The colonial America’s democratic government had some undemocratic features so democracy was a work in progress. Some examples of democratic features, works in progress, and undemocratic things are representative government, unfair voting, and selective human rights Democracy in America Essay. Democracy in America Throughout the course of history, mankind has been recorded to corrupt itself. Men have grown tired of simply surviving; they have had to take and conquer others. Absolute monarchies control wealth, land, and even lives of men Jul 29, · Democracy in America Tocqueville's Democracy in America provided a useful interpretation of American and American values in the early to mid 19th century. As a Frenchman, Tocqueville became interested in applying the historic significance of the development of America and how it related to a larger frame of societal evolution
Democracy In America Essays: Examples, Topics, Titles, & Outlines
We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. The Americans were able to overthrow the shackles of bondage and created a Constitution that declares its steadfast belief in the ideals of freedom, equality and the pursuit of happiness. But immediately after the Declaration of Independence and even after the Constitution was signed and accepted by leaders of the new government, not every American citizen is treated fairly.
And a good example would be the Negroes and other minorities such as Asians and more so their women. Don't use plagiarized sources. The purpose of Tocqueville is writing this book is not to highlight the democratic model as it exists in America but to actually shed light on the failings of democracy in France.
While Tocqueville was able to provide numerous insights and predictions concerning the future of democracy in America, one of essay on democracy in america key insights remains his view on the coexistence of slavery and democratic principles and practices in the United States.
In understanding this in the context of the direction that the United States has taken, one of the main premises of Tocqueville must first be considered. The main premise of Tocqueville is that balance of property determined the balance of political power: industriousness was a dominant ethic, and middling values began taking root. The passion to amass great fortunes of the inhabitants of America, according to Tocqueville, had begun to erode old-world ethics and social arrangements.
It must be remembered also at this point that it was the South that practiced slavery and produced a landed aristocratic class and a web of patronage and dependence.
The slavery that Tocqueville witnessed was merely a result of the freedom that men enjoyed in America during the early years, essay on democracy in america.
In America, there was a vast expanse of land for explorers and commoners to own and any and all who arrived could own their own land and cultivate an independent life in contrast to the social and economic structure in Europe during that time where power was concentrated in the few elite. Tocqueville, who came from an aristocratic family in Europe, presented an interesting insight on the origin of slavery as caused by not merely essay on democracy in america desire to be rich but also pride.
As such, it is necessary to examine just how democracy is currently being practiced in the United States. In order to understand this, it is important to first determine what the foundations of current American democracy are. A democratic system essay on democracy in america often mistakenly characterized as the rule of the majority. While there is usually a large group of middle class individuals that comprise this democratic system, it does not necessarily mean that essay on democracy in america majority rule.
This only means that the majority usually elects the representative to office but the hallmark of any democracy is still the protection of the rights of the minority. The democratic system also has a feature that is unlike other systems in that there is a system of checks and balances to ensure its stability.
An example of this would be the separation of powers in the United States government where the three 3 different bodies, the legislative, the judiciary, and the executive branch, are all considered as co-equals.
While this was apparent during the time of Tocqueville, it did not exist to the extent that it does in the present. This leads to another important foundation of any democratic system which is the protection of civil rights.
The civil rights such as the Bill of Rights or the First ten 10 amendments of the United States Constitution are prime examples of such civil liberties, essay on democracy in america. These are essential in the preservation of the democracy because they act as further checks and balances against the party who is in power.
It prevents the democratic government from being used to oppress the rights of the people. Despite being from an aristocratic family, Tocqueville held a firm belief that to enslave another human being was the worst thing you could do to him. Tocqueville theorized that the continued coexistence of slavery and democracy in the United States would eventually lead to the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of the slaves.
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, essay on democracy in america, 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. Tocqueville, Chapter XVIII This section from clearly shows one of the predictions that Tocqueville is known for and that was the end of slavery in the democratic system of the United States.
As the general elections draw near, the foundations of a democratic system become all the more evident. The right of the people to vote and to choose who they will elect as president is one of the important foundations of a representative democratic system.
Without essay on democracy in america foundations in place, there would be no way to ensure that the rights of the people are protected. The right to select a representative ensures that everyone has a chance to be heard. In the wise words of Abraham Lincoln, Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. In view of Essay on democracy in america and the relevance of these teachings, it must be remembered today that there is nothing more sacred to a democracy than the protection essay on democracy in america Civil Rights.
The right to be heard and the right to speak freely is an important aspect of every government that is accorded such a primacy in the hierarchy of rights. The reason for this is that every government is primarily established for the benefit of the people and when that government, for one reason or another, fails in its solemn obligation the citizens have these Civil Rights to try to rectify the situation.
Over the years, many have died to protect this right. Influential people such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King have felt passionately about this and in recent decades, social groups have become more vocal. These movements and sacrifices are now apparent in Affirmative Action which exists today. America has to be rudely awakened by the Civil Rights Movement to realize that there is still much work to be done with regards to racism in this country.
When Martin Luther King, Jr. died, the nation was ready for a major change. Ending segregation in the South and improving the status of the Negro race is now the correct thing to do. It was the late John F. Kennedy, the first U. President since Abraham Lincoln who signed another landmark law, a directive that will improve the lives of all African-Americans in this country.
As the United States continues to grow in population size, the impact that the minorities have on the future of America will no longer be a minor one, to say the least. Without any effective action, these minorities will not be able to take advantage of the opportunities that America has to offer. Affirmative action was supposed to be the future of a great America. An America as envisioned by the forefathers who declared that no person shall be denied the right to life, liberty or property just on the basis of the color of his skin.
Any effective action with regard to improving society should not be about segregating people or creating a different class. It should instead focus on creating opportunities for those who have none and building relationships that will ensure that America can remains as the great country that it has been and is for ages to come.
This is how Tocqueville has influenced American Democracy. Over the years, essay on democracy in america, there has been an essay on democracy in america from slavery into a more progressive form of Democracy that does not discriminate. As the first minority President, Barack Obama, prepares to lead the United States, it remains to be seen whether or not further progress will be made and how the principle of equality, as Tocqueville envisioned it will be made manifest.
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Nov 23, · Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America Essay Example Alexis de Tocqueville's visit to the United States in the early part of the nineteenth century prompted his work Democracy in America, in which he expressed the ability to make democracy work In Democracy in America, written by Alexis De Tocqueville, numerous notions of threats claim to be dangerous to the relatively new democratic government of the United States. Yet, one threat endangers the democratic system of government the most, which is the tyranny of the majority Democracy in America, Volumes One and Two by Alexis de Tocqueville, trans. Henry Reeve, the Pennsylvania State University, Electronic Classics Series, Jim Manis, Faculty Editor, Hazleton, PA is a Portable Document File produced as part of an ongoing student publication
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