Democracy in America

Alex Tocqueville's Democracy in America was a recent read, describing the Frenchman's tour of the newly minted United States of America in the 1830s.

The European mindset was amazed at how the American society had completely eradicated the rigid class system prevalent on "the Continent" at that time. Tocqueville's personal and comprehensive tour of America led him to conclude that the class system had indeed been eradicated, and he concluded there were two major drivers behind this positive political development.

First, he attributed Christianity to the breakdown of the class system. He observed that men who felt their rights emanated from God rather than the king would not tolerate absolute rule by other men/

Second, he felt America's free market system allowed even the lowest economic stratas to sell to the highest, and created a homogenous society.

It's interesting that these two drivers of Americanism are often disparaged today.

Of course, Tocqueville also observed the ominous clouds growing over the regional views on slavery. He correctly predicted the issue would come to a violent head and, in the end, ultimately resolved. He based much of his views on New England, a societal model which he felt would eventually prevail throughout America.