imperfections of human nature, and to correct the natural +defects of democracy. Their divers municipal laws appeared to me +to be a means of restraining the ambition of the citizens within +a narrow sphere, and of turning those same passions which might +have worked havoc in the State, to the good of the township or +the parish. The American legislators have succeeded to a certain +extent in opposing the notion of rights to the feelings of envy; +the permanence of the religious world to the continual shifting +of politics; the experience of the people to its theoretical +ignorance; and its practical knowledge of business to +the impatience of its desires. + +The Americans, then, have not relied upon the nature of +their country to counterpoise those dangers which originate in +their Constitution and in their political laws. To evils which +are common to all democratic peoples they have applied remedies +which none but themselves had ever thought of before; and +although they were the first to make the experiment, they have +succeeded in it. + +The manners and laws of the Americans are not the only ones +which may suit a democratic people; but the Americans have shown +that it would be wrong to despair of regulating democracy by the +aid of manners and of laws. If other nations should borrow this +general and pregnant idea from the Americans, without however +intending to imitate them in the peculiar application which they +have made of it; if they should attempt to fit themselves for +that social condition, which it seems to be the will of +Providence to impose upon the generations of this age, and so to +escape from the despotism or the anarchy which threatens them; +what reason is there to suppose that their efforts would not be +crowned with success? The organization and the establishment of +democracy in Christendom is the great political problem of the +time. The Americans, unquestionably, have not resolved this +problem, but they furnish useful data to those who undertake the +task. + +Importance Of What Precedes With Respect To The State Of Europe + +It may readily be discovered with what intention I undertook +the foregoing inquiries. The question here discussed is +interesting not only to the United States, but to the whole +world; it concerns, not a nation, but all mankind. If those +nations whose social condition is democratic could only remain +free as long as they are inhabitants of the wilds, we could not +but despair of the future destiny of the human race; for +democracy is rapidly acquiring a more extended sway, and the +wilds are gradually peopled with men. If it were true that laws +and manners are insufficient to maintain democratic institutions, +what refuge would remain open to the nations, except the +despotism of a single individual? I am aware that there are many +worthy persons at the present time who are not alarmed at this +latter alternative, and who are so tired of liberty as to be glad +of repose, far from those storms by which it is attended. But +these individuals are ill acquainted with the haven towards which +they are bound. They are so deluded by their recollections, as +to judge the tendency of absolute power by what it was formerly, +and not by what it might become at the present time. + +If absolute power were re-established amongst the democratic +nations of Europe, I am persuaded that it would assume a new +form, and appear under features unknown to our forefathers. +There was a time in Europe when the laws and the consent of the +people had invested princes with almost unlimited authority; but +they scarcely ever availed themselves of it. I do not speak of +the prerogatives of the nobility, of the authority of supreme +courts of justice, of corporations and their chartered rights, or +of provincial privileges, which served to break the blows of the +sovereign authority, and to maintain a spirit of resistance in +the nation. Independently of these political institutions - +which, however opposed they might be to personal liberty, served +to keep alive the love of freedom in the mind of the public, and +which may be esteemed to have been useful in this respect - the +manners and opinions of the nation confined the royal authority +within barriers which were not less powerful, although they were +less conspicuous. Religion, the affections of the people, the +benevolence of the prince, the sense of honor, family pride, +provincial prejudices, custom, and public opinion limited the +power of kings, and restrained their authority within an +invisible circle. The constitution of nations was despotic at +that time, but their manners were free. Princes had the right, +but they had neither the means nor the desire, of doing whatever +they pleased. + +But what now remains of those barriers which formerly +arrested the aggressions of tyranny? Since religion has lost its +empire over the souls of men, the most prominent boundary which +divided good from evil is overthrown; the very elements of the +moral world are indeterminate; the princes and the peoples of the +earth are guided by chance, and none can define the natural +limits of despotism and the bounds of license. Long revolutions +have forever destroyed the respect which surrounded the rulers of +the State; and since they have been relieved from the burden of +public esteem, princes may henceforward surrender themselves +without fear to the seductions of arbitrary power. + +When kings find that the hearts of their subjects are turned +towards them, they are clement, because they are conscious of +their strength, and they are chary of the affection of their +people, because the affection of their people is the bulwark of +the throne. A mutual interchange of good-will then takes place +between the prince and the people, which resembles the gracious +intercourse of domestic society. The subjects may murmur at the +sovereign's decree, but they are grieved to displease him; and +the sovereign chastises his subjects with the light hand of +parental affection. + +But when once the spell of royalty is broken in the tumult +of revolution; when successive monarchs have crossed the throne, +so as alternately to display to the people the weakness of their +right and the harshness of their power, the sovereign is no +longer regarded by any as the Father of the State, and he is +feared by all as its master. If he be weak, he is despised; if +he be strong, he is detested. He himself is full of animosity +and alarm; he finds that he is as a stranger in his own country, +and he treats his subjects like conquered enemies. + +When the provinces and the towns formed so many different +nations in the midst of their common country, each of them had a +will of its own, which was opposed to the general spirit of +subjection; but now that all the parts of the same empire, after +having lost their immunities, their customs, their prejudices, +their traditions, and their names, are subjected and accustomed +to the same laws, it is not more difficult to oppress them +collectively than it was formerly to oppress them singly. + +Whilst the nobles enjoyed their power, and indeed long after +that power was lost, the honor of aristocracy conferred an +extraordinary degree of force upon their personal opposition. +They afford instances of men who, notwithstanding their weakness, +still entertained a high opinion of their personal value, and +dared to cope single-handed with the efforts of the public +authority. But at the present day, when all ranks are more and +more confounded, when the individual disappears in the throng, +and is easily lost in the midst of a common obscurity, when the +honor of monarchy has almost lost its empire without being +succeeded by public virtue, and when nothing can enable man to +rise above himself, who shall say at what point the exigencies of +power and the servility of weakness will stop? + +As long as family feeling was kept alive, the antagonist of +oppression was never alone; he looked about him, and found his +clients, his hereditary friends, and his kinsfolk. If this +support was wanting, he was sustained by his ancestors and +animated by his posterity. But when patrimonial estates are +divided, and when a few years suffice to confound the +distinctions of a race, where can family feeling be found? What +force can there be in the customs of a country which has changed +and is still perpetually changing, its aspect; in which every act +of tyranny has a precedent, and every crime an example; in which +there is nothing so old that its antiquity can save it from +destruction, and nothing so unparalleled that its novelty can +prevent it from being done? What resistance can be offered by +manners of so pliant a make that they have already often yielded? +What strength can even public opinion have retained, when no +twenty persons are connected by a common tie; when not a man, nor +a family, nor chartered corporation, nor class, nor free +institution, has the power of representing or exerting that +opinion; and when every citizen - being equally weak, equally +poor, and equally dependent - has only his personal impotence to +oppose to the organized force of the government? + +The annals of France furnish nothing analogous to the +condition in which that country might then be thrown. But it may +more aptly be assimilated to the times of old, and to those +hideous eras of Roman oppression, when the manners of the people +were corrupted, their traditions obliterated, their habits +destroyed, their opinions shaken, and freedom, expelled from the +laws, could find no refuge in the land; when nothing protected +the citizens, and the citizens no longer protected themselves; +when human nature was the sport of man, and princes wearied out +the clemency of Heaven before they exhausted the patience of +their subjects. Those who hope to revive the monarchy of Henry +IV or of Louis XIV, appear to me to be afflicted with mental +blindness; and when I consider the present condition of several +European nations - a condition to which all the others tend - I +am led to believe that they will soon be left with no other +alternative than democratic liberty, or the tyranny of the +Caesars. *n + +[Footnote n: [This prediction of the return of France to imperial +despotism, and of the true character of that despotic power, was +written in 1832, and realized to the letter in 1852.]] + +And indeed it is deserving of consideration, whether men are +to be entirely emancipated or entirely enslaved; whether their +rights are to be made equal, or wholly taken away from them. If +the rulers of society were reduced either gradually to raise the +crowd to their own level, or to sink the citizens below that of +humanity, would not the doubts of many be resolved, the +consciences of many be healed, and the community prepared to make +great sacrifices with little difficulty? In that case, the +gradual growth of democratic manners and institutions should be +regarded, not as the best, but as the only means of preserving +freedom; and without liking the government of democracy, it might +be adopted as the most applicable and the fairest remedy for the +present ills of society. + +It is difficult to associate a people in the work of +government; but it is still more difficult to supply it with +experience, and to inspire it with the feelings which it requires +in order to govern well. I grant that the caprices of democracy +are perpetual; its instruments are rude; its laws imperfect. But +if it were true that soon no just medium would exist between the +empire of democracy and the dominion of a single arm, should we +not rather incline towards the former than submit voluntarily to +the latter? And if complete equality be our fate, is it not +better to be levelled by free institutions than by despotic +power? + +Those who, after having read this book, should imagine that +my intention in writing it has been to propose the laws and +manners of the Anglo-Americans for the imitation of all +democratic peoples, would commit a very great mistake; they must +have paid more attention to the form than to the substance of my +ideas. My aim has been to show, by the example of America, that +laws, and especially manners, may exist which will allow a +democratic people to remain free. But I am very far from +thinking that we ought to follow the example of the American +democracy, and copy the means which it has employed to attain its +ends; for I am well aware of the influence which the nature of a +country and its political precedents exercise upon a +constitution; and I should regard it as a great misfortune for +mankind if liberty were to exist all over the world under the +same forms. + +But I am of opinion that if we do not succeed in gradually +introducing democratic institutions into France, and if we +despair of imparting to the citizens those ideas and sentiments +which first prepare them for freedom, and afterwards allow them +to enjoy it, there will be no independence at all, either for the +middling classes or the nobility, for the poor or for the rich, +but an equal tyranny over all; and I foresee that if the +peaceable empire of the majority be not founded amongst us in +time, we shall sooner or later arrive at the unlimited authority +of a single despot. + +Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races In The United +States - Part I + +The Present And Probable Future Condition Of The Three Races +Which Inhabit The Territory Of The United States + +The principal part of the task which I had imposed upon +myself is now performed. I have shown, as far as I was able, the +laws and the manners of the American democracy. Here I might +stop; but the reader would perhaps feel that I had not satisfied +his expectations. + +The absolute supremacy of democracy is not all that we meet +with in America; the inhabitants of the New World may be +considered from more than one point of view. In the course of +this work my subject has often led me to speak of the Indians and +the Negroes; but I have never been able to stop in order to show +what place these two races occupy in the midst of the democratic +people whom I was engaged in describing. I have mentioned in +what spirit, and according to what laws, the Anglo-American Union +was formed; but I could only glance at the dangers which menace +that confederation, whilst it was equally impossible for me to +give a detailed account of its chances of duration, independently +of its laws and manners. When speaking of the united republican +States, I hazarded no conjectures upon the permanence of +republican forms in the New World, and when making frequent +allusion to the commercial activity which reigns in the Union, I +was unable to inquire into the future condition of the Americans +as a commercial people. + +These topics are collaterally connected with my subject +without forming a part of it; they are American without being +democratic; and to portray democracy has been my principal aim. +It was therefore necessary to postpone these questions, which I +now take up as the proper termination of my work. + +The territory now occupied or claimed by the American Union +spreads from the shores of the Atlantic to those of the Pacific +Ocean. On the east and west its limits are those of the +continent itself. On the south it advances nearly to the tropic, +and it extends upwards to the icy regions of the North. The human +beings who are scattered over this space do not form, as in +Europe, so many branches of the same stock. Three races, +naturally distinct, and, I might almost say, hostile to each +other, are discoverable amongst them at the first glance. Almost +insurmountable barriers had been raised between them by education +and by law, as well as by their origin and outward +characteristics; but fortune has brought them together on the +same soil, where, although they are mixed, they do not +amalgamate, and each race fulfils its destiny apart. + +Amongst these widely differing families of men, the first +which attracts attention, the superior in intelligence, in power +and in enjoyment, is the white or European, the man pre-eminent; +and in subordinate grades, the negro and the Indian. These two +unhappy races have nothing in common; neither birth, nor +features, nor language, nor habits. Their only resemblance lies +in their misfortunes. Both of them occupy an inferior rank in +the country they inhabit; both suffer from tyranny; and if their +wrongs are not the same, they originate, at any rate, with the +same authors. + +If we reasoned from what passes in the world, we should +almost say that the European is to the other races of mankind, +what man is to the lower animals; - he makes them subservient to +his use; and when he cannot subdue, he destroys them. Oppression +has, at one stroke, deprived the descendants of the Africans of +almost all the privileges of humanity. The negro of the United +States has lost all remembrance of his country; the language +which his forefathers spoke is never heard around him; he abjured +their religion and forgot their customs when he ceased to belong +to Africa, without acquiring any claim to European privileges. +But he remains half way between the two communities; sold by the +one, repulsed by the other; finding not a spot in the universe to +call by the name of country, except the faint image of a home +which the shelter of his master's roof affords. + +The negro has no family; woman is merely the temporary +companion of his pleasures, and his children are upon an equality +with himself from the moment of their birth. Am I to call it a +proof of God's mercy or a visitation of his wrath, that man in +certain states appears to be insensible to his extreme +wretchedness, and almost affects, with a depraved taste, the +cause of his misfortunes? The negro, who is plunged in this +abyss of evils, scarcely feels his own calamitous situation. +Violence made him a slave, and the habit of servitude gives him +the thoughts and desires of a slave; he admires his tyrants more +than he hates them, and finds his joy and his pride in the +servile imitation of those who oppress him: his understanding is +degraded to the level of his soul. + +The negro enters upon slavery as soon as he is born: nay, he +may have been purchased in the womb, and have begun his slavery +before he began his existence. Equally devoid of wants and of +enjoyment, and useless to himself, he learns, with his first +notions of existence, that he is the property of another, who has +an interest in preserving his life, and that the care of it does +not devolve upon himself; even the power of thought appears to +him a useless gift of Providence, and he quietly enjoys the +privileges of his debasement. If he becomes free, independence +is often felt by him to be a heavier burden than slavery; for +having learned, in the course of his life, to submit to +everything except reason, he is too much unacquainted with her +dictates to obey them. A thousand new desires beset him, and he +is destitute of the knowledge and energy necessary to resist +them: these are masters which it is necessary to contend with, +and he has learnt only to submit and obey. In short, he sinks to +such a depth of wretchedness, that while servitude brutalizes, +liberty destroys him. + +Oppression has been no less fatal to the Indian than to the +negro race, but its effects are different. Before the arrival of +white men in the New World, the inhabitants of North America +lived quietly in their woods, enduring the vicissitudes and +practising the virtues and vices common to savage nations. The +Europeans, having dispersed the Indian tribes and driven them +into the deserts, condemned them to a wandering life full of +inexpressible sufferings. + +Savage nations are only controlled by opinion and by custom. +When the North American Indians had lost the sentiment of +attachment to their country; when their families were dispersed, +their traditions obscured, and the chain of their recollections +broken; when all their habits were changed, and their wants +increased beyond measure, European tyranny rendered them more +disorderly and less civilized than they were before. The moral +and physical condition of these tribes continually grew worse, +and they became more barbarous as they became more wretched. +Nevertheless, the Europeans have not been able to metamorphose +the character of the Indians; and though they have had power to +destroy them, they have never been able to make them submit to +the rules of civilized society. + +The lot of the negro is placed on the extreme limit of +servitude, while that of the Indian lies on the uttermost verge +of liberty; and slavery does not produce more fatal effects upon +the first, than independence upon the second. The negro has lost +all property in his own person, and he cannot dispose of his +existence without committing a sort of fraud: but the savage is +his own master as soon as he is able to act; parental authority +is scarcely known to him; he has never bent his will to that of +any of his kind, nor learned the difference between voluntary +obedience and a shameful subjection; and the very name of law is +unknown to him. To be free, with him, signifies to escape from +all the shackles of society. As he delights in this barbarous +independence, and would rather perish than sacrifice the least +part of it, civilization has little power over him. + +The negro makes a thousand fruitless efforts to insinuate +himself amongst men who repulse him; he conforms to the tastes of +his oppressors, adopts their opinions, and hopes by imitating +them to form a part of their community. Having been told from +infancy that his race is naturally inferior to that of the +whites, he assents to the proposition and is ashamed of his own +nature. In each of his features he discovers a trace of slavery, +and, if it were in his power, he would willingly rid himself of +everything that makes him what he is. + +The Indian, on the contrary, has his imagination inflated +with the pretended nobility of his origin, and lives and dies in +the midst of these dreams of pride. Far from desiring to conform +his habits to ours, he loves his savage life as the +distinguishing mark of his race, and he repels every advance to +civilization, less perhaps from the hatred which he entertains +for it, than from a dread of resembling the Europeans. *a While +he has nothing to oppose to our perfection in the arts but the +resources of the desert, to our tactics nothing but undisciplined +courage; whilst our well-digested plans are met by the +spontaneous instincts of savage life, who can wonder if he fails +in this unequal contest? + +[Footnote a: The native of North America retains his opinions and +the most insignificant of his habits with a degree of tenacity +which has no parallel in history. For more than two hundred +years the wandering tribes of North America have had daily +intercourse with the whites, and they have never derived from +them either a custom or an idea. Yet the Europeans have +exercised a powerful influence over the savages: they have made +them more licentious, but not more European. In the summer of +1831 I happened to be beyond Lake Michigan, at a place called +Green Bay, which serves as the extreme frontier between the +United States and the Indians on the north-western side. Here I +became acquainted with an American officer, Major H., who, after +talking to me at length on the inflexibility of the Indian +character, related the following fact: - "I formerly knew a young +Indian," said he, "who had been educated at a college in New +England, where he had greatly distinguished himself, and had +acquired the external appearance of a member of civilized +society. When the war broke out between ourselves and the +English in 1810, I saw this young man again; he was serving in +our army, at the head of the warriors of his tribe, for the +Indians were admitted amongst the ranks of the Americans, upon +condition that they would abstain from their horrible custom of +scalping their victims. On the evening of the battle of . . ., +C. came and sat himself down by the fire of our bivouac. I asked +him what had been his fortune that day: he related his exploits; +and growing warm and animated by the recollection of them, he +concluded by suddenly opening the breast of his coat, saying, +'You must not betray me - see here!' And I actually beheld," said +the Major, "between his body and his shirt, the skin and hair of +an English head, still dripping with gore."] + +The negro, who earnestly desires to mingle his race with +that of the European, cannot effect if; while the Indian, who +might succeed to a certain extent, disdains to make the attempt. +The servility of the one dooms him to slavery, the pride of the +other to death. + +I remember that while I was travelling through the forests +which still cover the State of Alabama, I arrived one day at the +log house of a pioneer. I did not wish to penetrate into the +dwelling of the American, but retired to rest myself for a while +on the margin of a spring, which was not far off, in the woods. +While I was in this place (which was in the neighborhood of the +Creek territory), an Indian woman appeared, followed by a +negress, and holding by the hand a little white girl of five or +six years old, whom I took to be the daughter of the pioneer. A +sort of barbarous luxury set off the costume of the Indian; rings +of metal were hanging from her nostrils and ears; her hair, which +was adorned with glass beads, fell loosely upon her shoulders; +and I saw that she was not married, for she still wore that +necklace of shells which the bride always deposits on the nuptial +couch. The negress was clad in squalid European garments. They +all three came and seated themselves upon the banks of the +fountain; and the young Indian, taking the child in her arms, +lavished upon her such fond caresses as mothers give; while the +negress endeavored by various little artifices to attract the +attention of the young Creole. + +The child displayed in her slightest gestures a +consciousness of superiority which formed a strange contrast with +her infantine weakness; as if she received the attentions of her +companions with a sort of condescension. The negress was seated +on the ground before her mistress, watching her smallest desires, +and apparently divided between strong affection for the child and +servile fear; whilst the savage displayed, in the midst of her +tenderness, an air of freedom and of pride which was almost +ferocious. I had approached the group, and I contemplated them +in silence; but my curiosity was probably displeasing to the +Indian woman, for she suddenly rose, pushed the child roughly +from her, and giving me an angry look plunged into the thicket. I +had often chanced to see individuals met together in the same +place, who belonged to the three races of men which people North +America. I had perceived from many different results the +preponderance of the whites. But in the picture which I have +just been describing there was something peculiarly touching; a +bond of affection here united the oppressors with the oppressed, +and the effort of nature to bring them together rendered still +more striking the immense distance placed between them by +prejudice and by law. + +The Present And Probable Future Condition Of The Indian Tribes +Which Inhabit The Territory Possessed By The Union + +Gradual disappearance of the native tribes - Manner in which it +takes place -Miseries accompanying the forced migrations of the +Indians - The savages of North America had only two ways of +escaping destruction; war or civilization -They are no longer +able to make war - Reasons why they refused to become civilized +when it was in their power, and why they cannot become so now +that they desire it - Instance of the Creeks and Cherokees - +Policy of the particular States towards these Indians - Policy of +the Federal Government. + +None of the Indian tribes which formerly inhabited the +territory of New England - the Naragansetts, the Mohicans, the +Pecots - have any existence but in the recollection of man. The +Lenapes, who received William Penn, a hundred and fifty years +ago, upon the banks of the Delaware, have disappeared; and I +myself met with the last of the Iroquois, who were begging alms. +The nations I have mentioned formerly covered the country to the +sea-coast; but a traveller at the present day must penetrate more +than a hundred leagues into the interior of the continent to find +an Indian. Not only have these wild tribes receded, but they are +destroyed; *b and as they give way or perish, an immense and +increasing people fills their place. There is no instance upon +record of so prodigious a growth, or so rapid a destruction: the +manner in which the latter change takes place is not difficult to +describe. + +[Footnote b: In the thirteen original States there are only 6,273 +Indians remaining. (See Legislative Documents, 20th Congress, +No. 117, p. 90.) [The decrease in now far greater, and is verging +on extinction. See page 360 of this volume.]] + +When the Indians were the sole inhabitants of the wilds from +whence they have since been expelled, their wants were few. +Their arms were of their own manufacture, their only drink was +the water of the brook, and their clothes consisted of the skins +of animals, whose flesh furnished them with food. + +The Europeans introduced amongst the savages of North +America fire-arms, ardent spirits, and iron: they taught them to +exchange for manufactured stuffs, the rough garments which had +previously satisfied their untutored simplicity. Having acquired +new tastes, without the arts by which they could be gratified, +the Indians were obliged to have recourse to the workmanship of +the whites; but in return for their productions the savage had +nothing to offer except the rich furs which still abounded in his +woods. Hence the chase became necessary, not merely to provide +for his subsistence, but in order to procure the only objects of +barter which he could furnish to Europe. *c Whilst the wants of +the natives were thus increasing, their resources continued to +diminish. + +[Footnote c: Messrs. Clarke and Cass, in their Report to Congress +on February 4, 1829, p. 23, expressed themselves thus: - "The +time when the Indians generally could supply themselves with food +and clothing, without any of the articles of civilized life, has +long since passed away. The more remote tribes, beyond the +Mississippi, who live where immense herds of buffalo are yet to +be found and who follow those animals in their periodical +migrations, could more easily than any others recur to the habits +of their ancestors, and live without the white man or any of his +manufactures. But the buffalo is constantly receding. The +smaller animals, the bear, the deer, the beaver, the otter, the +muskrat, etc., principally minister to the comfort and support of +the Indians; and these cannot be taken without guns, ammunition, +and traps. Among the Northwestern Indians particularly, the labor +of supplying a family with food is excessive. Day after day is +spent by the hunter without success, and during this interval his +family must subsist upon bark or roots, or perish. Want and +misery are around them and among them. Many die every winter +from actual starvation." + +The Indians will not live as Europeans live, and yet they +can neither subsist without them, nor exactly after the fashion +of their fathers. This is demonstrated by a fact which I +likewise give upon official authority. Some Indians of a tribe on +the banks of Lake Superior had killed a European; the American +government interdicted all traffic with the tribe to which the +guilty parties belonged, until they were delivered up to justice. +This measure had the desired effect.] + +From the moment when a European settlement is formed in the +neighborhood of the territory occupied by the Indians, the beasts +of chase take the alarm. *d Thousands of savages, wandering in +the forests and destitute of any fixed dwelling, did not disturb +them; but as soon as the continuous sounds of European labor are +heard in their neighborhood, they begin to flee away, and retire +to the West, where their instinct teaches them that they will +find deserts of immeasurable extent. "The buffalo is constantly +receding," say Messrs. Clarke and Cass in their Report of the +year 1829; "a few years since they approached the base of the +Alleghany; and a few years hence they may even be rare upon the +immense plains which extend to the base of the Rocky Mountains." +I have been assured that this effect of the approach of the +whites is often felt at two hundred leagues' distance from their +frontier. Their influence is thus exerted over tribes whose name +is unknown to them; and who suffer the evils of usurpation long +before they are acquainted with the authors of their distress. *e + +[Footnote d: "Five years ago," (says Volney in his "Tableau des +Etats-Unis," p. 370) "in going from Vincennes to Kaskaskia, a +territory which now forms part of the State of Illinois, but +which at the time I mention was completely wild (1797), you could +not cross a prairie without seeing herds of from four to five +hundred buffaloes. There are now none remaining; they swam +across the Mississippi to escape from the hunters, and more +particularly from the bells of the American cows."] + +[Footnote e: The truth of what I here advance may be easily +proved by consulting the tabular statement of Indian tribes +inhabiting the United States and their territories. (Legislative +Documents, 20th Congress, No. 117, pp. 90-105.) It is there shown +that the tribes in the centre of America are rapidly decreasing, +although the Europeans are still at a considerable distance from +them.] + +Bold adventurers soon penetrate into the country the Indians +have deserted, and when they have advanced about fifteen or +twenty leagues from the extreme frontiers of the whites, they +begin to build habitations for civilized beings in the midst of +the wilderness. This is done without difficulty, as the +territory of a hunting-nation is ill-defined; it is the common +property of the tribe, and belongs to no one in particular, so +that individual interests are not concerned in the protection of +any part of it. + +A few European families, settled in different situations at +a considerable distance from each other, soon drive away the wild +animals which remain between their places of abode. The Indians, +who had previously lived in a sort of abundance, then find it +difficult to subsist, and still more difficult to procure the +articles of barter which they stand in need of. + +To drive away their game is to deprive them of the means of +existence, as effectually as if the fields of our agriculturists +were stricken with barrenness; and they are reduced, like +famished wolves, to prowl through the forsaken woods in quest of +prey. Their instinctive love of their country attaches them to +the soil which gave them birth, *f even after it has ceased to +yield anything but misery and death. At length they are +compelled to acquiesce, and to depart: they follow the traces of +the elk, the buffalo, and the beaver, and are guided by these +wild animals in the choice of their future country. Properly +speaking, therefore, it is not the Europeans who drive away the +native inhabitants of America; it is famine which compels them to +recede; a happy distinction which had escaped the casuists of +former times, and for which we are indebted to modern discovery! + +[Footnote f: "The Indians," say Messrs. Clarke and Cass in their +Report to Congress, p. 15, "are attached to their country by the +same feelings which bind us to ours; and, besides, there are +certain superstitious notions connected with the alienation of +what the Great Spirit gave to their ancestors, which operate +strongly upon the tribes who have made few or no cessions, but +which are gradually weakened as our intercourse with them is +extended. 'We will not sell the spot which contains the bones of +our fathers,' is almost always the first answer to a proposition +for a sale."] + +It is impossible to conceive the extent of the sufferings +which attend these forced emigrations. They are undertaken by a +people already exhausted and reduced; and the countries to which +the newcomers betake themselves are inhabited by other tribes +which receive them with jealous hostility. Hunger is in the +rear; war awaits them, and misery besets them on all sides. In +the hope of escaping from such a host of enemies, they separate, +and each individual endeavors to procure the means of supporting +his existence in solitude and secrecy, living in the immensity of +the desert like an outcast in civilized society. The social tie, +which distress had long since weakened, is then dissolved; they +have lost their country, and their people soon desert them: their +very families are obliterated; the names they bore in common are +forgotten, their language perishes, and all traces of their +origin disappear. Their nation has ceased to exist, except in the +recollection of the antiquaries of America and a few of the +learned of Europe. + +I should be sorry to have my reader suppose that I am +coloring the picture too highly; I saw with my own eyes several +of the cases of misery which I have been describing; and I was +the witness of sufferings which I have not the power to portray. + +At the end of the year 1831, whilst I was on the left bank +of the Mississippi at a place named by Europeans, Memphis, there +arrived a numerous band of Choctaws (or Chactas, as they are +called by the French in Louisiana). These savages had left their +country, and were endeavoring to gain the right bank of the +Mississippi, where they hoped to find an asylum which had been +promised them by the American government. It was then the middle +of winter, and the cold was unusually severe; the snow had frozen +hard upon the ground, and the river was drifting huge masses of +ice. The Indians had their families with them; and they brought +in their train the wounded and sick, with children newly born, +and old men upon the verge of death. They possessed neither +tents nor wagons, but only their arms and some provisions. I saw +them embark to pass the mighty river, and never will that solemn +spectacle fade from my remembrance. No cry, no sob was heard +amongst the assembled crowd; all were silent. Their calamities +were of ancient date, and they knew them to be irremediable. The +Indians had all stepped into the bark which was to carry them +across, but their dogs remained upon the bank. As soon as these +animals perceived that their masters were finally leaving the +shore, they set up a dismal howl, and, plunging all together into +the icy waters of the Mississippi, they swam after the boat. + +The ejectment of the Indians very often takes place at the +present day, in a regular, and, as it were, a legal manner. When +the European population begins to approach the limit of the +desert inhabited by a savage tribe, the government of the United +States usually dispatches envoys to them, who assemble the +Indians in a large plain, and having first eaten and drunk with +them, accost them in the following manner: "What have you to do +in the land of your fathers? Before long, you must dig up their +bones in order to live. In what respect is the country you +inhabit better than another? Are there no woods, marshes, or +prairies, except where you dwell? And can you live nowhere but +under your own sun? Beyond those mountains which you see at the +horizon, beyond the lake which bounds your territory on the west, +there lie vast countries where beasts of chase are found in great +abundance; sell your lands to us, and go to live happily in those +solitudes." After holding this language, they spread before the +eyes of the Indians firearms, woollen garments, kegs of brandy, +glass necklaces, bracelets of tinsel, earrings, and +looking-glasses. *g If, when they have beheld all these riches, +they still hesitate, it is insinuated that they have not the +means of refusing their required consent, and that the government +itself will not long have the power of protecting them in their +rights. What are they to do? Half convinced, and half +compelled, they go to inhabit new deserts, where the importunate +whites will not let them remain ten years in tranquillity. In +this manner do the Americans obtain, at a very low price, whole +provinces, which the richest sovereigns of Europe could not +purchase. *h + +[Footnote g: See, in the Legislative Documents of Congress (Doc. +117), the narrative of what takes place on these occasions. This +curious passage is from the above-mentioned report, made to +Congress by Messrs. Clarke and Cass in February, 1829. Mr. Cass +is now the Secretary of War. + +"The Indians," says the report, "reach the treaty-ground +poor and almost naked. Large quantities of goods are taken there +by the traders, and are seen and examined by the Indians. The +women and children become importunate to have their wants +supplied, and their influence is soon exerted to induce a sale. +Their improvidence is habitual and unconquerable. The +gratification of his immediate wants and desires is the ruling +passion of an Indian. The expectation of future advantages +seldom produces much effect. The experience of the past is lost, +and the prospects of the future disregarded. It would be utterly +hopeless to demand a cession of land, unless the means were at +hand of gratifying their immediate wants; and when their +condition and circumstances are fairly considered, it ought not +to surprise us that they are so anxious to relieve themselves."] + +[Footnote h: On May 19, 1830, Mr. Edward Everett affirmed before +the House of Representatives, that the Americans had already +acquired by treaty, to the east and west of the Mississippi, +230,000,000 of acres. In 1808 the Osages gave up 48,000,000 +acres for an annual payment of $1,000. In 1818 the Quapaws +yielded up 29,000,000 acres for $4,000. They reserved for +themselves a territory of 1,000,000 acres for a hunting-ground. +A solemn oath was taken that it should be respected: but before +long it was invaded like the rest. Mr. Bell, in his Report of the +Committee on Indian Affairs, February 24, 1830, has these words: +- "To pay an Indian tribe what their ancient hunting-grounds are +worth to them, after the game is fled or destroyed, as a mode of +appropriating wild lands claimed by Indians, has been found more +convenient, and certainly it is more agreeable to the forms of +justice, as well as more merciful, than to assert the possession +of them by the sword. Thus the practice of buying Indian titles +is but the substitute which humanity and expediency have imposed, +in place of the sword, in arriving at the actual enjoyment of +property claimed by the right of discovery, and sanctioned by the +natural superiority allowed to the claims of civilized +communities over those of savage tribes. Up to the present time +so invariable has been the operation of certain causes, first in +diminishing the value of forest lands to the Indians, and +secondly in disposing them to sell readily, that the plan of +buying their right of occupancy has never threatened to retard, +in any perceptible degree, the prosperity of any of the States." +(Legislative Documents, 21st Congress, No. 227, p. 6.)] + + +Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races - Part II + +These are great evils; and it must be added that they appear +to me to be irremediable. I believe that the Indian nations of +North America are doomed to perish; and that whenever the +Europeans shall be established on the shores of the Pacific +Ocean, that race of men will be no more. *i The Indians had only +the two alternatives of war or civilization; in other words, they +must either have destroyed the Europeans or become their equals. + +[Footnote i: This seems, indeed, to be the opinion of almost all +American statesmen. "Judging of the future by the past," says +Mr. Cass, "we cannot err in anticipating a progressive diminution +of their numbers, and their eventual extinction, unless our +border should become stationary, and they be removed beyond it, +or unless some radical change should take place in the principles +of our intercourse with them, which it is easier to hope for than +to expect."] + +At the first settlement of the colonies they might have +found it possible, by uniting their forces, to deliver themselves +from the small bodies of strangers who landed on their continent. +*j They several times attempted to do it, and were on the point +of succeeding; but the disproportion of their resources, at the +present day, when compared with those of the whites, is too great +to allow such an enterprise to be thought of. Nevertheless, +there do arise from time to time among the Indians men of +penetration, who foresee the final destiny which awaits the +native population, and who exert themselves to unite all the +tribes in common hostility to the Europeans; but their efforts +are unavailing. Those tribes which are in the neighborhood of +the whites, are too much weakened to offer an effectual +resistance; whilst the others, giving way to that childish +carelessness of the morrow which characterizes savage life, wait +for the near approach of danger before they prepare to meet it; +some are unable, the others are unwilling, to exert themselves. + +[Footnote j: Amongst other warlike enterprises, there was one of +the Wampanaogs, and other confederate tribes, under Metacom in +1675, against the colonists of New England; the English were also +engaged in war in Virginia in 1622.] + +It is easy to foresee that the Indians will never conform to +civilization; or that it will be too late, whenever they may be +inclined to make the experiment. + +Civilization is the result of a long social process which +takes place in the same spot, and is handed down from one +generation to another, each one profiting by the experience of +the last. Of all nations, those submit to civilization with the +most difficulty which habitually live by the chase. Pastoral +tribes, indeed, often change their place of abode; but they +follow a regular order in their migrations, and often return +again to their old stations, whilst the dwelling of the hunter +varies with that of the animals he pursues. + +Several attempts have been made to diffuse knowledge amongst +the Indians, without controlling their wandering propensities; by +the Jesuits in Canada, and by the Puritans in New England; *k but +none of these endeavors were crowned by any lasting success. +Civilization began in the cabin, but it soon retired to expire in +the woods. The great error of these legislators of the Indians +was their not understanding that, in order to succeed in +civilizing a people, it is first necessary to fix it; which +cannot be done without inducing it to cultivate the soil; the +Indians ought in the first place to have been accustomed to +agriculture. But not only are they destitute of this +indispensable preliminary to civilization, they would even have +great difficulty in acquiring it. Men who have once abandoned +themselves to the restless and adventurous life of the hunter, +feel an insurmountable disgust for the constant and regular labor +which tillage requires. We see this proved in the bosom of our +own society; but it is far more visible among peoples whose +partiality for the chase is a part of their national character. + +[Footnote k: See the "Histoire de la Nouvelle France," by +Charlevoix, and the work entitled "Lettres edifiantes."] + +Independently of this general difficulty, there is another, +which applies peculiarly to the Indians; they consider labor not +merely as an evil, but as a disgrace; so that their pride +prevents them from becoming civilized, as much as their +indolence. *l + +[Footnote l: "In all the tribes," says Volney, in his "Tableau +des Etats-Unis," p. 423, "there still exists a generation of old +warriors, who cannot forbear, when they see their countrymen +using the hoe, from exclaiming against the degradation of ancient +manners, and asserting that the savages owe their decline to +these innovations; adding, that they have only to return to their +primitive habits in order to recover their power and their +glory."] + +There is no Indian so wretched as not to retain under his +hut of bark a lofty idea of his personal worth; he considers the +cares of industry and labor as degrading occupations; he compares +the husbandman to the ox which traces the furrow; and even in our +most ingenious handicraft, he can see nothing but the labor of +slaves. Not that he is devoid of admiration for the power and +intellectual greatness of the whites; but although the result of +our efforts surprises him, he contemns the means by which we +obtain it; and while he acknowledges our ascendancy, he still +believes in his superiority. War and hunting are the only +pursuits which appear to him worthy to be the occupations of a +man. *m The Indian, in the dreary solitude of his woods, +cherishes the same ideas, the same opinions as the noble of the +Middle ages in his castle, and he only requires to become a +conqueror to complete the resemblance; thus, however strange it +may seem, it is in the forests of the New World, and not amongst +the Europeans who people its coasts, that the ancient prejudices +of Europe are still in existence. + + +[Footnote m: The following description occurs in an official +document: "Until a young man has been engaged with an enemy, and +has performed some acts of valor, he gains no consideration, but +is regarded nearly as a woman. In their great war-dances all the +warriors in succession strike the post, as it is called, and +recount their exploits. On these occasions their auditory +consists of the kinsmen, friends, and comrades of the narrator. +The profound impression which his discourse produces on them is +manifested by the silent attention it receives, and by the loud +shouts which hail its termination. The young man who finds +himself at such a meeting without anything to recount is very +unhappy; and instances have sometimes occurred of young warriors, +whose passions had been thus inflamed, quitting the war-dance +suddenly, and going off alone to seek for trophies which they +might exhibit, and adventures which they might be allowed to +relate."] + +More than once, in the course of this work, I have +endeavored to explain the prodigious influence which the social +condition appears to exercise upon the laws and the manners of +men; and I beg to add a few words on the same subject. + +When I perceive the resemblance which exists between the +political institutions of our ancestors, the Germans, and of the +wandering tribes of North America; between the customs described +by Tacitus, and those of which I have sometimes been a witness, I +cannot help thinking that the same cause has brought about the +same results in both hemispheres; and that in the midst of the +apparent diversity of human affairs, a certain number of primary +facts may be discovered, from which all the others are derived. +In what we usually call the German institutions, then, I am +inclined only to perceive barbarian habits; and the opinions of +savages in what we style feudal principles. + +However strongly the vices and prejudices of the North +American Indians may be opposed to their becoming agricultural +and civilized, necessity sometimes obliges them to it. Several +of the Southern nations, and amongst others the Cherokees and the +Creeks, *n were surrounded by Europeans, who had landed on the +shores of the Atlantic; and who, either descending the Ohio or +proceeding up the Mississippi, arrived simultaneously upon their +borders. These tribes have not been driven from place to place, +like their Northern brethren; but they have been gradually +enclosed within narrow limits, like the game within the thicket, +before the huntsmen plunge into the interior. The Indians who +were thus placed between civilization and death, found themselves +obliged to live by ignominious labor like the whites. They took +to agriculture, and without entirely forsaking their old habits +or manners, sacrificed only as much as was necessary to their +existence. + +[Footnote n: These nations are now swallowed up in the States of +Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. There were +formerly in the South four great nations (remnants of which still +exist), the Choctaws, the Chickasaws, the Creeks, and the +Cherokees. The remnants of these four nations amounted, in 1830, +to about 75,000 individuals. It is computed that there are now +remaining in the territory occupied or claimed by the +Anglo-American Union about 300,000 Indians. (See Proceedings of +the Indian Board in the City of New York.) The official documents +supplied to Congress make the number amount to 313,130. The +reader who is curious to know the names and numerical strength of +all the tribes which inhabit the Anglo-American territory should +consult the documents I refer to. (Legislative Documents, 20th +Congress, No. 117, pp. 90-105.) [In the Census of 1870 it is +stated that the Indian population of the United States is only +25,731, of whom 7,241 are in California.]] + +The Cherokees went further; they created a written language; +established a permanent form of government; and as everything +proceeds rapidly in the New World, before they had all of them +clothes, they set up a newspaper. *o + +[Footnote o: I brought back with me to France one or two copies +of this singular publication.] + +The growth of European habits has been remarkably +accelerated among these Indians by the mixed race which has +sprung up. *p Deriving intelligence from their father's side, +without entirely losing the savage customs of the mother, the +half-blood forms the natural link between civilization and +barbarism. Wherever this race has multiplied the savage state has +become modified, and a great change has taken place in the +manners of the people. *q + +[Footnote p: See in the Report of the Committee on Indian +Affairs, 21st Congress, No. 227, p. 23, the reasons for the +multiplication of Indians of mixed blood among the Cherokees. +The principal cause dates from the War of Independence. Many +Anglo-Americans of Georgia, having taken the side of England, +were obliged to retreat among the Indians, where they married.] + +[Footnote q: Unhappily the mixed race has been less numerous and +less influential in North America than in any other country. The +American continent was peopled by two great nations of Europe, +the French and the English. The former were not slow in +connecting themselves with the daughters of the natives, but +there was an unfortunate affinity between the Indian character +and their own: instead of giving the tastes and habits of +civilized life to the savages, the French too often grew +passionately fond of the state of wild freedom they found them +in. They became the most dangerous of the inhabitants of the +desert, and won the friendship of the Indian by exaggerating his +vices and his virtues. M. de Senonville, the governor of Canada, +wrote thus to Louis XIV in 1685: "It has long been believed that +in order to civilize the savages we ought to draw them nearer to +us. But there is every reason to suppose we have been mistaken. +Those which have been brought into contact with us have not +become French, and the French who have lived among them are +changed into savages, affecting to dress and live like them." +("History of New France," by Charlevoix, vol. ii., p. 345.) The +Englishman, on the contrary, continuing obstinately attached to +the customs and the most insignificant habits of his forefathers, +has remained in the midst of the American solitudes just what he +was in the bosom of European cities; he would not allow of any +communication with savages whom he despised, and avoided with +care the union of his race with theirs. Thus while the French +exercised no salutary influence over the Indians, the English +have always remained alien from them.] + +The success of the Cherokees proves that the Indians are +capable of civilization, but it does not prove that they will +succeed in it. This difficulty which the Indians find in +submitting to civilization proceeds from the influence of a +general cause, which it is almost impossible for them to escape. +An attentive survey of history demonstrates that, in general, +barbarous nations have raised themselves to civilization by +degrees, and by their own efforts. Whenever they derive +knowledge from a foreign people, they stood towards it in the +relation of conquerors, and not of a conquered nation. When the +conquered nation is enlightened, and the conquerors are half +savage, as in the case of the invasion of Rome by the Northern +nations or that of China by the Mongols, the power which victory +bestows upon the barbarian is sufficient to keep up his +importance among civilized men, and permit him to rank as their +equal, until he becomes their rival: the one has might on his +side, the other has intelligence; the former admires the +knowledge and the arts of the conquered, the latter envies the +power of the conquerors. The barbarians at length admit +civilized man into their palaces, and he in turn opens his +schools to the barbarians. But when the side on which the +physical force lies, also possesses an intellectual +preponderance, the conquered party seldom become civilized; it +retreats, or is destroyed. It may therefore be said, in a general +way, that savages go forth in arms to seek knowledge, but that +they do not receive it when it comes to them. + +If the Indian tribes which now inhabit the heart of the +continent could summon up energy enough to attempt to civilize +themselves, they might possibly succeed. Superior already to the +barbarous nations which surround them, they would gradually gain +strength and experience, and when the Europeans should appear +upon their borders, they would be in a state, if not to maintain +their independence, at least to assert their right to the soil, +and to incorporate themselves with the conquerors. But it is the +misfortune of Indians to be brought into contact with a civilized +people, which is also (it must be owned) the most avaricious +nation on the globe, whilst they are still semi-barbarian: to +find despots in their instructors, and to receive knowledge from +the hand of oppression. Living in the freedom of the woods, the +North American Indian was destitute, but he had no feeling of +inferiority towards anyone; as soon, however, as he desires to +penetrate into the social scale of the whites, he takes the +lowest rank in society, for he enters, ignorant and poor, within +the pale of science and wealth. After having led a life of +agitation, beset with evils and dangers, but at the same time +filled with proud emotions, *r he is obliged to submit to a +wearisome, obscure, and degraded state; and to gain the bread +which nourishes him by hard and ignoble labor; such are in his +eyes the only results of which civilization can boast: and even +this much he is not sure to obtain. + +[Footnote r: There is in the adventurous life of the hunter a +certain irresistible charm, which seizes the heart of man and +carries him away in spite of reason and experience. This is +plainly shown by the memoirs of Tanner. Tanner is a European who +was carried away at the age of six by the Indians, and has +remained thirty years with them in the woods. Nothing can be +conceived more appalling that the miseries which he describes. +He tells us of tribes without a chief, families without a nation +to call their own, men in a state of isolation, wrecks of +powerful tribes wandering at random amid the ice and snow and +desolate solitudes of Canada. Hunger and cold pursue them; every +day their life is in jeopardy. Amongst these men, manners have +lost their empire, traditions are without power. They become +more and more savage. Tanner shared in all these miseries; he was +aware of his European origin; he was not kept away from the +whites by force; on the contrary, he came every year to trade +with them, entered their dwellings, and witnessed their +enjoyments; he knew that whenever he chose to return to civilized +life he was perfectly able to do so - and he remained thirty +years in the deserts. When he came into civilized society he +declared that the rude existence which he described, had a secret +charm for him which he was unable to define: he returned to it +again and again: at length he abandoned it with poignant regret; +and when he was at length fixed among the whites, several of his +children refused to share his tranquil and easy situation. I saw +Tanner myself at the lower end of Lake Superior; he seemed to me +to be more like a savage than a civilized being. His book is +written without either taste or order; but he gives, even +unconsciously, a lively picture of the prejudices, the passions, +the vices, and, above all, of the destitution in which he lived.] + +When the Indians undertake to imitate their European +neighbors, and to till the earth like the settlers, they are +immediately exposed to a very formidable competition. The white +man is skilled in the craft of agriculture; the Indian is a rough +beginner in an art with which he is unacquainted. The former +reaps abundant crops without difficulty, the latter meets with a +thousand obstacles in raising the fruits of the earth. + +The European is placed amongst a population whose wants he +knows and partakes. The savage is isolated in the midst of a +hostile people, with whose manners, language, and laws he is +imperfectly acquainted, but without whose assistance he cannot +live. He can only procure the materials of comfort by bartering +his commodities against the goods of the European, for the +assistance of his countrymen is wholly insufficient to supply his +wants. When the Indian wishes to sell the produce of his labor, +he cannot always meet with a purchaser, whilst the European +readily finds a market; and the former can only produce at a +considerable cost that which the latter vends at a very low rate. +Thus the Indian has no sooner escaped those evils to which +barbarous nations are exposed, than he is subjected to the still +greater miseries of civilized communities; and he finds is +scarcely less difficult to live in the midst of our abundance, +than in the depth of his own wilderness. + +He has not yet lost the habits of his erratic life; the +traditions of his fathers and his passion for the chase are still +alive within him. The wild enjoyments which formerly animated +him in the woods, painfully excite his troubled imagination; and +his former privations appear to be less keen, his former perils +less appalling. He contrasts the independence which he possessed +amongst his equals with the servile position which he occupies in +civilized society. On the other hand, the solitudes which were +so long his free home are still at hand; a few hours' march will +bring him back to them once more. The whites offer him a sum, +which seems to him to be considerable, for the ground which he +has begun to clear. This money of the Europeans may possibly +furnish him with the means of a happy and peaceful subsistence in +remoter regions; and he quits the plough, resumes his native +arms, and returns to the wilderness forever. *s The condition of +the Creeks and Cherokees, to which I have already alluded, +sufficiently corroborates the truth of this deplorable picture. + +[Footnote s: The destructive influence of highly civilized +nations upon others which are less so, has been exemplified by +the Europeans themselves. About a century ago the French founded +the town of Vincennes up on the Wabash, in the middle of the +desert; and they lived there in great plenty until the arrival of +the American settlers, who first ruined the previous inhabitants +by their competition, and afterwards purchased their lands at a +very low rate. At the time when M. de Volney, from whom I borrow +these details, passed through Vincennes, the number of the French +was reduced to a hundred individuals, most of whom were about to +pass over to Louisiana or to Canada. These French settlers were +worthy people, but idle and uninstructed: they had contracted +many of the habits of savages. The Americans, who were perhaps +their inferiors, in a moral point of view, were immeasurably +superior to them in intelligence: they were industrious, well +informed, rich, and accustomed to govern their own community. + +I myself saw in Canada, where the intellectual difference +between the two races is less striking, that the English are the +masters of commerce and manufacture in the Canadian country, that +they spread on all sides, and confine the French within limits +which scarcely suffice to contain them. In like manner, in +Louisiana, almost all activity in commerce and manufacture +centres in the hands of the Anglo-Americans. + + +But the case of Texas is still more striking: the State of +Texas is a part of Mexico, and lies upon the frontier between +that country and the United States. In the course of the last +few years the Anglo-Americans have penetrated into this province, +which is still thinly peopled; they purchase land, they produce +the commodities of the country, and supplant the original +population. It may easily be foreseen that if Mexico takes no +steps to check this change, the province of Texas will very +shortly cease to belong to that government. + +If the different degrees - comparatively so slight - which +exist in European civilization produce results of such magnitude, +the consequences which must ensue from the collision of the most +perfect European civilization with Indian savages may readily be +conceived.] + +The Indians, in the little which they have done, have +unquestionably displayed as much natural genius as the peoples of +Europe in their most important designs; but nations as well as +men require time to learn, whatever may be their intelligence and +their zeal. Whilst the savages were engaged in the work of +civilization, the Europeans continued to surround them on every +side, and to confine them within narrower limits; the two races +gradually met, and they are now in immediate juxtaposition to +each other. The Indian is already superior to his barbarous +parent, but he is still very far below his white neighbor. With +their resources and acquired knowledge, the Europeans soon +appropriated to themselves most of the advantages which the +natives might have derived from the possession of the soil; they +have settled in the country, they have purchased land at a very +low rate or have occupied it by force, and the Indians have been +ruined by a competition which they had not the means of +resisting. They were isolated in their own country, and their +race only constituted a colony of troublesome aliens in the midst +of a numerous and domineering people. *t + +[Footnote t: See in the Legislative Documents (21st Congress, No. +89) instances of excesses of every kind committed by the whites +upon the territory of the Indians, either in taking possession of +a part of their lands, until compelled to retire by the troops of +Congress, or carrying off their cattle, burning their houses, +cutting down their corn, and doing violence to their persons. It +appears, nevertheless, from all these documents that the claims +of the natives are constantly protected by the government from +the abuse of force. The Union has a representative agent +continually employed to reside among the Indians; and the report +of the Cherokee agent, which is among the documents I have +referred to, is almost always favorable to the Indians. "The +intrusion of whites," he says, "upon the lands of the Cherokees +would cause ruin to the poor, helpless, and inoffensive +inhabitants." And he further remarks upon the attempt of the +State of Georgia to establish a division line for the purpose of +limiting the boundaries of the Cherokees, that the line drawn +having been made by the whites, and entirely upon ex parte +evidence of their several rights, was of no validity whatever.] + + +Washington said in one of his messages to Congress, "We are +more enlightened and more powerful than the Indian nations, we +are therefore bound in honor to treat them with kindness and even +with generosity." But this virtuous and high-minded policy has +not been followed. The rapacity of the settlers is usually +backed by the tyranny of the government. Although the Cherokees +and the Creeks are established upon the territory which they +inhabited before the settlement of the Europeans, and although +the Americans have frequently treated with them as with foreign +nations, the surrounding States have not consented to acknowledge +them as independent peoples, and attempts have been made to +subject these children of the woods to Anglo-American +magistrates, laws, and customs. *u Destitution had driven these +unfortunate Indians to civilization, and oppression now drives +them back to their former condition: many of them abandon the +soil which they had begun to clear, and return to their savage +course of life. + +[Footnote u: In 1829 the State of Alabama divided the Creek +territory into counties, and subjected the Indian population to +the power of European magistrates. + + +Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races - Part III + +In 1830 the State of Mississippi assimilated the Choctaws +and Chickasaws to the white population, and declared that any of +them that should take the title of chief would be punished by a +fine of $1,000 and a year's imprisonment. When these laws were +enforced upon the Choctaws, who inhabited that district, the +tribe assembled, their chief communicated to them the intentions +of the whites, and read to them some of the laws to which it was +intended that they should submit; and they unanimously declared +that it was better at once to retreat again into the wilds.] + +If we consider the tyrannical measures which have been +adopted by the legislatures of the Southern States, the conduct +of their Governors, and the decrees of their courts of justice, +we shall be convinced that the entire expulsion of the Indians is +the final result to which the efforts of their policy are +directed. The Americans of that part of the Union look with +jealousy upon the aborigines, *v they are aware that these tribes +have not yet lost the traditions of savage life, and before +civilization has permanently fixed them to the soil, it is +intended to force them to recede by reducing them to despair. +The Creeks and Cherokees, oppressed by the several States, have +appealed to the central government, which is by no means +insensible to their misfortunes, and is sincerely desirous of +saving the remnant of the natives, and of maintaining them in the +free possession of that territory, which the Union is pledged to +respect. *w But the several States oppose so formidable a +resistance to the execution of this design, that the government +is obliged to consent to the extirpation of a few barbarous +tribes in order not to endanger the safety of the American Union. + +[Footnote v: The Georgians, who are so much annoyed by the +proximity of the Indians, inhabit a territory which does not at +present contain more than seven inhabitants to the square mile. +In France there are one hundred and sixty-two inhabitants to the +same extent of country.] + +[Footnote w: In 1818 Congress appointed commissioners to visit +the Arkansas Territory, accompanied by a deputation of Creeks, +Choctaws, and Chickasaws. This expedition was commanded by +Messrs. Kennerly, M'Coy, Wash Hood, and John Bell. See the +different reports of the commissioners, and their journal, in the +Documents of Congress, No. 87, House of Representatives.] + +But the federal government, which is not able to protect the +Indians, would fain mitigate the hardships of their lot; and, +with this intention, proposals have been made to transport them +into more remote regions at the public cost. + +Between the thirty-third and thirty-seventh degrees of north +latitude, a vast tract of country lies, which has taken the name +of Arkansas, from the principal river that waters its extent. It +is bounded on the one side by the confines of Mexico, on the +other by the Mississippi. Numberless streams cross it in every +direction; the climate is mild, and the soil productive, but it +is only inhabited by a few wandering hordes of savages. The +government of the Union wishes to transport the broken remnants +of the indigenous population of the South to the portion of this +country which is nearest to Mexico, and at a great distance from +the American settlements. + +We were assured, towards the end of the year 1831, that +10,000 Indians had already gone down to the shores of the +Arkansas; and fresh detachments were constantly following them; +but Congress has been unable to excite a unanimous determination +in those whom it is disposed to protect. Some, indeed, are +willing to quit the seat of oppression, but the most enlightened +members of the community refuse to abandon their recent dwellings +and their springing crops; they are of opinion that the work of +civilization, once interrupted, will never be resumed; they fear +that those domestic habits which have been so recently +contracted, may be irrevocably lost in the midst of a country +which is still barbarous, and where nothing is prepared for the +subsistence of an agricultural people; they know that their +entrance into those wilds will be opposed by inimical hordes, and +that they have lost the energy of barbarians, without acquiring +the resources of civilization to resist their attacks. Moreover, +the Indians readily discover that the settlement which is +proposed to them is merely a temporary expedient. Who can assure +them that they will at length be allowed to dwell in peace in +their new retreat? The United States pledge themselves to the +observance of the obligation; but the territory which they at +present occupy was formerly secured to them by the most solemn +oaths of Anglo-American faith. *x The American government does +not indeed rob them of their lands, but it allows perpetual +incursions to be made on them. In a few years the same white +population which now flocks around them, will track them to the +solitudes of the Arkansas; they will then be exposed to the same +evils without the same remedies, and as the limits of the earth +will at last fail them, their only refuge is the grave. + +[Footnote x: The fifth article of the treaty made with the Creeks +in August, 1790, is in the following words: - "The United States +solemnly guarantee to the Creek nation all their land within the +limits of the United States." + +The seventh article of the treaty concluded in 1791 with the +Cherokees says: - "The United States solemnly guarantee to the +Cherokee nation all their lands not hereby ceded." The following +article declared that if any citizen of the United States or +other settler not of the Indian race should establish himself +upon the territory of the Cherokees, the United States would +withdraw their protection from that individual, and give him up +to be punished as the Cherokee nation should think fit.] + +The Union treats the Indians with less cupidity and rigor +than the policy of the several States, but the two governments +are alike destitute of good faith. The States extend what they +are pleased to term the benefits of their laws to the Indians, +with a belief that the tribes will recede rather than submit; and +the central government, which promises a permanent refuge to +these unhappy beings is well aware of its inability to secure it +to them. *y + +[Footnote y: This does not prevent them from promising in the +most solemn manner to do so. See the letter of the President +addressed to the Creek Indians, March 23, 1829 (Proceedings of +the Indian Board, in the city of New York, p. 5): "Beyond the +great river Mississippi, where a part of your nation has gone, +your father has provided a country large enough for all of you, +and he advises you to remove to it. There your white brothers +will not trouble you; they will have no claim to the land, and +you can live upon it, you and all your children, as long as the +grass grows, or the water runs, in peace and plenty. It will be +yours forever." + +The Secretary of War, in a letter written to the Cherokees, +April 18, 1829, (see the same work, p. 6), declares to them that +they cannot expect to retain possession of the lands at that time +occupied by them, but gives them the most positive assurance of +uninterrupted peace if they would remove beyond the Mississippi: +as if the power which could not grant them protection then, would +be able to afford it them hereafter!] + +Thus the tyranny of the States obliges the savages to +retire, the Union, by its promises and resources, facilitates +their retreat; and these measures tend to precisely the same end. +*z "By the will of our Father in Heaven, the Governor of the +whole world," said the Cherokees in their petition to Congress, +*a "the red man of America has become small, and the white man +great and renowned. When the ancestors of the people of these +United States first came to the shores of America they found the +red man strong: though he was ignorant and savage, yet he +received them kindly, and gave them dry land to rest their weary +feet. They met in peace, and shook hands in token of friendship. +Whatever the white man wanted and asked of the Indian, the latter +willingly gave. At that time the Indian was the lord, and the +white man the suppliant. But now the scene has changed. The +strength of the red man has become weakness. As his neighbors +increased in numbers his power became less and less, and now, of +the many and powerful tribes who once covered these United +States, only a few are to be seen - a few whom a sweeping +pestilence has left. The northern tribes, who were once so +numerous and powerful, are now nearly extinct. Thus it has +happened to the red man of America. Shall we, who are remnants, +share the same fate? + +[Footnote z: To obtain a correct idea of the policy pursued by +the several States and the Union with respect to the Indians, it +is necessary to consult, 1st, "The Laws of the Colonial and State +Governments relating to the Indian Inhabitants." (See the +Legislative Documents, 21st Congress, No. 319.) 2d, The Laws of +the Union on the same subject, and especially that of March 30, +1802. (See Story's "Laws of the United States.") 3d, The Report +of Mr. Cass, Secretary of War, relative to Indian Affairs, +November 29, 1823.] + +[Footnote a: December 18, 1829.] + +"The land on which we stand we have received as an +inheritance from our fathers, who possessed it from time +immemorial, as a gift from our common Father in Heaven. They +bequeathed it to us as their children, and we have sacredly kept +it, as containing the remains of our beloved men. This right of +inheritance we have never ceded nor ever forfeited. Permit us to +ask what better right can the people have to a country than the +right of inheritance and immemorial peaceable possession? We +know it is said of late by the State of Georgia and by the +Executive of the United States, that we have forfeited this +right; but we think this is said gratuitously. At what time have +we made the forfeit? What great crime have we committed, whereby +we must forever be divested of our country and rights? Was it +when we were hostile to the United States, and took part with the +King of Great Britain, during the struggle for independence? If +so, why was not this forfeiture declared in the first treaty of +peace between the United States and our beloved men? Why was not +such an article as the following inserted in the treaty: - 'The +United States give peace to the Cherokees, but, for the part they +took in the late war, declare them to be but tenants at will, to +be removed when the convenience of the States, within whose +chartered limits they live, shall require it'? That was the +proper time to assume such a possession. But it was not thought +of, nor would our forefathers have agreed to any treaty whose +tendency was to deprive them of their rights and their country." + +Such is the language of the Indians: their assertions are +true, their forebodings inevitable. From whichever side we +consider the destinies of the aborigines of North America, their +calamities appear to be irremediable: if they continue barbarous, +they are forced to retire; if they attempt to civilize their +manners, the contact of a more civilized community subjects them +to oppression and destitution. They perish if they continue to +wander from waste to waste, and if they attempt to settle they +still must perish; the assistance of Europeans is necessary to +instruct them, but the approach of Europeans corrupts and repels +them into savage life; they refuse to change their habits as long +as their solitudes are their own, and it is too late to change +them when they are constrained to submit. + +The Spaniards pursued the Indians with bloodhounds, like +wild beasts; they sacked the New World with no more temper or +compassion than a city taken by storm; but destruction must +cease, and frenzy be stayed; the remnant of the Indian population +which had escaped the massacre mixed with its conquerors, and +adopted in the end their religion and their manners. *b The +conduct of the Americans of the United States towards the +aborigines is characterized, on the other hand, by a singular +attachment to the formalities of law. Provided that the Indians +retain their barbarous condition, the Americans take no part in +their affairs; they treat them as independent nations, and do not +possess themselves of their hunting grounds without a treaty of +purchase; and if an Indian nation happens to be so encroached +upon as to be unable to subsist upon its territory, they afford +it brotherly assistance in transporting it to a grave +sufficiently remote from the land of its fathers. + +[Footnote b: The honor of this result is, however, by no means +due to the Spaniards. If the Indian tribes had not been tillers +of the ground at the time of the arrival of the Europeans, they +would unquestionably have been destroyed in South as well as in +North America.] + +The Spaniards were unable to exterminate the Indian race by +those unparalleled atrocities which brand them with indelible +shame, nor did they even succeed in wholly depriving it of its +rights; but the Americans of the United States have accomplished +this twofold purpose with singular felicity; tranquilly, legally, +philanthropically, without shedding blood, and without violating +a single great principle of morality in the eyes of the world. *c +It is impossible to destroy men with more respect for the laws of +humanity. + +[Footnote c: See, amongst other documents, the report made by Mr. +Bell in the name of the Committee on Indian Affairs, February 24, +1830, in which is most logically established and most learnedly +proved, that "the fundamental principle that the Indians had no +right by virtue of their ancient possession either of will or +sovereignty, has never been abandoned either expressly or by +implication." In perusing this report, which is evidently drawn +up by an experienced hand, one is astonished at the facility with +which the author gets rid of all arguments founded upon reason +and natural right, which he designates as abstract and +theoretical principles. The more I contemplate the difference +between civilized and uncivilized man with regard to the +principles of justice, the more I observe that the former +contests the justice of those rights which the latter simply +violates.] + +[I leave this chapter wholly unchanged, for it has always +appeared to me to be one of the most eloquent and touching parts +of this book. But it has ceased to be prophetic; the destruction +of the Indian race in the United States is already consummated. +In 1870 there remained but 25,731 Indians in the whole territory +of the Union, and of these by far the largest part exist in +California, Michigan, Wisconsin, Dakota, and New Mexico and +Nevada. In New England, Pennsylvania, and New York the race is +extinct; and the predictions of M. de Tocqueville are fulfilled. +- Translator's Note.] + +Situation Of The Black Population In The United States, And +Dangers With Which Its Presence Threatens The Whites + +Why it is more difficult to abolish slavery, and to efface all +vestiges of it amongst the moderns than it was amongst the +ancients - In the United States the prejudices of the Whites +against the Blacks seem to increase in proportion as slavery is +abolished - Situation of the Negroes in the Northern and Southern +States - Why the Americans abolish slavery - Servitude, which +debases the slave, impoverishes the master - Contrast between the +left and the right bank of the Ohio - To what attributable - The +Black race, as well as slavery, recedes towards the South - +Explanation of this fact - Difficulties attendant upon the +abolition of slavery in the South - Dangers to come - General +anxiety - Foundation of a Black colony in Africa - Why the +Americans of the South increase the hardships of slavery, whilst +they are distressed at its continuance. + +The Indians will perish in the same isolated condition in +which they have lived; but the destiny of the negroes is in some +measure interwoven with that of the Europeans. These two races +are attached to each other without intermingling, and they are +alike unable entirely to separate or to combine. The most +formidable of all the ills which threaten the future existence of +the Union arises from the presence of a black population upon its +territory; and in contemplating the cause of the present +embarrassments or of the future dangers of the United States, the +observer is invariably led to consider this as a primary fact. + +The permanent evils to which mankind is subjected are +usually produced by the vehement or the increasing efforts of +men; but there is one calamity which penetrated furtively into +the world, and which was at first scarcely distinguishable amidst +the ordinary abuses of power; it originated with an individual +whose name history has not preserved; it was wafted like some +accursed germ upon a portion of the soil, but it afterwards +nurtured itself, grew without effort, and spreads naturally with +the society to which it belongs. I need scarcely add that this +calamity is slavery. Christianity suppressed slavery, but the +Christians of the sixteenth century re-established it - as an +exception, indeed, to their social system, and restricted to one +of the races of mankind; but the wound thus inflicted upon +humanity, though less extensive, was at the same time rendered +far more difficult of cure. + +It is important to make an accurate distinction between +slavery itself and its consequences. The immediate evils which +are produced by slavery were very nearly the same in antiquity as +they are amongst the moderns; but the consequences of these evils +were different. The slave, amongst the ancients, belonged to the +same race as his master, and he was often the superior of the two +in education *d and instruction. Freedom was the only +distinction between them; and when freedom was conferred they +were easily confounded together. The ancients, then, had a very +simple means of avoiding slavery and its evil consequences, which +was that of affranchisement; and they succeeded as soon as they +adopted this measure generally. Not but, in ancient States, the +vestiges of servitude subsisted for some time after servitude +itself was abolished. There is a natural prejudice which prompts +men to despise whomsoever has been their inferior long after he +is become their equal; and the real inequality which is produced +by fortune or by law is always succeeded by an imaginary +inequality which is implanted in the manners of the people. +Nevertheless, this secondary consequence of slavery was limited +to a certain term amongst the ancients, for the freedman bore so +entire a resemblance to those born free, that it soon became +impossible to distinguish him from amongst them. + +[Footnote d: It is well known that several of the most +distinguished authors of antiquity, and amongst them Aesop and +Terence, were, or had been slaves. Slaves were not always taken +from barbarous nations, and the chances of war reduced highly +civilized men to servitude.] + +The greatest difficulty in antiquity was that of altering +the law; amongst the moderns it is that of altering the manners; +and, as far as we are concerned, the real obstacles begin where +those of the ancients left off. This arises from the circumstance +that, amongst the moderns, the abstract and transient fact of +slavery is fatally united to the physical and permanent fact of +color. The tradition of slavery dishonors the race, and the +peculiarity of the race perpetuates the tradition of slavery. No +African has ever voluntarily emigrated to the shores of the New +World; whence it must be inferred, that all the blacks who are +now to be found in that hemisphere are either slaves or freedmen. +Thus the negro transmits the eternal mark of his ignominy to all +his descendants; and although the law may abolish slavery, God +alone can obliterate the traces of its existence. + +The modern slave differs from his master not only in his +condition, but in his origin. You may set the negro free, but +you cannot make him otherwise than an alien to the European. Nor +is this all; we scarcely acknowledge the common features of +mankind in this child of debasement whom slavery has brought +amongst us. His physiognomy is to our eyes hideous, his +understanding weak, his tastes low; and we are almost inclined to +look upon him as a being intermediate between man and the brutes. +*e The moderns, then, after they have abolished slavery, have +three prejudices to contend against, which are less easy to +attack and far less easy to conquer than the mere fact of +servitude: the prejudice of the master, the prejudice of the +race, and the prejudice of color. + +[Footnote e: To induce the whites to abandon the opinion they +have conceived of the moral and intellectual inferiority of their +former slaves, the negroes must change; but as long as this +opinion subsists, to change is impossible.] + +It is difficult for us, who have had the good fortune to be +born amongst men like ourselves by nature, and equal to ourselves +by law, to conceive the irreconcilable differences which separate +the negro from the European in America. But we may derive some +faint notion of them from analogy. France was formerly a country +in which numerous distinctions of rank existed, that had been +created by the legislation. Nothing can be more fictitious than +a purely legal inferiority; nothing more contrary to the instinct +of mankind than these permanent divisions which had been +established between beings evidently similar. Nevertheless these +divisions subsisted for ages; they still subsist in many places; +and on all sides they have left imaginary vestiges, which time +alone can efface. If it be so difficult to root out an +inequality which solely originates in the law, how are those +distinctions to be destroyed which seem to be based upon the +immutable laws of Nature herself? When I remember the extreme +difficulty with which aristocratic bodies, of whatever nature +they may be, are commingled with the mass of the people; and the +exceeding care which they take to preserve the ideal boundaries +of their caste inviolate, I despair of seeing an aristocracy +disappear which is founded upon visible and indelible signs. +Those who hope that the Europeans will ever mix with the negroes, +appear to me to delude themselves; and I am not led to any such +conclusion by my own reason, or by the evidence of facts. + +Hitherto, wherever the whites have been the most powerful, +they have maintained the blacks in a subordinate or a servile +position; wherever the negroes have been strongest they have +destroyed the whites; such has been the only retribution which +has ever taken place between the two races. + +I see that in a certain portion of the territory of the +United States at the present day, the legal barrier which +separated the two races is tending to fall away, but not that +which exists in the manners of the country; slavery recedes, but +the prejudice to which it has given birth remains stationary. +Whosoever has inhabited the United States must have perceived +that in those parts of the Union in which the negroes are no +longer slaves, they have in no wise drawn nearer to the whites. +On the contrary, the prejudice of the race appears to be stronger +in the States which have abolished slavery, than in those where +it still exists; and nowhere is it so intolerant as in those +States where servitude has never been known. + +It is true, that in the North of the Union, marriages may be +legally contracted between negroes and whites; but public opinion +would stigmatize a man who should connect himself with a negress +as infamous, and it would be difficult to meet with a single +instance of such a union. The electoral franchise has been +conferred upon the negroes in almost all the States in which +slavery has been abolished; but if they come forward to vote, +their lives are in danger. If oppressed, they may bring an +action at law, but they will find none but whites amongst their +judges; and although they may legally serve as jurors, prejudice +repulses them from that office. The same schools do not receive +the child of the black and of the European. In the theatres, +gold cannot procure a seat for the servile race beside their +former masters; in the hospitals they lie apart; and although +they are allowed to invoke the same Divinity as the whites, it +must be at a different altar, and in their own churches, with +their own clergy. The gates of Heaven are not closed against +these unhappy beings; but their inferiority is continued to the +very confines of the other world; when the negro is defunct, his +bones are cast aside, and the distinction of condition prevails +even in the equality of death. The negro is free, but he can +share neither the rights, nor the pleasures, nor the labor, nor +the afflictions, nor the tomb of him whose equal he has been +declared to be; and he cannot meet him upon fair terms in life or +in death. + +In the South, where slavery still exists, the negroes are +less carefully kept apart; they sometimes share the labor and the +recreations of the whites; the whites consent to intermix with +them to a certain extent, and although the legislation treats +them more harshly, the habits of the people are more tolerant and +compassionate. In the South the master is not afraid to raise +his slave to his own standing, because he knows that he can in a +moment reduce him to the dust at pleasure. In the North the +white no longer distinctly perceives the barrier which separates +him from the degraded race, and he shuns the negro with the more +pertinacity, since he fears lest they should some day be +confounded together. + +Amongst the Americans of the South, nature sometimes +reasserts her rights, and restores a transient equality between +the blacks and the whites; but in the North pride restrains the +most imperious of human passions. The American of the Northern +States would perhaps allow the negress to share his licentious +pleasures, if the laws of his country did not declare that she +may aspire to be the legitimate partner of his bed; but he +recoils with horror from her who might become his wife. + +Thus it is, in the United States, that the prejudice which +repels the negroes seems to increase in proportion as they are +emancipated, and inequality is sanctioned by the manners whilst +it is effaced from the laws of the country. But if the relative +position of the two races which inhabit the United States is such +as I have described, it may be asked why the Americans have +abolished slavery in the North of the Union, why they maintain it +in the South, and why they aggravate its hardships there? The +answer is easily given. It is not for the good of the negroes, +but for that of the whites, that measures are taken to abolish +slavery in the United States. + +The first negroes were imported into Virginia about the year +1621. *f In America, therefore, as well as in the rest of the +globe, slavery originated in the South. Thence it spread from +one settlement to another; but the number of slaves diminished +towards the Northern States, and the negro population was always +very limited in New England. *g + +[Footnote f: See Beverley's "History of Virginia." See also in +Jefferson's "Memoirs" some curious details concerning the +introduction of negroes into Virginia, and the first Act which +prohibited the importation of them in 1778.] + +[Footnote g: The number of slaves was less considerable in the +North, but the advantages resulting from slavery were not more +contested there than in the South. In 1740, the Legislature of +the State of New York declared that the direct importation of +slaves ought to be encouraged as much as possible, and smuggling +severely punished in order not to discourage the fair trader. +(Kent's "Commentaries," vol. ii. p. 206.) Curious researches, by +Belknap, upon slavery in New England, are to be found in the +"Historical Collection of Massachusetts," vol. iv. p. 193. It +appears that negroes were introduced there in 1630, but that the +legislation and manners of the people were opposed to slavery +from the first; see also, in the same work, the manner in which +public opinion, and afterwards the laws, finally put an end to +slavery.] + +A century had scarcely elapsed since the foundation of the +colonies, when the attention of the planters was struck by the +extraordinary fact, that the provinces which were comparatively +destitute of slaves, increased in population, in wealth, and in +prosperity more rapidly than those which contained the greatest +number of negroes. In the former, however, the inhabitants were +obliged to cultivate the soil themselves, or by hired laborers; +in the latter they were furnished with hands for which they paid +no wages; yet although labor and expenses were on the one side, +and ease with economy on the other, the former were in possession +of the most advantageous system. This consequence seemed to be +the more difficult to explain, since the settlers, who all +belonged to the same European race, had the same habits, the same +civilization, the same laws, and their shades of difference were +extremely slight. + +Time, however, continued to advance, and the +Anglo-Americans, spreading beyond the coasts of the Atlantic +Ocean, penetrated farther and farther into the solitudes of the +West; they met with a new soil and an unwonted climate; the +obstacles which opposed them were of the most various character; +their races intermingled, the inhabitants of the South went up +towards the North, those of the North descended to the South; but +in the midst of all these causes, the same result occurred at +every step, and in general, the colonies in which there were no +slaves became more populous and more rich than those in which +slavery flourished. The more progress was made, the more was it +shown that slavery, which is so cruel to the slave, is +prejudicial to the master. + + +Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races - Part IV + +But this truth was most satisfactorily demonstrated when +civilization reached the banks of the Ohio. The stream which the +Indians had distinguished by the name of Ohio, or Beautiful +River, waters one of the most magnificent valleys that has ever +been made the abode of man. Undulating lands extend upon both +shores of the Ohio, whose soil affords inexhaustible treasures to +the laborer; on either bank the air is wholesome and the climate +mild, and each of them forms the extreme frontier of a vast +State: That which follows the numerous windings of the Ohio upon +the left is called Kentucky, that upon the right bears the name +of the river. These two States only differ in a single respect; +Kentucky has admitted slavery, but the State of Ohio has +prohibited the existence of slaves within its borders. *h + +[Footnote h: Not only is slavery prohibited in Ohio, but no free +negroes are allowed to enter the territory of that State, or to +hold property in it. See the Statutes of Ohio.] + +Thus the traveller who floats down the current of the Ohio +to the spot where that river falls into the Mississippi, may be +said to sail between liberty and servitude; and a transient +inspection of the surrounding objects will convince him as to +which of the two is most favorable to mankind. Upon the left +bank of the stream the population is rare; from time to time one +descries a troop of slaves loitering in the half-desert fields; +the primaeval forest recurs at every turn; society seems to be +asleep, man to be idle, and nature alone offers a scene of +activity and of life. From the right bank, on the contrary, a +confused hum is heard which proclaims the presence of industry; +the fields are covered with abundant harvests, the elegance of +the dwellings announces the taste and activity of the laborer, +and man appears to be in the enjoyment of that wealth and +contentment which is the reward of labor. *i + +[Footnote i: The activity of Ohio is not confined to individuals, +but the undertakings of the State are surprisingly great; a canal +has been established between Lake Erie and the Ohio, by means of +which the valley of the Mississippi communicates with the river +of the North, and the European commodities which arrive at New +York may be forwarded by water to New Orleans across five hundred +leagues of continent.] + +The State of Kentucky was founded in 1775, the State of Ohio +only twelve years later; but twelve years are more in America +than half a century in Europe, and, at the present day, the +population of Ohio exceeds that of Kentucky by two hundred and +fifty thousand souls. *j These opposite consequences of slavery +and freedom may readily be understood, and they suffice to +explain many of the differences which we remark between the +civilization of antiquity and that of our own time. + +[Footnote j: The exact numbers given by the census of 1830 were: +Kentucky, 688,-844; Ohio, 937,679. [In 1890 the population of +Ohio was 3,672,316, that of Kentucky, 1,858,635.]] + +Upon the left bank of the Ohio labor is confounded with the +idea of slavery, upon the right bank it is identified with that +of prosperity and improvement; on the one side it is degraded, on +the other it is honored; on the former territory no white +laborers can be found, for they would be afraid of assimilating +themselves to the negroes; on the latter no one is idle, for the +white population extends its activity and its intelligence to +every kind of employment. Thus the men whose task it is to +cultivate the rich soil of Kentucky are ignorant and lukewarm; +whilst those who are active and enlightened either do nothing or +pass over into the State of Ohio, where they may work without +dishonor. + +It is true that in Kentucky the planters are not obliged to +pay wages to the slaves whom they employ; but they derive small +profits from their labor, whilst the wages paid to free workmen +would be returned with interest in the value of their services. +The free workman is paid, but he does his work quicker than the +slave, and rapidity of execution is one of the great elements of +economy. The white sells his services, but they are only +purchased at the times at which they may be useful; the black can +claim no remuneration for his toil, but the expense of his +maintenance is perpetual; he must be supported in his old age as +well as in the prime of manhood, in his profitless infancy as +well as in the productive years of youth. Payment must equally +be made in order to obtain the services of either class of men: +the free workman receives his wages in money, the slave in +education, in food, in care, and in clothing. The money which a +master spends in the maintenance of his slaves goes gradually and +in detail, so that it is scarcely perceived; the salary of the +free workman is paid in a round sum, which appears only to enrich +the individual who receives it, but in the end the slave has cost +more than the free servant, and his labor is less productive. *k + +[Footnote k: Independently of these causes, which, wherever free +workmen abound, render their labor more productive and more +economical than that of slaves, another cause may be pointed out +which is peculiar to the United States: the sugar-cane has +hitherto been cultivated with success only upon the banks of the +Mississippi, near the mouth of that river in the Gulf of Mexico. +In Louisiana the cultivation of the sugar-cane is exceedingly +lucrative, and nowhere does a laborer earn so much by his work, +and, as there is always a certain relation between the cost of +production and the value of the produce, the price of slaves is +very high in Louisiana. But Louisiana is one of the confederated +States, and slaves may be carried thither from all parts of the +Union; the price given for slaves in New Orleans consequently +raises the value of slaves in all the other markets. The +consequence of this is, that in the countries where the land is +less productive, the cost of slave labor is still very +considerable, which gives an additional advantage to the +competition of free labor.] + +The influence of slavery extends still further; it affects +the character of the master, and imparts a peculiar tendency to +his ideas and his tastes. Upon both banks of the Ohio, the +character of the inhabitants is enterprising and energetic; but +this vigor is very differently exercised in the two States. The +white inhabitant of Ohio, who is obliged to subsist by his own +exertions, regards temporal prosperity as the principal aim of +his existence; and as the country which he occupies presents +inexhaustible resources to his industry and ever-varying lures to +his activity, his acquisitive ardor surpasses the ordinary limits +of human cupidity: he is tormented by the desire of wealth, and +he boldly enters upon every path which fortune opens to him; he +becomes a sailor, a pioneer, an artisan, or a laborer with the +same indifference, and he supports, with equal constancy, the +fatigues and the dangers incidental to these various professions; +the resources of his intelligence are astonishing, and his +avidity in the pursuit of gain amounts to a species of heroism. + +But the Kentuckian scorns not only labor, but all the +undertakings which labor promotes; as he lives in an idle +independence, his tastes are those of an idle man; money loses a +portion of its value in his eyes; he covets wealth much less than +pleasure and excitement; and the energy which his neighbor +devotes to gain, turns with him to a passionate love of field +sports and military exercises; he delights in violent bodily +exertion, he is familiar with the use of arms, and is accustomed +from a very early age to expose his life in single combat. Thus +slavery not only prevents the whites from becoming opulent, but +even from desiring to become so. + +As the same causes have been continually producing opposite +effects for the last two centuries in the British colonies of +North America, they have established a very striking difference +between the commercial capacity of the inhabitants of the South +and those of the North. At the present day it is only the +Northern States which are in possession of shipping, +manufactures, railroads, and canals. This difference is +perceptible not only in comparing the North with the South, but +in comparing the several Southern States. Almost all the +individuals who carry on commercial operations, or who endeavor +to turn slave labor to account in the most Southern districts of +the Union, have emigrated from the North. The natives of the +Northern States are constantly spreading over that portion of the +American territory where they have less to fear from competition; +they discover resources there which escaped the notice of the +inhabitants; and, as they comply with a system which they do not +approve, they succeed in turning it to better advantage than +those who first founded and who still maintain it. + +Were I inclined to continue this parallel, I could easily +prove that almost all the differences which may be remarked +between the characters of the Americans in the Southern and in +the Northern States have originated in slavery; but this would +divert me from my subject, and my present intention is not to +point out all the consequences of servitude, but those effects +which it has produced upon the prosperity of the countries which +have admitted it. + +The influence of slavery upon the production of wealth must +have been very imperfectly known in antiquity, as slavery then +obtained throughout the civilized world; and the nations which +were unacquainted with it were barbarous. And indeed +Christianity only abolished slavery by advocating the claims of +the slave; at the present time it may be attacked in the name of +the master, and, upon this point, interest is reconciled with +morality. + +As these truths became apparent in the United States, +slavery receded before the progress of experience. Servitude had +begun in the South, and had thence spread towards the North; but +it now retires again. Freedom, which started from the North, now +descends uninterruptedly towards the South. Amongst the great +States, Pennsylvania now constitutes the extreme limit of slavery +to the North: but even within those limits the slave system is +shaken: Maryland, which is immediately below Pennsylvania, is +preparing for its abolition; and Virginia, which comes next to +Maryland, is already discussing its utility and its dangers. *l + +[Footnote l: A peculiar reason contributes to detach the two +last- mentioned States from the cause of slavery. The former +wealth of this part of the Union was principally derived from the +cultivation of tobacco. This cultivation is specially carried on +by slaves; but within the last few years the market-price of +tobacco has diminished, whilst the value of the slaves remains +the same. Thus the ratio between the cost of production and the +value of the produce is changed. The natives of Maryland and +Virginia are therefore more disposed than they were thirty years +ago, to give up slave labor in the cultivation of tobacco, or to +give up slavery and tobacco at the same time.] + +No great change takes place in human institutions without +involving amongst its causes the law of inheritance. When the +law of primogeniture obtained in the South, each family was +represented by a wealthy individual, who was neither compelled +nor induced to labor; and he was surrounded, as by parasitic +plants, by the other members of his family who were then excluded +by law from sharing the common inheritance, and who led the same +kind of life as himself. The very same thing then occurred in +all the families of the South as still happens in the wealthy +families of some countries in Europe, namely, that the younger +sons remain in the same state of idleness as their elder brother, +without being as rich as he is. This identical result seems to +be produced in Europe and in America by wholly analogous causes. +In the South of the United States the whole race of whites formed +an aristocratic body, which was headed by a certain number of +privileged individuals, whose wealth was permanent, and whose +leisure was hereditary. These leaders of the American nobility +kept alive the traditional prejudices of the white race in the +body of which they were the representatives, and maintained the +honor of inactive life. This aristocracy contained many who were +poor, but none who would work; its members preferred want to +labor, consequently no competition was set on foot against negro +laborers and slaves, and, whatever opinion might be entertained +as to the utility of their efforts, it was indispensable to +employ them, since there was no one else to work. + +No sooner was the law of primogeniture abolished than +fortunes began to diminish, and all the families of the country +were simultaneously reduced to a state in which labor became +necessary to procure the means of subsistence: several of them +have since entirely disappeared, and all of them learned to look +forward to the time at which it would be necessary for everyone +to provide for his own wants. Wealthy individuals are still to +be met with, but they no longer constitute a compact and +hereditary body, nor have they been able to adopt a line of +conduct in which they could persevere, and which they could +infuse into all ranks of society. The prejudice which +stigmatized labor was in the first place abandoned by common +consent; the number of needy men was increased, and the needy +were allowed to gain a laborious subsistence without blushing for +their exertions. Thus one of the most immediate consequences of +the partible quality of estates has been to create a class of +free laborers. As soon as a competition was set on foot between +the free laborer and the slave, the inferiority of the latter +became manifest, and slavery was attacked in its fundamental +principle, which is the interest of the master. + +As slavery recedes, the black population follows its +retrograde course, and returns with it towards those tropical +regions from which it originally came. However singular this +fact may at first appear to be, it may readily be explained. +Although the Americans abolish the principle of slavery, they do +not set their slaves free. To illustrate this remark, I will +quote the example of the State of New York. In 1788, the State +of New York prohibited the sale of slaves within its limits, +which was an indirect method of prohibiting the importation of +blacks. Thenceforward the number of negroes could only increase +according to the ratio of the natural increase of population. +But eight years later a more decisive measure was taken, and it +was enacted that all children born of slave parents after July 4, +1799, should be free. No increase could then take place, and +although slaves still existed, slavery might be said to be +abolished. + +From the time at which a Northern State prohibited the +importation of slaves, no slaves were brought from the South to +be sold in its markets. On the other hand, as the sale of slaves +was forbidden in that State, an owner was no longer able to get +rid of his slave (who thus became a burdensome possession) +otherwise than by transporting him to the South. But when a +Northern State declared that the son of the slave should be born +free, the slave lost a large portion of his market value, since +his posterity was no longer included in the bargain, and the +owner had then a strong interest in transporting him to the +South. Thus the same law prevents the slaves of the South from +coming to the Northern States, and drives those of the North to +the South. + +The want of free hands is felt in a State in proportion as +the number of slaves decreases. But in proportion as labor is +performed by free hands, slave labor becomes less productive; and +the slave is then a useless or onerous possession, whom it is +important to export to those Southern States where the same +competition is not to be feared. Thus the abolition of slavery +does not set the slave free, but it merely transfers him from one +master to another, and from the North to the South. + +The emancipated negroes, and those born after the abolition +of slavery, do not, indeed, migrate from the North to the South; +but their situation with regard to the Europeans is not unlike +that of the aborigines of America; they remain half civilized, +and deprived of their rights in the midst of a population which +is far superior to them in wealth and in knowledge; where they +are exposed to the tyranny of the laws *m and the intolerance of +the people. On some accounts they are still more to be pitied +than the Indians, since they are haunted by the reminiscence of +slavery, and they cannot claim possession of a single portion of +the soil: many of them perish miserably, *n and the rest +congregate in the great towns, where they perform the meanest +offices, and lead a wretched and precarious existence. + +[Footnote m: The States in which slavery is abolished usually do +what they can to render their territory disagreeable to the +negroes as a place of residence; and as a kind of emulation +exists between the different States in this respect, the unhappy +blacks can only choose the least of the evils which beset them.] + +[Footnote n: There is a very great difference between the +mortality of the blacks and of the whites in the States in which +slavery is abolished; from 1820 to 1831 only one out of forty-two +individuals of the white population died in Philadelphia; but one +negro out of twenty-one individuals of the black population died +in the same space of time. The mortality is by no means so great +amongst the negroes who are still slaves. (See Emmerson's +"Medical Statistics," p. 28.)] + +But even if the number of negroes continued to increase as +rapidly as when they were still in a state of slavery, as the +number of whites augments with twofold rapidity since the +abolition of slavery, the blacks would soon be, as it were, lost +in the midst of a strange population. + +A district which is cultivated by slaves is in general more +scantily peopled than a district cultivated by free labor: +moreover, America is still a new country, and a State is +therefore not half peopled at the time when it abolishes slavery. +No sooner is an end put to slavery than the want of free labor is +felt, and a crowd of enterprising adventurers immediately arrive +from all parts of the country, who hasten to profit by the fresh +resources which are then opened to industry. The soil is soon +divided amongst them, and a family of white settlers takes +possession of each tract of country. Besides which, European +emigration is exclusively directed to the free States; for what +would be the fate of a poor emigrant who crosses the Atlantic in +search of ease and happiness if he were to land in a country +where labor is stigmatized as degrading? + +Thus the white population grows by its natural increase, and +at the same time by the immense influx of emigrants; whilst the +black population receives no emigrants, and is upon its decline. +The proportion which existed between the two races is soon +inverted. The negroes constitute a scanty remnant, a poor tribe +of vagrants, which is lost in the midst of an immense people in +full possession of the land; and the presence of the blacks is +only marked by the injustice and the hardships of which they are +the unhappy victims. + +In several of the Western States the negro race never made +its appearance, and in all the Northern States it is rapidly +declining. Thus the great question of its future condition is +confined within a narrow circle, where it becomes less +formidable, though not more easy of solution. + +The more we descend towards the South, the more difficult +does it become to abolish slavery with advantage: and this arises +from several physical causes which it is important to point out. + +The first of these causes is the climate; it is well known +that in proportion as Europeans approach the tropics they suffer +more from labor. Many of the Americans even assert that within a +certain latitude the exertions which a negro can make without +danger are fatal to them; *o but I do not think that this +opinion, which is so favorable to the indolence of the +inhabitants of southern regions, is confirmed by experience. The +southern parts of the Union are not hotter than the South of +Italy and of Spain; *p and it may be asked why the European +cannot work as well there as in the two latter countries. If +slavery has been abolished in Italy and in Spain without causing +the destruction of the masters, why should not the same thing +take place in the Union? I cannot believe that nature has +prohibited the Europeans in Georgia and the Floridas, under pain +of death, from raising the means of subsistence from the soil, +but their labor would unquestionably be more irksome and less +productive to them than to the inhabitants of New England. As the +free workman thus loses a portion of his superiority over the +slave in the Southern States, there are fewer inducements to +abolish slavery. + +[Footnote o: This is true of the spots in which rice is +cultivated; rice-grounds, which are unwholesome in all countries, +are particularly dangerous in those regions which are exposed to +the beams of a tropical sun. Europeans would not find it easy to +cultivate the soil in that part of the New World if it must be +necessarily be made to produce rice; but may they not subsist +without rice-grounds?] + +[Footnote p: These States are nearer to the equator than Italy +and Spain, but the temperature of the continent of America is +very much lower than that of Europe. + +The Spanish Government formerly caused a certain number of +peasants from the Acores to be transported into a district of +Louisiana called Attakapas, by way of experiment. These settlers +still cultivate the soil without the assistance of slaves, but +their industry is so languid as scarcely to supply their most +necessary wants.] + +All the plants of Europe grow in the northern parts of the +Union; the South has special productions of its own. It has been +observed that slave labor is a very expensive method of +cultivating corn. The farmer of corn land in a country where +slavery is unknown habitually retains a small number of laborers +in his service, and at seed-time and harvest he hires several +additional hands, who only live at his cost for a short period. +But the agriculturist in a slave State is obliged to keep a large +number of slaves the whole year round, in order to sow his fields +and to gather in his crops, although their services are only +required for a few weeks; but slaves are unable to wait till they +are hired, and to subsist by their own labor in the mean time +like free laborers; in order to have their services they must be +bought. Slavery, independently of its general disadvantages, is +therefore still more inapplicable to countries in which corn is +cultivated than to those which produce crops of a different kind. +The cultivation of tobacco, of cotton, and especially of the +sugar-cane, demands, on the other hand, unremitting attention: +and women and children are employed in it, whose services are of +but little use in the cultivation of wheat. Thus slavery is +naturally more fitted to the countries from which these +productions are derived. Tobacco, cotton, and the sugar-cane are +exclusively grown in the South, and they form one of the +principal sources of the wealth of those States. If slavery were +abolished, the inhabitants of the South would be constrained to +adopt one of two alternatives: they must either change their +system of cultivation, and then they would come into competition +with the more active and more experienced inhabitants of the +North; or, if they continued to cultivate the same produce +without slave labor, they would have to support the competition +of the other States of the South, which might still retain their +slaves. Thus, peculiar reasons for maintaining slavery exist in +the South which do not operate in the North. + +But there is yet another motive which is more cogent than +all the others: the South might indeed, rigorously speaking, +abolish slavery; but how should it rid its territory of the black +population? Slaves and slavery are driven from the North by the +same law, but this twofold result cannot be hoped for in the +South. + +The arguments which I have adduced to show that slavery is +more natural and more advantageous in the South than in the +North, sufficiently prove that the number of slaves must be far +greater in the former districts. It was to the southern +settlements that the first Africans were brought, and it is there +that the greatest number of them have always been imported. As +we advance towards the South, the prejudice which sanctions +idleness increases in power. In the States nearest to the tropics +there is not a single white laborer; the negroes are consequently +much more numerous in the South than in the North. And, as I have +already observed, this disproportion increases daily, since the +negroes are transferred to one part of the Union as soon as +slavery is abolished in the other. Thus the black population +augments in the South, not only by its natural fecundity, but by +the compulsory emigration of the negroes from the North; and the +African race has causes of increase in the South very analogous +to those which so powerfully accelerate the growth of the +European race in the North. + +In the State of Maine there is one negro in 300 inhabitants; +in Massachusetts, one in 100; in New York, two in 100; in +Pennsylvania, three in the same number; in Maryland, thirty-four; +in Virginia, forty-two; and lastly, in South Carolina *q +fifty-five per cent. Such was the proportion of the black +population to the whites in the year 1830. But this proportion +is perpetually changing, as it constantly decreases in the North +and augments in the South. + + +[Footnote q: We find it asserted in an American work, entitled +"Letters on the Colonization Society," by Mr. Carey, 1833, "That +for the last forty years the black race has increased more +rapidly than the white race in the State of South Carolina; and +that if we take the average population of the five States of the +South into which slaves were first introduced, viz., Maryland, +Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, we shall +find that from 1790 to 1830 the whites have augmented in the +proportion of 80 to 100, and the blacks in that of 112 to 100." + +In the United States, in 1830, the population of the two +races stood as follows: - + +States where slavery is abolished, 6,565,434 whites; 120,520 +blacks. Slave States, 3,960,814 whites; 2,208,102 blacks. [In +1890 the United States contained a population of 54,983,890 +whites, and 7,638,360 negroes.]] + +It is evident that the most Southern States of the Union +cannot abolish slavery without incurring very great dangers, +which the North had no reason to apprehend when it emancipated +its black population. We have already shown the system by which +the Northern States secure the transition from slavery to +freedom, by keeping the present generation in chains, and setting +their descendants free; by this means the negroes are gradually +introduced into society; and whilst the men who might abuse their +freedom are kept in a state of servitude, those who are +emancipated may learn the art of being free before they become +their own masters. But it would be difficult to apply this +method in the South. To declare that all the negroes born after +a certain period shall be free, is to introduce the principle and +the notion of liberty into the heart of slavery; the blacks whom +the law thus maintains in a state of slavery from which their +children are delivered, are astonished at so unequal a fate, and +their astonishment is only the prelude to their impatience and +irritation. Thenceforward slavery loses, in their eyes, that +kind of moral power which it derived from time and habit; it is +reduced to a mere palpable abuse of force. The Northern States +had nothing to fear from the contrast, because in them the blacks +were few in number, and the white population was very +considerable. But if this faint dawn of freedom were to show two +millions of men their true position, the oppressors would have +reason to tremble. After having affranchised the children of +their slaves the Europeans of the Southern States would very +shortly be obliged to extend the same benefit to the whole black +population. + +Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races - Part V + +In the North, as I have already remarked, a twofold +migration ensues upon the abolition of slavery, or even precedes +that event when circumstances have rendered it probable; the +slaves quit the country to be transported southwards; and the +whites of the Northern States, as well as the emigrants from +Europe, hasten to fill up their place. But these two causes +cannot operate in the same manner in the Southern States. On the +one hand, the mass of slaves is too great for any expectation of +their ever being removed from the country to be entertained; and +on the other hand, the Europeans and Anglo-Americans of the North +are afraid to come to inhabit a country in which labor has not +yet been reinstated in its rightful honors. Besides, they very +justly look upon the States in which the proportion of the +negroes equals or exceeds that of the whites, as exposed to very +great dangers; and they refrain from turning their activity in +that direction. + +Thus the inhabitants of the South would not be able, like +their Northern countrymen, to initiate the slaves gradually into +a state of freedom by abolishing slavery; they have no means of +perceptibly diminishing the black population, and they would +remain unsupported to repress its excesses. So that in the +course of a few years, a great people of free negroes would exist +in the heart of a white nation of equal size. + +The same abuses of power which still maintain slavery, would +then become the source of the most alarming perils which the +white population of the South might have to apprehend. At the +present time the descendants of the Europeans are the sole owners +of the land; the absolute masters of all labor; and the only +persons who are possessed of wealth, knowledge, and arms. The +black is destitute of all these advantages, but he subsists +without them because he is a slave. If he were free, and obliged +to provide for his own subsistence, would it be possible for him +to remain without these things and to support life? Or would not +the very instruments of the present superiority of the white, +whilst slavery exists, expose him to a thousand dangers if it +were abolished? + +As long as the negro remains a slave, he may be kept in a +condition not very far removed from that of the brutes; but, with +his liberty, he cannot but acquire a degree of instruction which +will enable him to appreciate his misfortunes, and to discern a +remedy for them. Moreover, there exists a singular principle of +relative justice which is very firmly implanted in the human +heart. Men are much more forcibly struck by those inequalities +which exist within the circle of the same class, than with those +which may be remarked between different classes. It is more easy +for them to admit slavery, than to allow several millions of +citizens to exist under a load of eternal infamy and hereditary +wretchedness. In the North the population of freed negroes feels +these hardships and resents these indignities; but its numbers +and its powers are small, whilst in the South it would be +numerous and strong. + +As soon as it is admitted that the whites and the +emancipated blacks are placed upon the same territory in the +situation of two alien communities, it will readily be understood +that there are but two alternatives for the future; the negroes +and the whites must either wholly part or wholly mingle. I have +already expressed the conviction which I entertain as to the +latter event. *r I do not imagine that the white and black races +will ever live in any country upon an equal footing. But I +believe the difficulty to be still greater in the United States +than elsewhere. An isolated individual may surmount the +prejudices of religion, of his country, or of his race, and if +this individual is a king he may effect surprising changes in +society; but a whole people cannot rise, as it were, above +itself. A despot who should subject the Americans and their +former slaves to the same yoke, might perhaps succeed in +commingling their races; but as long as the American democracy +remains at the head of affairs, no one will undertake so +difficult a task; and it may be foreseen that the freer the white +population of the United States becomes, the more isolated will +it remain. *s + +[Footnote r: This opinion is sanctioned by authorities infinitely +weightier than anything that I can say: thus, for instance, it is +stated in the "Memoirs of Jefferson" (as collected by M. +Conseil), "Nothing is more clearly written in the book of destiny +than the emancipation of the blacks; and it is equally certain +that the two races will never live in a state of equal freedom +under the same government, so insurmountable are the barriers +which nature, habit, and opinions have established between +them."] + +[Footnote s: If the British West India planters had governed +themselves, they would assuredly not have passed the Slave +Emancipation Bill which the mother-country has recently imposed +upon them.] + +I have previously observed that the mixed race is the true +bond of union between the Europeans and the Indians; just so the +mulattoes are the true means of transition between the white and +the negro; so that wherever mulattoes abound, the intermixture of +the two races is not impossible. In some parts of America, the +European and the negro races are so crossed by one another, that +it is rare to meet with a man who is entirely black, or entirely +white: when they are arrived at this point, the two races may +really be said to be combined; or rather to have been absorbed in +a third race, which is connected with both without being +identical with either. + +Of all the Europeans the English are those who have mixed +least with the negroes. More mulattoes are to be seen in the +South of the Union than in the North, but still they are +infinitely more scarce than in any other European colony: +mulattoes are by no means numerous in the United States; they +have no force peculiar to themselves, and when quarrels +originating in differences of color take place, they generally +side with the whites; just as the lackeys of the great, in +Europe, assume the contemptuous airs of nobility to the lower +orders. + +The pride of origin, which is natural to the English, is +singularly augmented by the personal pride which democratic +liberty fosters amongst the Americans: the white citizen of the +United States is proud of his race, and proud of himself. But if +the whites and the negroes do not intermingle in the North of the +Union, how should they mix in the South? Can it be supposed for +an instant, that an American of the Southern States, placed, as +he must forever be, between the white man with all his physical +and moral superiority and the negro, will ever think of +preferring the latter? The Americans of the Southern States have +two powerful passions which will always keep them aloof; the +first is the fear of being assimilated to the negroes, their +former slaves; and the second the dread of sinking below the +whites, their neighbors. + +If I were called upon to predict what will probably occur at +some future time, I should say, that the abolition of slavery in +the South will, in the common course of things, increase the +repugnance of the white population for the men of color. I found +this opinion upon the analogous observation which I already had +occasion to make in the North. I there remarked that the white +inhabitants of the North avoid the negroes with increasing care, +in proportion as the legal barriers of separation are removed by +the legislature; and why should not the same result take place in +the South? In the North, the whites are deterred from +intermingling with the blacks by the fear of an imaginary danger; +in the South, where the danger would be real, I cannot imagine +that the fear would be less general. + +If, on the one hand, it be admitted (and the fact is +unquestionable) that the colored population perpetually +accumulates in the extreme South, and that it increases more +rapidly than that of the whites; and if, on the other hand, it be +allowed that it is impossible to foresee a time at which the +whites and the blacks will be so intermingled as to derive the +same benefits from society; must it not be inferred that the +blacks and the whites will, sooner or later, come to open strife +in the Southern States of the Union? But if it be asked what the +issue of the struggle is likely to be, it will readily be +understood that we are here left to form a very vague surmise of +the truth. The human mind may succeed in tracing a wide circle, +as it were, which includes the course of future events; but +within that circle a thousand various chances and circumstances +may direct it in as many different ways; and in every picture of +the future there is a dim spot, which the eye of the +understanding cannot penetrate. It appears, however, to be +extremely probable that in the West Indian Islands the white race +is destined to be subdued, and the black population to share the +same fate upon the continent. + +In the West India Islands the white planters are surrounded +by an immense black population; on the continent, the blacks are +placed between the ocean and an innumerable people, which already +extends over them in a dense mass, from the icy confines of +Canada to the frontiers of Virginia, and from the banks of the +Missouri to the shores of the Atlantic. If the white citizens of +North America remain united, it cannot be supposed that the +negroes will escape the destruction with which they are menaced; +they must be subdued by want or by the sword. But the black +population which is accumulated along the coast of the Gulf of +Mexico, has a chance of success if the American Union is +dissolved when the struggle between the two races begins. If the +federal tie were broken, the citizens of the South would be wrong +to rely upon any lasting succor from their Northern countrymen. +The latter are well aware that the danger can never reach them; +and unless they are constrained to march to the assistance of the +South by a positive obligation, it may be foreseen that the +sympathy of color will be insufficient to stimulate their +exertions. + +Yet, at whatever period the strife may break out, the whites +of the South, even if they are abandoned to their own resources, +will enter the lists with an immense superiority of knowledge and +of the means of warfare; but the blacks will have numerical +strength and the energy of despair upon their side, and these are +powerful resources to men who have taken up arms. The fate of the +white population of the Southern States will, perhaps, be similar +to that of the Moors in Spain. After having occupied the land +for centuries, it will perhaps be forced to retire to the country +whence its ancestors came, and to abandon to the negroes the +possession of a territory, which Providence seems to have more +peculiarly destined for them, since they can subsist and labor in +it more easily that the whites. + +The danger of a conflict between the white and the black +inhabitants of the Southern States of the Union - a danger which, +however remote it may be, is inevitable - perpetually haunts the +imagination of the Americans. The inhabitants of the North make +it a common topic of conversation, although they have no direct +injury to fear from the struggle; but they vainly endeavor to +devise some means of obviating the misfortunes which they +foresee. In the Southern States the subject is not discussed: +the planter does not allude to the future in conversing with +strangers; the citizen does not communicate his apprehensions to +his friends; he seeks to conceal them from himself; but there is +something more alarming in the tacit forebodings of the South, +than in the clamorous fears of the Northern States. + +This all-pervading disquietude has given birth to an +undertaking which is but little known, but which may have the +effect of changing the fate of a portion of the human race. From +apprehension of the dangers which I have just been describing, a +certain number of American citizens have formed a society for the +purpose of exporting to the coast of Guinea, at their own +expense, such free negroes as may be willing to escape from the +oppression to which they are subject. *t In 1820, the society to +which I allude formed a settlement in Africa, upon the seventh +degree of north latitude, which bears the name of Liberia. The +most recent intelligence informs us that 2,500 negroes are +collected there; they have introduced the democratic institutions +of America into the country of their forefathers; and Liberia has +a representative system of government, negro jurymen, negro +magistrates, and negro priests; churches have been built, +newspapers established, and, by a singular change in the +vicissitudes of the world, white men are prohibited from +sojourning within the settlement. *u + +[Footnote t: This society assumed the name of "The Society for +the Colonization of the Blacks." See its annual reports; and more +particularly the fifteenth. See also the pamphlet, to which +allusion has already been made, entitled "Letters on the +Colonization Society, and on its probable Results," by Mr. Carey, +Philadelphia, 1833.] + +[Footnote u: This last regulation was laid down by the founders +of the settlement; they apprehended that a state of things might +arise in Africa similar to that which exists on the frontiers of +the United States, and that if the negroes, like the Indians, +were brought into collision with a people more enlightened than +themselves, they would be destroyed before they could be +civilized.] + +This is indeed a strange caprice of fortune. Two hundred +years have now elapsed since the inhabitants of Europe undertook +to tear the negro from his family and his home, in order to +transport him to the shores of North America; at the present day, +the European settlers are engaged in sending back the descendants +of those very negroes to the Continent from which they were +originally taken; and the barbarous Africans have been brought +into contact with civilization in the midst of bondage, and have +become acquainted with free political institutions in slavery. +Up to the present time Africa has been closed against the arts +and sciences of the whites; but the inventions of Europe will +perhaps penetrate into those regions, now that they are +introduced by Africans themselves. The settlement of Liberia is +founded upon a lofty and a most fruitful idea; but whatever may +be its results with regard to the Continent of Africa, it can +afford no remedy to the New World. + +In twelve years the Colonization Society has transported +2,500 negroes to Africa; in the same space of time about 700,000 +blacks were born in the United States. If the colony of Liberia +were so situated as to be able to receive thousands of new +inhabitants every year, and if the negroes were in a state to be +sent thither with advantage; if the Union were to supply the +society with annual subsidies, *v and to transport the negroes to +Africa in the vessels of the State, it would still be unable to +counterpoise the natural increase of population amongst the +blacks; and as it could not remove as many men in a year as are +born upon its territory within the same space of time, it would +fail in suspending the growth of the evil which is daily +increasing in the States. *w The negro race will never leave +those shores of the American continent, to which it was brought +by the passions and the vices of Europeans; and it will not +disappear from the New World as long as it continues to exist. +The inhabitants of the United States may retard the calamities +which they apprehend, but they cannot now destroy their efficient +cause. + +[Footnote v: Nor would these be the only difficulties attendant +upon the undertaking; if the Union undertook to buy up the +negroes now in America, in order to transport them to Africa, the +price of slaves, increasing with their scarcity, would soon +become enormous; and the States of the North would never consent +to expend such great sums for a purpose which would procure such +small advantages to themselves. If the Union took possession of +the slaves in the Southern States by force, or at a rate +determined by law, an insurmountable resistance would arise in +that part of the country. Both alternatives are equally +impossible.] + +[Footnote w: In 1830 there were in the United States 2,010,327 +slaves and 319,439 free blacks, in all 2,329,766 negroes: which +formed about one-fifth of the total population of the United +States at that time.] + +I am obliged to confess that I do not regard the abolition +of slavery as a means of warding off the struggle of the two +races in the United States. The negroes may long remain slaves +without complaining; but if they are once raised to the level of +free men, they will soon revolt at being deprived of all their +civil rights; and as they cannot become the equals of the whites, +they will speedily declare themselves as enemies. In the North +everything contributed to facilitate the emancipation of the +slaves; and slavery was abolished, without placing the free +negroes in a position which could become formidable, since their +number was too small for them ever to claim the exercise of their +rights. But such is not the case in the South. The question of +slavery was a question of commerce and manufacture for the +slave-owners in the North; for those of the South, it is a +question of life and death. God forbid that I should seek to +justify the principle of negro slavery, as has been done by some +American writers! But I only observe that all the countries +which formerly adopted that execrable principle are not equally +able to abandon it at the present time. + +When I contemplate the condition of the South, I can only +discover two alternatives which may be adopted by the white +inhabitants of those States; viz., either to emancipate the +negroes, and to intermingle with them; or, remaining isolated +from them, to keep them in a state of slavery as long as +possible. All intermediate measures seem to me likely to +terminate, and that shortly, in the most horrible of civil wars, +and perhaps in the extirpation of one or other of the two races. +Such is the view which the Americans of the South take of the +question, and they act consistently with it. As they are +determined not to mingle with the negroes, they refuse to +emancipate them. + + + Not that the inhabitants of the South regard slavery as +necessary to the wealth of the planter, for on this point many of +them agree with their Northern countrymen in freely admitting +that slavery is prejudicial to their interest; but they are +convinced that, however prejudicial it may be, they hold their +lives upon no other tenure. The instruction which is now +diffused in the South has convinced the inhabitants that slavery +is injurious to the slave-owner, but it has also shown them, more +clearly than before, that no means exist of getting rid of its +bad consequences. Hence arises a singular contrast; the more the +utility of slavery is contested, the more firmly is it +established in the laws; and whilst the principle of servitude is +gradually abolished in the North, that self-same principle gives +rise to more and more rigorous consequences in the South. + +The legislation of the Southern States with regard to +slaves, presents at the present day such unparalleled atrocities +as suffice to show how radically the laws of humanity have been +perverted, and to betray the desperate position of the community +in which that legislation has been promulgated. The Americans of +this portion of the Union have not, indeed, augmented the +hardships of slavery; they have, on the contrary, bettered the +physical condition of the slaves. The only means by which the +ancients maintained slavery were fetters and death; the Americans +of the South of the Union have discovered more intellectual +securities for the duration of their power. They have employed +their despotism and their violence against the human mind. In +antiquity, precautions were taken to prevent the slave from +breaking his chains; at the present day measures are adopted to +deprive him even of the desire of freedom. The ancients kept the +bodies of their slaves in bondage, but they placed no restraint +upon the mind and no check upon education; and they acted +consistently with their established principle, since a natural +termination of slavery then existed, and one day or other the +slave might be set free, and become the equal of his master. But +the Americans of the South, who do not admit that the negroes can +ever be commingled with themselves, have forbidden them to be +taught to read or to write, under severe penalties; and as they +will not raise them to their own level, they sink them as nearly +as possible to that of the brutes. + +The hope of liberty had always been allowed to the slave to +cheer the hardships of his condition. But the Americans of the +South are well aware that emancipation cannot but be dangerous, +when the freed man can never be assimilated to his former master. +To give a man his freedom, and to leave him in wretchedness and +ignominy, is nothing less than to prepare a future chief for a +revolt of the slaves. Moreover, it has long been remarked that +the presence of a free negro vaguely agitates the minds of his +less fortunate brethren, and conveys to them a dim notion of +their rights. The Americans of the South have consequently taken +measures to prevent slave-owners from emancipating their slaves +in most cases; not indeed by a positive prohibition, but by +subjecting that step to various forms which it is difficult to +comply with. +I happened to meet with an old man, in the South of the +Union, who had lived in illicit intercourse with one of his +negresses, and had had several children by her, who were born the +slaves of their father. He had indeed frequently thought of +bequeathing to them at least their liberty; but years had elapsed +without his being able to surmount the legal obstacles to their +emancipation, and in the mean while his old age was come, and he +was about to die. He pictured to himself his sons dragged from +market to market, and passing from the authority of a parent to +the rod of the stranger, until these horrid anticipations worked +his expiring imagination into frenzy. When I saw him he was a +prey to all the anguish of despair, and he made me feel how awful +is the retribution of nature upon those who have broken her laws. + +These evils are unquestionably great; but they are the +necessary and foreseen consequence of the very principle of +modern slavery. When the Europeans chose their slaves from a +race differing from their own, which many of them considered as +inferior to the other races of mankind, and which they all +repelled with horror from any notion of intimate connection, they +must have believed that slavery would last forever; since there +is no intermediate state which can be durable between the +excessive inequality produced by servitude and the complete +equality which originates in independence. The Europeans did +imperfectly feel this truth, but without acknowledging it even to +themselves. Whenever they have had to do with negroes, their +conduct has either been dictated by their interest and their +pride, or by their compassion. They first violated every right +of humanity by their treatment of the negro and they afterwards +informed him that those rights were precious and inviolable. +They affected to open their ranks to the slaves, but the negroes +who attempted to penetrate into the community were driven back +with scorn; and they have incautiously and involuntarily been led +to admit of freedom instead of slavery, without having the +courage to be wholly iniquitous, or wholly just. + +If it be impossible to anticipate a period at which the +Americans of the South will mingle their blood with that of the +negroes, can they allow their slaves to become free without +compromising their own security? And if they are obliged to keep +that race in bondage in order to save their own families, may +they not be excused for availing themselves of the means best +adapted to that end? The events which are taking place in the +Southern States of the Union appear to me to be at once the most +horrible and the most natural results of slavery. When I see the +order of nature overthrown, and when I hear the cry of humanity +in its vain struggle against the laws, my indignation does not +light upon the men of our own time who are the instruments of +these outrages; but I reserve my execration for those who, after +a thousand years of freedom, brought back slavery into the world +once more. + +Whatever may be the efforts of the Americans of the South to +maintain slavery, they will not always succeed. Slavery, which +is now confined to a single tract of the civilized earth, which +is attacked by Christianity as unjust, and by political economy +as prejudicial; and which is now contrasted with democratic +liberties and the information of our age, cannot survive. By the +choice of the master, or by the will of the slave, it will cease; +and in either case great calamities may be expected to ensue. If +liberty be refused to the negroes of the South, they will in the +end seize it for themselves by force; if it be given, they will +abuse it ere long. *x + +[Footnote x: [This chapter is no longer applicable to the +condition of the negro race in the United States, since the +abolition of slavery was the result, though not the object, of +the great Civil War, and the negroes have been raised to the +condition not only of freedmen, but of citizens; and in some +States they exercise a preponderating political power by reason +of their numerical majority. Thus, in South Carolina there were +in 1870, 289,667 whites and 415,814 blacks. But the emancipation +of the slaves has not solved the problem, how two races so +different and so hostile are to live together in peace in one +country on equal terms. That problem is as difficult, perhaps +more difficult than ever; and to this difficulty the author's +remarks are still perfectly +applicable.]] + + +Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races - Part VI + +What Are The Chances In Favor Of The Duration Of The American +Union, And What Dangers Threaten It *y + +[Footnote y: [This chapter is one of the most curious and +interesting portions of the work, because it embraces almost all +the constitutional and social questions which were raised by the +great secession of the South and decided by the results of the +Civil War. But it must be confessed that the sagacity of the +author is sometimes at fault in these speculations, and did not +save him from considerable errors, which the course of events has +since made apparent. He held that "the legislators of the +Constitution of 1789 were not appointed to constitute the +government of a single people, but to regulate the association of +several States; that the Union was formed by the voluntary +agreement of the States, and in uniting together they have not +forfeited their nationality, nor have they been reduced to the +condition of one and the same people." Whence he inferred that +"if one of the States chose to withdraw its name from the +contract, it would be difficult to disprove its right of doing +so; and that the Federal Government would have no means of +maintaining its claims directly, either by force or by right." +This is the Southern theory of the Constitution, and the whole +case of the South in favor of secession. To many Europeans, and +to some American (Northern) jurists, this view appeared to be +sound; but it was vigorously resisted by the North, and crushed +by force of arms. + +The author of this book was mistaken in supposing that the +"Union was a vast body which presents no definite object to +patriotic feeling." When the day of trial came, millions of men +were ready to lay down their lives for it. He was also mistaken +in supposing that the Federal Executive is so weak that it +requires the free consent of the governed to enable it to +subsist, and that it would be defeated in a struggle to maintain +the Union against one or more separate States. In 1861 nine +States, with a population of 8,753,000, seceded, and maintained +for four years a resolute but unequal contest for independence, +but they were defeated. + +Lastly, the author was mistaken in supposing that a +community of interests would always prevail between North and +South sufficiently powerful to bind them together. He overlooked +the influence which the question of slavery must have on the +Union the moment that the majority of the people of the North +declared against it. In 1831, when the author visited America, +the anti-slavery agitation had scarcely begun; and the fact of +Southern slavery was accepted by men of all parties, even in the +States where there were no slaves: and that was unquestionably +the view taken by all the States and by all American statesmen at +the time of the adoption of the Constitution, in 1789. But in +the course of thirty years a great change took place, and the +North refused to perpetuate what had become the "peculiar +institution" of the South, especially as it gave the South a +species of aristocratic preponderance. The result was the +ratification, in December, 1865, of the celebrated 13th article +or amendment of the Constitution, which declared that "neither +slavery nor involuntary servitude - except as a punishment for +crime - shall exist within the United States." To which was soon +afterwards added the 15th article, "The right of citizens to vote +shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any +State, on account of race, color, or previous servitude." The +emancipation of several millions of negro slaves without +compensation, and the transfer to them of political preponderance +in the States in which they outnumber the white population, were +acts of the North totally opposed to the interests of the South, +and which could only have been carried into effect by conquest. - +Translator's Note.]] + +Reason for which the preponderating force lies in the States +rather than in the Union - The Union will only last as long as +all the States choose to belong to it - Causes which tend to keep +them united - Utility of the Union to resist foreign enemies, and +to prevent the existence of foreigners in America - No natural +barriers between the several States - No conflicting interests to +divide them - Reciprocal interests of the Northern, Southern, and +Western States - Intellectual ties of union - Uniformity of +opinions - Dangers of the Union resulting from the different +characters and the passions of its citizens - Character of the +citizens in the South and in the North - The rapid growth of the +Union one of its greatest dangers - Progress of the population to +the Northwest - Power gravitates in the same direction - Passions +originating from sudden turns of fortune - Whether the existing +Government of the Union tends to gain strength, or to lose it - +Various signs of its decrease - Internal improvements - Waste +lands - Indians - The Bank - The Tariff - General Jackson. + +The maintenance of the existing institutions of the several +States depends in some measure upon the maintenance of the Union +itself. It is therefore important in the first instance to +inquire into the probable fate of the Union. One point may +indeed be assumed at once: if the present confederation were +dissolved, it appears to me to be incontestable that the States +of which it is now composed would not return to their original +isolated condition, but that several unions would then be formed +in the place of one. It is not my intention to inquire into the +principles upon which these new unions would probably be +established, but merely to show what the causes are which may +effect the dismemberment of the existing confederation. + +With this object I shall be obliged to retrace some of the +steps which I have already taken, and to revert to topics which I +have before discussed. I am aware that the reader may accuse me +of repetition, but the importance of the matter which still +remains to be treated is my excuse; I had rather say too much, +than say too little to be thoroughly understood, and I prefer +injuring the author to slighting the subject. + +The legislators who formed the Constitution of 1789 +endeavored to confer a distinct and preponderating authority upon +the federal power. But they were confined by the conditions of +the task which they had undertaken to perform. They were not +appointed to constitute the government of a single people, but to +regulate the association of several States; and, whatever their +inclinations might be, they could not but divide the exercise of +sovereignty in the end. + +In order to understand the consequences of this division, it +is necessary to make a short distinction between the affairs of +the Government. There are some objects which are national by +their very nature, that is to say, which affect the nation as a +body, and can only be intrusted to the man or the assembly of men +who most completely represent the entire nation. Amongst these +may be reckoned war and diplomacy. There are other objects which +are provincial by their very nature, that is to say, which only +affect certain localities, and which can only be properly treated +in that locality. Such, for instance, is the budget of a +municipality. Lastly, there are certain objects of a mixed +nature, which are national inasmuch as they affect all the +citizens who compose the nation, and which are provincial +inasmuch as it is not necessary that the nation itself should +provide for them all. Such are the rights which regulate the +civil and political condition of the citizens. No society can +exist without civil and political rights. These rights therefore +interest all the citizens alike; but it is not always necessary +to the existence and the prosperity of the nation that these +rights should be uniform, nor, consequently, that they should be +regulated by the central authority. + +There are, then, two distinct categories of objects which +are submitted to the direction of the sovereign power; and these +categories occur in all well-constituted communities, whatever +the basis of the political constitution may otherwise be. +Between these two extremes the objects which I have termed mixed +may be considered to lie. As these objects are neither +exclusively national nor entirely provincial, they may be +obtained by a national or by a provincial government, according +to the agreement of the contracting parties, without in any way +impairing the contract of association. + +The sovereign power is usually formed by the union of +separate individuals, who compose a people; and individual powers +or collective forces, each representing a very small portion of +the sovereign authority, are the sole elements which are +subjected to the general Government of their choice. In this case +the general Government is more naturally called upon to regulate, +not only those affairs which are of essential national +importance, but those which are of a more local interest; and the +local governments are reduced to that small share of sovereign +authority which is indispensable to their prosperity. + +But sometimes the sovereign authority is composed of +preorganized political bodies, by virtue of circumstances +anterior to their union; and in this case the provincial +governments assume the control, not only of those affairs which +more peculiarly belong to their province, but of all, or of a +part of the mixed affairs to which allusion has been made. For +the confederate nations which were independent sovereign States +before their union, and which still represent a very considerable +share of the sovereign power, have only consented to cede to the +general Government the exercise of those rights which are +indispensable to the Union. + +When the national Government, independently of the +prerogatives inherent in its nature, is invested with the right +of regulating the affairs which relate partly to the general and +partly to the local interests, it possesses a preponderating +influence. Not only are its own rights extensive, but all the +rights which it does not possess exist by its sufferance, and it +may be apprehended that the provincial governments may be +deprived of their natural and necessary prerogatives by its +influence. + +When, on the other hand, the provincial governments are +invested with the power of regulating those same affairs of mixed +interest, an opposite tendency prevails in society. The +preponderating force resides in the province, not in the nation; +and it may be apprehended that the national Government may in the +end be stripped of the privileges which are necessary to its +existence. + +Independent nations have therefore a natural tendency to +centralization, and confederations to dismemberment. + +It now only remains for us to apply these general principles +to the American Union. The several States were necessarily +possessed of the right of regulating all exclusively provincial +affairs. Moreover these same States retained the rights of +determining the civil and political competency of the citizens, +or regulating the reciprocal relations of the members of the +community, and of dispensing justice; rights which are of a +general nature, but which do not necessarily appertain to the +national Government. We have shown that the Government of the +Union is invested with the power of acting in the name of the +whole nation in those cases in which the nation has to appear as +a single and undivided power; as, for instance, in foreign +relations, and in offering a common resistance to a common enemy; +in short, in conducting those affairs which I have styled +exclusively national. + +In this division of the rights of sovereignty, the share of +the Union seems at first sight to be more considerable than that +of the States; but a more attentive investigation shows it to be +less so. The undertakings of the Government of the Union are +more vast, but their influence is more rarely felt. Those of the +provincial governments are comparatively small, but they are +incessant, and they serve to keep alive the authority which they +represent. The Government of the Union watches the general +interests of the country; but the general interests of a people +have a very questionable influence upon individual happiness, +whilst provincial interests produce a most immediate effect upon +the welfare of the inhabitants. The Union secures the +independence and the greatness of the nation, which do not +immediately affect private citizens; but the several States +maintain the liberty, regulate the rights, protect the fortune, +and secure the life and the whole future prosperity of every +citizen. + +The Federal Government is very far removed from its +subjects, whilst the provincial governments are within the reach +of them all, and are ready to attend to the smallest appeal. The +central Government has upon its side the passions of a few +superior men who aspire to conduct it; but upon the side of the +provincial governments are the interests of all those second-rate +individuals who can only hope to obtain power within their own +State, and who nevertheless exercise the largest share of +authority over the people because they are placed nearest to its +level. The Americans have therefore much more to hope and to +fear from the States than from the Union; and, in conformity with +the natural tendency of the human mind, they are more likely to +attach themselves to the former than to the latter. In this +respect their habits and feelings harmonize with their interests. + + +When a compact nation divides its sovereignty, and adopts a +confederate form of government, the traditions, the customs, and +the manners of the people are for a long time at variance with +their legislation; and the former tend to give a degree of +influence to the central government which the latter forbids. +When a number of confederate states unite to form a single +nation, the same causes operate in an opposite direction. I have +no doubt that if France were to become a confederate republic +like that of the United States, the government would at first +display more energy than that of the Union; and if the Union were +to alter its constitution to a monarchy like that of France, I +think that the American Government would be a long time in +acquiring the force which now rules the latter nation. When the +national existence of the Anglo-Americans began, their provincial +existence was already of long standing; necessary relations were +established between the townships and the individual citizens of +the same States; and they were accustomed to consider some +objects as common to them all, and to conduct other affairs as +exclusively relating to their own special interests. + +The Union is a vast body which presents no definite object +to patriotic feeling. The forms and limits of the State are +distinct and circumscribed; since it represents a certain number +of objects which are familiar to the citizens and beloved by all. +It is identified with the very soil, with the right of property +and the domestic affections, with the recollections of the past, +the labors of the present, and the hopes of the future. +Patriotism, then, which is frequently a mere extension of +individual egotism, is still directed to the State, and is not +excited by the Union. Thus the tendency of the interests, the +habits, and the feelings of the people is to centre political +activity in the States, in preference to the Union. + +It is easy to estimate the different forces of the two +governments, by remarking the manner in which they fulfil their +respective functions. Whenever the government of a State has +occasion to address an individual or an assembly of individuals, +its language is clear and imperative; and such is also the tone +of the Federal Government in its intercourse with individuals, +but no sooner has it anything to do with a State than it begins +to parley, to explain its motives and to justify its conduct, to +argue, to advise, and, in short, anything but to command. If +doubts are raised as to the limits of the constitutional powers +of each government, the provincial government prefers its claim +with boldness, and takes prompt and energetic steps to support +it. In the mean while the Government of the Union reasons; it +appeals to the interests, to the good sense, to the glory of the +nation; it temporizes, it negotiates, and does not consent to act +until it is reduced to the last extremity. At first sight it +might readily be imagined that it is the provincial government +which is armed with the authority of the nation, and that +Congress represents a single State. + +The Federal Government is, therefore, notwithstanding the +precautions of those who founded it, naturally so weak that it +more peculiarly requires the free consent of the governed to +enable it to subsist. It is easy to perceive that its object is +to enable the States to realize with facility their determination +of remaining united; and, as long as this preliminary condition +exists, its authority is great, temperate, and effective. The +Constitution fits the Government to control individuals, and +easily to surmount such obstacles as they may be inclined to +offer; but it was by no means established with a view to the +possible separation of one or more of the States from the Union. + +If the sovereignty of the Union were to engage in a struggle +with that of the States at the present day, its defeat may be +confidently predicted; and it is not probable that such a +struggle would be seriously undertaken. As often as a steady +resistance is offered to the Federal Government it will be found +to yield. Experience has hitherto shown that whenever a State +has demanded anything with perseverance and resolution, it has +invariably succeeded; and that if a separate government has +distinctly refused to act, it was left to do as it thought fit. +*z + +[Footnote z: See the conduct of the Northern States in the war of +1812. "During that war," says Jefferson in a letter to General +Lafayette, "four of the Eastern States were only attached to the +Union, like so many inanimate bodies to living men."] + +But even if the Government of the Union had any strength +inherent in itself, the physical situation of the country would +render the exercise of that strength very difficult. *a The +United States cover an immense territory; they are separated from +each other by great distances; and the population is disseminated +over the surface of a country which is still half a wilderness. +If the Union were to undertake to enforce the allegiance of the +confederate States by military means, it would be in a position +very analogous to that of England at the time of the War of +Independence. + +[Footnote a: The profound peace of the Union affords no pretext +for a standing army; and without a standing army a government is +not prepared to profit by a favorable opportunity to conquer +resistance, and take the sovereign power by surprise. [This +note, and the paragraph in the text which precedes, have been +shown by the results of the Civil War to be a misconception of +the writer.]] + +However strong a government may be, it cannot easily escape +from the consequences of a principle which it has once admitted +as the foundation of its constitution. The Union was formed by +the voluntary agreement of the States; and, in uniting together, +they have not forfeited their nationality, nor have they been +reduced to the condition of one and the same people. If one of +the States chose to withdraw its name from the contract, it would +be difficult to disprove its right of doing so; and the Federal +Government would have no means of maintaining its claims +directly, either by force or by right. In order to enable the +Federal Government easily to conquer the resistance which may be +offered to it by any one of its subjects, it would be necessary +that one or more of them should be specially interested in the +existence of the Union, as has frequently been the case in the +history of confederations. + +If it be supposed that amongst the States which are united +by the federal tie there are some which exclusively enjoy the +principal advantages of union, or whose prosperity depends on the +duration of that union, it is unquestionable that they will +always be ready to support the central Government in enforcing +the obedience of the others. But the Government would then be +exerting a force not derived from itself, but from a principle +contrary to its nature. States form confederations in order to +derive equal advantages from their union; and in the case just +alluded to, the Federal Government would derive its power from +the unequal distribution of those benefits amongst the States. + +If one of the confederate States have acquired a +preponderance sufficiently great to enable it to take exclusive +possession of the central authority, it will consider the other +States as subject provinces, and it will cause its own supremacy +to be respected under the borrowed name of the sovereignty of the +Union. Great things may then be done in the name of the Federal +Government, but in reality that Government will have ceased to +exist. *b In both these cases, the power which acts in the name +of the confederation becomes stronger the more it abandons the +natural state and the acknowledged principles of confederations. + +[Footnote b: Thus the province of Holland in the republic of the +Low Countries, and the Emperor in the Germanic Confederation, +have sometimes put themselves in the place of the union, and have +employed the federal authority to their own advantage.] + +In America the existing Union is advantageous to all the +States, but it is not indispensable to any one of them. Several +of them might break the federal tie without compromising the +welfare of the others, although their own prosperity would be +lessened. As the existence and the happiness of none of the +States are wholly dependent on the present Constitution, they +would none of them be disposed to make great personal sacrifices +to maintain it. On the other hand, there is no State which seems +hitherto to have its ambition much interested in the maintenance +of the existing Union. They certainly do not all exercise the +same influence in the federal councils, but no one of them can +hope to domineer over the rest, or to treat them as its inferiors +or as its subjects. + +It appears to me unquestionable that if any portion of the +Union seriously desired to separate itself from the other States, +they would not be able, nor indeed would they attempt, to prevent +it; and that the present Union will only last as long as the +States which compose it choose to continue members of the +confederation. If this point be admitted, the question becomes +less difficult; and our object is, not to inquire whether the +States of the existing Union are capable of separating, but +whether they will choose to remain united. + +Amongst the various reasons which tend to render the +existing Union useful to the Americans, two principal causes are +peculiarly evident to the observer. Although the Americans are, +as it were, alone upon their continent, their commerce makes them +the neighbors of all the nations with which they trade. +Notwithstanding their apparent isolation, the Americans require a +certain degree of strength, which they cannot retain otherwise +than by remaining united to each other. If the States were to +split, they would not only diminish the strength which they are +now able to display towards foreign nations, but they would soon +create foreign powers upon their own territory. A system of +inland custom-houses would then be established; the valleys would +be divided by imaginary boundary lines; the courses of the rivers +would be confined by territorial distinctions; and a multitude of +hindrances would prevent the Americans from exploring the whole +of that vast continent which Providence has allotted to them for +a dominion. At present they have no invasion to fear, and +consequently no standing armies to maintain, no taxes to levy. +If the Union were dissolved, all these burdensome measures might +ere long be required. The Americans are then very powerfully +interested in the maintenance of their Union. On the other hand, +it is almost impossible to discover any sort of material interest +which might at present tempt a portion of the Union to separate +from the other States. + +When we cast our eyes upon the map of the United States, we +perceive the chain of the Alleghany Mountains, running from the +northeast to the southwest, and crossing nearly one thousand +miles of country; and we are led to imagine that the design of +Providence was to raise between the valley of the Mississippi and +the coast of the Atlantic Ocean one of those natural barriers +which break the mutual intercourse of men, and form the necessary +limits of different States. But the average height of the +Alleghanies does not exceed 2,500 feet; their greatest elevation +is not above 4,000 feet; their rounded summits, and the spacious +valleys which they conceal within their passes, are of easy +access from several sides. Besides which, the principal rivers +which fall into the Atlantic Ocean - the Hudson, the Susquehanna, +and the Potomac -take their rise beyond the Alleghanies, in an +open district, which borders upon the valley of the Mississippi. +These streams quit this tract of country, make their way through +the barrier which would seem to turn them westward, and as they +wind through the mountains they open an easy and natural passage +to man. No natural barrier exists in the regions which are now +inhabited by the Anglo-Americans; the Alleghanies are so far from +serving as a boundary to separate nations, that they do not even +serve as a frontier to the States. New York, Pennsylvania, and +Virginia comprise them within their borders, and they extend as +much to the west as to the east of the line. The territory now +occupied by the twenty-four States of the Union, and the three +great districts which have not yet acquired the rank of States, +although they already contain inhabitants, covers a surface of +1,002,600 square miles, *c which is about equal to five times the +extent of France. Within these limits the qualities of the soil, +the temperature, and the produce of the country, are extremely +various. The vast extent of territory occupied by the +Anglo-American republics has given rise to doubts as to the +maintenance of their Union. Here a distinction must be made; +contrary interests sometimes arise in the different provinces of +a vast empire, which often terminate in open dissensions; and the +extent of the country is then most prejudicial to the power of +the State. But if the inhabitants of these vast regions are not +divided by contrary interests, the extent of the territory may be +favorable to their prosperity; for the unity of the government +promotes the interchange of the different productions of the +soil, and increases their value by facilitating their +consumption. + +[Footnote c: See "Darby's View of the United States," p. 435. +[In 1890 the number of States and Territories had increased to +51, the population to 62,831,900, and the area of the States, +3,602,990 square miles. This does not include the Philippine +Islands, Hawaii, or Porto Rico. A conservative estimate of the +population of the Philippine Islands is 8,000,000; that of +Hawaii, by the census of 1897, was given at 109,020; and the +present estimated population of Porto Rico is 900,000. The area +of the Philippine Islands is about 120,000 square miles, that of +Hawaii is 6,740 square miles, and the area of Porto Rico is about +3,600 square miles.]] + +It is indeed easy to discover different interests in the +different parts of the Union, but I am unacquainted with any +which are hostile to each other. The Southern States are almost +exclusively agricultural. The Northern States are more +peculiarly commercial and manufacturing. The States of the West +are at the same time agricultural and manufacturing. In the +South the crops consist of tobacco, of rice, of cotton, and of +sugar; in the North and the West, of wheat and maize. These are +different sources of wealth; but union is the means by which +these sources are opened to all, and rendered equally +advantageous to the several districts. + +The North, which ships the produce of the Anglo-Americans to +all parts of the world, and brings back the produce of the globe +to the Union, is evidently interested in maintaining the +confederation in its present condition, in order that the number +of American producers and consumers may remain as large as +possible. The North is the most natural agent of communication +between the South and the West of the Union on the one hand, and +the rest of the world upon the other; the North is therefore +interested in the union and prosperity of the South and the West, +in order that they may continue to furnish raw materials for its +manufactures, and cargoes for its shipping. + +The South and the West, on their side, are still more +directly interested in the preservation of the Union, and the +prosperity of the North. The produce of the South is, for the +most part, exported beyond seas; the South and the West +consequently stand in need of the commercial resources of the +North. They are likewise interested in the maintenance of a +powerful fleet by the Union, to protect them efficaciously. The +South and the West have no vessels, but they cannot refuse a +willing subsidy to defray the expenses of the navy; for if the +fleets of Europe were to blockade the ports of the South and the +delta of the Mississippi, what would become of the rice of the +Carolinas, the tobacco of Virginia, and the sugar and cotton +which grow in the valley of the Mississippi? Every portion of +the federal budget does therefore contribute to the maintenance +of material interests which are common to all the confederate +States. + +Independently of this commercial utility, the South and the +West of the Union derive great political advantages from their +connection with the North. The South contains an enormous slave +population; a population which is already alarming, and still +more formidable for the future. The States of the West lie in +the remotest parts of a single valley; and all the rivers which +intersect their territory rise in the Rocky Mountains or in the +Alleghanies, and fall into the Mississippi, which bears them +onwards to the Gulf of Mexico. The Western States are +consequently entirely cut off, by their position, from the +traditions of Europe and the civilization of the Old World. The +inhabitants of the South, then, are induced to support the Union +in order to avail themselves of its protection against the +blacks; and the inhabitants of the West in order not to be +excluded from a free communication with the rest of the globe, +and shut up in the wilds of central America. The North cannot +but desire the maintenance of the Union, in order to remain, as +it now is, the connecting link between that vast body and the +other parts of the world. + +The temporal interests of all the several parts of the Union +are, then, intimately connected; and the same assertion holds +true respecting those opinions and sentiments which may be termed +the immaterial interests of men. + + +Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races - Part VII + +The inhabitants of the United States talk a great deal of +their attachment to their country; but I confess that I do not +rely upon that calculating patriotism which is founded upon +interest, and which a change in the interests at stake may +obliterate. Nor do I attach much importance to the language of +the Americans, when they manifest, in their daily conversations, +the intention of maintaining the federal system adopted by their +forefathers. A government retains its sway over a great number of +citizens, far less by the voluntary and rational consent of the +multitude, than by that instinctive, and to a certain extent +involuntary agreement, which results from similarity of feelings +and resemblances of opinion. I will never admit that men +constitute a social body, simply because they obey the same head +and the same laws. Society can only exist when a great number of +men consider a great number of things in the same point of view; +when they hold the same opinions upon many subjects, and when the +same occurrences suggest the same thoughts and impressions to +their minds. + +The observer who examines the present condition of the +United States upon this principle, will readily discover, that +although the citizens are divided into twenty-four distinct +sovereignties, they nevertheless constitute a single people; and +he may perhaps be led to think that the state of the +Anglo-American Union is more truly a state of society than that +of certain nations of Europe which live under the same +legislation and the same prince. + +Although the Anglo-Americans have several religious sects, +they all regard religion in the same manner. They are not always +agreed upon the measures which are most conducive to good +government, and they vary upon some of the forms of government +which it is expedient to adopt; but they are unanimous upon the +general principles which ought to rule human society. From Maine +to the Floridas, and from the Missouri to the Atlantic Ocean, the +people is held to be the legitimate source of all power. The +same notions are entertained respecting liberty and equality, the +liberty of the press, the right of association, the jury, and the +responsibility of the agents of Government. + +If we turn from their political and religious opinions to +the moral and philosophical principles which regulate the daily +actions of life and govern their conduct, we shall still find the +same uniformity. The Anglo-Americans *d acknowledge the absolute +moral authority of the reason of the community, as they +acknowledge the political authority of the mass of citizens; and +they hold that public opinion is the surest arbiter of what is +lawful or forbidden, true or false. The majority of them believe +that a man will be led to do what is just and good by following +his own interest rightly understood. They hold that every man is +born in possession of the right of self-government, and that no +one has the right of constraining his fellow-creatures to be +happy. They have all a lively faith in the perfectibility of +man; they are of opinion that the effects of the diffusion of +knowledge must necessarily be advantageous, and the consequences +of ignorance fatal; they all consider society as a body in a +state of improvement, humanity as a changing scene, in which +nothing is, or ought to be, permanent; and they admit that what +appears to them to be good to-day may be superseded by something +better-to-morrow. I do not give all these opinions as true, but +I quote them as characteristic of the Americans. + +[Footnote d: It is scarcely necessary for me to observe that by +the expression Anglo-Americans, I only mean to designate the +great majority of the nation; for a certain number of isolated +individuals are of course to be met with holding very different +opinions.] + +The Anglo-Americans are not only united together by these +common opinions, but they are separated from all other nations by +a common feeling of pride. For the last fifty years no pains +have been spared to convince the inhabitants of the United States +that they constitute the only religious, enlightened, and free +people. They perceive that, for the present, their own +democratic institutions succeed, whilst those of other countries +fail; hence they conceive an overweening opinion of their +superiority, and they are not very remote from believing +themselves to belong to a distinct race of mankind. + +The dangers which threaten the American Union do not +originate in the diversity of interests or of opinions, but in +the various characters and passions of the Americans. The men +who inhabit the vast territory of the United States are almost +all the issue of a common stock; but the effects of the climate, +and more especially of slavery, have gradually introduced very +striking differences between the British settler of the Southern +States and the British settler of the North. In Europe it is +generally believed that slavery has rendered the interests of one +part of the Union contrary to those of another part; but I by no +means remarked this to be the case: slavery has not created +interests in the South contrary to those of the North, but it has +modified the character and changed the habits of the natives of +the South. + +I have already explained the influence which slavery has +exercised upon the commercial ability of the Americans in the +South; and this same influence equally extends to their manners. +The slave is a servant who never remonstrates, and who submits to +everything without complaint. He may sometimes assassinate, but +he never withstands, his master. In the South there are no +families so poor as not to have slaves. The citizen of the +Southern States of the Union is invested with a sort of domestic +dictatorship, from his earliest years; the first notion he +acquires in life is that he is born to command, and the first +habit which he contracts is that of being obeyed without +resistance. His education tends, then, to give him the character +of a supercilious and a hasty man; irascible, violent, and ardent +in his desires, impatient of obstacles, but easily discouraged if +he cannot succeed upon his first attempt. + +The American of the Northern States is surrounded by no +slaves in his childhood; he is even unattended by free servants, +and is usually obliged to provide for his own wants. No sooner +does he enter the world than the idea of necessity assails him on +every side: he soon learns to know exactly the natural limit of +his authority; he never expects to subdue those who withstand +him, by force; and he knows that the surest means of obtaining +the support of his fellow-creatures, is to win their favor. He +therefore becomes patient, reflecting, tolerant, slow to act, and +persevering in his designs. + +In the Southern States the more immediate wants of life are +always supplied; the inhabitants of those parts are not busied in +the material cares of life, which are always provided for by +others; and their imagination is diverted to more captivating and +less definite objects. The American of the South is fond of +grandeur, luxury, and renown, of gayety, of pleasure, and above +all of idleness; nothing obliges him to exert himself in order to +subsist; and as he has no necessary occupations, he gives way to +indolence, and does not even attempt what would be useful. + +But the equality of fortunes, and the absence of slavery in +the North, plunge the inhabitants in those same cares of daily +life which are disdained by the white population of the South. +They are taught from infancy to combat want, and to place comfort +above all the pleasures of the intellect or the heart. The +imagination is extinguished by the trivial details of life, and +the ideas become less numerous and less general, but far more +practical and more precise. As prosperity is the sole aim of +exertion, it is excellently well attained; nature and mankind are +turned to the best pecuniary advantage, and society is +dexterously made to contribute to the welfare of each of its +members, whilst individual egotism is the source of general +happiness. + +The citizen of the North has not only experience, but +knowledge: nevertheless he sets but little value upon the +pleasures of knowledge; he esteems it as the means of attaining a +certain end, and he is only anxious to seize its more lucrative +applications. The citizen of the South is more given to act upon +impulse; he is more clever, more frank, more generous, more +intellectual, and more brilliant. The former, with a greater +degree of activity, of common-sense, of information, and of +general aptitude, has the characteristic good and evil qualities +of the middle classes. The latter has the tastes, the +prejudices, the weaknesses, and the magnanimity of all +aristocracies. If two men are united in society, who have the +same interests, and to a certain extent the same opinions, but +different characters, different acquirements, and a different +style of civilization, it is probable that these men will not +agree. The same remark is applicable to a society of nations. +Slavery, then, does not attack the American Union directly in its +interests, but indirectly in its manners. + +[Footnote e: Census of 1790, 3,929,328; 1830, 12,856,165; 1860, +31,443,321; 1870, 38,555,983; 1890, 62,831,900.] + +The States which gave their assent to the federal contract +in 1790 were thirteen in number; the Union now consists of +thirty-four members. The population, which amounted to nearly +4,000,000 in 1790, had more than tripled in the space of forty +years; and in 1830 it amounted to nearly 13,000,000. *e Changes +of such magnitude cannot take place without some danger. + +A society of nations, as well as a society of individuals, +derives its principal chances of duration from the wisdom of its +members, their individual weakness, and their limited number. +The Americans who quit the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean to plunge +into the western wilderness, are adventurers impatient of +restraint, greedy of wealth, and frequently men expelled from the +States in which they were born. When they arrive in the deserts +they are unknown to each other, and they have neither traditions, +family feeling, nor the force of example to check their excesses. +The empire of the laws is feeble amongst them; that of morality +is still more powerless. The settlers who are constantly peopling +the valley of the Mississippi are, then, in every respect very +inferior to the Americans who inhabit the older parts of the +Union. Nevertheless, they already exercise a great influence in +its councils; and they arrive at the government of the +commonwealth before they have learnt to govern themselves. *f + +[Footnote f: This indeed is only a temporary danger. I have no +doubt that in time society will assume as much stability and +regularity in the West as it has already done upon the coast of +the Atlantic Ocean.] + +The greater the individual weakness of each of the +contracting parties, the greater are the chances of the duration +of the contract; for their safety is then dependent upon their +union. When, in 1790, the most populous of the American +republics did not contain 500,000 inhabitants, *g each of them +felt its own insignificance as an independent people, and this +feeling rendered compliance with the federal authority more easy. +But when one of the confederate States reckons, like the State of +New York, 2,000,000 of inhabitants, and covers an extent of +territory equal in surface to a quarter of France, *h it feels +its own strength; and although it may continue to support the +Union as advantageous to its prosperity, it no longer regards +that body as necessary to its existence, and as it continues to +belong to the federal compact, it soon aims at preponderance in +the federal assemblies. The probable unanimity of the States is +diminished as their number increases. At present the interests of +the different parts of the Union are not at variance; but who is +able to foresee the multifarious changes of the future, in a +country in which towns are founded from day to day, and States +almost from year to year? + +[Footnote g: Pennsylvania contained 431,373 inhabitants in 1790 +[and 5,258,014 in 1890.]] + +[Footnote h: The area of the State of New York is 49,170 square +miles. [See U. S. census report of 1890.]] + +Since the first settlement of the British colonies, the +number of inhabitants has about doubled every twenty-two years. +I perceive no causes which are likely to check this progressive +increase of the Anglo-American population for the next hundred +years; and before that space of time has elapsed, I believe that +the territories and dependencies of the United States will be +covered by more than 100,000,000 of inhabitants, and divided into +forty States. *i I admit that these 100,000,000 of men have no ho +hostile interests. I suppose, on the contrary, that they are all +equally interested in the maintenance of the Union; but I am +still of opinion that where there are 100,000,000 of men, and +forty distinct nations, unequally strong, the continuance of the +Federal Government can only be a fortunate accident. + +[Footnote i: If the population continues to double every +twenty-two years, as it has done for the last two hundred years, +the number of inhabitants in the United States in 1852 will be +twenty millions; in 1874, forty-eight millions; and in 1896, +ninety-six millions. This may still be the case even if the +lands on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains should be found +to be unfit for cultivation. The territory which is already +occupied can easily contain this number of inhabitants. One +hundred millions of men disseminated over the surface of the +twenty-four States, and the three dependencies, which constitute +the Union, would only give 762 inhabitants to the square league; +this would be far below the mean population of France, which is +1,063 to the square league; or of England, which is 1,457; and it +would even be below the population of Switzerland, for that +country, notwithstanding its lakes and mountains, contains 783 +inhabitants to the square league. See "Malte Brun," vol. vi. p. +92. + +[The actual result has fallen somewhat short of these +calculations, in spite of the vast territorial acquisitions of +the United States: but in 1899 the population is probably about +eighty- seven millions, including the population of the +Philippines, Hawaii, and Porto Rico.]] + +Whatever faith I may have in the perfectibility of man, +until human nature is altered, and men wholly transformed, I +shall refuse to believe in the duration of a government which is +called upon to hold together forty different peoples, +disseminated over a territory equal to one-half of Europe in +extent; to avoid all rivalry, ambition, and struggles between +them, and to direct their independent activity to the +accomplishment of the same designs. + +But the greatest peril to which the Union is exposed by its +increase arises from the continual changes which take place in +the position of its internal strength. The distance from Lake +Superior to the Gulf of Mexico extends from the 47th to the 30th +degree of latitude, a distance of more than 1,200 miles as the +bird flies. The frontier of the United States winds along the +whole of this immense line, sometimes falling within its limits, +but more frequently extending far beyond it, into the waste. It +has been calculated that the whites advance every year a mean +distance of seventeen miles along the whole of his vast boundary. +*j Obstacles, such as an unproductive district, a lake or an +Indian nation unexpectedly encountered, are sometimes met with. +The advancing column then halts for a while; its two extremities +fall back upon themselves, and as soon as they are reunited they +proceed onwards. This gradual and continuous progress of the +European race towards the Rocky Mountains has the solemnity of a +providential event; it is like a deluge of men rising unabatedly, +and daily driven onwards by the hand of God. + +[Footnote j: See Legislative Documents, 20th Congress, No. 117, +p. 105.] + +Within this first line of conquering settlers towns are +built, and vast States founded. In 1790 there were only a few +thousand pioneers sprinkled along the valleys of the Mississippi; +and at the present day these valleys contain as many inhabitants +as were to be found in the whole Union in 1790. Their population +amounts to nearly 4,000,000. *k The city of Washington was +founded in 1800, in the very centre of the Union; but such are +the changes which have taken place, that it now stands at one of +the extremities; and the delegates of the most remote Western +States are already obliged to perform a journey as long as that +from Vienna to Paris. *l + +[Footnote k: 3,672,317 - Census of 1830.] + +[Footnote l: The distance from Jefferson, the capital of the +State of Missouri, to Washington is 1,019 miles. ("American +Almanac," 1831, p. 48.)] + +All the States are borne onwards at the same time in the +path of fortune, but of course they do not all increase and +prosper in the same proportion. To the North of the Union the +detached branches of the Alleghany chain, which extend as far as +the Atlantic Ocean, form spacious roads and ports, which are +constantly accessible to vessels of the greatest burden. But from +the Potomac to the mouth of the Mississippi the coast is sandy +and flat. In this part of the Union the mouths of almost all the +rivers are obstructed; and the few harbors which exist amongst +these lagoons afford much shallower water to vessels, and much +fewer commercial advantages than those of the North. + +This first natural cause of inferiority is united to another +cause proceeding from the laws. We have already seen that +slavery, which is abolished in the North, still exists in the +South; and I have pointed out its fatal consequences upon the +prosperity of the planter himself. + +The North is therefore superior to the South both in +commerce *m and manufacture; the natural consequence of which is +the more rapid increase of population and of wealth within its +borders. The States situate upon the shores of the Atlantic +Ocean are already half-peopled. Most of the land is held by an +owner; and these districts cannot therefore receive so many +emigrants as the Western States, where a boundless field is still +open to their exertions. The valley of the Mississippi is far +more fertile than the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. This reason, +added to all the others, contributes to drive the Europeans +westward - a fact which may be rigorously demonstrated by +figures. It is found that the sum total of the population of all +the United States has about tripled in the course of forty years. +But in the recent States adjacent to the Mississippi, the +population has increased thirty-one-fold, within the same space +of time. *n + +[Footnote m: The following statements will suffice to show the +difference which exists between the commerce of the South and +that of the North: - + +In 1829 the tonnage of all the merchant vessels belonging to +Virginia, the two Carolinas, and Georgia (the four great Southern +States), amounted to only 5,243 tons. In the same year the +tonnage of the vessels of the State of Massachusetts alone +amounted to 17,322 tons. (See Legislative Documents, 21st +Congress, 2d session, No. 140, p. 244.) Thus the State of +Massachusetts had three times as much shipping as the four +above-mentioned States. Nevertheless the area of the State of +Massachusetts is only 7,335 square miles, and its population +amounts to 610,014 inhabitants [2,238,943 in 1890]; whilst the +area of the four other States I have quoted is 210,000 square +miles, and their population 3,047,767. Thus the area of the +State of Massachusetts forms only one-thirtieth part of the area +of the four States; and its population is five times smaller than +theirs. (See "Darby's View of the United States.") Slavery is +prejudicial to the commercial prosperity of the South in several +different ways; by diminishing the spirit of enterprise amongst +the whites, and by preventing them from meeting with as numerous +a class of sailors as they require. Sailors are usually taken +from the lowest ranks of the population. But in the Southern +States these lowest ranks are composed of slaves, and it is very +difficult to employ them at sea. They are unable to serve as +well as a white crew, and apprehensions would always be +entertained of their mutinying in the middle of the ocean, or of +their escaping in the foreign countries at which they might +touch.] + +[Footnote n: "Darby's View of the United States," p. 444.] + +The relative position of the central federal power is +continually displaced. Forty years ago the majority of the +citizens of the Union was established upon the coast of the +Atlantic, in the environs of the spot upon which Washington now +stands; but the great body of the people is now advancing inland +and to the north, so that in twenty years the majority will +unquestionably be on the western side of the Alleghanies. If the +Union goes on to subsist, the basin of the Mississippi is +evidently marked out, by its fertility and its extent, as the +future centre of the Federal Government. In thirty or forty +years, that tract of country will have assumed the rank which +naturally belongs to it. It is easy to calculate that its +population, compared to that of the coast of the Atlantic, will +be, in round numbers, as 40 to 11. In a few years the States +which founded the Union will lose the direction of its policy, +and the population of the valley of the Mississippi will +preponderate in the federal assemblies. + +This constant gravitation of the federal power and influence +towards the northwest is shown every ten years, when a general +census of the population is made, and the number of delegates +which each State sends to Congress is settled afresh. *o In 1790 +Virginia had nineteen representatives in Congress. This number +continued to increase until the year 1813, when it reached to +twenty-three; from that time it began to decrease, and in 1833 +Virginia elected only twenty-one representatives. *p During the +same period the State of New York progressed in the contrary +direction: in 1790 it had ten representatives in Congress; in +1813, twenty-seven; in 1823, thirty-four; and in 1833, forty. +The State of Ohio had only one representative in 1803, and in +1833 it had already nineteen. + +[Footnote o: It may be seen that in the course of the last ten +years (1820-1830) the population of one district, as, for +instance, the State of Delaware, has increased in the proportion +of five per cent.; whilst that of another, as the territory of +Michigan, has increased 250 per cent. Thus the population of +Virginia had augmented thirteen per cent., and that of the border +State of Ohio sixty-one per cent., in the same space of time. +The general table of these changes, which is given in the +"National Calendar," displays a striking picture of the unequal +fortunes of the different States.] + +[Footnote p: It has just been said that in the course of the last +term the population of Virginia has increased thirteen per cent.; +and it is necessary to explain how the number of representatives +for a State may decrease, when the population of that State, far +from diminishing, is actually upon the increase. I take the +State of Virginia, to which I have already alluded, as my term of +comparison. The number of representatives of Virginia in 1823 +was proportionate to the total number of the representatives of +the Union, and to the relation which the population bore to that +of the whole Union: in 1833 the number of representatives of +Virginia was likewise proportionate to the total number of the +representatives of the Union, and to the relation which its +population, augmented in the course of ten years, bore to the +augmented population of the Union in the same space of time. The +new number of Virginian representatives will then be to the old +numver, on the one hand, as the new numver of all the +representatives is to the old number; and, on the other hand, as +the augmentation of the population of Virginia is to that of the +whole population of the country. Thus, if the increase of the +population of the lesser country be to that of the greater in an +exact inverse ratio of the proportion between the new and the old +numbers of all the representatives, the number of the +representatives of Virginia will remain stationary; and if the +increase of the Virginian population be to that of the whole +Union in a feeblerratio than the new number of the +representatives of the Union to the old number, the number of the +representatives of Virginia must decrease. [Thus, to the 56th +Congress in 1899, Virginia and West Virginia send only fourteen +representatives.]] + +Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races - Part VII + +The inhabitants of the United States talk a great deal of +their attachment to their country; but I confess that I do not +rely upon that calculating patriotism which is founded upon +interest, and which a change in the interests at stake may +obliterate. Nor do I attach much importance to the language of +the Americans, when they manifest, in their daily conversations, +the intention of maintaining the federal system adopted by their +forefathers. A government retains its sway over a great number of +citizens, far less by the voluntary and rational consent of the +multitude, than by that instinctive, and to a certain extent +involuntary agreement, which results from similarity of feelings +and resemblances of opinion. I will never admit that men +constitute a social body, simply because they obey the same head +and the same laws. Society can only exist when a great number of +men consider a great number of things in the same point of view; +when they hold the same opinions upon many subjects, and when the +same occurrences suggest the same thoughts and impressions to +their minds. + +The observer who examines the present condition of the +United States upon this principle, will readily discover, that +although the citizens are divided into twenty-four distinct +sovereignties, they nevertheless constitute a single people; and +he may perhaps be led to think that the state of the +Anglo-American Union is more truly a state of society than that +of certain nations of Europe which live under the same +legislation and the same prince. + +Although the Anglo-Americans have several religious sects, +they all regard religion in the same manner. They are not always +agreed upon the measures which are most conducive to good +government, and they vary upon some of the forms of government +which it is expedient to adopt; but they are unanimous upon the +general principles which ought to rule human society. From Maine +to the Floridas, and from the Missouri to the Atlantic Ocean, the +people is held to be the legitimate source of all power. The +same notions are entertained respecting liberty and equality, the +liberty of the press, the right of association, the jury, and the +responsibility of the agents of Government. + +If we turn from their political and religious opinions to +the moral and philosophical principles which regulate the daily +actions of life and govern their conduct, we shall still find the +same uniformity. The Anglo-Americans *d acknowledge the absolute +moral authority of the reason of the community, as they +acknowledge the political authority of the mass of citizens; and +they hold that public opinion is the surest arbiter of what is +lawful or forbidden, true or false. The majority of them believe +that a man will be led to do what is just and good by following +his own interest rightly understood. They hold that every man is +born in possession of the right of self-government, and that no +one has the right of constraining his fellow-creatures to be +happy. They have all a lively faith in the perfectibility of +man; they are of opinion that the effects of the diffusion of +knowledge must necessarily be advantageous, and the consequences +of ignorance fatal; they all consider society as a body in a +state of improvement, humanity as a changing scene, in which +nothing is, or ought to be, permanent; and they admit that what +appears to them to be good to-day may be superseded by something +better-to-morrow. I do not give all these opinions as true, but +I quote them as characteristic of the Americans. + +[Footnote d: It is scarcely necessary for me to observe that by +the expression Anglo-Americans, I only mean to designate the +great majority of the nation; for a certain number of isolated +individuals are of course to be met with holding very different +opinions.] + +The Anglo-Americans are not only united together by these +common opinions, but they are separated from all other nations by +a common feeling of pride. For the last fifty years no pains +have been spared to convince the inhabitants of the United States +that they constitute the only religious, enlightened, and free +people. They perceive that, for the present, their own +democratic institutions succeed, whilst those of other countries +fail; hence they conceive an overweening opinion of their +superiority, and they are not very remote from believing +themselves to belong to a distinct race of mankind. + +The dangers which threaten the American Union do not +originate in the diversity of interests or of opinions, but in +the various characters and passions of the Americans. The men +who inhabit the vast territory of the United States are almost +all the issue of a common stock; but the effects of the climate, +and more especially of slavery, have gradually introduced very +striking differences between the British settler of the Southern +States and the British settler of the North. In Europe it is +generally believed that slavery has rendered the interests of one +part of the Union contrary to those of another part; but I by no +means remarked this to be the case: slavery has not created +interests in the South contrary to those of the North, but it has +modified the character and changed the habits of the natives of +the South. + +I have already explained the influence which slavery has +exercised upon the commercial ability of the Americans in the +South; and this same influence equally extends to their manners. +The slave is a servant who never remonstrates, and who submits to +everything without complaint. He may sometimes assassinate, but +he never withstands, his master. In the South there are no +families so poor as not to have slaves. The citizen of the +Southern States of the Union is invested with a sort of domestic +dictatorship, from his earliest years; the first notion he +acquires in life is that he is born to command, and the first +habit which he contracts is that of being obeyed without +resistance. His education tends, then, to give him the character +of a supercilious and a hasty man; irascible, violent, and ardent +in his desires, impatient of obstacles, but easily discouraged if +he cannot succeed upon his first attempt. + +The American of the Northern States is surrounded by no +slaves in his childhood; he is even unattended by free servants, +and is usually obliged to provide for his own wants. No sooner +does he enter the world than the idea of necessity assails him on +every side: he soon learns to know exactly the natural limit of +his authority; he never expects to subdue those who withstand +him, by force; and he knows that the surest means of obtaining +the support of his fellow-creatures, is to win their favor. He +therefore becomes patient, reflecting, tolerant, slow to act, and +persevering in his designs. + +In the Southern States the more immediate wants of life are +always supplied; the inhabitants of those parts are not busied in +the material cares of life, which are always provided for by +others; and their imagination is diverted to more captivating and +less definite objects. The American of the South is fond of +grandeur, luxury, and renown, of gayety, of pleasure, and above +all of idleness; nothing obliges him to exert himself in order to +subsist; and as he has no necessary occupations, he gives way to +indolence, and does not even attempt what would be useful. + +But the equality of fortunes, and the absence of slavery in +the North, plunge the inhabitants in those same cares of daily +life which are disdained by the white population of the South. +They are taught from infancy to combat want, and to place comfort +above all the pleasures of the intellect or the heart. The +imagination is extinguished by the trivial details of life, and +the ideas become less numerous and less general, but far more +practical and more precise. As prosperity is the sole aim of +exertion, it is excellently well attained; nature and mankind are +turned to the best pecuniary advantage, and society is +dexterously made to contribute to the welfare of each of its +members, whilst individual egotism is the source of general +happiness. + +The citizen of the North has not only experience, but +knowledge: nevertheless he sets but little value upon the +pleasures of knowledge; he esteems it as the means of attaining a +certain end, and he is only anxious to seize its more lucrative +applications. The citizen of the South is more given to act upon +impulse; he is more clever, more frank, more generous, more +intellectual, and more brilliant. The former, with a greater +degree of activity, of common-sense, of information, and of +general aptitude, has the characteristic good and evil qualities +of the middle classes. The latter has the tastes, the +prejudices, the weaknesses, and the magnanimity of all +aristocracies. If two men are united in society, who have the +same interests, and to a certain extent the same opinions, but +different characters, different acquirements, and a different +style of civilization, it is probable that these men will not +agree. The same remark is applicable to a society of nations. +Slavery, then, does not attack the American Union directly in its +interests, but indirectly in its manners. + +[Footnote e: Census of 1790, 3,929,328; 1830, 12,856,165; 1860, +31,443,321; 1870, 38,555,983; 1890, 62,831,900.] + +The States which gave their assent to the federal contract +in 1790 were thirteen in number; the Union now consists of +thirty-four members. The population, which amounted to nearly +4,000,000 in 1790, had more than tripled in the space of forty +years; and in 1830 it amounted to nearly 13,000,000. *e Changes +of such magnitude cannot take place without some danger. + +A society of nations, as well as a society of individuals, +derives its principal chances of duration from the wisdom of its +members, their individual weakness, and their limited number. +The Americans who quit the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean to plunge +into the western wilderness, are adventurers impatient of +restraint, greedy of wealth, and frequently men expelled from the +States in which they were born. When they arrive in the deserts +they are unknown to each other, and they have neither traditions, +family feeling, nor the force of example to check their excesses. +The empire of the laws is feeble amongst them; that of morality +is still more powerless. The settlers who are constantly peopling +the valley of the Mississippi are, then, in every respect very +inferior to the Americans who inhabit the older parts of the +Union. Nevertheless, they already exercise a great influence in +its councils; and they arrive at the government of the +commonwealth before they have learnt to govern themselves. *f + +[Footnote f: This indeed is only a temporary danger. I have no +doubt that in time society will assume as much stability and +regularity in the West as it has already done upon the coast of +the Atlantic Ocean.] + +The greater the individual weakness of each of the +contracting parties, the greater are the chances of the duration +of the contract; for their safety is then dependent upon their +union. When, in 1790, the most populous of the American +republics did not contain 500,000 inhabitants, *g each of them +felt its own insignificance as an independent people, and this +feeling rendered compliance with the federal authority more easy. +But when one of the confederate States reckons, like the State of +New York, 2,000,000 of inhabitants, and covers an extent of +territory equal in surface to a quarter of France, *h it feels +its own strength; and although it may continue to support the +Union as advantageous to its prosperity, it no longer regards +that body as necessary to its existence, and as it continues to +belong to the federal compact, it soon aims at preponderance in +the federal assemblies. The probable unanimity of the States is +diminished as their number increases. At present the interests of +the different parts of the Union are not at variance; but who is +able to foresee the multifarious changes of the future, in a +country in which towns are founded from day to day, and States +almost from year to year? + +[Footnote g: Pennsylvania contained 431,373 inhabitants in 1790 +[and 5,258,014 in 1890.]] + +[Footnote h: The area of the State of New York is 49,170 square +miles. [See U. S. census report of 1890.]] + +Since the first settlement of the British colonies, the +number of inhabitants has about doubled every twenty-two years. +I perceive no causes which are likely to check this progressive +increase of the Anglo-American population for the next hundred +years; and before that space of time has elapsed, I believe that +the territories and dependencies of the United States will be +covered by more than 100,000,000 of inhabitants, and divided into +forty States. *i I admit that these 100,000,000 of men have no ho +hostile interests. I suppose, on the contrary, that they are all +equally interested in the maintenance of the Union; but I am +still of opinion that where there are 100,000,000 of men, and +forty distinct nations, unequally strong, the continuance of the +Federal Government can only be a fortunate accident. + +[Footnote i: If the population continues to double every +twenty-two years, as it has done for the last two hundred years, +the number of inhabitants in the United States in 1852 will be +twenty millions; in 1874, forty-eight millions; and in 1896, +ninety-six millions. This may still be the case even if the +lands on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains should be found +to be unfit for cultivation. The territory which is already +occupied can easily contain this number of inhabitants. One +hundred millions of men disseminated over the surface of the +twenty-four States, and the three dependencies, which constitute +the Union, would only give 762 inhabitants to the square league; +this would be far below the mean population of France, which is +1,063 to the square league; or of England, which is 1,457; and it +would even be below the population of Switzerland, for that +country, notwithstanding its lakes and mountains, contains 783 +inhabitants to the square league. See "Malte Brun," vol. vi. p. +92. + +[The actual result has fallen somewhat short of these +calculations, in spite of the vast territorial acquisitions of +the United States: but in 1899 the population is probably about +eighty- seven millions, including the population of the +Philippines, Hawaii, and Porto Rico.]] + +Whatever faith I may have in the perfectibility of man, +until human nature is altered, and men wholly transformed, I +shall refuse to believe in the duration of a government which is +called upon to hold together forty different peoples, +disseminated over a territory equal to one-half of Europe in +extent; to avoid all rivalry, ambition, and struggles between +them, and to direct their independent activity to the +accomplishment of the same designs. + +But the greatest peril to which the Union is exposed by its +increase arises from the continual changes which take place in +the position of its internal strength. The distance from Lake +Superior to the Gulf of Mexico extends from the 47th to the 30th +degree of latitude, a distance of more than 1,200 miles as the +bird flies. The frontier of the United States winds along the +whole of this immense line, sometimes falling within its limits, +but more frequently extending far beyond it, into the waste. It +has been calculated that the whites advance every year a mean +distance of seventeen miles along the whole of his vast boundary. +*j Obstacles, such as an unproductive district, a lake or an +Indian nation unexpectedly encountered, are sometimes met with. +The advancing column then halts for a while; its two extremities +fall back upon themselves, and as soon as they are reunited they +proceed onwards. This gradual and continuous progress of the +European race towards the Rocky Mountains has the solemnity of a +providential event; it is like a deluge of men rising unabatedly, +and daily driven onwards by the hand of God. + +[Footnote j: See Legislative Documents, 20th Congress, No. 117, +p. 105.] + +Within this first line of conquering settlers towns are +built, and vast States founded. In 1790 there were only a few +thousand pioneers sprinkled along the valleys of the Mississippi; +and at the present day these valleys contain as many inhabitants +as were to be found in the whole Union in 1790. Their population +amounts to nearly 4,000,000. *k The city of Washington was +founded in 1800, in the very centre of the Union; but such are +the changes which have taken place, that it now stands at one of +the extremities; and the delegates of the most remote Western +States are already obliged to perform a journey as long as that +from Vienna to Paris. *l + +[Footnote k: 3,672,317 - Census of 1830.] + +[Footnote l: The distance from Jefferson, the capital of the +State of Missouri, to Washington is 1,019 miles. ("American +Almanac," 1831, p. 48.)] + +All the States are borne onwards at the same time in the +path of fortune, but of course they do not all increase and +prosper in the same proportion. To the North of the Union the +detached branches of the Alleghany chain, which extend as far as +the Atlantic Ocean, form spacious roads and ports, which are +constantly accessible to vessels of the greatest burden. But from +the Potomac to the mouth of the Mississippi the coast is sandy +and flat. In this part of the Union the mouths of almost all the +rivers are obstructed; and the few harbors which exist amongst +these lagoons afford much shallower water to vessels, and much +fewer commercial advantages than those of the North. + +This first natural cause of inferiority is united to another +cause proceeding from the laws. We have already seen that +slavery, which is abolished in the North, still exists in the +South; and I have pointed out its fatal consequences upon the +prosperity of the planter himself. + +The North is therefore superior to the South both in +commerce *m and manufacture; the natural consequence of which is +the more rapid increase of population and of wealth within its +borders. The States situate upon the shores of the Atlantic +Ocean are already half-peopled. Most of the land is held by an +owner; and these districts cannot therefore receive so many +emigrants as the Western States, where a boundless field is still +open to their exertions. The valley of the Mississippi is far +more fertile than the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. This reason, +added to all the others, contributes to drive the Europeans +westward - a fact which may be rigorously demonstrated by +figures. It is found that the sum total of the population of all +the United States has about tripled in the course of forty years. +But in the recent States adjacent to the Mississippi, the +population has increased thirty-one-fold, within the same space +of time. *n + +[Footnote m: The following statements will suffice to show the +difference which exists between the commerce of the South and +that of the North: - + +In 1829 the tonnage of all the merchant vessels belonging to +Virginia, the two Carolinas, and Georgia (the four great Southern +States), amounted to only 5,243 tons. In the same year the +tonnage of the vessels of the State of Massachusetts alone +amounted to 17,322 tons. (See Legislative Documents, 21st +Congress, 2d session, No. 140, p. 244.) Thus the State of +Massachusetts had three times as much shipping as the four +above-mentioned States. Nevertheless the area of the State of +Massachusetts is only 7,335 square miles, and its population +amounts to 610,014 inhabitants [2,238,943 in 1890]; whilst the +area of the four other States I have quoted is 210,000 square +miles, and their population 3,047,767. Thus the area of the +State of Massachusetts forms only one-thirtieth part of the area +of the four States; and its population is five times smaller than +theirs. (See "Darby's View of the United States.") Slavery is +prejudicial to the commercial prosperity of the South in several +different ways; by diminishing the spirit of enterprise amongst +the whites, and by preventing them from meeting with as numerous +a class of sailors as they require. Sailors are usually taken +from the lowest ranks of the population. But in the Southern +States these lowest ranks are composed of slaves, and it is very +difficult to employ them at sea. They are unable to serve as +well as a white crew, and apprehensions would always be +entertained of their mutinying in the middle of the ocean, or of +their escaping in the foreign countries at which they might +touch.] + +[Footnote n: "Darby's View of the United States," p. 444.] +The relative position of the central federal power is +continually displaced. Forty years ago the majority of the +citizens of the Union was established upon the coast of the +Atlantic, in the environs of the spot upon which Washington now +stands; but the great body of the people is now advancing inland +and to the north, so that in twenty years the majority will +unquestionably be on the western side of the Alleghanies. If the +Union goes on to subsist, the basin of the Mississippi is +evidently marked out, by its fertility and its extent, as the +future centre of the Federal Government. In thirty or forty +years, that tract of country will have assumed the rank which +naturally belongs to it. It is easy to calculate that its +population, compared to that of the coast of the Atlantic, will +be, in round numbers, as 40 to 11. In a few years the States +which founded the Union will lose the direction of its policy, +and the population of the valley of the Mississippi will +preponderate in the federal assemblies. + +This constant gravitation of the federal power and influence +towards the northwest is shown every ten years, when a general +census of the population is made, and the number of delegates +which each State sends to Congress is settled afresh. *o In 1790 +Virginia had nineteen representatives in Congress. This number +continued to increase until the year 1813, when it reached to +twenty-three; from that time it began to decrease, and in 1833 +Virginia elected only twenty-one representatives. *p During the +same period the State of New York progressed in the contrary +direction: in 1790 it had ten representatives in Congress; in +1813, twenty-seven; in 1823, thirty-four; and in 1833, forty. +The State of Ohio had only one representative in 1803, and in +1833 it had already nineteen. + +[Footnote o: It may be seen that in the course of the last ten +years (1820-1830) the population of one district, as, for +instance, the State of Delaware, has increased in the proportion +of five per cent.; whilst that of another, as the territory of +Michigan, has increased 250 per cent. Thus the population of +Virginia had augmented thirteen per cent., and that of the border +State of Ohio sixty-one per cent., in the same space of time. +The general table of these changes, which is given in the +"National Calendar," displays a striking picture of the unequal +fortunes of the different States.] + +[Footnote p: It has just been said that in the course of the last +term the population of Virginia has increased thirteen per cent.; +and it is necessary to explain how the number of representatives +for a State may decrease, when the population of that State, far +from diminishing, is actually upon the increase. I take the +State of Virginia, to which I have already alluded, as my term of +comparison. The number of representatives of Virginia in 1823 +was proportionate to the total number of the representatives of +the Union, and to the relation which the population bore to that +of the whole Union: in 1833 the number of representatives of +Virginia was likewise proportionate to the total number of the +representatives of the Union, and to the relation which its +population, augmented in the course of ten years, bore to the +augmented population of the Union in the same space of time. The +new number of Virginian representatives will then be to the old +numver, on the one hand, as the new numver of all the +representatives is to the old number; and, on the other hand, as +the augmentation of the population of Virginia is to that of the +whole population of the country. Thus, if the increase of the +population of the lesser country be to that of the greater in an +exact inverse ratio of the proportion between the new and the old +numbers of all the representatives, the number of the +representatives of Virginia will remain stationary; and if the +increase of the Virginian population be to that of the whole +Union in a feeblerratio than the new number of the +representatives of the Union to the old number, the number of the +representatives of Virginia must decrease. [Thus, to the 56th +Congress in 1899, Virginia and West Virginia send only fourteen +representatives.]] + +Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races - Part VIII +It is difficult to imagine a durable union of a people which +is rich and strong with one which is poor and weak, even if it +were proved that the strength and wealth of the one are not the +causes of the weakness and poverty of the other. But union is +still more difficult to maintain at a time at which one party is +losing strength, and the other is gaining it. This rapid and +disproportionate increase of certain States threatens the +independence of the others. New York might perhaps succeed, with +its 2,000,000 of inhabitants and its forty representatives, in +dictating to the other States in Congress. But even if the more +powerful States make no attempt to bear down the lesser ones, the +danger still exists; for there is almost as much in the +possibility of the act as in the act itself. The weak generally +mistrust the justice and the reason of the strong. The States +which increase less rapidly than the others look upon those which +are more favored by fortune with envy and suspicion. Hence arise +the deep-seated uneasiness and ill-defined agitation which are +observable in the South, and which form so striking a contrast to +the confidence and prosperity which are common to other parts of +the Union. I am inclined to think that the hostile measures +taken by the Southern provinces upon a recent occasion are +attributable to no other cause. The inhabitants of the Southern +States are, of all the Americans, those who are most interested +in the maintenance of the Union; they would assuredly suffer most +from being left to themselves; and yet they are the only citizens +who threaten to break the tie of confederation. But it is easy +to perceive that the South, which has given four Presidents, +Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, to the Union, which +perceives that it is losing its federal influence, and that the +number of its representatives in Congress is diminishing from +year to year, whilst those of the Northern and Western States are +increasing; the South, which is peopled with ardent and irascible +beings, is becoming more and more irritated and alarmed. The +citizens reflect upon their present position and remember their +past influence, with the melancholy uneasiness of men who suspect +oppression: if they discover a law of the Union which is not +unequivocally favorable to their interests, they protest against +it as an abuse of force; and if their ardent remonstrances are +not listened to, they threaten to quit an association which loads +them with burdens whilst it deprives them of their due profits. +"The tariff," said the inhabitants of Carolina in 1832, "enriches +the North, and ruins the South; for if this were not the case, to +what can we attribute the continually increasing power and wealth +of the North, with its inclement skies and arid soil; whilst the +South, which may be styled the garden of America, is rapidly +declining?" *q + +[Footnote q: See the report of its committee to the Convention +which proclaimed the nullification of the tariff in South +Carolina.] + +If the changes which I have described were gradual, so that +each generation at least might have time to disappear with the +order of things under which it had lived, the danger would be +less; but the progress of society in America is precipitate, and +almost revolutionary. The same citizen may have lived to see his +State take the lead in the Union, and afterwards become powerless +in the federal assemblies; and an Anglo-American republic has +been known to grow as rapidly as a man passing from birth and +infancy to maturity in the course of thirty years. It must not +be imagined, however, that the States which lose their +preponderance, also lose their population or their riches: no +stop is put to their prosperity, and they even go on to increase +more rapidly than any kingdom in Europe. *r But they believe +themselves to be impoverished because their wealth does not +augment as rapidly as that of their neighbors; any they think +that their power is lost, because they suddenly come into +collision with a power greater than their own: *s thus they are +more hurt in their feelings and their passions than in their +interests. But this is amply sufficient to endanger the +maintenance of the Union. If kings and peoples had only had +their true interests in view ever since the beginning of the +world, the name of war would scarcely be known among mankind. + +[Footnote r: The population of a country assuredly constitutes +the first element of its wealth. In the ten years (1820-1830) +during which Virginia lost two of its representatives in +Congress, its population increased in the proportion of 13.7 per +cent.; that of Carolina in the proportion of fifteen per cent.; +and that of Georgia, 15.5 per cent. (See the "American Almanac," +1832, p. 162) But the population of Russia, which increases more +rapidly than that of any other European country, only augments in +ten years at the rate of 9.5 per cent.; in France, at the rate of +seven per cent.; and in Europe in general, at the rate of 4.7 per +cent. (See "Malte Brun," vol. vi. p. 95)] + +[Footnote s: It must be admitted, however, that the depreciation +which has taken place in the value of tobacco, during the last +fifty years, has notably diminished the opulence of the Southern +planters: but this circumstance is as independent of the will of +their Northern brethren as it is of their own.] + +Thus the prosperity of the United States is the source of +the most serious dangers that threaten them, since it tends to +create in some of the confederate States that over-excitement +which accompanies a rapid increase of fortune; and to awaken in +others those feelings of envy, mistrust, and regret which usually +attend upon the loss of it. The Americans contemplate this +extraordinary and hasty progress with exultation; but they would +be wiser to consider it with sorrow and alarm. The Americans of +the United States must inevitably become one of the greatest +nations in the world; their offset will cover almost the whole of +North America; the continent which they inhabit is their +dominion, and it cannot escape them. What urges them to take +possession of it so soon? Riches, power, and renown cannot fail +to be theirs at some future time, but they rush upon their +fortune as if but a moment remained for them to make it their +own. + +I think that I have demonstrated that the existence of the +present confederation depends entirely on the continued assent of +all the confederates; and, starting from this principle, I have +inquired into the causes which may induce the several States to +separate from the others. The Union may, however, perish in two +different ways: one of the confederate States may choose to +retire from the compact, and so forcibly to sever the federal +tie; and it is to this supposition that most of the remarks that +I have made apply: or the authority of the Federal Government may +be progressively entrenched on by the simultaneous tendency of +the united republics to resume their independence. The central +power, successively stripped of all its prerogatives, and reduced +to impotence by tacit consent, would become incompetent to fulfil +its purpose; and the second Union would perish, like the first, +by a sort of senile inaptitude. The gradual weakening of the +federal tie, which may finally lead to the dissolution of the +Union, is a distinct circumstance, that may produce a variety of +minor consequences before it operates so violent a change. The +confederation might still subsist, although its Government were +reduced to such a degree of inanition as to paralyze the nation, +to cause internal anarchy, and to check the general prosperity of +the country. + +After having investigated the causes which may induce the +Anglo-Americans to disunite, it is important to inquire whether, +if the Union continues to subsist, their Government will extend +or contract its sphere of action, and whether it will become more +energetic or more weak. + + +The Americans are evidently disposed to look upon their +future condition with alarm. They perceive that in most of the +nations of the world the exercise of the rights of sovereignty +tends to fall under the control of a few individuals, and they +are dismayed by the idea that such will also be the case in their +own country. Even the statesmen feel, or affect to feel, these +fears; for, in America, centralization is by no means popular, +and there is no surer means of courting the majority than by +inveighing against the encroachments of the central power. The +Americans do not perceive that the countries in which this +alarming tendency to centralization exists are inhabited by a +single people; whilst the fact of the Union being composed of +different confederate communities is sufficient to baffle all the +inferences which might be drawn from analogous circumstances. I +confess that I am inclined to consider the fears of a great +number of Americans as purely imaginary; and far from +participating in their dread of the consolidation of power in the +hands of the Union, I think that the Federal Government is +visibly losing strength. + +To prove this assertion I shall not have recourse to any +remote occurrences, but to circumstances which I have myself +witnessed, and which belong to our own time. + +An attentive examination of what is going on in the United +States will easily convince us that two opposite tendencies exist +in that country, like two distinct currents flowing in contrary +directions in the same channel. The Union has now existed for +forty-five years, and in the course of that time a vast number of +provincial prejudices, which were at first hostile to its power, +have died away. The patriotic feeling which attached each of the +Americans to his own native State is become less exclusive; and +the different parts of the Union have become more intimately +connected the better they have become acquainted with each other. +The post, *t that great instrument of intellectual intercourse, +now reaches into the backwoods; and steamboats have established +daily means of communication between the different points of the +coast. An inland navigation of unexampled rapidity conveys +commodities up and down the rivers of the country. *u And to +these facilities of nature and art may be added those restless +cravings, that busy-mindedness, and love of pelf, which are +constantly urging the American into active life, and bringing him +into contact with his fellow-citizens. He crosses the country in +every direction; he visits all the various populations of the +land; and there is not a province in France in which the natives +are so well known to each other as the 13,000,000 of men who +cover the territory of the United States. + +[Footnote t: In 1832, the district of Michigan, which only +contains 31,639 inhabitants, and is still an almost unexplored +wilderness, possessed 940 miles of mail-roads. The territory of +Arkansas, which is still more uncultivated, was already +intersected by 1,938 miles of mail-roads. (See the report of the +General Post Office, November 30, 1833.) The postage of +newspapers alone in the whole Union amounted to $254,796.] + +[Footnote u: In the course of ten years, from 1821 to 1831, 271 +steamboats have been launched upon the rivers which water the +valley of the Mississippi alone. In 1829 259 steamboats existed +in the United States. (See Legislative Documents, No. 140, p. +274.)] + +But whilst the Americans intermingle, they grow in +resemblance of each other; the differences resulting from their +climate, their origin, and their institutions, diminish; and they +all draw nearer and nearer to the common type. Every year, +thousands of men leave the North to settle in different parts of +the Union: they bring with them their faith, their opinions, and +their manners; and as they are more enlighthned than the men +amongst whom they are about to dwell, they soon rise to the head +of affairs, and they adapt society to their own advantage. This +continual emigration of the North to the South is peculiarly +favorable to the fusion of all the different provincial +characters into one national character. The civilization of the +North appears to be the common standard, to which the whole +nation will one day be assimilated. + +The commercial ties which unite the confederate States are +strengthened by the increasing manufactures of the Americans; and +the union which began to exist in their opinions, gradually forms +a part of their habits: the course of time has swept away the +bugbear thoughts which haunted the imaginations of the citizens +in 1789. The federal power is not become oppressive; it has not +destroyed the independence of the States; it has not subjected +the confederates to monarchial institutions; and the Union has +not rendered the lesser States dependent upon the larger ones; +but the confederation has continued to increase in population, in +wealth, and in power. I am therefore convinced that the natural +obstacles to the continuance of the American Union are not so +powerful at the present time as they were in 1789; and that the +enemies of the Union are not so numerous. + +Nevertheless, a careful examination of the history of the +United States for the last forty-five years will readily convince +us that the federal power is declining; nor is it difficult to +explain the causes of this phenomenon. *v When the Constitution +of 1789 was promulgated, the nation was a prey to anarchy; the +Union, which succeeded this confusion, excited much dread and +much animosity; but it was warmly supported because it satisfied +an imperious want. Thus, although it was more attacked than it +is now, the federal power soon reached the maximum of its +authority, as is usually the case with a government which +triumphs after having braced its strength by the struggle. At +that time the interpretation of the Constitution seemed to +extend, rather than to repress, the federal sovereignty; and the +Union offered, in several respects, the appearance of a single +and undivided people, directed in its foreign and internal policy +by a single Government. But to attain this point the people had +risen, to a certain extent, above itself. + + +[Footnote v: [Since 1861 the movement is certainly in the +opposite direction, and the federal power has largely increased, +and tends to further increase.]] + +The Constitution had not destroyed the distinct sovereignty +of the States; and all communities, of whatever nature they may +be, are impelled by a secret propensity to assert their +independence. This propensity is still more decided in a country +like America, in which every village forms a sort of republic +accustomed to conduct its own affairs. It therefore cost the +States an effort to submit to the federal supremacy; and all +efforts, however successful they may be, necessarily subside with +the causes in which they +originated. + +As the Federal Government consolidated its authority, +America resumed its rank amongst the nations, peace returned to +its frontiers, and public credit was restored; confusion was +succeeded by a fixed state of things, which was favorable to the +full and free exercise of industrious enterprise. It was this +very prosperity which made the Americans forget the cause to +which it was attributable; and when once the danger was passed, +the energy and the patriotism which had enabled them to brave it +disappeared from amongst them. No sooner were they delivered from +the cares which oppressed them, than they easily returned to +their ordinary habits, and gave themselves up without resistance +to their natural inclinations. When a powerful Government no +longer appeared to be necessary, they once more began to think it +irksome. The Union encouraged a general prosperity, and the +States were not inclined to abandon the Union; but they desired +to render the action of the power which represented that body as +light as possible. The general principle of Union was adopted, +but in every minor detail there was an actual tendency to +independence. The principle of confederation was every day more +easily admitted, and more rarely applied; so that the Federal +Government brought about its own decline, whilst it was creating +order and peace. + +As soon as this tendency of public opinion began to be +manifested externally, the leaders of parties, who live by the +passions of the people, began to work it to their own advantage. +The position of the Federal Government then became exceedingly +critical. Its enemies were in possession of the popular favor; +and they obtained the right of conducting its policy by pledging +themselves to lessen its influence. From that time forwards the +Government of the Union has invariably been obliged to recede, as +often as it has attempted to enter the lists with the governments +of the States. And whenever an interpretation of the terms of +the Federal Constitution has been called for, that interpretation +has most frequently been opposed to the Union, and favorable to +the States. + +The Constitution invested the Federal Government with the +right of providing for the interests of the nation; and it had +been held that no other authority was so fit to superintend the +"internal improvements" which affected the prosperity of the +whole Union; such, for instance, as the cutting of canals. But +the States were alarmed at a power, distinct from their own, +which could thus dispose of a portion of their territory; and +they were afraid that the central Government would, by this +means, acquire a formidable extent of patronage within their own +confines, and exercise a degree of influence which they intended +to reserve exclusively to their own agents. The Democratic +party, which has constantly been opposed to the increase of the +federal authority, then accused the Congress of usurpation, and +the Chief Magistrate of ambition. The central Government was +intimidated by the opposition; and it soon acknowledged its +error, promising exactly to confine its influence for the future +within the circle which was prescribed to it. + +The Constitution confers upon the Union the right of +treating with foreign nations. The Indian tribes, which border +upon the frontiers of the United States, had usually been +regarded in this light. As long as these savages consented to +retire before the civilized settlers, the federal right was not +contested: but as soon as an Indian tribe attempted to fix its +dwelling upon a given spot, the adjacent States claimed +possession of the lands and the rights of sovereignty over the +natives. The central Government soon recognized both these +claims; and after it had concluded treaties with the Indians as +independent nations, it gave them up as subjects to the +legislative tyranny of the States. *w + +[Footnote w: See in the Legislative Documents, already quoted in +speaking of the Indians, the letter of the President of the +United States to the Cherokees, his correspondence on this +subject with his agents, and his messages to Congress.] + +Some of the States which had been founded upon the coast of +the Atlantic, extended indefinitely to the West, into wild +regions where no European had ever penetrated. The States whose +confines were irrevocably fixed, looked with a jealous eye upon +the unbounded regions which the future would enable their +neighbors to explore. The latter then agreed, with a view to +conciliate the others, and to facilitate the act of union, to lay +down their own boundaries, and to abandon all the territory which +lay beyond those limits to the confederation at large. *x +Thenceforward the Federal Government became the owner of all the +uncultivated lands which lie beyond the borders of the thirteen +States first confederated. It was invested with the right of +parcelling and selling them, and the sums derived from this +source were exclusively reserved to the public treasure of the +Union, in order to furnish supplies for purchasing tracts of +country from the Indians, for opening roads to the remote +settlements, and for accelerating the increase of civilization as +much as possible. New States have, however, been formed in the +course of time, in the midst of those wilds which were formerly +ceded by the inhabitants of the shores of the Atlantic. Congress +has gone on to sell, for the profit of the nation at large, the +uncultivated lands which those new States contained. But the +latter at length asserted that, as they were now fully +constituted, they ought to enjoy the exclusive right of +converting the produce of these sales to their own use. As their +remonstrances became more and more threatening, Congress thought +fit to deprive the Union of a portion of the privileges which it +had hitherto enjoyed; and at the end of 1832 it passed a law by +which the greatest part of the revenue derived from the sale of +lands was made over to the new western republics, although the +lands themselves were not ceded to them. *y + +[Footnote x: The first act of session was made by the State of +New York in 1780; Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, South and +North Carolina, followed this example at different times, and +lastly, the act of cession of Georgia was made as recently as +1802.] + +[Footnote y: It is true that the President refused his assent to +this law; but he completely adopted it in principle. (See +Message of December 8, 1833.)] + +The slightest observation in the United States enables one +to appreciate the advantages which the country derives from the +bank. These advantages are of several kinds, but one of them is +peculiarly striking to the stranger. The banknotes of the United +States are taken upon the borders of the desert for the same +value as at Philadelphia, where the bank conducts its operations. +*z + +[Footnote z: The present Bank of the United States was +established in 1816, with a capital of $35,000,000; its charter +expires in 1836. Last year Congress passed a law to renew it, +but the President put his veto upon the bill. The struggle is +still going on with great violence on either side, and the speedy +fall of the bank may easily be foreseen. [It was soon afterwards +extinguished by General Jackson.]] + +The Bank of the United States is nevertheless the object of +great animosity. Its directors have proclaimed their hostility +to the President: and they are accused, not without some show of +probability, of having abused their influence to thwart his +election. The President therefore attacks the establishment +which they represent with all the warmth of personal enmity; and +he is encouraged in the pursuit of his revenge by the conviction +that he is supported by the secret propensities of the majority. +The bank may be regarded as the great monetary tie of the Union, +just as Congress is the great legislative tie; and the same +passions which tend to render the States independent of the +central power, contribute to the overthrow of the bank. + +The Bank of the United States always holds a great number of +the notes issued by the provincial banks, which it can at any +time oblige them to convert into cash. It has itself nothing to +fear from a similar demand, as the extent of its resources +enables it to meet all claims. But the existence of the +provincial banks is thus threatened, and their operations are +restricted, since they are only able to issue a quantity of notes +duly proportioned to their capital. They submit with impatience +to this salutary control. The newspapers which they have bought +over, and the President, whose interest renders him their +instrument, attack the bank with the greatest vehemence. They +rouse the local passions and the blind democratic instinct of the +country to aid their cause; and they assert that the bank +directors form a permanent aristocratic body, whose influence +must ultimately be felt in the Government, and must affect those +principles of equality upon which society rests in America. + +The contest between the bank and its opponents is only an +incident in the great struggle which is going on in America +between the provinces and the central power; between the spirit +of democratic independence and the spirit of gradation and +subordination. I do not mean that the enemies of the bank are +identically the same individuals who, on other points, attack the +Federal Government; but I assert that the attacks directed +against the bank of the United States originate in the same +propensities which militate against the Federal Government; and +that the very numerous opponents of the former afford a +deplorable symptom of the decreasing support of the latter. + +The Union has never displayed so much weakness as in the +celebrated question of the tariff. *a The wars of the French +Revolution and of 1812 had created manufacturing establishments +in the North of the Union, by cutting off all free communication +between America and Europe. When peace was concluded, and the +channel of intercourse reopened by which the produce of Europe +was transmitted to the New World, the Americans thought fit to +establish a system of import duties, for the twofold purpose of +protecting their incipient manufactures and of paying off the +amount of the debt contracted during the war. The Southern +States, which have no manufactures to encourage, and which are +exclusively agricultural, soon complained of this measure. Such +were the simple facts, and I do not pretend to examine in this +place whether their complaints were well founded or unjust. + +[Footnote a: See principally for the details of this affair, the +Legislative Documents, 22d Congress, 2d Session, No. 30.] + +As early as the year 1820, South Carolina declared, in a +petition to Congress, that the tariff was "unconstitutional, +oppressive, and unjust." And the States of Georgia, Virginia, +North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi subsequently +remonstrated against it with more or less vigor. But Congress, +far from lending an ear to these complaints, raised the scale of +tariff duties in the years 1824 and 1828, and recognized anew the +principle on which it was founded. A doctrine was then +proclaimed, or rather revived, in the South, which took the name +of Nullification. + + +I have shown in the proper place that the object of the +Federal Constitution was not to form a league, but to create a +national government. The Americans of the United States form a +sole and undivided people, in all the cases which are specified +by that Constitution; and upon these points the will of the +nation is expressed, as it is in all constitutional nations, by +the voice of the majority. When the majority has pronounced its +decision, it is the duty of the minority to submit. Such is the +sound legal doctrine, and the only one which agrees with the text +of the Constitution, and the known intention of those who framed +it. + +The partisans of Nullification in the South maintain, on the +contrary, that the intention of the Americans in uniting was not +to reduce themselves to the condition of one and the same people; +that they meant to constitute a league of independent States; and +that each State, consequently retains its entire sovereignty, if +not de facto, at least de jure; and has the right of putting its +own construction upon the laws of Congress, and of suspending +their execution within the limits of its own territory, if they +are held to be unconstitutional and unjust. + +The entire doctrine of Nullification is comprised in a +sentence uttered by Vice-President Calhoun, the head of that +party in the South, before the Senate of the United States, in +the year 1833: could: "The Constitution is a compact to which the +States were parties in their sovereign capacity; now, whenever a +compact is entered into by parties which acknowledge no tribunal +above their authority to decide in the last resort, each of them +has a right to judge for itself in relation to the nature, +extent, and obligations of the instrument." It is evident that a +similar doctrine destroys the very basis of the Federal +Constitution, and brings back all the evils of the old +confederation, from which the Americans were supposed to have had +a safe deliverance. + +When South Carolina perceived that Congress turned a deaf +ear to its remonstrances, it threatened to apply the doctrine of +nullification to the federal tariff bill. Congress persisted in +its former system; and at length the storm broke out. In the +course of 1832 the citizens of South Carolina, *b named a +national Convention, to consult upon the extraordinary measures +which they were called upon to take; and on November 24th of the +same year this Convention promulgated a law, under the form of a +decree, which annulled the federal law of the tariff, forbade the +levy of the imposts which that law commands, and refused to +recognize the appeal which might be made to the federal courts of +law. *c This decree was only to be put in execution in the +ensuing month of February, and it was intimated, that if Congress +modified the tariff before that period, South Carolina might be +induced to proceed no further with her menaces; and a vague +desire was afterwards expressed of submitting the question to an +extraordinary assembly of all the confederate States. + +[Footnote b: That is to say, the majority of the people; for the +opposite party, called the Union party, always formed a very +strong and active minority. Carolina may contain about 47,000 +electors; 30,000 were in favor of nullification, and 17,000 +opposed to it.] + +[Footnote c: This decree was preceded by a report of the +committee by which it was framed, containing the explanation of +the motives and object of the law. The following passage occurs +in it, p. 34: - "When the rights reserved by the Constitution to +the different States are deliberately violated, it is the duty +and the right of those States to interfere, in order to check the +progress of the evil; to resist usurpation, and to maintain, +within their respective limits, those powers and privileges which +belong to them as independent sovereign States. If they were +destitute of this right, they would not be sovereign. South +Carolina declares that she acknowledges no tribunal upon earth +above her authority. She has indeed entered into a solemn +compact of union with the other States; but she demands, and will +exercise, the right of putting her own construction upon it; and +when this compact is violated by her sister States, and by the +Government which they have created, she is determined to avail +herself of the unquestionable right of judging what is the extent +of the infraction, and what are the measures best fitted to +obtain justice."] + + +Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races - Part IX + +In the meantime South Carolina armed her militia, and +prepared for war. But Congress, which had slighted its suppliant +subjects, listened to their complaints as soon as they were found +to have taken up arms. *d A law was passed, by which the tariff +duties were to be progressively reduced for ten years, until they +were brought so low as not to exceed the amount of supplies +necessary to the Government. *e Thus Congress completely +abandoned the principle of the tariff; and substituted a mere +fiscal impost to a system of protective duties. *f The Government +of the Union, in order to conceal its defeat, had recourse to an +expedient which is very much in vogue with feeble governments. +It yielded the point de facto, but it remained inflexible upon +the principles in question; and whilst Congress was altering the +tariff law, it passed another bill, by which the President was +invested with extraordinary powers, enabling him to overcome by +force a resistance which was then no longer to be apprehended. + +[Footnote d: Congress was finally decided to take this step by +the conduct of the powerful State of Virginia, whose legislature +offered to serve as mediator between the Union and South +Carolina. Hitherto the latter State had appeared to be entirely +abandoned, even by the States which had joined in her +remonstrances.] + +[Footnote e: This law was passed on March 2, 1833.] + +[Footnote f: This bill was brought in by Mr. Clay, and it passed +in four days through both Houses of Congress by an immense +majority.] + +But South Carolina did not consent to leave the Union in the +enjoyment of these scanty trophies of success: the same national +Convention which had annulled the tariff bill, met again, and +accepted the proffered concession; but at the same time it +declared it unabated perseverance in the doctrine of +Nullification: and to prove what it said, it annulled the law +investing the President with extraordinary powers, although it +was very certain that the clauses of that law would never be +carried into effect. + +Almost all the controversies of which I have been speaking +have taken place under the Presidency of General Jackson; and it +cannot be denied that in the question of the tariff he has +supported the claims of the Union with vigor and with skill. I +am, however, of opinion that the conduct of the individual who +now represents the Federal Government may be reckoned as one of +the dangers which threaten its continuance. + +Some persons in Europe have formed an opinion of the +possible influence of General Jackson upon the affairs of his +country, which appears highly extravagant to those who have seen +more of the subject. We have been told that General Jackson has +won sundry battles, that he is an energetic man, prone by nature +and by habit to the use of force, covetous of power, and a despot +by taste. All this may perhaps be true; but the inferences which +have been drawn from these truths are exceedingly erroneous. It +has been imagined that General Jackson is bent on establishing a +dictatorship in America, on introducing a military spirit, and on +giving a degree of influence to the central authority which +cannot but be dangerous to provincial liberties. But in America +the time for similar undertakings, and the age for men of this +kind, is not yet come: if General Jackson had entertained a hope +of exercising his authority in this manner, he would infallibly +have forfeited his political station, and compromised his life; +accordingly he has not been so imprudent as to make any such +attempt. + +Far from wishing to extend the federal power, the President +belongs to the party which is desirous of limiting that power to +the bare and precise letter of the Constitution, and which never +puts a construction upon that act favorable to the Government of +the Union; far from standing forth as the champion of +centralization, General Jackson is the agent of all the +jealousies of the States; and he was placed in the lofty station +he occupies by the passions of the people which are most opposed +to the central Government. It is by perpetually flattering these +passions that he maintains his station and his popularity. +General Jackson is the slave of the majority: he yields to its +wishes, its propensities, and its demands; say rather, that he +anticipates and forestalls them. + +Whenever the governments of the States come into collision +with that of the Union, the President is generally the first to +question his own rights: he almost always outstrips the +legislature; and when the extent of the federal power is +controverted, he takes part, as it were, against himself; he +conceals his official interests, and extinguishes his own natural +inclinations. Not indeed that he is naturally weak or hostile to +the Union; for when the majority decided against the claims of +the partisans of nullification, he put himself at its head, +asserted the doctrines which the nation held distinctly and +energetically, and was the first to recommend forcible measures; +but General Jackson appears to me, if I may use the American +expressions, to be a Federalist by taste, and a Republican by +calculation. + +General Jackson stoops to gain the favor of the majority, +but when he feels that his popularity is secure, he overthrows +all obstacles in the pursuit of the objects which the community +approves, or of those which it does not look upon with a jealous +eye. He is supported by a power with which his predecessors were +unacquainted; and he tramples on his personal enemies whenever +they cross his path with a facility which no former President +ever enjoyed; he takes upon himself the responsibility of +measures which no one before him would have ventured to attempt: +he even treats the national representatives with disdain +approaching to insult; he puts his veto upon the laws of +Congress, and frequently neglects to reply to that powerful body. +He is a favorite who sometimes treats his master roughly. The +power of General Jackson perpetually increases; but that of the +President declines; in his hands the Federal Government is +strong, but it will pass enfeebled into the hands of his +successor. + +I am strangely mistaken if the Federal Government of the +United States be not constantly losing strength, retiring +gradually from public affairs, and narrowing its circle of action +more and more. It is naturally feeble, but it now abandons even +its pretensions to strength. On the other hand, I thought that I +remarked a more lively sense of independence, and a more decided +attachment to provincial government in the States. The Union is +to subsist, but to subsist as a shadow; it is to be strong in +certain cases, and weak in all others; in time of warfare, it is +to be able to concentrate all the forces of the nation and all +the resources of the country in its hands; and in time of peace +its existence is to be scarcely perceptible: as if this alternate +debility and vigor were natural or possible. + +I do not foresee anything for the present which may be able +to check this general impulse of public opinion; the causes in +which it originated do not cease to operate with the same effect. +The change will therefore go on, and it may be predicted that, +unless some extraordinary event occurs, the Government of the +Union will grow weaker and weaker every day. + +I think, however, that the period is still remote at which +the federal power will be entirely extinguished by its inability +to protect itself and to maintain peace in the country. The +Union is sanctioned by the manners and desires of the people; its +results are palpable, its benefits visible. When it is perceived +that the weakness of the Federal Government compromises the +existence of the Union, I do not doubt that a reaction will take +place with a view to increase its strength. + +The Government of the United States is, of all the federal +governments which have hitherto been established, the one which +is most naturally destined to act. As long as it is only +indirectly assailed by the interpretation of its laws, and as +long as its substance is not seriously altered, a change of +opinion, an internal crisis, or a war, may restore all the vigor +which it requires. The point which I have been most anxious to +put in a clear light is simply this: Many people, especially in +France, imagine that a change in opinion is going on in the +United States, which is favorable to a centralization of power in +the hands of the President and the Congress. I hold that a +contrary tendency may distinctly be observed. So far is the +Federal Government from acquiring strength, and from threatening +the sovereignty of the States, as it grows older, that I maintain +it to be growing weaker and weaker, and that the sovereignty of +the Union alone is in danger. Such are the facts which the +present time discloses. The future conceals the final result of +this tendency, and the events which may check, retard, or +accelerate the changes I have described; but I do not affect to +be able to remove the veil which hides them from our sight. + +Of The Republican Institutions Of The United States, And What +Their Chances Of Duration Are + +The Union is accidental - The Republican institutions have more +prospect of permanence - A republic for the present the natural +state of the Anglo-Americans - Reason of this - In order to +destroy it, all the laws must be changed at the same time, and a +great alteration take place in manners -Difficulties experienced +by the Americans in creating an aristocracy. + +The dismemberment of the Union, by the introduction of war +into the heart of those States which are now confederate, with +standing armies, a dictatorship, and a heavy taxation, might, +eventually, compromise the fate of the republican institutions. +But we ought not to confound the future prospects of the republic +with those of the Union. The Union is an accident, which will +only last as long as circumstances are favorable to its +existence; but a republican form of government seems to me to be +the natural state of the Americans; which nothing but the +continued action of hostile causes, always acting in the same +direction, could change into a monarchy. The Union exists +principally in the law which formed it; one revolution, one +change in public opinion, might destroy it forever; but the +republic has a much deeper foundation to rest upon. + + +What is understood by a republican government in the United +States is the slow and quiet action of society upon itself. It +is a regular state of things really founded upon the enlightened +will of the people. It is a conciliatory government under which +resolutions are allowed time to ripen; and in which they are +deliberately discussed, and executed with mature judgment. The +republicans in the United States set a high value upon morality, +respect religious belief, and acknowledge the existence of +rights. They profess to think that a people ought to be +moral,religious, and temperate, in proportion as it is free. +What is called the republic in the United States, is the tranquil +rule of the majority, which, after having had time to examine +itself, and to give proof of its existence, is the common source +of all the powers of the State. But the power of the majority is +not of itself unlimited. In the moral world humanity, justice, +and reason enjoy an undisputed supremacy; in the political world +vested rights are treated with no less deference. The majority +recognizes these two barriers; and if it now and then overstep +them, it is because, like individuals, it has passions, and, like +them, it is prone to do what is wrong, whilst it discerns what is +right. + +But the demagogues of Europe have made strange discoveries. +A republic is not, according to them, the rule of the majority, +as has hitherto been thought, but the rule of those who are +strenuous partisans of the majority. It is not the people who +preponderates in this kind of government, but those who are best +versed in the good qualities of the people. A happy distinction, +which allows men to act in the name of nations without consulting +them, and to claim their gratitude whilst their rights are +spurned. A republican government, moreover, is the only one +which claims the right of doing whatever it chooses, and +despising what men have hitherto respected, from the highest +moral obligations to the vulgar rules of common-sense. It had +been supposed, until our time, that despotism was odious, under +whatever form it appeared. But it is a discovery of modern days +that there are such things as legitimate tyranny and holy +injustice, provided they are exercised in the name of the people. + +The ideas which the Americans have adopted respecting the +republican form of government, render it easy for them to live +under it, and insure its duration. If, in their country, this +form be often practically bad, at least it is theoretically good; +and, in the end, the people always acts in conformity to it. + +It was impossible at the foundation of the States, and it +would still be difficult, to establish a central administration +in America. The inhabitants are dispersed over too great a +space, and separated by too many natural obstacles, for one man +to undertake to direct the details of their existence. America +is therefore pre-eminently the country of provincial and +municipal government. To this cause, which was plainly felt by +all the Europeans of the New World, the Anglo-Americans added +several others peculiar to themselves. + +At the time of the settlement of the North American +colonies, municipal liberty had already penetrated into the laws +as well as the manners of the English; and the emigrants adopted +it, not only as a necessary thing, but as a benefit which they +knew how to appreciate. We have already seen the manner in which +the colonies were founded: every province, and almost every +district, was peopled separately by men who were strangers to +each other, or who associated with very different purposes. The +English settlers in the United States, therefore, early perceived +that they were divided into a great number of small and distinct +communities which belonged to no common centre; and that it was +needful for each of these little communities to take care of its +own affairs, since there did not appear to be any central +authority which was naturally bound and easily enabled to provide +for them. Thus, the nature of the country, the manner in which +the British colonies were founded, the habits of the first +emigrants, in short everything, united to promote, in an +extraordinary degree, municipal and provincial liberties. + +In the United States, therefore, the mass of the +institutions of the country is essentially republican; and in +order permanently to destroy the laws which form the basis of the +republic, it would be necessary to abolish all the laws at once. +At the present day it would be even more difficult for a party to +succeed in founding a monarchy in the United States than for a +set of men to proclaim that France should henceforward be a +republic. Royalty would not find a system of legislation +prepared for it beforehand; and a monarchy would then exist, +really surrounded by republican institutions. The monarchical +principle would likewise have great difficulty in penetrating +into the manners of the Americans. + +In the United States, the sovereignty of the people is not +an isolated doctrine bearing no relation to the prevailing +manners and ideas of the people: it may, on the contrary, be +regarded as the last link of a chain of opinions which binds the +whole Anglo- American world. That Providence has given to every +human being the degree of reason necessary to direct himself in +the affairs which interest him exclusively - such is the grand +maxim upon which civil and political society rests in the United +States. The father of a family applies it to his children; the +master to his servants; the township to its officers; the +province to its townships; the State to its provinces; the Union +to the States; and when extended to the nation, it becomes the +doctrine of the sovereignty of the people. + +Thus, in the United States, the fundamental principle of the +republic is the same which governs the greater part of human +actions; republican notions insinuate themselves into all the +ideas, opinions, and habits of the Americans, whilst they are +formerly recognized by the legislation: and before this +legislation can be altered the whole community must undergo very +serious changes. In the United States, even the religion of most +of the citizens is republican, since it submits the truths of the +other world to private judgment: as in politics the care of its +temporal interests is abandoned to the good sense of the people. +Thus every man is allowed freely to take that road which he +thinks will lead him to heaven; just as the law permits every +citizen to have the right of choosing his government. + +It is evident that nothing but a long series of events, all +having the same tendency, can substitute for this combination of +laws, opinions, and manners, a mass of opposite opinions, +manners, and laws. + +If republican principles are to perish in America, they can +only yield after a laborious social process, often interrupted, +and as often resumed; they will have many apparent revivals, and +will not become totally extinct until an entirely new people +shall have succeeded to that which now exists. Now, it must be +admitted that there is no symptom or presage of the approach of +such a revolution. There is nothing more striking to a person +newly arrived in the United States, than the kind of tumultuous +agitation in which he finds political society. The laws are +incessantly changing, and at first sight it seems impossible that +a people so variable in its desires should avoid adopting, within +a short space of time, a completely new form of government. Such +apprehensions are, however, premature; the instability which +affects political institutions is of two kinds, which ought not +to be confounded: the first, which modifies secondary laws, is +not incompatible with a very settled state of society; the other +shakes the very foundations of the Constitution, and attacks the +fundamental principles of legislation; this species of +instability is always followed by troubles and revolutions, and +the nation which suffers under it is in a state of violent +transition. + +Experience shows that these two kinds of legislative +instability have no necessary connection; for they have been +found united or separate, according to times and circumstances. +The first is common in the United States, but not the second: the +Americans often change their laws, but the foundation of the +Constitution is respected. + +In our days the republican principle rules in America, as +the monarchical principle did in France under Louis XIV. The +French of that period were not only friends of the monarchy, but +they thought it impossible to put anything in its place; they +received it as we receive the rays of the sun and the return of +the seasons. Amongst them the royal power had neither advocates +nor opponents. In like manner does the republican government +exist in America, without contention or opposition; without +proofs and arguments, by a tacit agreement, a sort of consensus +universalis. It is, however, my opinion that by changing their +administrative forms as often as they do, the inhabitants of the +United States compromise the future stability of their +government. + +It may be apprehended that men, perpetually thwarted in +their designs by the mutability of the legislation, will learn to +look upon republican institutions as an inconvenient form of +society; the evil resulting from the instability of the secondary +enactments might then raise a doubt as to the nature of the +fundamental principles of the Constitution, and indirectly bring +about a revolution; but this epoch is still very remote. + +It may, however, be foreseen even now, that when the +Americans lose their republican institutions they will speedily +arrive at a despotic government, without a long interval of +limited monarchy. Montesquieu remarked, that nothing is more +absolute than the authority of a prince who immediately succeeds +a republic, since the powers which had fearlessly been intrusted +to an elected magistrate are then transferred to a hereditary +sovereign. This is true in general, but it is more peculiarly +applicable to a democratic republic. In the United States, the +magistrates are not elected by a particular class of citizens, +but by the majority of the nation; they are the immediate +representatives of the passions of the multitude; and as they are +wholly dependent upon its pleasure, they excite neither hatred +nor fear: hence, as I have already shown, very little care has +been taken to limit their influence, and they are left in +possession of a vast deal of arbitrary power. This state of +things has engendered habits which would outlive itself; the +American magistrate would retain his power, but he would cease to +be responsible for the exercise of it; and it is impossible to +say what bounds could then be set to tyranny. + +Some of our European politicians expect to see an +aristocracy arise in America, and they already predict the exact +period at which it will be able to assume the reins of +government. I have previously observed, and I repeat my +assertion, that the present tendency of American society appears +to me to become more and more democratic. Nevertheless, I do not +assert that the Americans will not, at some future time, restrict +the circle of political rights in their country, or confiscate +those rights to the advantage of a single individual; but I +cannot imagine that they will ever bestow the exclusive exercise +of them upon a privileged class of citizens, or, in other words, +that they will ever found an aristocracy. + +An aristocratic body is composed of a certain number of +citizens who, without being very far removed from the mass of the +people, are, nevertheless, permanently stationed above it: a body +which it is easy to touch and difficult to strike; with which the +people are in daily contact, but with which they can never +combine. Nothing can be imagined more contrary to nature and to +the secret propensities of the human heart than a subjection of +this kind; and men who are left to follow their own bent will +always prefer the arbitrary power of a king to the regular +administration of an aristocracy. Aristocratic institutions +cannot subsist without laying down the inequality of men as a +fundamental principle, as a part and parcel of the legislation, +affecting the condition of the human family as much as it affects +that of society; but these are things so repugnant to natural +equity that they can only be extorted from men by constraint. + +I do not think a single people can be quoted, since human +society began to exist, which has, by its own free will and by +its own exertions, created an aristocracy within its own bosom. +All the aristocracies of the Middle Ages were founded by military +conquest; the conqueror was the noble, the vanquished became the +serf. Inequality was then imposed by force; and after it had +been introduced into the maners of the country it maintained its +own authority, and was sanctioned by the legislation. +Communities have existed which were aristocratic from their +earliest origin, owing to circumstances anterior to that event, +and which became more democratic in each succeeding age. Such +was the destiny of the Romans, and of the barbarians after them. +But a people, having taken its rise in civilization and +democracy, which should gradually establish an inequality of +conditions, until it arrived at inviolable privileges and +exclusive castes, would be a novelty in the world; and nothing +intimates that America is likely to furnish so singular an +example. + +Reflection On The Causes Of The Commercial Prosperity Of The Of +The United States + +The Americans destined by Nature to be a great maritime people - +Extent of their coasts - Depth of their ports - Size of their +rivers - The commercial superiority of the Anglo-Americans less +attributable, however, to physical circumstances than to moral +and intellectual causes - Reason of this opinion -Future destiny +of the Anglo-Americans as a commercial nation - The dissolution +of the Union would not check the maritime vigor of the States - +Reason of this - Anglo-Americans will naturally supply the wants +of the inhabitants of South America - They will become, like the +English, the factors of a great portion of the world. + +The coast of the United States, from the Bay of Fundy to the +Sabine River in the Gulf of Mexico, is more than two thousand +miles in extent. These shores form an unbroken line, and they are +all subject to the same government. No nation in the world +possesses vaster, deeper, or more secure ports for shipping than +the Americans. + +The inhabitants of the United States constitute a great +civilized people, which fortune has placed in the midst of an +uncultivated country at a distance of three thousand miles from +the central point of civilization. America consequently stands in +daily need of European trade. The Americans will, no doubt, +ultimately succeed in producing or manufacturing at home most of +the articles which they require; but the two continents can never +be independent of each other, so numerous are the natural ties +which exist between their wants, their ideas, their habits, and +their manners. + +The Union produces peculiar commodities which are now become +necessary to us, but which cannot be cultivated, or can only be +raised at an enormous expense, upon the soil of Europe. The +Americans only consume a small portion of this produce, and they +are willing to sell us the rest. Europe is therefore the market +of America, as America is the market of Europe; and maritime +commerce is no less necessary to enable the inhabitants of the +United States to transport their raw materials to the ports of +Europe, than it is to enable us to supply them with our +manufactured produce. The United States were therefore +necessarily reduced to the alternative of increasing the business +of other maritime nations to a great extent, if they had +themselves declined to enter into commerce, as the Spaniards of +Mexico have hitherto done; or, in the second place, of becoming +one of the first trading powers of the globe. + +The Anglo-Americans have always displayed a very decided +taste for the sea. The Declaration of Independence broke the +commercial restrictions which united them to England, and gave a +fresh and powerful stimulus to their maritime genius. Ever since +that time, the shipping of the Union has increased in almost the +same rapid proportion as the number of its inhabitants. The +Americans themselves now transport to their own shores +nine-tenths of the European produce which they consume. *g And +they also bring three- quarters of the exports of the New World +to the European consumer. *h The ships of the United States fill +the docks of Havre and of Liverpool; whilst the number of English +and French vessels which are to be seen at New York is +comparatively small. *i + +[Footnote g: The total value of goods imported during the year +which ended on September 30, 1832, was $101,129,266. The value +of the cargoes of foreign vessels did not amount to $10,731,039, +or about one-tenth of the entire sum.] + +[Footnote h: The value of goods exported during the same year +amounted to $87,176,943; the value of goods exported by foreign +vessels amounted to $21,036,183, or about one quarter of the +whole sum. (Williams's "Register," 1833, p. 398.)] + +[Footnote i: The tonnage of the vessels which entered all the +ports of the Union in the years 1829, 1830, and 1831, amounted to +3,307,719 tons, of which 544,571 tons were foreign vessels; they +stood, therefore, to the American vessels in a ratio of about 16 +to 100. ("National Calendar," 1833, p. 304.) The tonnage of the +English vessels which entered the ports of London, Liverpool, and +Hull, in the years 1820, 1826, and 1831, amounted to 443,800 +tons. The foreign vessels which entered the same ports during +the same years amounted to 159,431 tons. The ratio between them +was, therefore, about 36 to 100. ("Companion to the Almanac," +1834, p. 169.) In the year 1832 the ratio between the foreign and +British ships which entered the ports of Great Britain was 29 to +100. [These statements relate to a condition of affairs which has +ceased to exist; the Civil War and the heavy taxation of the +United States entirely altered the trade and navigation of the +country.]] + +Thus, not only does the American merchant face the +competition of his own countrymen, but he even supports that of +foreign nations in their own ports with success. This is readily +explained by the fact that the vessels of the United States can +cross the seas at a cheaper rate than any other vessels in the +world. As long as the mercantile shipping of the United States +preserves this superiority, it will not only retain what it has +acquired, but it will constantly increase in prosperity. + + +Chapter XVIII: Future Condition Of Three Races - Part X + +It is difficult to say for what reason the Americans can +trade at a lower rate than other nations; and one is at first led +to attribute this circumstance to the physical or natural +advantages which are within their reach; but this supposition is +erroneous. The American vessels cost almost as much to build as +our own; *j they are not better built, and they generally last +for a shorter time. The pay of the American sailor is more +considerable than the pay on board European ships; which is +proved by the great number of Europeans who are to be met with in +the merchant vessels of the United States. But I am of opinion +that the true cause of their superiority must not be sought for +in physical advantages, but that it is wholly attributable to +their moral and intellectual +qualities. + +[Footnote j: Materials are, generally speaking, less expensive in +America than in Europe, but the price of labor is much higher.] + +The following comparison will illustrate my meaning. During +the campaigns of the Revolution the French introduced a new +system of tactics into the art of war, which perplexed the oldest +generals, and very nearly destroyed the most ancient monarchies +in Europe. They undertook (what had never before been attempted) +to make shift without a number of things which had always been +held to be indispensable in warfare; they required novel +exertions on the part of their troops which no civilized nations +had ever thought of; they achieved great actions in an incredibly +short space of time; and they risked human life without +hesitation to obtain the object in view. The French had less +money and fewer men than their enemies; their resources were +infinitely inferior; nevertheless they were constantly +victorious, until their adversaries chose to imitate their +example. + +The Americans have introduced a similar system into their +commercial speculations; and they do for cheapness what the +French did for conquest. The European sailor navigates with +prudence; he only sets sail when the weather is favorable; if an +unforseen accident befalls him, he puts into port; at night he +furls a portion of his canvas; and when the whitening billows +intimate the vicinity of land, he checks his way, and takes an +observation of the sun. But the American neglects these +precautions and braves these dangers. He weighs anchor in the +midst of tempestuous gales; by night and by day he spreads his +sheets to the wind; he repairs as he goes along such damage as +his vessel may have sustained from the storm; and when he at last +approaches the term of his voyage, he darts onward to the shore +as if he already descried a port. The Americans are often +shipwrecked, but no trader crosses the seas so rapidly. And as +they perform the same distance in a shorter time, they can +perform it at a cheaper rate. + +The European touches several times at different ports in the +course of a long voyage; he loses a good deal of precious time in +making the harbor, or in waiting for a favorable wind to leave +it; and he pays daily dues to be allowed to remain there. The +American starts from Boston to go to purchase tea in China; he +arrives at Canton, stays there a few days, and then returns. In +less than two years he has sailed as far as the entire +circumference of the globe, and he has seen land but once. It is +true that during a voyage of eight or ten months he has drunk +brackish water and lived upon salt meat; that he has been in a +continual contest with the sea, with disease, and with a tedious +existence; but upon his return he can sell a pound of his tea for +a half-penny less than the English merchant, and his purpose is +accomplished. + +I cannot better explain my meaning than by saying that the +Americans affect a sort of heroism in their manner of trading. +But the European merchant will always find it very difficult to +imitate his American competitor, who, in adopting the system +which I have just described, follows not only a calculation of +his gain, but an impulse of his nature. + +The inhabitants of the United States are subject to all the +wants and all the desires which result from an advanced stage of +civilization; but as they are not surrounded by a community +admirably adapted, like that of Europe, to satisfy their wants, +they are often obliged to procure for themselves the various +articles which education and habit have rendered necessaries. In +America it sometimes happens that the same individual tills his +field, builds his dwelling, contrives his tools, makes his shoes, +and weaves the coarse stuff of which his dress is composed. This +circumstance is prejudicial to the excellence of the work; but it +powerfully contributes to awaken the intelligence of the workman. +Nothing tends to materialize man, and to deprive his work of the +faintest trace of mind, more than extreme division of labor. In a +country like America, where men devoted to special occupations +are rare, a long apprenticeship cannot be required from anyone +who embraces a profession. The Americans, therefore, change +their means of gaining a livelihood very readily; and they suit +their occupations to the exigencies of the moment, in the manner +most profitable to themselves. Men are to be met with who have +successively been barristers, farmers, merchants, ministers of +the gospel, and physicians. If the American be less perfect in +each craft than the European, at least there is scarcely any +trade with which he is utterly unacquainted. His capacity is +more general, and the circle of his intelligence is enlarged. + +The inhabitants of the United States are never fettered by +the axioms of their profession; they escape from all the +prejudices of their present station; they are not more attached +to one line of operation than to another; they are not more prone +to employ an old method than a new one; they have no rooted +habits, and they easily shake off the influence which the habits +of other nations might exercise upon their minds from a +conviction that their country is unlike any other, and that its +situation is without a precedent in the world. America is a land +of wonders, in which everything is in constant motion, and every +movement seems an improvement. The idea of novelty is there +indissolubly connected with the idea of amelioration. No natural +boundary seems to be set to the efforts of man; and what is not +yet done is only what he has not yet attempted to do. + +This perpetual change which goes on in the United States, +these frequent vicissitudes of fortune, accompanied by such +unforeseen fluctuations in private and in public wealth, serve to +keep the minds of the citizens in a perpetual state of feverish +agitation, which admirably invigorates their exertions, and keeps +them in a state of excitement above the ordinary level of +mankind. The whole life of an American is passed like a game of +chance, a revolutionary crisis, or a battle. As the same causes +are continually in operation throughout the country, they +ultimately impart an irresistible impulse to the national +character. The American, taken as a chance specimen of his +countrymen, must then be a man of singular warmth in his desires, +enterprising, fond of adventure, and, above all, of innovation. +The same bent is manifest in all that he does; he introduces it +into his political laws, his religious doctrines, his theories of +social economy, and his domestic occupations; he bears it with +him in the depths of the backwoods, as well as in the business of +the city. It is this same passion, applied to maritime commerce, +which makes him the cheapest and the quickest trader in the +world. + +As long as the sailors of the United States retain these +inspiriting advantages, and the practical superiority which they +derive from them, they will not only continue to supply the wants +of the producers and consumers of their own country, but they +will tend more and more to become, like the English, the factors +of all other peoples. *k This prediction has already begun to be +realized; we perceive that the American traders are introducing +themselves as intermediate agents in the commerce of several +European nations; *l and America will offer a still wider field +to their enterprise. + +[Footnote k: It must not be supposed that English vessels are +exclusively employed in transporting foreign produce into +England, or British produce to foreign countries; at the present +day the merchant shipping of England may be regarded in the light +of a vast system of public conveyances, ready to serve all the +producers of the world, and to open communications between all +peoples. The maritime genius of the Americans prompts them to +enter into competition with the English.] + +[Footnote l: Part of the commerce of the Mediterranean is already +carried on by American vessels.] + +The great colonies which were founded in South America by +the Spaniards and the Portuguese have since become empires. +Civil war and oppression now lay waste those extensive regions. +Population does not increase, and the thinly scattered +inhabitants are too much absorbed in the cares of self-defense +even to attempt any amelioration of their condition. Such, +however, will not always be the case. Europe has succeeded by +her own efforts in piercing the gloom of the Middle Ages; South +America has the same Christian laws and Christian manners as we +have; she contains all the germs of civilization which have grown +amidst the nations of Europe or their offsets, added to the +advantages to be derived from our example: why then should she +always remain uncivilized? It is clear that the question is +simply one of time; at some future period, which may be more or +less remote, the inhabitants of South America will constitute +flourishing and enlightened nations. + +But when the Spaniards and Portuguese of South America begin +to feel the wants common to all civilized nations, they will +still be unable to satisfy those wants for themselves; as the +youngest children of civilization, they must perforce admit the +superiority of their elder brethren. They will be agriculturists +long before they succeed in manufactures or commerce, and they +will require the mediation of strangers to exchange their produce +beyond seas for those articles for which a demand will begin to +be felt. + +It is unquestionable that the Americans of the North will +one day supply the wants of the Americans of the South. Nature +has placed them in contiguity, and has furnished the former with +every means of knowing and appreciating those demands, of +establishing a permanent connection with those States, and of +gradually filling their markets. The merchants of the United +States could only forfeit these natural advantages if he were +very inferior to the merchant of Europe; to whom he is, on the +contrary, superior in several respects. The Americans of the +United States already exercise a very considerable moral +influence upon all the peoples of the New World. They are the +source of intelligence, and all the nations which inhabit the +same continent are already accustomed to consider them as the +most enlightened, the most powerful, and the most wealthy members +of the great American family. All eyes are therefore turned +towards the Union; and the States of which that body is composed +are the models which the other communities try to imitate to the +best of their power; it is from the United States that they +borrow their political principles and their laws. + +The Americans of the United States stand in precisely the +same position with regard to the peoples of South America as +their fathers, the English, occupy with regard to the Italians, +the Spaniards, the Portuguese, and all those nations of Europe +which receive their articles of daily consumption from England, +because they are less advanced in civilization and trade. England +is at this time the natural emporium of almost all the nations +which are within its reach; the American Union will perform the +same part in the other hemisphere; and every community which is +founded, or which prospers in the New World, is founded and +prospers to the advantage of the Anglo-Americans. + +If the Union were to be dissolved, the commerce of the +States which now compose it would undoubtedly be checked for a +time; but this consequence would be less perceptible than is +generally supposed. It is evident that, whatever may happen, the +commercial States will remain united. They are all contiguous to +each other; they have identically the same opinions, interests, +and manners; and they are alone competent to form a very great +maritime power. Even if the South of the Union were to become +independent of the North, it would still require the services of +those States. I have already observed that the South is not a +commercial country, and nothing intimates that it is likely to +become so. The Americans of the South of the United States will +therefore be obliged, for a long time to come, to have recourse +to strangers to export their produce, and to supply them with the +commodities which are requisite to satisfy their wants. But the +Northern States are undoubtedly able to act as their intermediate +agents cheaper than any other merchants. They will therefore +retain that employment, for cheapness is the sovereign law of +commerce. National claims and national prejudices cannot resist +the influence of cheapness. Nothing can be more virulent than +the hatred which exists between the Americans of the United +States and the English. But notwithstanding these inimical +feelings, the Americans derive the greater part of their +manufactured commodities from England, because England supplies +them at a cheaper rate than any other nation. Thus the +increasing prosperity of America turns, notwithstanding the +grudges of the Americans, to the advantage of British +manufactures. + +Reason shows and experience proves that no commercial +prosperity can be durable if it cannot be united, in case of +need, to naval force. This truth is as well understood in the +United States as it can be anywhere else: the Americans are +already able to make their flag respected; in a few years they +will be able to make it feared. I am convinced that the +dismemberment of the Union would not have the effect of +diminishing the naval power of the Americans, but that it would +powerfully contribute to increase it. At the present time the +commercial States are connected with others which have not the +same interests, and which frequently yield an unwilling consent +to the increase of a maritime power by which they are only +indirectly benefited. If, on the contrary, the commercial States +of the Union formed one independent nation, commerce would become +the foremost of their national interests; they would consequently +be willing to make very great sacrifices to protect their +shipping, and nothing would prevent them from pursuing their +designs upon this point. + +Nations, as well as men, almost always betray the most +prominent features of their future destiny in their earliest +years. When I contemplate the ardor with which the +Anglo-Americans prosecute commercial enterprise, the advantages +which befriend them, and the success of their undertakings, I +cannot refrain from believing that they will one day become the +first maritime power of the globe. They are born to rule the +seas, as the Romans were to conquer the world. + +Conclusion + +I have now nearly reached the close of my inquiry; hitherto, +in speaking of the future destiny of the United States, I have +endeavored to divide my subject into distinct portions, in order +to study each of them with more attention. My present object is +to embrace the whole from one single point; the remarks I shall +make will be less detailed, but they will be more sure. I shall +perceive each object less distinctly, but I shall descry the +principal facts with more certainty. A traveller who has just +left the walls of an immense city, climbs the neighboring hill; +as he goes father off he loses sight of the men whom he has so +recently quitted; their dwellings are confused in a dense mass; +he can no longer distinguish the public squares, and he can +scarcely trace out the great thoroughfares; but his eye has less +difficulty in following the boundaries of the city, and for the +first time he sees the shape of the vast whole. Such is the +future destiny of the British race in North America to my eye; +the details of the stupendous picture are overhung with shade, +but I conceive a clear idea of the entire subject. + +The territory now occupied or possessed by the United States +of America forms about one-twentieth part of the habitable earth. +But extensive as these confines are, it must not be supposed that +the Anglo-American race will always remain within them; indeed, +it has already far overstepped them. + +There was once a time at which we also might have created a +great French nation in the American wilds, to counterbalance the +influence of the English upon the destinies of the New World. +France formerly possessed a territory in North America, scarcely +less extensive than the whole of Europe. The three greatest +rivers of that continent then flowed within her dominions. The +Indian tribes which dwelt between the mouth of the St. Lawrence +and the delta of the Mississippi were unaccustomed to any other +tongue but ours; and all the European settlements scattered over +that immense region recalled the traditions of our country. +Louisbourg, Montmorency, Duquesne, St. Louis, Vincennes, New +Orleans (for such were the names they bore) are words dear to +France and familiar to our ears. + +But a concourse of circumstances, which it would be tedious +to enumerate, *m have deprived us of this magnificent +inheritance. Wherever the French settlers were numerically weak +and partially established, they have disappeared: those who +remain are collected on a small extent of country, and are now +subject to other laws. The 400,000 French inhabitants of Lower +Canada constitute, at the present time, the remnant of an old +nation lost in the midst of a new people. A foreign population +is increasing around them unceasingly and on all sides, which +already penetrates amongst the ancient masters of the country, +predominates in their cities and corrupts their language. This +population is identical with that of the United States; it is +therefore with truth that I asserted that the British race is not +confined within the frontiers of the Union, since it already +extends to the northeast. + +[Footnote m: The foremost of these circumstances is, that nations +which are accustomed to free institutions and municipal +government are better able than any others to found prosperous +colonies. The habit of thinking and governing for oneself is +indispensable in a new country, where success necessarily +depends, in a great measure, upon the individual exertions of the +settlers.] + +To the northwest nothing is to be met with but a few +insignificant Russian settlements; but to the southwest, Mexico +presents a barrier to the Anglo-Americans. Thus, the Spaniards +and the Anglo-Americans are, properly speaking, the only two +races which divide the possession of the New World. The limits of +separation between them have been settled by a treaty; but +although the conditions of that treaty are exceedingly favorable +to the Anglo-Americans, I do not doubt that they will shortly +infringe this arrangement. Vast provinces, extending beyond the +frontiers of the Union towards Mexico, are still destitute of +inhabitants. The natives of the United States will forestall the +rightful occupants of these solitary regions. They will take +possession of the soil, and establish social institutions, so +that when the legal owner arrives at length, he will find the +wilderness under cultivation, and strangers quietly settled in +the midst of his inheritance. *n + +[Footnote n: [This was speedily accomplished, and ere long both +Texas and California formed part of the United States. The +Russian settlements were acquired by purchase.]] + +The lands of the New World belong to the first occupant, and +they are the natural reward of the swiftest pioneer. Even the +countries which are already peopled will have some difficulty in +securing themselves from this invasion. I have already alluded to +what is taking place in the province of Texas. The inhabitants +of the United States are perpetually migrating to Texas, where +they purchase land; and although they conform to the laws of the +country, they are gradually founding the empire of their own +language and their own manners. The province of Texas is still +part of the Mexican dominions, but it will soon contain no +Mexicans; the same thing has occurred whenever the +Anglo-Americans have come into contact with populations of a +different origin. + +It cannot be denied that the British race has acquired an +amazing preponderance over all the other European races in the +New World; and that it is very superior to them in civilization, +in industry, and in power. As long as it is only surrounded by +desert or thinly peopled countries, as long as it encounters no +dense populations upon its route, through which it cannot work +its way, it will assuredly continue to spread. The lines marked +out by treaties will not stop it; but it will everywhere +transgress these imaginary barriers. + +The geographical position of the British race in the New +World is peculiarly favorable to its rapid increase. Above its +northern frontiers the icy regions of the Pole extend; and a few +degrees below its southern confines lies the burning climate of +the Equator. The Anglo-Americans are, therefore, placed in the +most temperate and habitable zone of the continent. + +It is generally supposed that the prodigious increase of +population in the United States is posterior to their Declaration +of Independence. But this is an error: the population increased +as rapidly under the colonial system as it does at the present +day; that is to say, it doubled in about twenty-two years. But +this proportion which is now applied to millions, was then +applied to thousands of inhabitants; and the same fact which was +scarcely noticeable a century ago, is now evident to every +observer. + +The British subjects in Canada, who are dependent on a king, +augment and spread almost as rapidly as the British settlers of +the United States, who live under a republican government. +During the war of independence, which lasted eight years, the +population continued to increase without intermission in the same +ratio. Although powerful Indian nations allied with the English +existed at that time upon the western frontiers, the emigration +westward was never checked. Whilst the enemy laid waste the +shores of the Atlantic, Kentucky, the western parts of +Pennsylvania, and the States of Vermont and of Maine were filling +with inhabitants. Nor did the unsettled state of the +Constitution, which succeeded the war, prevent the increase of +the population, or stop its progress across the wilds. Thus, the +difference of laws, the various conditions of peace and war, of +order and of anarchy, have exercised no perceptible influence +upon the gradual development of the Anglo-Americans. This may be +readily understood; for the fact is, that no causes are +sufficiently general to exercise a simultaneous influence over +the whole of so extensive a territory. One portion of the +country always offers a sure retreat from the calamities which +afflict another part; and however great may be the evil, the +remedy which is at hand is greater still. + +It must not, then, be imagined that the impulse of the +British race in the New World can be arrested. The dismemberment +of the Union, and the hostilities which might ensure, the +abolition of republican institutions, and the tyrannical +government which might succeed it, may retard this impulse, but +they cannot prevent it from ultimately fulfilling the destinies +to which that race is reserved. No power upon earth can close +upon the emigrants that fertile wilderness which offers resources +to all industry, and a refuge from all want. Future events, of +whatever nature they may be, will not deprive the Americans of +their climate or of their inland seas, of their great rivers or +of their exuberant soil. Nor will bad laws, revolutions, and +anarchy be able to obliterate that love of prosperity and that +spirit of enterprise which seem to be the distinctive +characteristics of their race, or to extinguish that knowledge +which guides them on their way. + +Thus, in the midst of the uncertain future, one event at +least is sure. At a period which may be said to be near (for we +are speaking of the life of a nation), the Anglo-Americans will +alone cover the immense space contained between the polar regions +and the tropics, extending from the coasts of the Atlantic to the +shores of the Pacific Ocean. The territory which will probably +be occupied by the Anglo-Americans at some future time, may be +computed to equal three-quarters of Europe in extent. *o The +climate of the Union is upon the whole preferable to that of +Europe, and its natural advantages are not less great; it is +therefore evident that its population will at some future time be +proportionate to our own. Europe, divided as it is between so +many different nations, and torn as it has been by incessant wars +and the barbarous manners of the Middle Ages, has notwithstanding +attained a population of 410 inhabitants to the square league. *p +What cause can prevent the United States from having as numerous +a population in time? + +[Footnote o: The United States already extend over a territory +equal to one-half of Europe. The area of Europe is 500,000 +square leagues, and its population 205,000,000 of inhabitants. +("Malte Brun," liv. 114. vol. vi. p. 4.) + +[This computation is given in French leagues, which were in +use when the author wrote. Twenty years later, in 1850, the +superficial area of the United States had been extended to +3,306,865 square miles of territory, which is about the area of +Europe.]] + +[Footnote p: See "Malte Brun," liv. 116, vol. vi. p. 92.] + +Many ages must elapse before the divers offsets of the +British race in America cease to present the same homogeneous +characteristics: and the time cannot be foreseen at which a +permanent inequality of conditions will be established in the New +World. Whatever differences may arise, from peace or from war, +from freedom or oppression, from prosperity or want, between the +destinies of the different descendants of the great +Anglo-American family, they will at least preserve an analogous +social condition, and they will hold in common the customs and +the opinions to which that social condition has given birth. + +In the Middle Ages, the tie of religion was sufficiently +powerful to imbue all the different populations of Europe with +the same civilization. The British of the New World have a +thousand other reciprocal ties; and they live at a time when the +tendency to equality is general amongst mankind. The Middle Ages +were a period when everything was broken up; when each people, +each province, each city, and each family, had a strong tendency +to maintain its distinct individuality. At the present time an +opposite tendency seems to prevail, and the nations seem to be +advancing to unity. Our means of intellectual intercourse unite +the most remote parts of the earth; and it is impossible for men +to remain strangers to each other, or to be ignorant of the +events which are taking place in any corner of the globe. The +consequence is that there is less difference, at the present day, +between the Europeans and their descendants in the New World, +than there was between certain towns in the thirteenth century +which were only separated by a river. If this tendency to +assimilation brings foreign nations closer to each other, it must +a fortiori prevent the descendants of the same people from +becoming aliens to each other. + +The time will therefore come when one hundred and fifty +millions of men will be living in North America, *q equal in +condition, the progeny of one race, owing their origin to the +same cause, and preserving the same civilization, the same +language, the same religion, the same habits, the same manners, +and imbued with the same opinions, propagated under the same +forms. The rest is uncertain, but this is certain; and it is a +fact new to the world - a fact fraught with such portentous +consequences as to baffle the efforts even of the imagination. + +[Footnote q: This would be a population proportionate to that of +Europe, taken at a mean rate of 410 inhabitants to the square +league.] + +There are, at the present time, two great nations in the +world which seem to tend towards the same end, although they +started from different points: I allude to the Russians and the +Americans. Both of them have grown up unnoticed; and whilst the +attention of mankind was directed elsewhere, they have suddenly +assumed a most prominent place amongst the nations; and the world +learned their existence and their greatness at almost the same +time. + +All other nations seem to have nearly reached their natural +limits, and only to be charged with the maintenance of their +power; but these are still in the act of growth; *r all the +others are stopped, or continue to advance with extreme +difficulty; these are proceeding with ease and with celerity +along a path to which the human eye can assign no term. The +American struggles against the natural obstacles which oppose +him; the adversaries of the Russian are men; the former combats +the wilderness and savage life; the latter, civilization with all +its weapons and its arts: the conquests of the one are therefore +gained by the ploughshare; those of the other by the sword. The +Anglo-American relies upon personal interest to accomplish his +ends, and gives free scope to the unguided exertions and +common-sense of the citizens; the Russian centres all the +authority of society in a single arm: the principal instrument of +the former is freedom; of the latter servitude. Their +starting-point is different, and their courses are not the same; +yet each of them seems to be marked out by the will of Heaven to +sway the destinies of half the globe. + +[Footnote r: Russia is the country in the Old World in which +population increases most rapidly in proportion.] + + + + + +*The Project Gutenberg Etext of Democracy In America, Volume 1* + |