American History 1865

Why did de Tocqueville think American democracy was unique? How did he support his conclusions?

Tocqueville thought the American democracy was unique simply because it promoted equality in the country. According to Tocqueville, the US was did not segregate any peoples. Thus all people were considered equally regardless of their race or colour. Each and every race was clearly represented in the senate and the congress, and thus made it easy for the country to be able to run smoothly without any problems at all. Moreover, the African Americans were considered equal to the whites, and they were allowed the same privileges as the whites (Boyer, 45). This showed how equality had developed in the US, and slavery had been done away with. The country was also governed by wise leaders who understood and worked according to the dictates of God. Each and every person was therefore considered equal to the other regardless of their social classes. The country therefore run smoothly without any problems at all. The American constitution also promotes equality as it allows equal treatment of all peoples in the country. On the other hand, the country faced different challenges in its system of rule, and this consequently meant that it was hard for other people to be able to be represented in political posts.  Individualism is the main problem facing the US democracy, and this may lead to many problems in the country due to misrepresentation of certain people in the leadership positions.

Due to individualism, this has led to domination of the whites in the public posts. Even though the constitution provided for equal treatment of all persons in the country, it is very ironical that some blacks were being segregated. The country still embraced slavery even though it seemed as if slavery has been abolished in the US. The majority of the US citizens, who are the whites, had more power over the African Americans who were the minority. This led to the tyranny of numbers in the country, thus in case of any laws, it made hard for the African Americans to be able to pass any motions in both the senate and the congress (Boyer, 46). Due to the effect if the tyranny of numbers, the American Americans felt oppressed in the country, and thus making it hard for them to be able to participate in different activities in the country. On the other hand, the country had a very good economy which was growing at a very first rate, but the Native Americans also highly mistreated. This consequently made it hard for Tocqueville to be able to understand how such a country could be able to afford a very good economy, while on the other hand it oppressed the Native Americans. Most people in the country did not therefore enjoy living in the country due to mistreatments and poor representations of the public in the government by the elected leaders. The country was thriving but its democracy led most people suffering and they could not therefore be able to appreciate leaving in such a wonderful country in the country. Even though the economic state of the country was good, it was likely to face different problems due to the misrepresentation of different people in the public sectors. This really affected the way people related with each other and thus leading to problems in the country.

Work Cited

Boyer, Paul S. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. Print.