VIEW OF AMERICA Alexis de Tocqueville was a citizen of France, sent to observe American prisons by the French government in the 1830s. While in America, he began a journal, commenting on the exceptionalism of America and its citizens. He focused on five characteristics: Liberty, Equality, Individualism, Popular Sovereignty and Laissez Faire. Our class assignment was to select an era of American History, after the Civil War, and look at it through de Tocquevilles eyes. ERA SELECTED: 1920s
1920 1929
I chose this era because I find this time in history fascinating due to the extravagant living and also the fact that women were starting to be recognized as actual people and not just property of men. LIBERTY According to de Tocqueville, liberty is protection against tyrannical government and strength in individuality. During the 1920s there was quite a bit of freedom and even more individuality, especially in women. In this era, women were granted the right to vote by the Nineteenth Amendment, were prominent in the workforce, and even changed their physical appearance by cutting their hair short, smoking, and wearing more provocative clothing. LIBERTY EQUALITY According to de Tocqueville, egalitarianism is a society of equals. In the 1920s equality was starting to take form between men and women. Now, women are able to vote, express themselves freely, work amongst men in the workforce, and have a new sense of confidence because they are now starting to be viewed as equals. EQUALITY INDIVIDUALISM De Tocqueville claims that individualism is when Americans are free to flourish without hereditary extinction and believed they could rise in society. In the 1920s, individualism meant lashing out against a restrictive society, an assertive form of self-expression, and a glorying in the absence of self-control. INDIVIDUALISM POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY De Tocqueville claims that popular sovereignty is the participation of the common people in political life-voting. During this era, women were granted the right to vote and on Election Day in 1920, millions of American women exercised their right to vote for the first time.
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY LAISSEZ FAIRE In de Tocquevilles studies, he explains that laissez- faire is a hands off approach in the economy. In the 1920s the government banned the sell and consumption of alcohol by passing the Eighteenth Amendment. This did not work, it only made the sell and consumption of alcohol more prominent therefore it was repealed when the Twenty-first Amendment was passed. LAISSEZ FAIRE DE TOCQUEVILLE QUOTE: In politics, shared hatred is almost always the basis of friendships. My interpretation of this quote is that since hatred is such a strong emotion, finding someone else who shares that same emotion creates a foundation for a new friendship and this is very prominent in politics. MY THOUGHTS Alexis de Tocqueville came to America to inspect the prisons but instead ended up questioning himself on the greatness of America and how it came to be. He then evaluated the five characteristics mentioned in the previous slides. I believe that if he were alive today, de Tocqueville would be pleased with todays society. Citizens are active in political life, there is equality in this country, people are allowed to express themselves freely, the government is hands on but does not have complete control, and there is liberty for all.