Year: 2018
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Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic Republic—Part IV
The Laws Contribute More To The Maintenance Of The Democratic Republic In The United States Than The Physical Circumstances Of The Country, And The Manners More Than The Laws All the nations of America have a democratic state of society—Yet democratic institutions only subsist amongst the Anglo-Americans—The Spaniards of South…
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Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic Republic—Part III
Principal Causes Which Render Religion Powerful In America Care taken by the Americans to separate the Church from the State—The laws, public opinion, and even the exertions of the clergy concur to promote this end—Influence of religion upon the mind in the United States attributable to this cause—Reason of this—What…
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Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic Republic—Part II
Influence Of The Laws Upon The Maintenance Of The Democratic Republic In The United States Three principal causes of the maintenance of the democratic republic—Federal Constitutions—Municipal institutions—Judicial power. The principal aim of this book has been to make known the laws of the United States; if this purpose has been…
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Chapter XVII: Principal Causes Maintaining The Democratic Republic—Part I
Principal Causes Which Tend To Maintain The Democratic Republic In The United States A democratic republic subsists in the United States, and the principal object of this book has been to account for the fact of its existence. Several of the causes which contribute to maintain the institutions of America…
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Chapter XVI: Causes Mitigating Tyranny In The United States—Part II
Trial By Jury In The United States Considered As A Political Institution Trial by jury, which is one of the instruments of the sovereignty of the people, deserves to be compared with the other laws which establish that sovereignty—Composition of the jury in the United States—Effect of trial by jury…
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Chapter XVI: Causes Mitigating Tyranny In The United States—Part I
Chapter Summary The national majority does not pretend to conduct all business—Is obliged to employ the town and county magistrates to execute its supreme decisions. I have already pointed out the distinction which is to be made between a centralized government and a centralized administration. The former exists in America,…
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Chapter XV: Unlimited Power Of Majority, And Its Consequences—Part II
Tyranny Of The Majority How the principle of the sovereignty of the people is to be understood—Impossibility of conceiving a mixed government—The sovereign power must centre somewhere—Precautions to be taken to control its action—These precautions have not been taken in the United States—Consequences. I hold it to be an impious…
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Chapter XV: Unlimited Power Of Majority, And Its Consequences—Part I
Chapter Summary Natural strength of the majority in democracies—Most of the American Constitutions have increased this strength by artificial means—How this has been done—Pledged delegates—Moral power of the majority—Opinion as to its infallibility—Respect for its rights, how augmented in the United States. Unlimited Power Of The Majority In The United…
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Chapter XIV: Advantages American Society Derive From Democracy—Part II
Respect For The Law In The United States Respect of the Americans for the law—Parental affection which they entertain for it—Personal interest of everyone to increase the authority of the law. It is not always feasible to consult the whole people, either directly or indirectly, in the formation of the…
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Chapter XIV: Advantages American Society Derive From Democracy—Part I
What The Real Advantages Are Which American Society Derives From The Government Of The Democracy Before I enter upon the subject of the present chapter I am induced to remind the reader of what I have more than once adverted to in the course of this book. The political institutions…
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Chapter XIII: Government Of The Democracy In America—Part III
Corruption And Vices Of The Rulers In A Democracy, And Consequent Effects Upon Public Morality In aristocracies rulers sometimes endeavor to corrupt the people—In democracies rulers frequently show themselves to be corrupt—In the former their vices are directly prejudicial to the morality of the people—In the latter their indirect influence…
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Chapter XIII: Government Of The Democracy In America—Part II
Instability Of The Administration In The United States In America the public acts of a community frequently leave fewer traces than the occurrences of a family—Newspapers the only historical remains—Instability of the administration prejudicial to the art of government. The authority which public men possess in America is so brief,…
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Chapter XIII: Government Of The Democracy In America—Part I
I am well aware of the difficulties which attend this part of my subject, but although every expression which I am about to make use of may clash, upon some one point, with the feelings of the different parties which divide my country, I shall speak my opinion with the…
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Chapter XII: Political Associations In The United States
Chapter Summary Daily use which the Anglo-Americans make of the right of association—Three kinds of political associations—In what manner the Americans apply the representative system to associations—Dangers resulting to the State—Great Convention of 1831 relative to the Tariff—Legislative character of this Convention—Why the unlimited exercise of the right of association…
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Chapter XI: Liberty Of The Press In The United States
Chapter Summary Difficulty of restraining the liberty of the press—Particular reasons which some nations have to cherish this liberty—The liberty of the press a necessary consequence of the sovereignty of the people as it is understood in America—Violent language of the periodical press in the United States—Propensities of the periodical…
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Chapter X: Parties In The United States
Chapter Summary Great distinction to be made between parties—Parties which are to each other as rival nations—Parties properly so called—Difference between great and small parties—Epochs which produce them—Their characteristics—America has had great parties—They are extinct—Federalists—Republicans—Defeat of the Federalists—Difficulty of creating parties in the United States—What is done with this intention—Aristocratic…
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Chapter IX: Why The People May Strictly Be Said To Govern In The United States
I have hitherto examined the institutions of the United States; I have passed their legislation in review, and I have depicted the present characteristics of political society in that country. But a sovereign power exists above these institutions and beyond these characteristic features which may destroy or modify them at…
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Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution—Part V
Advantages Of The Federal System In General, And Its Special Utility In America. Happiness and freedom of small nations—Power of great nations—Great empires favorable to the growth of civilization—Strength often the first element of national prosperity—Aim of the Federal system to unite the twofold advantages resulting from a small and…
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Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution—Part IV
Procedure Of The Federal Courts Natural weakness of the judiciary power in confederations—Legislators ought to strive as much as possible to bring private individuals, and not States, before the Federal Courts—How the Americans have succeeded in this—Direct prosecution of private individuals in the Federal Courts—Indirect prosecution of the States which…
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Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution—Part III
Re-election Of The President When the head of the executive power is re-eligible, it is the State which is the source of intrigue and corruption—The desire of being re-elected the chief aim of a President of the United States—Disadvantage of the system peculiar to America—The natural evil of democracy is…
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Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution—Part II
This cause of inferiority results from the nature of things, but it is not the only one; the second in importance is as follows: Sovereignty may be defined to be the right of making laws: in France, the King really exercises a portion of the sovereign power, since the laws…
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Chapter VIII: The Federal Constitution—Part I
I have hitherto considered each State as a separate whole, and I have explained the different springs which the people sets in motion, and the different means of action which it employs. But all the States which I have considered as independent are forced to submit, in certain cases, to…
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Chapter VII: Political Jurisdiction In The United States
Chapter Summary Definition of political jurisdiction—What is understood by political jurisdiction in France, in England, and in the United States—In America the political judge can only pass sentence on public officers—He more frequently passes a sentence of removal from office than a penalty—Political jurisdiction as it exists in the United…
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Chapter VI: Judicial Power In The United States
Chapter Summary The Anglo-Americans have retained the characteristics of judicial power which are common to all nations—They have, however, made it a powerful political organ—How—In what the judicial system of the Anglo-Americans differs from that of all other nations—Why the American judges have the right of declaring the laws to…
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Chapter V: Necessity Of Examining The Condition Of The States—Part III
Legislative Power Of The State Division of the Legislative Body into two Houses—Senate—House of Representatives—Different functions of these two Bodies. The legislative power of the State is vested in two assemblies, the first of which generally bears the name of the Senate. The Senate is commonly a legislative body; but…
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Chapter V: Necessity Of Examining The Condition Of The States—Part II
What, then, is the uniform plan on which the government is conducted, and how is the compliance of the counties and their magistrates or the townships and their officers enforced? In the States of New England the legislative authority embraces more subjects than it does in France; the legislator penetrates…
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Chapter V: Necessity Of Examining The Condition Of The States—Part I
Necessity Of Examining The Condition Of The States Before That Of The Union At Large. It is proposed to examine in the following chapter what is the form of government established in America on the principle of the sovereignty of the people; what are its resources, its hindrances, its advantages,…
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Chapter IV: The Principle Of The Sovereignty Of The People In America
Chapter Summary It predominates over the whole of society in America—Application made of this principle by the Americans even before their Revolution—Development given to it by that Revolution—Gradual and irresistible extension of the elective qualification. The Principle Of The Sovereignty Of The People In America Whenever the political laws of…
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Chapter III: Social Conditions Of The Anglo-Americans
Chapter Summary A Social condition is commonly the result of circumstances, sometimes of laws, oftener still of these two causes united; but wherever it exists, it may justly be considered as the source of almost all the laws, the usages, and the ideas which regulate the conduct of nations; whatever…
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Chapter II: Origin Of The Anglo-Americans—Part II
The English Government was not dissatisfied with an emigration which removed the elements of fresh discord and of further revolutions. On the contrary, everything was done to encourage it, and great exertions were made to mitigate the hardships of those who sought a shelter from the rigor of their country’s…
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