Alexis de Tocqueville — Democracy in America, Vol. 1

Every generation, there are a few authors who are able to simply say things as they are, and who have near perfect descriptive, causal analysis, and predictive abilities. Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote Democracy in America in the early 1830s, was one.

Tocqueville, a Frenchman, had the external perspective on America that a native citizen could not have about himself, which he recognized. His work sets out to capture America in the stage about a generation after the Union’s formation, long enough into the history of the nation to give judgement on what qualities of the people will persist for the rest of the country’s history. His work remains a definitive analysis of American society that has maintained its relevance for nearly two centuries, and stands as an early work of sociology and political science. Beyond capturing the qualities of the new nation at the time, he consistently brings himself back to how democracy, in America, is relevant to his main audience, France and broader Europe.

Standout points of his in the first volume that are relevant to today’s discourse on subjects include:

1. The Federal Government of the United States can only be run by a people that has their particular self-governance traditions at the local levels re-implemented at the federal level. This is particularly important to keep in mind because as immigration from countries with significantly different governance traditions increases into the United States, interpersonal knowledge transfer about how to run the country will break down.¹

[T]he sovereignty of the Union is so involved with that of the States that it is impossible at first glance to set their limits. Everything in such a government depends on artificially contrived conventions, and is only suited to a people long accustomed to manage its affairs…

Vol. I, Pt. I, Ch. VIII, The Federal Constitution

2. The mores of Americans are integral to the nation being stable. If the mores change too much, the nation will become unstable. By mores, Tocqueville means “habits, opinions, usages, and belief” (Vol. I, Pt. II, Ch. IX). The above point about immigration holds the same relevance here.

[I]t is mores again that make the various Anglo-American democracies more or less orderly and prosperous… I am convinced that the luckiest of geographical circumstances and the best of laws cannot maintain a constitution in despite of mores, whereas the latter can turn even the most unfavorable circumstances and the worst laws to advantage.

Vol. I, Pt. II, Ch. IX: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic Republic

3. Representatives in Congress are usually not the most able of the country, and all meaningful discussion in America takes place in private. Due to the impermanence of offices being up for election constantly, ambitious people tend to become businessmen more than politicians. Since all the offices are salaried, those who are capable of it frequently pursue public office just for the salary. Public representatives are frequently not the brightest in the U.S.

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.

Vol. I, Pt. II, Ch. V: Government by Democracy in America

4. American archives systems are not very robust and this is a problem. Louisiana is a self-isolated and culturally distinct corner of America, but there, I found curious, the people there kept their unique identity mainly through interpersonal transfer, instead of relying more on foundational texts or mythos. After Toqueville’s time, the national Library of Congress and the town public library became prominent and very well run distinct American institutions; but still throughout the country much is simply transferred from person to person instead of codified. The closest thing to an “ultimate archive” is the internet; but that mainly lives in data centers, and internet infrastructure is quite fragile.²

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 conditions 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.

Vol. I, Pt. II, Ch. V: Government by Democracy in America

5. In America there are very few voices who dissent against the majority because to go against the majority is to go against the majority-elected “legislative body, executive body, police, and jury” (Vol. I Pt. II Ch. VII). This was recently apparent when “DEI” was prevalent over the last decade, and only recently it is broadly disappearing due to the current anti-DEI Trump administration. This was seen yesterday when the University of Michigan announced it was closing its DEI office.³

[T]he majority lives in a state of perpetual self-adoration; only strangers or experience may be able to bring certain truths to the American’s attention.

Vol. I, Pt. II, Ch. VIII, The Omnipotence of the Majority