Democracy in America

Tocqueville argues that Europe is a challenging place to study democracy, as it is difficult to evaluate its successes when democracy struggles against its opponents. In contrast, democracy is well established in the United States, so “its style is natural and all its movements are free” (187).

First, Tocqueville notes that despite what Europeans suppose, great men in America are rarely drawn to politics, despite the greater voting rights they enjoy. In an analysis that betrays his aristocratic sympathies, Tocqueville argues that when most men have to work for a living, they “never find the time or the means” to reach deep intellectual understanding of government (188). At the same time, most voters are suspicious of anyone of elite background seeking political power and would not vote for them.

Instead of suffrage accomplishing political success, Tocqueville argues that times of crisis allow great leaders to emerge and gain popular support. This was most obvious during the American Revolution. He also argues that the educational and moral traditions in New England are developed enough that good political leadership still exists there. This is not the case in the federal House of Representatives, whose members Tocqueville calls “obscure persons” (191).