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 5 characteristics: liberty,
equality, individualism, popular sovereignty,
laissez faire.
Our class assignment was to select an era of
American history, after the Civil War, and
look through De Tocquevilles eyes.
Era Selected
What are selected? The Sixties
Dates: 1960-1969

Why I selected this era: I chose this time period
because its the era that I wish I could have lived
through. It was a time of social change, political
movements, equality, feminists, hippies, music, and
more. There are so many protests I wish I could
have been a part of and it would have been
amazing to be at Woodstock. This is the era that
makes me wish I had a time machine.
Liberty
Definition according to De Tocqueville:
freedom from arbitrary government.

Liberty during this era: The Civil Rights
movement was at its strongest in this era.
People have choices and voice in government
and they used this to make changes and to
fight for equality.

Liberty
Equality
Definition according to De Tocqueville: no
permanent class structure.

Equality during this era: During this time period,
equality was what people were fighting for and
what others were resisting.
Equality
Individualism
Definition according to De Tocqueville: Americans
are free to flourish and achieve individual goals
without hereditary distinctions

Individualism during this era: A lot of the
protestors, hippies, and make love, not war
people in this era came from parents and families
that were more conservative and didnt believe in
the new age way of thinking, yet these people were
able to carve their own paths and make their own
personal, social, political, and economic decisions.
Individualism
Popular Sovereignty
Definition according to De Tocqueville: the
participation of common, ordinary people in
political life (specifically voting).

Popular Sovereignty in this era: In this era, woman
and racial groups other than white were fighting to
have equal say in government. Amendments had
already recently granted them the right to vote, but
there was still a lot of unfairness in government due
to racism and sexism.
Popular Sovereignty
Laissez Faire
Definition according to De Tocqueville:
government has a hands off approach to the
economy

Laissez Faire in this era: The government was
more hands on in this time period than it was in
De Tocquevilles time.
De Tocqueville Quote
Quote: The surface of
American Society is
covered with a layer of
democratic paint, but
from time to time one
can see the old
aristocratic colors
breaking through.
My interpretation: In this quote, De
Tocqueville seems to be referring to
the way the US claims that they are a
Democratic country that is
completely different from their
mother country, England, due to no
social classes, popular sovereignty
and equality, but what lies
underneath is a government that is
more controlling and bias than what
they let on, and a society that isnt
quite as peachy as they claim to be
either. They do have many
democratic characteristics, but the
aristocrat characteristics are in the
mix as well.
My thoughts on De Tocquevilles views
Alexis de Tocqueville was a very insightful man in his time
period. His observations of the US are thought provoking,
and many of them still stand true today. The US still has
equality, but even more so now than there was back
then. Americans are still allowed individualism, popular
sovereignty, and liberty. The government isnt very
Laissez Faire anymore, mainly because of home much the
economy has grown so it needs to be watched and
guarded carefully in order to keep it balanced and steady.
I believe that De Tocqueville would still find this country
exceptional, because of how incredibly far weve come.