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(i;-i(i,'(i,-:i , I f.'i,!i|si;#:i)-:^:'ii:'i^f¥|#J'i^ :^;-?SiJi; iKH' : t-:i» ♦< I ♦ t i> *v '7, o it : ! s * 4-1782 \ I t! =^ 0St3*^^!5y>i8i^,^,^.,., '■K>i._:_::-^,/t:f,MS.^!P' ■5i'^>^ii.~:!:ra!r«n^j,-^'-^-.i5fi.jfts.3\\.i»-;:s3E ^^'< I- . . '^ AM.ER]r..\\ IN^^'rrcriONS • >■ '.. iili^ f«WB ' -J* >. >'_:!i^v, '•; ixrwjMC^Ji. WITH NOTfi«, t— 1v ■■ff !' ••I A.f. N E \V YORK: »ii. 61 lovttuMttf-r.t. )f-' If ; 1 \\ 1 M^iS i-t l-ir^ - iiL-j. . 1:.1.J- ...jsulLxj^ sjJ »ti^ j i t::fr^M. ^-t. :».Jf" Ui, '••r- rajrrusa: 'i^vW^^-lEi i- i f 4 I AMERICxiN INSTITUTIONS AND THEIK INFLUENCE. BY ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE. WITH NOTts, BY HON. JOHN C. SPENCER. ' t • • • • • ' • • . . ' • • • . ■ . « ..... . .. «» .... NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY A. S. BARNES & CO. NO. 61 JOHN-STREET. tl.\CINNATl:-FI. W. DERUY k COMPA.W. 1851. .-— • y\ 1 Enteitv. according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, BY A. S. BARNES & CO., !u the Clerk's Office of the District Court of tlie United States for the Southern District of New York. . . '. • / ', ' . ■ • • •, * . • • • ' . .'•.'• • . ' ,' • ' , • ••■..••,, . * ' • ADVERTISEMENT. 1, 3 for the The American publishers of M. De Tocqueville's " Demo- cracy in America," have been frequently solicited to furnish the work in a form adapted to seminaries of learning, and at a price which would secure its more general circulation, and enable trustees of School District Libraries, and other libraries, to place it among their collections. Desirous to attain these objects, they have consulted several gentlemen, in whose judgment they confided, and particularly the editor of the American editions, to ascertain whether the work was capable of abridgment or condensation, so as to bring the ex- pense of its publication within the necessary limits. They are advised that the nature of the work renders it impossible to condense it by omitting any remarks or illustrations of the author upon any subject discussed by him, even if common justice to him did not forbid any such attempt ; and that the only mode of reducing its bulk, is to exclude wholly such subjects as are deemed not to be essential. It will be recollected that the first volume was originally published separately, and was complete in itself. It treated of the influence of democracy upon the political institutions of the United States, and exhibited views of the nature of our government, and of their complicated machinery, so new, so striking, and so just, as to excite the admiration and even the wonder of our countrymen. It was universally admitted to be the best, if not the first systematic and philosophic view of the great principles of our constitutions which has been pre- sented to the world. As a treatise upon the spirit of our gov- ernments, it was full and finished, and was deemed worthy of being introduced as a text-book in some of our Seminaries of Learning. The publication of the first volume alone would therefore seem to bo sufficient to accomplish in the main the objects of the publishers above stated. And upon a careful re-examination of the second volume, this impression is confirmed. It is entirely independent of the first volume, and is in no way essential to a full understand- ing of the principles and views contained in that volume. It discusses the effects of the democratic principle upon the -If : I VI ADVERTISEMENT. tastes, feelings, habits, and manners of the Americans j and although deeply interesting and valuable, yet the observations of the author on these subjects are better calculated for for- eign countries than for our own citizens. As he wrote for Europe they were necessary to his plan. They follow natu- rally and properly the profound views which had already been presented, and which they carry out and illustrate. But they furnish no new developments of those views, nor any facts that would be new to us. The publishers were therefore advised that the printing of the first volume complete and entire, was the only mode of attain- ing the object they had in view. They have accordingly deter- mined to adopt that course, intending, if the public sentiment should require it, hereafter to print the second volume in the same style, so that both may be had at the same moderate price. A few notes, in addition to those contained in the former editions, have been made by the American editor, which upon a reperusal of the volume seemed useful if not necessary : and some statistical results of the census of 1840 have been added, in connection with similar results given by the author from returns previous to that year. PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. TicE following work of M. De Tocqueville has attracted great attention throughout Euro]: e, where it is universally regarded as a sound, philosophical, impartial, and remarkably clear and distinct view of our political institutions, and of our manners, opinions, and habits,, as influ- encin \ or influenced by those institutions. Writers, reviewers, and statesmen of all parties, have united in the highest commendations of its ability and integrity. The people, described by a work of such a character, should not be the only one in Christendom unacquainted with its contents. At least, so thought many of our most distinguished men, who have urged the publishers of this edition to reprint the work, and present it to the American public. They have done so in the hope of promoting among their countrymen a more thorough know- ledge of their frames of government, and a more just appreciation of the great princif)les on which they are founded. But it seemed to them that a reprint in America of the views of an author so well entitled to regard and confidence, without any correc- tion of the few errors or mistakes that might be found, would be in effect to give authenticity to the whole work, and that foreign readers, especially, would consider silence, under such c ircumstances, as strong evidence of the accuracy of its statements. Tiie preface to the Eng- lish edition, too, was not adapted to this country, having been written, as it would seem, in reference to the political questions which agitat«> Great Britain. The publishers, therefor^ applied to the writer of this, to furnish them with a short preface, and such notes upon the text as might appear necessary to correct any erroneous impressions. Havintt had the honor of a personal acquaintance with M. De Tocquk- vii.LE while he was in this country; having discussed with him many of the topics treated of in this book ; having entered deeply into the feelings and sentiments which guided and impelled him in his task, and having formed a Iiigh admiration of his character and of this pro- duction, the writer felt under some obligation to aid in procuring for one whom he ventures to call his friend, a hearing from those who were the subjects of his observations. These circumstances furnish to his own mind an apology for undertaking what no one seemed will- ing to attempt, notwithstanding his want of practice in liteiary com- position, and notwithstanding the impediments of professional avoca- tions, constantly recurring, and interrupting that strict and continued exainiiiiitioii of the work, which became necessary, as well to detect any errors of the author, as any misunderstanding or misrepresentation of his meaning by his transhitor. If the same circumstances will atone in tile least lor the imperfections of what the editor has contributed to this edition, and will serve to mitigate the severity of jud, ment upon tliose contributions, it is all he can hope or ask. Tlie NOTES are confined, with very few exceptions, to the correc- tion of what appeared to be misapprehensions of the author in regard / 1 r •: I : I ! I VUl PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. to some matters of fact, or some principles of law, and to explaining his meaning where the translator had misconceived it. For the latter Eurpose the original was consulted ; and it affords great pleasure to ear witness to the general fidelity with which Mr. Reeve ha.9 trans- ferred the author's ideas from French into English. He has not been a literal translator, and this has been the cause of the very few errors which have been discovered : but he has been more and better : he has caught the s|)irit of M. De Tocquevii,i,e, has understood the senti- ment he meant to express, and has clothed it in the language which M. De Tocqueville would have himself used, had he possessed equal facility in writing the English language. Being confined to the objects before mentioned, the reader will not find any comments on the theoretical views of our author. He has discussed many subjects on which very different opinions are entertained in the United States ; but with an ability, a candor, and an evident devotion to the cause of truth, which will commend his views to those who most radically dissent from them. Indeed, readers of the most discordant opinions will find that he frequently agrees with both sides, and as frequently differs from them. As an instance, his remarks on slavery will not be found to coincide throughout with the opinions either of abolitionists or of slaveholders : but they will be found to present a masterly view of a most perplexing and interesting subject, which seems to cover the whole ground, and to lead to the melancholy conclusion of the utter impotency of human effort to eradicate this ac- knowledged evil. But on this, and on the various topics of the deepest interest which are discussed in thif vork, it was thought that the American readers would be fully co -tent to form their own opinions, and to detect any errors of the author, if such there are, without any attempt of the present editor to enlighten them. At all events, it is to be hoped that the citizens of the United States will patiently read, and candidly consider, the views of this accomplished foreigner, however hostile they may be to their own preconceived opinions or prejudices. He says : " There are certain truths which Americans can only learn from strangers, or from experience." Let us, then, at least listen to one who admires us and our institutions, and whose complaints, when he makes any, are, that we have not perfected our own glorious plans, and that there are some things yet to be amended. We shall thus furnish a practical proof, that public opinion in this country is not so intolerant as the author may be understood to represent it. However mistaken he may be, his manly appeal to our understandings and to our consciences, should at least be heard. " If ever," he says, " these lines are read in America, I am well assured of two things : in the first place, that all who peruse them will raise their voice to condemn me ; and, in the second place, that very many of them will acquit me at the bottom of their consciences." He is writing on that very sore subject, the tyranny of public opinion in the United States. Fully to comprehend the scope of the present work, the author's motive and object in preparing it should be distinctly kept in view. He has written, not for America, but for France. " It was not, then, merely to satisfy a legitimate curiosity," he says, " that I have examined America : my wish has been to find instruction, by which we might ourselves profit." — " I sought the image of democracy itself, with its inci .ations, its character, its prejudices, and its passions, in order to learn what we have to hope or fear from its progress." He thinks that the principle of deraociMcy has sprung into new life throughout Europe, and particularly in Fr.uice, and tliat it is advaucinii; vyjj'i a firm and 4 xplaining the latter leaaure to has trans- ) not been ew errors r : he has the senti- ige which ssed equal r will not He has ntertained in evident '8 to those ' the most )oth sides, ^rnarks on 2 opinions e found to ig subject, melancholy ite this ac- he deepest it that the 1 opinions, ithout any nts, it is to read, and however •rejudices. inly learn t listen to nts, when ous plans, lall thus is not so However and to our "these in the first denin me ; me at the re subject, author's in view, not, then, examined we might with its n order to hinks tliat it Europe, firm and PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. IZ dteady march to the control of all civilized governments. In his own country, he had men a recent attempt to repress its energies within due bounds, and to prevent the consequences of its excesses. And it seems to be a main object with him, to ascertain whether these bounds can be relied upon ; whether the dikes and embankments of human contrivance can keep within any appointed channel this mighty and majestic stream. Giving the fullest confidence to his declaration, that his book " is written to favor no particular views and with no design of serving or attacking any party," it is yet evident that his mind has been very open to receive impressions unfavorable to the admission into France of the unbounded and unlimited democracy which reigns in these United States. A knowledge of this inclination of his mind will necessarily induce some caution in his readers, while perusing those parts of the work which treat of the effects of our democracy upon the stability of our government and its administration. While the views of the author, respecting the application of the democratic principle, in the extent that it exists with us, to the institutions of France, or to any of the European nations, are of the utmost importance to the peo- ple and statesmen of those countries, they are scarcely less entitled to the attention of Americans. He has exhibited, with admirable skill, the causes and circumstances which prepared our forefathers, gradually, for the enjoyment of free institutions, and which enable them to sustain, without abusing, the utmost liberty that was ever enjoyed by any people. In tracing these causes, in examining how far they continue to influence our conduct, manners, and opinions, and in search- ing for the means of preventing their decay or destruction, the intelli- gent American reader will find no better guide than M. De Tocns. No foreigner has ever exhibited such a deep, clear, and correct insight of the machinery of our complicated systems of federal and state governments. The most intelligent Euro- peans are confounded with our imperium in imperio ; and their con- stant wonder is, that these systems are not continually jostling each other. M. De TocQUEViiiLE has clearly perceived, and traced cor- rectly and distinctly, the orbits in which they move, and has described, or rather defined, our federal government, with an accurate precision, unsurpassed even by an American pen. There is no citizen of this country who will not derive instruction from our author's account of our national government, or, at least, who will not find his own ideas systematised, and rendered more fixed and precise, by the perusal of that account. Among other subjects discussed by the author, that of the political influence of the instituti n of trial by jury, is one of the most curious and interesting. He has certainly presented it in a light entirely new, and as important as it is new. It may be that he has exaggerated its influence as " a gratuitous public school ;" but if he has, the error will be readily forgiven. His views of religion, as connected with patriotism, in other words, with the democratic principle, which he steadily keeps in view, are conceived in the noblest spirit of philanthropy, and cannot fail to con- firm the principles already so thoroughly and universally entertained by the American people. And no one can read his observations on the union of " church and state," without a feeling of deep gratitude to the founders of our government, for saving us from such a prolific source of evil. These allusions to topics that have interested the writer, are not in- tended as an enumeration of the various subjects which will arrest the attention of the American reader. They have been mentioned rather with a view of exciting an appetite for the whole feast, than as exhibit- ing the choice dainties which cover the board. It remains only to observe, that in this edition the constitutions of the United States and of the state of New York, which had been pub- lished at large in the original and in the English edition, have been omitted, as tney are documents to which every American reader has access. The map which the author annexed to his work, and which has been hitherto omitted, is now for the first time inserted Id the American edition, to which has been added the census of 1840. TABLE OF CONTENTS. *^ Paob Preface by the American Editor v Introduction • 1 CHAPTER I. Exterior form of North America 15 CHAPTER II. Origin of the Anglo-Americans, and its Importance in Relation to their future Condition 23 Reasons of certain Anomalies which the Laws and Customs of the Anglo-Americans present .....t 41 CHAPTER in. Social Condition of the Anglo-Americans 43 The strilcing Characteristic of the social Condition of the Anglo-Americans is its essential Democracy. 44 Political Consequences of the social Condition of the Anglo- Americans 51 CHAPTER ly. The Principle of the Sovereignty of the People in America .... 52 CHAPTER V. Necessity of examining the Condition of the States before that of the Union at large 55 The American System of Townships and municipal Bodies. 56 Limits of the Townships 56 Authorities of the Township in New England 59 Existence of the Township 61 Public Spirit of the Townships of New England 63 The Counties of New England 65 Administration in New England 67 General Remarks on the Administration of the United States 76 Of the State 80 Legislative Power of the State 80 The executive Power of the State 82 Political Effects of the System of local Administration in the United States 83 CHAPTER VI. Judicial Power in the United States, and its Influence on Political Society 94 Other Powers granted to the Au.erican Judges 100 !■ i. in i : Xii TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. Political Jurisdiction in the United States , 102 CHAPTER VIII. i The federal Constitution JO^ History of the federal Constitution i"^ Summary of the federal Constitution 109 Prerogative of the federal Government - . • . 1 1 1 Federal Powers 112 Legislative Powers. i • 113 A farther Difference between the Senate aud the House of Representatives 1 J5 The executive Power • • • • • H" Differences between the Position of the President of the United States and that of a constitutional King of France. 118 Accidental Causes which may increase the Influence of the executive Government 121 Why the President of the United States does not require the Majority of the two Houses in Order to carry on the Government 122 Election of the President 123 Mode of Election 127 Crisis of the Election 130 Ro-Election of the President 132 Federal Courts 135 Means of determining the Jurisdiction of the federal Courts 138 Different Cases of Jurisdiction 140 Procedure of the federal Courts 146 High Rank of the supreme Courts among the great Powers of the State • • • 148 In what Respects the federal Constitution is superior to that of the States • 151 Characteristics which distinguish the federal Constitution of the United States of America from all other federal Con- stitutions .• •, 155 Advantages of the federal System in General, and its special Utility in America 158 Why the federal System is not adapted to all Peoples, and how the Anglo-Americans were enabled to adopt it 164 CHAPTER IX. Why the People may strictly be said to govern in the United States ^'^^ CHAPTER X. Parties in the United States 173 Remains of the aristocratic Party in the United States 1 78 CHAPTER XI. Liberty of the Press in the United States 180 CHAPTER XII. . Political Associations in the United States 189 f CHAPTER XIII. ~ Governrnent of the Democracy in America 107 Universal Suffrage 107 Paob ••• 102 • • 107 • • 107 109 • • • Ul 112 113 of • • • 115 • • • 116 the ce. 118 the • ■ • 121 the the • • • 122 « • • 123 ■ • • 127 • • • 130 • • • 132 ■ • • 135 urts 139 • • • • 140 • • « • 146 ivers • • • ■ 148 that • • • • 151 )n of :;on- • • • • 155 ecial • • • • 158 ,and • • • • 164 lited 172 .... 173 .... 178 . 180 .... 189i ... 197 .... 197 TABLE OF CONTENTS. XIU Paob Choice' of the People, and instinctive Preferences of the American Democracy 198 Causes which may partly correct the Tendencies of the De- mocracy 201 Influence which the American Democracy has exercised on the Laws relating to Elections 204 Public Officers under the control of the Democracy in America 205 Arbitrary Power of Magistrates under the Rule of the Ame- rican Democracy 203 Instability of the Administration in the United States 211 Charges levied by the State under the rule of the American Democracy 213 Tendencies of the American Democracy as regards the Sala- ries of public Officers 217 Difliculties of distinguishing the Causes which contribute to the Economy of the American Government 219 Whether the Expenditure of the United States can be com pared to that of France 220 Corruption and vices of the Rulers in a Democracy, and con- sequent Eflects upon public Morality 225 Efi'orts of which a Democracy is capable 227 Self-control of the American Democracy 231 Conduct of foreign Aifairs, by the American Democracy. . . 233 CHAPTER XIV. What the real Advantages are which American .Society derives from the Government of the Democracy 238 General Tendency of the Laws under the Rule of the Ame- rican Democracy, and Habits of those who apply them. . . 233 Public Spirit in the United States 242 ' Notion of Rights in the United States 2J5 Respect lur the Law in the United States 248 Activity which pervades all the Bran(5nes of the Body politic in the United States; Influence which it exercises upon Society 250 CHAPTER XV. Unlimited Power of the Majority in the United States, and its Consequences 255 How the unlimited Power of the Majority increases in Ame- rica, the Instability of Legislation inherent in Democracy 257 Tyranny of the Majority 259 Eflects of the unlimited Power of the Majority upon the ar- bitrary Authority of the American public Olficers 263 Power exercised by the Majority in America upon public Opinion 264 Eflects of the Tyranny of the Majority upon the national Character of the Americans 267 The greatest Dangers of the American Hepublics proceed from the unlimited Power of the Majority 271 CHAPTER XVI. Causes which Mitigate the T.vranny of the Majority in the United States 273 Absence of central Administration 273 ii 1 4 »«! f \ 1 ii 1 I 1 m i i XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS. Pasi The Profession of the Law in the United States serves to Counterpoise the Democracy 275 Trial by Jury in the United States considered as a political Institution 284 CHAPTER XVII. Principal Causes which tend to maintain the democratic Repub- lic in the United States 292 Accidental or providential Causes which contribute to the Maintenance of the democratic Republic in the United States 292 Influence of the Laws upon the Maintenance of the demo- cratic Republic in the United States 303 Influence of Manners upon the Maintenance of the democra- tic Republic in the United States 303 Religion considered as a political Institution, which power- fully Contributes to the Maintenance of the democratic Republic among the Americans 304 Indirect Influence of religious Opinions upon political So- ciety in the United States 307 Principal Causes which render Religion powerful in America 312 How tne Instruction, the Habits, and the practical Experi- ence of the Americans, promote the Success of their demo- cratic Institutions 319 The Laws contribute more to the Maintenance of the demo- cratic Republic in the United States than the physical Cir- cumstances of the Country, and the Manners more than the Laws 324 Whether Laws and Manners are sufficient to maintain demo> cratic Institutions in other Countries beside America. . . . 328 Importance of what precedes with respect to the State of Europe 331 CHAPTER XVIIL The present and probable future Condition of tha three Races which Inhabit the Territory of the United States 33i> The present and probable future Condition of the Indian Tribes which Inhabit the Territory possessed by the Union 340 Situation of the black Population in the United States, and Dangers with which its Presence threatens the Whites. . . 300 What are the Chances in favor of the Duration of the Ame- ricar. Union, and what Dangers threaten it 380 Of the republican Institutions uf tliu United States, and what their Chances of Duration are 422 Reflections on the Causes of the commercial Pre perity of the United States 428 Conclusion 430 Appendix 443 Pa«i res to 275 itical 284 epub- 292 ;o the United 292 icmo- 1 1 303 tiocra- 303 o'ver- 304 cal So- 307 1 312 { xperi- demo- 319 demo- al Cir- 3 than 324 ;a.... 328 ;ate of 331 33t> Indian Union 340 tcs . . . 360 Ame- 380 422 nity of 428 430 443 # \ i INTRODUCTION. t • tf^^^^^^^^^A^A^^^^^^^^ Among the novel objects that attracted my attention during my slay iu the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of conditions. I readily discovered tiie prodigious influence which this primary fact exercises on the wiiole course of society, by giving a certain direction to [)ublic opinion, and a certain tenor to tlie laws ; by imparting new maxims to the governing powers, and peculiar habits to the governed. I s|)eedily perceived that the influence of this fact extends far beyond tJKj political character and the laws of the country, ;ind tjial it has no less empire over civil society than over the government ; it creates opinions, engenders sentiments, sug- ','ests the ordinary practices of life, and modifies whatever it does not produce. Thr^ more I advanced in the study of American society, the more I perceived that the equality of conditions is the fun- damental liiet from which all others seem to be derived, and the central point at which all my observations constantly tcnniiiated. I then turned my thoughts to our own hemisphere, where I imagmed tiiat I dise(M'nt'd sometliing analogous to the specta- cle which the New World presented to me. I observed that tiie ('(jUiilily oi conditions is daily advancing towards those (wtreme limits which it seems to liave reached in the United Slates; and that the demnemey which governs the Ameiiean eotiununities, appears to be rapidly rising into power in l'iUn)|)c. I hiiie(^ conceived the idea of the book which is nowbe(()ro ilic nadrr. It is evident to all alike that a great democratic n volution IS gding on among us ; i)nt there are two opinions as to its nature and ciinse(|uenc«'s. 'I'o some it aj)pears to lie a novel accident, wliieh as such may still be checked : to others ii Heems irresistil'li', beeim^e it is tli ■ iiicst iiniti>rin. tli'" inoit 1 r i :' I 2 INTRODUCTION. ancient, and the most permanent tendency which is to be found in lustory. Let u.* recollect the situation of France seven hundred years ago, when the territory was divided among a small number of families, who were the owners of the soil and the rulers of the inhabitants ; the right of governing descended with the fan)ily inheritance from generation to generatii)ii ; force was the oidy means by whieh man could act on man ; and landed property was the sole source of power. Soon, however, the j)()litical power of the clergy was found- ed, and began to ex(>rt itself; the clergy opened its ranks lo all classes, to the poor and the rich, the villain and the lord ; equality penetrated into the government through the churcii, and the being who, as a serf, must have vegetated in perpe- tual bondage, took his place as a priest in the midst of nobles, and not unfrequently above the heads of kings. The ditl'erent relations of men became more complicated and more numerous, as society gradually became more sta- ble^ and more civilized. Thence the want of civil laws was felt ; and the order of legal functionaries soon rose from the obscurity of the tribunals and their dusty chambers, to a])- pear at the court of the monarch, by the side of the feudal barons in their ermine and their mail. While the kings were ruining themselves by their great enterprises, and the nobles exhausting their resources by private wars, the lower orders were enriching themselves by commerce. Tiie iulluence of money began to be perce])lible in state atlairs. The transactions of business opened a new road to power, and the financier rose to a station of polilicul influence in which lie was at once flattered and despised. Gradually the spread of mental acquirements, and the in- creasing taste lor literature and art, opened chances of suc- cess to talent ; science became the means of government, intelligence led to social power, and the man of letters took a part in the ailiiirs of the state. The vaUu^ attached to the privileg(^s of birth, decreased in the exact proportion in which new paths were struck out to advancement. In the eh-venth century noiiility was beyond all price ; in the thirtei-nth if might be pnrciiascd ; it was I'onlerred for the first time in I'JTO ; and ((luality was tiais introduced into tiie government by tlH' aristocracy itself. In tile course of these seven hundred years, if soint times happenecl that, in order to resist tiie authority of the crown, or to diminisit the power of th( ir rivals, the nobles granted a certain share of political rights to the propic. Or. more frc. ' 1 1 h is to bo 1 hundred ijT a small oil and tiie descended ;enenvtion ; t on man ; was found- its ranks to d the lord ; ;hc chur(.'h, d in perpe- 5t of nobles, complicated ; more sta- il laws was se from the bers, to ap- thc ftMuial their bosom of feudal mouarehy ; the invention of (irearms equal- ized the villain and tli(> noble on tlie field of battle ; printing opened the same resourcis to the minds of all classes ; the rmr \\ I 1 '' 1 . 1 [ J I, 4 INTRODUCTION. post was organized so as to bring the same information to tlie door of the poor man's cottage and to tiie gate of the palace; and protestantism proclaimed that all men are alike able to find the road to heaven. The discovery of America otTered a thousand new paths to fortune, and placed riches and power within the reach of the adventurous and the obscure. If we examine what has happened in France at intervals of fifty years, beginning with the eleventli century, we shall invariably perceive that a twofold revolution has taken place in the state of society. The noble has gone down on the so- cial ladder, and the rotnrier has gone up ; the one descends as the other rises. Every half-century brings them nearer to each other, and they will very shortly meet. Nor is this phenomenon at all peculiar to France. Whith- ersoever we turn our eyes, we shall discover the same con- tinual revolution throughout the whole of Christendom. The various occurrences of national existence have every, where turned to the advantage of democracy ; all men have aided it by their exertions ; those who have intentionally la- bored in its cause, and those who have served it unwittingly — those who have fought for it. and those who have declared themselves its opponents — have all been driven along in the same track, have all labored to one end, some ignorantly, and some unwillingly j all have been blind instruments in the hands of God. The gradual development of the equality of conditions is, therefore, a providential fact, and it possesses all the charac- teristics of a divine decree : it is universal, it is durable, it constantly eludes all iiuman interference, and all events as well as all men contribute to its progress. Would it, then, be wise to imagine that a social impulse which dates from so far back, can be cheeked i)y the ellbrts of a generation ? Is it credible that the democracy, which has annihilated th(^ feudal system, and vanriuishcd kings, will respect tlie (iitizen and the capitalist ? Will it stop now that it Jias grown so strong and its adversaries so weak ? None can say which way we are going, fir all terms of comparison are wanting : the (^quality of eoiiditions is more complete in the Christian eoiuitries of the present day, than it has been at any time, or in any part of the worl'' : so that the extent of what already exists j)revi'nts us fro. ■ liiu'seeing what may be yet to come. The whole book which is here olllrc d to the public, lias been w rittcn under tlie ini|)n'ssion of a kind of religious dread, prtMhicMJ in the »uth(ii'"s niiml hy '.he eonti iiiplationof ion to tlie 3 palace ; [e able to a offered ,nd power e. intervals we shall ken place on the so- descends sni nearer . Whlth- same con- joni. ive every- men have lonally la- iwittingly ; declared 3ng in the rnorantly. ;nts ni tlie iditions is, e charac- urable, it levents as impnlse the eilbrts ley. which :iiigs, will now that Itorins of is more lay, than ; so that ceseeing |d)lic, has rrljiiifuis Illation ui \ \ JNTRODUCTION. f. SO irresistible a revolution, which has advanced for centuries in spite of such amazing obstacles, and which is still pro- ceedins: in the midst of the ruins it has made. It is not necessary that God himself should speak in order to disclose to us the unquestionable signs of his will ; we can discern them in the habitual course of nature, and in the in- variable tendency of events ; I know, without a special re- velation, that the planets move in the orbits traced by the Creator's fingers. If tiie men of our time were led by attentive observation and by sincere reflection, to acknowledge that the gradual and progressive development of social equality is at once the past and future of their history, this solitary truth would con- fer the sacred character of a divine decree upon the change. To attempt to check democracy would be in that case to re- sist the will of God ; and the nations would then be constrain- ed to make the best of the social lot awarded to them by Providence. The Christian nations of our age seem to me to present a most alarming spectacle ; the impulse which is bear- ing them along is so strong that it cannot be stopped, but it is not yet so iti[)id that it cannot be guided : their fate is in their hands ; yet a little while and it may be so no longer. The first duty which is at this time imposed upon those who direct our allairs is to educate thcydemocracy ; to warm its faith, if that be possible; to purify its morals; to direci its energies; to substitute a knowledge of business for its inexperience, and an acquaintance with its true interests for its blind propensities ; to adapt its government to time and place, and to modify it in compliance with the occurrences and the actors of the age. A new science of politics is indispensable to a new world. This, however, is what we think of least ; launched in the middle of a rapid stream, we obstinately fix our eyes on the ruins which may still be descried upon the shore we have left, while the current sweeps us along, and drives us back- ward toward the gulf. In no country in Europe has the great social revolution which I have been describing, made such rapid progress as in France ; but it has always been borne on by chance. The heads of the state have never had any lorethought for its exigences, and its victories have been obtained without their consent or witlinut their knowledge. Tlie most power- ful, the most intelligent, and the most moral elassi's of the nation have never attem[)ted to connect themselves w itii it in rin 6 INTRODUCTION. order to guide it. The people have consequently been aban- doned to its wild propensities, and it has grown up like those outcasts who receive their education in the public streets, and who are unacquainted with aught but the vices and wretched- ness of society. The existence of a democracy was sieni- ingly unknown, when, on a sudden, it took possession of tlie supreme power. Everything was then submitted to its ca- prices ; it was worshipped as the idol of strength ; until, when it was enfeebled by its own excesses, the legislator conceived the rash project of annihilating its power, instead of instructing it and correcting its vices ; no attempt w&h made to fit it to govern, but all were bent on excluding it from the government. The consequence of this has been that tlie democratic re- volution has been etfected only in the material parts of society, without that concomitant change in laws, ideas, customs, and manners, which was necessary to render such a revolution beneficial. We have gotten a democracy, but without the conditions which lessen its vices, and render its natural ad- vantages more prominent j and although we already perceive the evils it brings, we are ignorant of the benefits it may confer. While the power of the crown, supported by the aristo- cracy, peaceably governed the nations of Europe, society possessed, in the midst of its wretchedness, several ditlerent advantages which can now scarcely be appreciated or con- ceived. The power of a part of his subjects was an insurmounta- ble barrier to the tyranny of the prince ; and the monarch who felt the almost divine character which he enjoyed in the eyes of the multitude, derived a motive for the just use of his power from the respect which he inspired. High as they were placed above the people, the nobles could not but take that calm and benevolent interest in its fate which the shepherd feels toward his flock ; and without ac- knowledging the poor as their equals, they watched ovit the destiny of those whose welfare Providence had intrusted to their care. The people, never having conceived the idea of a social condition different from its own, and entertaining no expecta- tion of ever ranking with its chiefs, received benefits iVom them without discussing their rights. It srcw attached to them when they were clement and just, but it submitted with- out resistance or servility to their exactions, as to the ini vita- ble visitations of tlie arm (if (!imI. Custom, and the iiianiieis INTRODUCTION. een aban- like those treets, and wretched, vas st'cm- ioii of the to its ca- th ; until, legishitor ;r, instead empt waN Lcluding it icratic ro- of society, stems, and revolution ithout the itural ad- f perceive its it may he aristo- e, society 1 ditlercnt :d or con- jrmounta- monareh ycd in tho use of his lie nobles in its fate ithout ac- 1 over the trusted to if a social ) expceta- lefits from Itaehed to ittcd w ilh- w iiii vita- MKUiiiers m of the time, had moreover created a species of law in the midst of violence, and established certain limits to op- pression. As the noble never suspected that any one would attempt to deprive him of the privileges which he believed to be le- gitimate, and as the serf looked upon his own inferiority as a consequence of the immutable order of nature, it is easy to imagine that a mutual exchange of good-will took place be- tween two classes so differently gifted by fate. Inequality and wretchedness were then to be found in society ; but the souls of neither rank of men were degraded. Men are not corrupted by the exercise of power or debased by the habit of obedience ; but by the exercise of power which they believe to be illegal, and by obedience to a rule which they consider to bo usurped and oppressive. On one side were wealth, strength, and leisure, accompa- nied by the refinement of luxury, the elegance of taste, the pleasures of wit, and the religion of art. On the other were 'abor, and a rude ignorance ; but in the midst of this coarse and ignorant multitude, it was not uncommon to meet with energetic passions, generous sentiments, profound religious convictions, and independent virtues. The body of a state thus organized, might boast of its sta- bility, its power, and above all, of its glory. But the scene is now changed, and gradually the two ranks mingle ; the divisions which once severed mankind, are low- ered ; property is divided, power is held in common, the light of intelligence spreads, and the capacities of all classes are equally cultivated ; the state becomes democratic, and the empire of democracy is slowly and peaceably introduced into the institutions and manners of the nation. I can conceive a society in which all men would profess an equal attachment and respect for the laws of which they are tlie common authors ; in which the authority of the state would be respected as necessary, tliough not as divine ; and tlie loyahy of the subject to the chief magistrate would not 1)(> a passion, but a quiet and rational persuasion. Every in- ilividual being in the possession of rights which he is sure to retain, a kind of manly reliance and reciprocal courtesy would arise between all classes, alike removed from pride and meanness. The people, well acquainted with its true interests, would allow, that in order to profit by the advantages of society, it is necessary to satisfy its demands. In this state of tilings, the volinitaiy assoeiation of the cili/.r lis ini'.'ht sn'i;;!',- ilie iiuli- •! 8 INTRODUCTION. viilual cxcrlioiis of the nobles, and tlio coniniunity would be alike protected i'roni anarchy and from oppression. I admit that in a democratic state thus constituted, society will not be stationary ; but the impulses of the social body may be regulated and directed forward ; if there be less splendor than in the halls of an aristocracy, the coiitrast of misery will be less frequent also ; the pleasures of enjoy- ment may be less excessive, but those of comfort will be more general ; the sciences may bo less perfectly cultivated, but ignorance will be less conmion ; the impetuosity of the feel- ings will be repressed, and the habits of the nation softened ; there will be more vices and fewer crimes. In the absence of enthusiasm and of an ardent faith, great sacrifices may be obtained from the members cf a common- wcaUh by an appeal to their understandings and their experi- ence : each individual will feel the same necessity for uniting with his fellow-citizens to protect his own weakness ; and as he knows that if they are to assist he must co-operate, he will readily perceive that his personal interest is identified with the interest of the community. The nation, taken as a whole, will be less brilliant, less glorious, and perhaps less strong ; but the majority of the citizens will enjoy a greater degm of prosperity, and the people will remain quiet, not becausL: it despairs of meliora- tion, but because it is conscious of the advantages of its con- dition. If all the consequences of this state of things Avere not good or useful, society would at least have appropriated all such as were useful and good ; and having once and for ever re- nounced the social advantages of aristocracy, mankind would enter into possession of all the benefits which democracy can afford. But here it may be asked what we have adopted in the place of those institutions, those ideas, and those customs of our forefathers which we have abandoned. The spell of royalty is broken, but it has not been suc- c!i>eded by the majesty of the laws ; the people have learned to despise all authority. But fear now extorts a larger tri- bute of obedience than that which was formerly paid by reverence and by love. I perceive that we have destroyed those independent beings which were able to cope with tyranny single-handed ; but it is the novernment that has inherited the privilerjos of which families, enrporations, and individuals, have been deprived; the weakness of the whole community has, therefore, sue- INTRODUCTION. r would bo ed, society locial body re be less loiitrast of of enjoy- ill be more vated, but )f tlie feel- i softened ; faitli, great X comnion- loir ex per i- for unitiiii' ?3 ; and as ite, he will cd with the iUiant, less rity of the y, and the f meliora- of its con- e not good all such 3r ever re- ind would cracy can ted in tho ustoms of been suc- ,'e learned larger tri- paid by nt beings il ; but it of which deprived ; Itre, suc- JJH'i ceeded to that influence of a small body of citizens, which, if it was sometimes oppressive, was often conservative. The division of property lias lessened the distance which separated the rich irom the poor ; but it would seem that the nearer they draw to each otiier, the greater is their nmtual hatred, and the more vehement the envy and the dread with which they resist each other's claims to power; the notion of right is alike insensible to both classes, and force allbrds to both the only argument for the present, and the only guarantee for the future. Tlie poor man retains tho prejudices of his forefathers without their faith, and their ignorance without their virtues ; he lias adopted the ductrino of self-interest as the rule of his actions, without understanding the science which controls it, and his egotism is no less blind tlian his devotedness was formerly. If society is tranquil, it is not because it relies upon its strength and its well-being, but because it knows its weak- ness and its infirmities ; a single etfort may cost it its life ; everybody feels the evil, but no one has courage or energy enough to seek the cure ; the desires, the regret, the sorrows, and the joys of the time, produce nothing that is visible or permanent, like the passions of old men which terminate iji impotence. We have, then, abandoned whatever advantages the old state of things afforded, without receiving any compensation from our preserit condition ; having destroyed an aristocracy, we seem inclined to survey its ruins with complacency, and to fix our abode in the midst of them. The phenomena which the intellectual world presents, are not less deplorable. The democracy of France, checked in its course or abandoned to its lawless passions, has over- thrown whatever crossed its ])ath, antl has shaken all that it has not destroyed. Its control over society has not bce.i gradually introduced, or peaceably establislied, but it has constantly advanced in the midst of disorder, and the agita- tion of a conflict. In the heat of the struggle each j)artisau is hurried beyond the limits of his opinions by the opinions and the excesses of his opponents, until he loses sight of the end of his exertions, and holds a lany-uajie which di'^nuises his real sentiments or secret instincts. Hence arises the strange confusion which we are beholding. I cannot recall to my mind a passage in history more worthy of sorrow and of pity than tlie scenes which are luip- j)ening under our eyes ; it is as if the natural bond wiiicii 10 INTRODUCTION. unites the opinions of man to his tastes, and his actions to his principles, was now broken ; the sympathy which has always been acknowledged between the feelings and the ideas of mankind, appears to be dissolved, and all the laws of moral analogy to be abolished. Zealous Christians may be found among us, whose minds are nurtured in the love and knowledge of a future life, and who readily espouse the cause of human liberty, as the source of all moral greatness. Christianity, which has de- declared that all men arc equal in the sight of God, will not refuse to acknowledge that all citizens are equal in the eye of the law. But, by a singular concourse of events, religion is entangled in those institutions which democracy assails, and it is not unfrequently brought to reject the equality it loves, and to curse that cause of liberty as a foe, which it might hallow by its alliance. By the side of these religious men I discern others whose looks are turned to the earth more than to heaven ; they are the partisans of liberty, not only as the source of the noblest virtues, but more especially as the root of all solid advan- tages ; and they sincerely desire to extend its sway, and gislation ; I have not even affected to discuss whe- ther the social revolution, which I believe to be irresistible, is advantageous or prejudicial to mankind ; I have acknow- lodged this revolution as a fact already accomplished or on tile eve of its aeeomplisliment ; and I have seleetgd the nation, from among those which have undergone it, in which its development has been the most peaceful and the most complete, in or(U>r to discern its natural consequences, and, if it be possible, to distinguish the means by which it may be rendered |irolitable. 1 confess that in America I saw more than America; I sought the image of democracy itself, with its ineiiiiations, its character, its prejudices, and its passions, in order to learn what we have to fear or to hope from its progress. In the first part of this work I have attempted to show the tendency given to the laws by tiie democracy of America, which is abandoned almost without restraint to its iiistinetive propensities; and to exhibit the course it prescrib(>s to the government, and the influence it exercises on alUiirs. I have sought to discover the evils and the advantages which it produces. I have examined the precautions used by the Americans to direct it, as well as tlios(i which tliey have not iidoptcd, and 1 have undertaken to jjoint out the causes which I liable if to govern society. It was my iiiteiifion to depict, in a second |»arf, the inllu- fMce which the ( i|iiiility of coudifions and the rule of de- L^„-. INTRODUCTION. 13 ?r or later we nost complete from this, that same political jrived from a lupposing that lent which a sfficient cause s sufficient to in becoming curiosity that 5 find instruc- loever should iric would be he will per- s it been my particular, for ly to be found discuss whe- e irresistible, liave acknow- plished or on selected the it, in which md the most uonces, and, I it may be I saw more itsi'lf, with its passions, pe from its to show the )l" America, s instinctive :rib('s to the alUiirs. I a^f(>s which used by fii(! •y liHVc not uisi s which t, thf iiillu- rulc of de- mocracy exercise on the civil society, the habits, the ideas, and the manners of the Americans ; I begin, however, to feel less ardor for the accomplishment of this project, since the excellent work of my friend and travelling companion M. de Beaumont has been given to the world.* I do not know whether I have succeeded in making known what I saw in America, but I am certain that such has been my sincere desire, and that I have never, knowingly, moulded facts to ideas, instead of ideas to facts. Whenever a point could be established by the aintly hears important truths at the fireside of his host, which the latter would per- haps conceal even from the ear of fricyidship ; he consoles himself with his guest, for the silence to which he is re- stricted, and the sliortness of the traveller's stay takes away all fear of his indiscn tion. I carefully noted every con- versation of this nature as soon as it occurred, but thes-^ notes will never leave my writing-ease ; I had rather injure the success of my statements than add my nam(> to the list of those strangers who repay the generous hospitality they liave received by subsequent ciiagrin and aimoyanet 1 am aware that, notwithstanding my care, nothing * This work is entillid, Mario, on rEschivimo imx Ktuts-rnis. t l.i'y:isl;»tivi' iind iidininistrativi' (luciiiiuMitrt liav(> hccn (nrnislicd mo Willi 11 tlcifrci' (if iinlilcncsx wliicli I sliall always rciiiciiilirr willi urili- tndc, AiiKHi;;' tlio Aiiiorican riinclinnarii's who fiiiis I'lNorcd mv m- (|iiirii'H 1 am |Hdiid to nanu' .Mr. lldw.ird l.iviiiii-tnii, tlirn Sn ri't.n'y of Slati' and 1 de Ann ricaii miiiist^ r at I'. iris. Diiriiu m> slay at lln- session ol' Coiiu'ic ss, Mr. Ij\iii!;sloii was kind (mioiihIi to I'liniisli mi' with tlic uri'ali'r part of llic docuiiii nis I possess rrlativc to tlic I'l'dcral govcriiiniMit. Mr. liiviti;;s|oii is one of tliosc rare individii ils wliom oiii' loves, respecls. imd admires, IVom tlieir wrilimrs. and to whom oiiu in liujipy to incur llie dehl of gratitude on I'lirtlier ae(iiiaintaiii"e. ■' I 14 INTKODL'CTION. will be easier than to criticise this book, if any one ever chooses to criticise it. Those readers who may examine it closely will discover the fundamental idea which connects the several parts to- gether. But the diversity of the subjects I have had to treat is exceedingly great, and it will not be difficult to oppose an isolated fact to the body of facts which I quote, or an isolated idea to the body of ideas I put forth. I hope to be read in the spirit which has guided my labors, and that my book may be judged by the general impression it leaves, as I have formed my own judgment not on any single reason, but u[)oi; the mass of evidence. It must not be forgotten that the author who wishes to bo understood is obliged to push all his ideas to their utmost theoretical consequences, and often to the verge of what is false or impracticable ; for if it be necessary sometimes to quit the rules of logic in active life, such is not the case in discourse, and a man finds that almost as many difficulties spring from inconsistency of language, as usually arise from consistency of conduct. I conclude by pointing out myself what many readers will consider the principal defect of the work. This book is written to favor no particular views, and in composing it I have entertained no design of serving or attacking any party : I have undertaken not to see ditFerently, but to look farther than parties, and while they are busied for tlie mor- row, I have turned my thoughts to the future. r any one ever AMERICAN :NSTITUTI0NS. CHAPTER I. -^ EXTERIOR FORM OF NORTH AMERICA. North America divided into two vast rcu;ions,one inclining toward tho Pole, tlie other tow;irs toward the south, lorming a triangle, whose irregu- hir sides meet at length hclow tiie great hikes of Canada. Tile sceond region hcgins « liere the otlier terminates, and ineliidcs all the remainder of the continent. The one slopes gently toward the pole, the other toward the ('(juator. The territory com|)rehended in the first regions descends toward the north with so impereejjtihle a slope thiit it may idniost h(> said to fi)rm a level plain. Within the hounds ot this immense tract of coimlry there are neither high momi- Hi 111 'I ''1 ^1 M ' Ml ¥^ -<" 16 EXTERIOR FORM OF tains nor deep valleys. Streams meander through it irregu- larly ; great rivers mix their currents, separate and meet again, disperse and form vast marshes, losing all trace of their channels in the labyrinth of waters they have themselves created ; and thus, at length, after innumerable windings, fall into the polar seas. The great lakes which bound this first region are not walled in, like most of those in the Old World, between hills and rocks. Their banks are flat, and rise but a few feet above the level of their waters ; each of them thus forming a vast bowl fdled to the brim. Tlie slightest change in the structure of the globe would cause their waters to rush either toward the pole or to the tropical sea. The second region is more varied on its surface, and bettor suited for the habitation of man. Two long chains of moun- tains divide it from one extreme to the other ; the Allegany ridge takes the form of the shores of the Atlantic ocean ; the other is parallel with the Pacific. The space which liis between these two chains of moun- tains contains 1,341.(549 square miles.* Its surface is there- fore about six times as great as that of France. This vast territory, however, i()nus a single valley, one side of which desci-nds gradually from the rounded summits of the Alleganies, while the other rises in an uninterrupted course toward the tops of tiie Rocky mountains. At the bottom of tin valley flow s an innuense river, into which the various streams issuing from tlie mountains fall from all pai'ts. In memory of their native laixl, the French formerly called this tiie river St. Jiouis. The Indians, in their pompous language, luive named it the Father of Waters, or the Mississi|»pi. Tlie Mississippi takes its source above the limit of the two ureat relves transported into those fabulous regions of wliicli poets had sung. The sea sparkled with phosphoric light, and the extraordinary transparency of its waters dis- covered to the view of the navigator all that had hitherto been hidden in the deep abyss.* Here and there api)eared little islands perfumed with odoriferous plants, and resem- bling baskets of llowers, floating on the tranquil surface of the ocean. Every object which met the sight, in this en- chanting region, seemed prepared to satisfy tlu^ wants, or contribute to the pleasures of man. Almost all the trees were loaded with nourishing fruits, and thosi" which were useless as food, delighted the eye by the brilliancy and va- riety of their colors. In groves of fragrant lemon-trees, wild figs, flowering myi'tl(\'j, aeaeias. and oleanders, which were hung with frstoons of various climbing-plants, covered with flowers, a multitude of birds unknown in Europe displaved their bright plumage, glittering w 1th purple and azure, and mingled their warbling in the harmony of a world teeming with life and motion. f Underneath this brilliant exterior death was concealed. The air of these climates hud so enervating an inlluence • M.ilt!' l!ruii tells us (vol. v., |>. :■'.!)) Wvt tlif WMter of llio Carih- boiiii sea is so tr;jnS|> iiTiit, tliiit cinals and lisli aro disccrnihlc at a doptli of sixty fatlioiiis. Tlic ship scoiiicd (fi lltiat in tlio air, tlic nnvijrator boratnc liiildy as his oyo penetrated tlinmLch tiio crvstal llood, and li.'hehl siil)niavino L^Mrdciis, immense deserts were not, however, devoid of hu- man inhabitants. Sonu' wandering tribes had been fi)r ajjes scattered among the forest shades or the grrcii pastures of llie prairie. From the mouth of tlu' St. Lawrence to the Delta of the Mississippi, and from the Athmtic to tlie Paciliu 20 EXTERIOR FORM OF in ocean, those savages possessed certain points ot' resemblance which bore witness of their common origin : but at the same time they ditFered from all other known races of men :* they were neither white like the Europeans, nor yellow like most of the Asiatics, nor black like the negroes. Their skin was reddish brown, their hair long and shining, their lips thin, and their cheek-bones very prominent. The languages spoken by the North American tribes were various as far as regarded their words, but they were subject to the same grammatical rules. Those rules differed in several points from such as had been observed to govern the origin of language. The idiom of the Americans seemed to be the product of new combinations, and bespoke an eflbrt of the understand- ing, of which the Indians of our days would be incapable. f The social state of these tribes differed also in many re- spects from all that was seen in the Old World. They seemed to have multiplied freely in the midst of their deserts, with- out coming in contact with other races more civilized than their own. Accordingly, they exhibited none of those indistinct, in- coherent notions of right and wrong, none of that deep cor- ruption of manners that is usually joined with ignorance and rudeness among nations which, after advancing to civilisa- tion, have relapsed into a state of barbarism. The Indian was indebted to no one but himself; his virtues, his vices, and his prejudices, were his own work ; he had grown up in the wild independence of his nature. If, in polished countries, the lowest of the people arc rude and uncivil, it is not merely because they are poor and ig- norant, but that, being so, they are in daily contact with rich and enlightened men. The sight of their own hard lot and of their weakness, which are daily contrasted with the hap- piness and power of some of their fellow creatures, excites t !' * Witli the proiiross of discovevy, some rosombliUKU' li;is \)ccn fDond to exist bc'twecn tlie pliysicnl cniifdrniiition, the liii)jj;niii;<', and flio habits of the Indians of Norili Ann'rica, and tliosi- of tlie Tone desert continent of Aincrira. Hut tliis is a point vvliicii has not yet been clearly elncidaled by scicMCc. See Malte Rr.m, vol. v. ; the works of llnniboldl ; I'isciier, "Conjectnre 8U- rOrii^ine des Americains ;" Adair, "History of tlic American Indians." t Sec Appendix- C resoinblanco at the same ' men :* thoy )w like most cir skin was ■ir lips thin, 3 languages )us as far as the same vera! points lie origin of" 3 product of understand- incapable.f in many re- ^hey seemed eserts, with- vilized than distinct, in- xt deep cor- iiorance and to civilisa- The Indian his vices, own up in e arc rude oor and ig- t with ricli rd lot and 1 tlie hap- ivs, excites hoon found ', iiiid tlio 10 Tonirdiis, :'s of Asia 11 lU'liriiiii's period tlicy lit tliis is a. icncc. See ■ Con jertiiro AinL'riciin NORTH AMERICA. 21 in their hearts at the same time the sentiments of anger and of fear : the consciousne,'- of their inferiority and of their dependence irritates while it humiliates them. This state of mind displays itself in their manners and language ; they are at once insolent and servile. The truth of this is easily proved by observation ; the people are more rude in aristocratic countries than elsewhere ; in opulent cities than in rural districts. In those places where the rich and power- ful are assembled togctiier, the weak and the indigent feel themselves oppressed by their inferior condition. Unable to perceive a single chance of regaining their equality, they give up to despair, and allow themselves to fall below the dignity of human nature. This unfortunate etfect of the disparity of conditions is not observable in savage life ; the Indians, although they are ignorant and poor, are equal and free. At the period when Europeans first came among them, the natives of North America were ignorant of the value of riches, atid indiirerent to the enjoyments which civilized man procures to himself by their means. Nevertheless there was nothing coarse in their demeanor ; they practised an habitual reserve, and a kind of aristocratic politeness. Mild and hospitable when at peace, thougli merciless in war beyond any known degree of human ferocity, the In- dian would expose himself to die of hunger in order to siic- cor the stranger who asked admittance Ipy night at the dooi of his hut — yet he could tear in pieces with his hands the still quivering limbs of his prisoner. The famous republics of antiquity never gave examples of more unshaken cou- rage, more haughty spirits, or more intractable love of inde- pendence, than were hidden in former times among the wild forests of the New World.* The Europeans produced no great impression M'lien they landed upon the shores of North America : their presence engendered neither envy nor fear. What influence could they possess over such men as we have described ? The Indian could live without wantS; suf- fer without complaint, and pour out his death-song at the * AVe learn from President .Tefleison's "Notes upon Virninia," p. 1 IS, that ainonu; tlio Iroipiuis, wlieii attaeked liy a superior foire, a^ed men refused to (ly, or to survive tlio destriiotioM of their country; and thoy braved deatli like the aiieient J{oinans when their capital was sacked by tiie (Jaiils. I'lirtlier on, p. l.'w), he tells us, that there is no exain])le of an Indian, wiio, Iiavini; fallen into the hands of his enemies, hegi^ed for his life; on tiie contrary, theca|)ti\c soiii^ht to obtain death at the hands of liis coiuiuerors by the use of insult and provocation. _-„i I S2 EXTERIOR FORM OF Hir I I .rii stake* Like all the other members of the great human i'aniily, these savages believed in the existenee of a better workl, and adored, under different names, God, the Creator of the universe. Their notions on the great intellectual truths were, in general, simple and philosophical. f Altiiough we have here traced the character of a primi- tive people, yet it cannot be doubted that another peoj)le, more civilized and more advanced in all respects, liad pre- ceded it in the same regions. An obscure tradition, which prevailed among the Indians to the north of the Atlantic, informs us that these very tribes formerly dwelt on the west side of the Mississippi. Along the banks of the Ohio, and throughout the central valley, there are frequently found, at this day, tumuli raised by the hands of men. On exploring these heaps of earth to their centre, it is usual to meet with human bones, strange instru- ments, arms and utensils of all kinds, made of a metal, or destined for purposes, unknown to the present race. The Indians of our time are unable to give any info.ma- tion relative to the history of this unknown people. Neither did those who lived thi'ee hundred years ago, when America was first discovered, leave any accounts from which even an hypothesis could be formed. Tradition — that perishable, yet evei*-renewed monument of the pristine world — throws no light upon the subject. It is an undoubted fact, however, that in this part of the globe thousands of our fellow-beings had lived. When they came hither, what was their origin, their destiny, their history, and how they perished, no one can tell. How strange does it appear that nations have existed, and afterward so completely disappeared from the earth, that the remembrance of their very name is ettaeed : their languages are lost ; their glory is vanished like a sound without an echo ; but perhaps there is not one which has not left behind it a tomb in memory of its passage. The most durable monu- ment of human labor is that which recalls the wretchedness and nothingness of man. Although the vast country which we have been describing * See "Histoiredc \,\ Louisiane," bvLepa'j;e Dnpratz ; Charlevoix, " Histoirp de la Nouvelle Fnuu-c;" " Lettres dn Kov. G. lIccweldiT;" " Transiftions of the American PhilosophiiMl Society," v. i. ; Jeffer- son's " Notes on Viri,nnia," p|). 1 .')•")- 1 ',*(). What is said by .Jellerson is of especial weight, on account of ihv. personal merit of the writer, and of t!ie matter-of-fact aijo in which he lived, f See Appendix D. }'■ i \r NORTH AMERICA. 23 was iiiiiabited by many indigenous tribes, it may justly be said, at the time of its discovery by Europeans, to liave form- ed one great desert. Tlie Indians occupied, without possess- ing it. It is by agricultural labor that man appropriates the soil, and tiie early inhabitants of North America lived by the produce of the cliase. Tlieir implacable prejudices, their uncontrolled passions, tlieir vices, and still more, perhaps, their savage virtues, consigned them to inevitable destruc- tion. The ruin of these nations began from the day when Europeans landed on their shores : it has proceeded ever since, and we are now seeing the completion of it. They seem- ed to have been placed by Providence amid the riches of the New World to enjoy them for a season, and then surrender them. Those coasts, so admirably adapted for commerce and industry ; those wide and deep rivers ; that inexhaustible valley of the Mississippi ; the whole continent, in shoi't, seemed prepared to be the abode of a great nation, yet unborn. In that land the great experiment was to be made by civil- ized man, of the attempt to construct society upon a new basi/"' ; and it was there, for the first time, that theories hith- erto unknown, or deemed imj)racticable, were to exhibit a spectacle for which the world had not been prepared by the history of the past. CHAPTER II. ORIGIN OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS AND ITS IMPORTANCE, IN RELATION TO THEIR FUTURE CONDITION. Utility of knowing tlio Oi'i:iiii of Nations in order to understand their ■M [■■ocinl Condition and their Laws. — America the only Country in M which the Stirtin^-Point of a jfreat People has been clearly observa- ble. — In wliat respects all wlio emiLcrated to British America were similar. — In what they ditlered.— Rem irk api)licable to all the Euro- peans who established themselves on the sliores of the New World. — ('olonizution of Viriiiiiia. — Colonization of New Knijland.— Ori.i^i- nal Character of the iirst inhabitants of New En<;land.— Their Arri- val.— Tlieir fwst Laws. — Their social Contract.— Penal Code borrow- ed from the Hebrew Le^Mshtion.- Heli.;ions Fervor. — Republican Spirit. — Intimate Union of the Sjjirit of Reli-rion with the Spirit of Libertv. After the birth of a human being, his early years are ob- srurely spent in the toils or pleasures of ehill'ifv > 1. As he I:i \ m m V' A Ij • 1 ;.' 1 ■1 '■ ' ■ M j ': 1 :i ii 1 1 1 J i 24 ORICilN OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS g'-dws ii|), the world roccives him, when his manhooci begins, and he enters into contaet witli his fellows. He is tiien studied for tlie first time, and it is imagined that the germe of the vices and the virtues of his maturer years is then formed. This, if I am not mistaken, is a great error. We must begin higher up ; we must watch the infant in his mother's arms ; we must see the first images which the external world casts ujwn the dark mirror of his mind ; the first occurrences which he beholds ; we must hear the first words which awaken the sleeping powers of thought, and stand by his earliest efforts, if we would understand the prejudices, the habits, and the passions, which will rule his life. The entire man is, so to speak, to be seen in the cradle of the child. The growth of nations presents sometliing analogous to this ; they all bear some marks of their origin ; and the cir- cumstances which accompanied their birth and contributed to their rise, affect the whole term of their being. If we were able to go back to the elements of states, and to examine the oldest monuments of their history, I doubt not that we should discover tlie j)rimary cause of the prejudices, the habits, the ruling passions, and in short of all that consti- tutes what is called the national character : we should then find the explanation of certain customs which now seem at variance with prevailing maimers, of such laws as conflict with established principles, and of such incoherent opinions as are here and there to be met with in society, like those fragments of broken cliains which we sometimes see hanging from the vault of an edifice, and supporting nothing. This might explain the destinies of certain nations which seem borne along by an unknown force to ends of which they themselves are ignorant. But hitherto facts have been want- ing to researches of this kind : the spirit of inquiry has only come upon communities in their latter days ; and when they at length turned their attention to contemplate their origin, time had already obscured it, or ignorance and pride adoriinl it with truth-concealing fables. America is the only country in which it has been possiltl^^ to study the natural and tranquil growth of society, and where the influence exercised on the future condition ot" states by their origin is clearly distinguishable. At the period when the people of Europe landed in the New World, their national characteristics were alri'ady completely formed ; each of them had a physiognomy of iis own ; and as they had already attained that stage of civilisa- tion at wliicli men are led to study themselves, they ha\e A.ND ITS IMPORTANCE. x:j f^' transmitted to us a faitliful picture of t])eir opinions, their manners, and their laws. Tiic men of the sixteentii century- arc almost as well known to us as our contenij»oraries. Ame- rica consequently exhibits in the broad light of day the phe- nomena which the ignorance or rudeness of earlier ages con- ceals from our researciies. Near enough to the time when the states of America were founded to be accurately ac(iuaint- ed with their elements, and sufficiently removed from that period to judge of some of their results. The men of our own day seem destined to see farther than their predecessors into the series of human events. Providence has given us a torch which our forefathers did not possess, and has allowed us to discern fundamental causes in the history of the world which the obscurity of the past concealed from tlicm. If we carefully examine the social and political state of America, after having studied its history, we shall reniain perfectly convinceil that not an opinion, not a custom, not a law, I may even say not an event, is upon record which the origin of that people will not explain. The readers of this book will find the gcrme of all that is to follow in the present chapter, and the key to almost the whole work. The emigrants who came at different periods to occupy the territory now covered by the American Union, differed from each other in many respects ; their aim was not the same, and they governed themselves on diflerent principles. These men had, however, certain features in common, and they were all placed in an analogous situation. Tlu; tie of language is perhaps the strongest and most durable that can unite mankind. All the emigrants spoke the same tongue ; they were all offsets from the same people;. Born in a coun- try which had been agitated for centuries by the struggles of faction, and in which all parties had been obliged in their turn to place themselves under the protection of the laws, their political education had been jjerfi'cted iji this rude school, and they were more conversant with the notions of right, and the principles of true freedom, than the greater part of their European conteiiiporarit^s. At the jn'riod of the first emigrations, the parish system, that fruitful germe of free institutions, was deeply rooted in the habits of the English ; and with it the doctrine of the sovereignty of the people had been introduced even into the bosom of the monarchy of th«J house of Tudor. The religious quarrels which have agitated the Christian world were then rife. England had plunged into the new order of things with headlong vehemence. TIh^ character of r=.~'. i 26 ORIGIN OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS u its inliabitants, which had always been sedate and reflectmg, i)eeanie argumentative and austere. General information had been increased by intellectual debate, and the mind had re- ceivod a deeper cultivation. While religion was the topic of discussion, the morals of the people were reformed. All tliese national features are more or less discoverable in the phisiog- nomy of those adventurers who came to seek a new home on the opposite shores of the Atlantic. Another remark, to which we sliall hereafter have occasion to recur, is applicable not only to the English, but to the Frencii, the Spaniards, and all the Europeans who succes- sively established themselves in the New World. All these European colonies contained the elements, if not the develop- ment of a complete democracy. Two causes led to this re- sult. It may safely be advanced, that on leaving the mother- country the emigrants had in general no notion of superiority over one another. Tiie happy and the powerful do not go into exile, and there are no surer guarantees of equality among men than poverty and misfortune. It happened, how. ever, on several occasions that persons of rank were driven to America by political and religious ([uarrels. Laws were made to establish a gradation of ranks ; but it was soon found that the soil of America was entirely opposed to a ter- ritorial aristocracy. To bring tbat refractory land into cul- tivation, tlie constant and interested exertions of the owner himself were necessary ; and wiien the ground was prepared, its prddnce was found to be insullieient to enrich a master and a liirmer at the same time. The land was then naturally broken up into small portions, which the proprietor cultivated Inr himself. Land is the basis of an aristocracy, which clings to tbi' soil that su|)ports it ; for it is not by |)rivileges alone, nor by birth, but by landed property handed down from generation to generation, tluit an aristocracy is constituted. A tuition may present immense fort imi's and extreme wretcii- edness ; but unless tliose fortimes are territorial, there is no aristocracy, but simply the class of tiie rich and tliat of the poor. All the British colonies had then a great degree of simi- hirity at ibc epoch of their settlement. All of them, from their first begimnng. seemed destined to behold the growth. Mot of the aristoeriitic liberty of their mother-c-ountry, but of that freedom of the middle und lower orders of which the liistorv of the world bus as \vi furnished no complete e.\- aiii|ili'. Ill this iienertil uni((>rniitY several striking diHerences were AND :ts importance. 27 however discernible, which it is necessary to point out. Two branches may be distinguished in the Anglo- American family, which have hitherto grown up without entirely commingling ; tlje one in the south, the other in the north. Virginia received the first English colony ; the emigrants took [)ossession of it in 1607. The idea that mines of gold and silver are the sources of national wealth, was at that time singularly prevalent in Europe ; a fatal delusion, which bus done more to impovei'ish the nations which adopted it, and has cost more lives in America, than the united influence of war and bad laws. The men sent to Virginia* were seekers of gold, adventurers without resources and without charac- ter, whose turbulent and restless spirits endangered the infant colony,f and rendtM'ed its progress uncertain. The artisans and agriculturists arrived afterward; and although tiiey were a more moral and orderly race of men, they were in nowise above the level of the inferior classes in England. :{: No lofty conceptions, no intellectual system directed the foundation of these new settlements. The colony was scarcely established when slavery was introduced, § and this was the main circumstance which has exercised so prodigious an influence on the character, the laws, and all the future prospects of tbe south. ►Slavery, as we shall afterward show, dishonors labor ; it introduces idleness into society, and, with idleness, ignorance and pride, luxury and distress. »Jt enervates the powers of . the mind, and benumbs the activity of man. The influence * Tlu' charttT unrntiMi hy tlicciowii nf EiijjIiukI, in 1009, stipnliitid, amoiiy; otlier conditinns, tlmt tlu' ;i(lvm the earliest Period," hy Heverlev. I It was not till s(inu' lime later that si certain nniuber of rich Kn^. lisii capitalists came to li\ Ihenisilves in the colony. § Slavery was intro! of slavery, united to the English character, explains the maimers and the social condition of the southern states. In the north, the same English foundation was modified by the most opposite shades of character ; and here 1 may be allowed to enter into some details. The two or three main ideas which constitute the basis of the social theory of the United States, were first combined in the northern Britisli colonies, more generally denominated the states of New England.* The principles of New England spread at first to the neighboring states ; they then passed successively to the more distant ones ; and at length they embued the whole confederation. Tiiey now extend their influence beyond its limits over the whole American world. The civilisation of New England lias been like a beacon lit upon a hill, which, after it has diffused its warmth around, tinges the distant horizon with its glow. The foundation of New England was a novel spectacle, and all the circumstances attending it were singular and original. The large majority of colonies have been first in- habited either by men witiiouteducation and without resources, driven by their poverty and their misconduct from the land which gave them birth, or by speculators and adventurers greedy of gain. Some settlements cannot even boast so honorable an origin : St. Domingo was founded by bucca- neers ; and, at the present day, the criminal courts cif Eng- land supply the population of Australia. The settlers who established themselves on the shores of New England all belong(Ml to the more indep(>ndent classes of their native country. Their union on the soil of America at once presented the singular phenomenon of a soei<'ty con- taining neither lords norcoiiimf)n p(>o|)lc, neither rich nof |)oor. These men possessed, in proportion to their mnnber, a greater mass of inf lligenee than is to be fouiid in any Eurnp( best elements of order and morality, ihey landed in the desert accompanied by their wives and children. I?nt what most especially distinguished them was the aim of their un llu' cast of tJio lliiiUon; tlii'V ;in' imw >i\ in umiihtT : I. (' and signal demonstrations of God's good- ness, viz., the first begiiming of this j)lantution in New Eng- land, to commit to writing his gracious dispensations on that behalf; having so many inducements thereimto, not only otherwise, but so plentifully in the Sacred Scriptures; tl it so, what we liavi^ seen, and what our fathers have told us(l*s,;lm Ixxviii., n, 4), we may not hide from our children, showing to the generations to come the praises of the Lord ; that cspeciiilly the seed of Abraham his servant, and the eliildrrMi of .lueob his chosen (Psalm cv., '», (i). may remcmlxT his marvellous works in tiie begiiming and progress of the j)hiiit- ing of New I'lnghiiid. his wonders and the judgments ol" his nioutii ; how tliat God brought a vine into this wilderness; that he east out the heathen and planted it ; that he made •"New Knitliinil's Mciiioriitl," p. l.'i. Boston, Hutchinson's Llislorv," vul. ii., p. 1 10. 1SI2G. Soe alsii I ■ ', III i >l 'II i : hi ir' ■ : m li.' I i 1 1 m; l! Il' ' 30 OIUGIX OF THE ANG1.0-AMERICANS room for it, and caused it to take deep root ; and it filled the land (Psalm Ixxx., 8, 9). And not onely so, but also that he hatii guided his people by his strength to his holy habita- tion, and planted them in the mountain of his inheritance in respect of precious gospel enjoyments: and that as especially God may have the glory of all unto whom it is most due ; so also some rays of glory may reach the names of those blessed saints, that were the main instruments and the beginning of this happy enterprise." It is impossible to read this opening paragraph without an involuntary feeling of religious awe ; it breathes the very savor of gospel antiquity. The sincerity of the author heightens his power of language. The band, which to his eyes was a mere party of adventurers, gone forth to seek their fortune beyond the seas, appears to the reader as the germe of a great nation wafted by Providence to a predestined shore. The author thus continues his narrative of the departure of the first pilgrims : — " So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years ; but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hatli prepared ibr tliciii a city (Ileb. xi., 10), and therein (juieted their spirits. When th(>y came tt) DeHs-llaveii tliey f)UiKl the ship and all things ready ; and such i-f their friends as could come with them, f)ll()\ved after them, and sundry came from Amsterdam to see them shipt, and to take llieir leaves of them. One night was s]H'nt with little sleep with the most, but with friendly entertainment and Christian iliseourse, and other real expressions of true Christian love. The next day they went on board, and their i'riends with them, wMikj truly doleful was the sight of that sad and mourni'ul parting, to hear what sighs and sobs and prayrs did sound among them ; what tears did gush iVom every eye, and |)itli\ s[)eeehes pierced each other's heart, that sundry of the Dutch strangers that stood on the k(>y as spectators eould not refrain iVoiii tears. JJiit the tide (wliieh stays for no man) calling tlnin away that were thus loath to depart, their revirend pastor falling down on his knees, and they all with him, with wa- terv cheeks connnended tlieni with most fervent pra\ersniifo the liord and his blessing; and then, with le.ntual etnbraet ,s NS .*.ND ITS IJU'ORTANCK. 53) and it filled the 3, but also that his holy habita- s inheritance in lat as especially is most due ; so oi' those blessed he beginning of raph without an •eathes the very of the author lid, which to his le forth to seek e reader as the 3 to a predestined the departure of city of Lcydcn, G eleven years ; 1 strangers here gs, but lifted up here God hatli herein ([uieted veil they luuiid their friends as id sundry came ke llieir leavi's ) with the most, discourse, and The next day lem, «4iMKi truly nl'iil parting, to sound amonir pitliy speeches )iitch strangers it refrain IVoiii n) culling them reverend pastor 1 him, with wp.- Mit pra\ers unto iituiil embrac( ,s .1 and many tears, they took their leaves one of another proved to be the last leave to many of them." which The emigrants were about 150 in number, including the women and the children. Their object was to plant a colony on the shor(!S of the Hudson ; but after having been dri\ tii about for some time in the Atlantic ocean, they were forced to land on that arid coast of New England which is now the 1 site of the town of Plymouth. The rock is still shown on m which the pilgrims disembarked.* " But before we pass on," contmues our historian, " let the reader with me make a pause, and seriously consider this poor people's present condition, the more to be raised up to admiration of God's goodness toward thein in their preserva- tion : for being now passed the vast ocean, and a s(>a of trou- bles before them in expectation, they had now no friends to welcome them, no inns to entertain or refresh them, no houses, or much less towns to repair unto to seek f()r suc- I cor ; and for the season it was winter, and they that know mm the winters of the country know them to be sharp and vio- lent, subject to cruel and fierce storms, dangerous to travel to known places, nmch more to search unknown coasts, lie- sides, what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilder- ness, full of wilde beasts, and wilde nvml and what multi- tudes of them there were, they then knew not : for which way soever they turned their (>yes (save U])ward to Heaven) they could have but little solace or content in respect of any out- ward obj'^ct ; for suniuK^r being ended, all things stand in appearance with a weather-beaten face, and the \\hole Country full of woods and thickets represented a wild and savage hue ; if they looked behind them, there was the mighty ocean which they had passed, and was now as a main l)ar or gulph to separate th<'m Irom all the civil i>arts of tlit^ word." It must not be imagined that the piety of tlu^ puritans was of a merely speculative kind, or that it took no cogni/anei; of the course of worldly affairs. Puritanism, as I have * Tliis rock is bccoino an dhjcrt of vciioriitioii in tlic I'liilcd Sliilcs. F liiivc seen l)its cif it (Mrcriiils prcscrvt'il in several Idwns nl' tlic rninn. Docs not this snilicicnti.v siiow tli.it nil lniniiiii |)o\vcr and irrc.itncss !-, in the son! of niiin ? Here is ;\ stone wliicli the I'eet of a few outcasts pressi'd for an insliuif, and this stone hcconics fainons; it is Ircusnrcd l)v a iireat nation, its very (Inst issiiared us ii relic ; and what is heconu; of till' gateways of a thonsand jmlaces? 32 ORIGIN OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS already remarked, was scarcely less a political than a reli- gious doctrine. No sooner had the emigrants landed on the barren coast, described by Nathaniel Morton, than their first care was to constitute a society, by passing the following act :* — " In the name of God, Amen ! We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjocts of our dread sovereign lord King James, &c., &c., having undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith, and the honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the noithern parts of Virginia : do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and one another, cove- nant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of tlie ends aforesaid : and by virtue hereof do enact, consti- tute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony : unto which we promise all due submission and obedience," &c.f This happened in 1620, and from that time forward the emigration went on. The religious and political passions which ravished the British empire during the whole reign of Cliarles I., drove fresh crowds of sectarians every year to the shores of America. In England the stronghold of puri- tanism was in the middle classes, and it was from the middle classes that the majority of the emigrants came. The popu- lation of New England increased rapidly ; and while the hierarchy of rank despotically classed the inhabitants of the mothcr-country, the colony continufd to present the novel spectacle of a community homogeneous in all its parts. A dcinocraey, more perfect than any which antiquity had dreamed of, started in full size and panoply from the midst of an ancient feudal society. The English government was not dissatisfied with an emigration which removerl the elemi^nts of fresh discord and offuture re vnhilinns. 0\\ the contrary, everything was done ti) encourage it, and little attention was paid to the destiny of • " Now I'-n-jliiiul Mpinoriiil," ;r .'H t Tlio f'tniLiriinls wlio fdundcd the sliito of l^licdo Island in ITiItS, llioso who liiiidcd lit New Haven in i'^'lT. the I'list Hcltlors in C'oiuicc- licutin Hi'l'.i, and tlic ('nnndcrs of I'rovidcnri' in |iil(l to tlii< listory," pp AND ITS IMPORTANCE. 33 1 •I those who sought a shelter from the rigor of their country's laws on the soil of America. It seemed as if New England v/as a region given up to the dreams of fancy, and the unre- strained experiments of innovators. The English colonies (and this is one of the main causes of their prosperity) have always enjoyed more internal free- dom and more political independence than the colonies of other nations ; bi * thi iciple of liberty was nowhere more extensively app than he states of New I • '/..nd. It was generally allowed at that period that the territories of the New World belonged to that European nation which had been the first to discover them. Nearly the whole coast of North America thus became a British possession toward' the end of the sixteenth century. The means used by the Englisli government to people these new domains were of several kinds : the king sometimes appointed a governor of his own choice, who ruled a portion of the New World in the name and under the immediate orders of the crown ;* this is the colonial system adopted by the other countries of Europe. Sometimes grants of certain tracts were made by the crown to an individual or tn a company,f in which case all the'civil and political power fell into the hands of one or more per- sons, who, under the inspection and control of the crown, sold the lands and governed the inhabitants. Lastly, a third system consisted in allowing a certain number of emigrants to constitute a political society under the protection of the mother-country, and to govern themselves in whatever was not contrary to her laws. This mode of colonization, so re- markably favorable to liberty, was adopted only in New England. :{: * Tiiis Wiis the case in the state of New York. t M irvhind, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, wcvc iii this situation. See Pitkin's History, vol. i., pp. 11-31. I See tlie work entitled, " Historical Collection of State Papers anil other Authintic Document.s intemled as Mnterials for a Hi.ilory of the United States of Jlnierica,'' hy Ebenezer Hazard, Philadel- ])liia, 17'.rJ, for a ^reat number of documents relating; to the com- mencement of the colo'iies, which are valuable from their contents and tiieir autlieiiticity ; amonj; them are the various cliarters granted by tlie kiu'j; of l>n^laiid, and the first acts of the locd i.;overnments. See also the analysis of all thesc! charters j^iven by Mr. Story, jud);e of th,' supremo court of the United States, in the introduction to his Commcntiry on the Constitution of the United States. It results from tl)ese dr.ciuiients that tlie principl 's of represeiit.itive criminil and civil procedure of F,i)i,d;ind: in Irt'ii) the docroos of justice were not yet lieided by the mviil stvlc. See FFutcIiinson, vol. i., p. -I")'2. § Code of 10.')(), p. OS, Hartford, IS.'iO. jl See also in Hn'chinson's llintdry, vol. i., pp. .|,1.'), .\r)Oi, ths analysis of the penal code adopted in Kl IS, by the colony of Massa- chusetts : this code is drawn up on the same principles as tliat of Connecticut. d by Charles of Massachu- n to the colo- certain exist- state of Con- nded without vledge of the ve their incor- they did not of their own ,rs afterward, egally rccog- he link which ir forefatliers, ive records of the rights of ncluded peace enacted laws, Nothing can istructive than the solution of tates now pre specially cha- le little state penal laws, ions from the in the Lord," y be put to Miactnients of fs of Exoduji, the Colony of from tho forms iro of Kmrl'.tnd: tho riiviil stvl(!. in.'), .I.r,, th« ilony of MnsH'.i- plos as tlmt of J AND ITS IMPORTANCE. 35 Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Blasphemy, sorcery, adul- lery,* and rape were punished with death ; an outrage of- fered by a son to his parents, was to be expiated by the same penalty. The legislation of a rude and half-civilized peo- ple was thus transferred to an enlightened and moral com- munity. The consequence was, that the punishment of death was never more frequently prescribed by the statute, and never more rarely enforced toward the guilty. The chief care of the legislators, in this body of penal laws, was the maintenance of orderly conduct and good morals in the community : they constantly invaded the do- main of conscience, and there was scarcely a sin which they did not subject to magisterial censure. The reader is aware of the rigor with which these laws punished rape and adultery ; intercourse between unmarried persons was like- wise severely repressed. The judge w«s empowered to in- flict a pecuniary penalty, a whipping, or marriage,f on the misdemeanants ; and if the records of the old courts of New Haven may be believed, prosecutions of this kind were not infrequent. We find a sentence bearing date the first of May, 1660, inflicting a fine and a reprimand on a young woman who was accused of using improper language, and of allowing herself to be kissed. :{: The code of 1650 abounds in preventive measures. It punishes idleness and drunken- with severity. § Iimkeepers are forbidden to furnish more than a certain quantity of liquor to each customer ; and simple lying, whenever it may be injurious,|| is checked by a fine or a flogging. In other places, the legislator, entirely forgetting the great principles of religious toleration which Adultery was also punished with death by the law of Massachu- setts ; and Hutchinson, vol. i., p. 411, says thnt several persons ac- tually sufl'ered for this crime. He quotfs a curious anecdote on this subject, wbicli occurred in the year l<3(i3. A married woman had had criminal intercourse with a youns man ; her husband died, and slie married the lover. Several years had elapsed, when the public bpi^aii to suspect the previous intercourse of this couple ; they were tiirf)\vii into prison, put upon trial, and very narrowly escaped capital punishment. t Code of 10")0, p. 4S. It seems sometimes to have happened that the judiic superadded these punishments to each other, as is seen in a sentence pronounced in 1013 (New Haven Antii|uities, p. 114), by which Margnret Bedford, convicted of loose cond »ct, was conderrmed to be wliijjped, and afterward to marry Nicolas Jemmings her accom- plice. t New Haven Anti(]uities, p. 101. See also Hutchinson's History for spvoral Ciiuses e(iuallv extraordinary. § Code of I ().-)(.), pp. si), r)7. II Ibid, p. 01. 36 ORIGIN OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS he had liimself upheld in Europe, renders attendance on di- vine service compulsory,* and goes so far as to visit with severe punishment,f and even with death, the Christians who chose to worship God according to a ritual differing from his own4 Sometimes indeed, the zeal of his enact- ments induces him to descend to the most frivolous particu- lars : thus a law is to be found in the same code which pro- hibits the use of tobacco. § It must not be forgotten that those fantastical and vexatious laws were not imposed by- authority, but that they were freely voted by all the persons interested, and that the manners of the community were even more austere and more puritanical than the laws. In 1649 a solemn association was formed in Boston to check the worldly luxury of long hair.|| These errors are no doubt discreditable to the human rea- son ; they attest the inferiority of our nature, which is inca- pable of laying firm hold upon what is true and just, and is often reduced to the alternative of two excesses. In strict connection with this penal legislation, which bears such striking marks of a narrow sectarian spirit, and of those re- ligious passions which had been warmed by persecution, and were still fermenting among the people, a body of political laws is to be found, which, though written two hundred years ago, is still ahead of the liberties of our age. The general principles which are the groundwork of modern constitutions — principles which were imperfectly known in Europe, and not completely triumphant even in Great Britain, in the seventeenth century — were all recog- nised and determined by the laws of New England : the in- I .>• • Ibid, p. 44. t This was not peculiar to Connecticut. See for instance the law which, on the IHth of September, 1044, banished the ana-baptists from the state of Massachusetts. (Historical Collection of State Papers, vol. i., i>. ^i'AS.) See also the law au;ainst the quakers, passed on the 14th of October, 1(550. "Whereas," says the preamble, " an accursed race of heretics called quakers has sprung up," &c. The clauses of the statute inflict a heavy fine on all captains of ships who should import cpiakers into the country. The quakers who may be found there shall be whipped and imprisoned with hard labor. Those members of the sect who should defend their opinions sliall be first fined, then imprisoned, and finally driven out of the province. (His- torical Collection of State Papers, vol. i., p. 030.) t By the penal law of Massachusetts, any catholic priest who should set foot in the colony after having been once driven out of it, was lia- ble to capital punishment. § Code of 1G.')I), p. 90. II New England's Memorial, p. 316. See Appendix E. ri ' 1. AND ITS . MPORTANCE. 87 fei'vention of the people in public aftairs, the free voting of taxes, the responsibility of authorities, personal liberty, and trial by jury, were all positively established without dis- cussion. From these fruitful principles, consequences have been de- rived and applications have been made such as no nation in Europe has yet ventured fo attempt. In Connecticut the electoral body consisted, from its origin, of the whole number of citizens ; and this is readily to be understood,* when we recollect that this people enjoyed an almost perfect equality of fortune, and a still greater uni- formity of capacity. f In Connecticut, at this period, all the executive functionaries were elected, including the governor of the state.:}: The citizens above the age of sixteen were obliged to bear arms ; they formed a national militia, which appointed its own officers, and was to hold itself at all times in readiness to march for the defence of the country. § In the laws of Connecticut, as well as in those of New England, we find the germe and gradual development of that township independence, which is the life and mainspring of American liberty at the present day. The political ex- istence of the majority of the nations of Europe commenced in the superior ranks of society, and was gradually and al- ways imperfectly communicated to the different members of the social body. In America,, on the other hand, it may be said that the township was organized before the county, the county before the state, the state befm-o the Union, In New England, townships were completely and defini- tively constituted a.> early as 1650. The independence of the township was the nucleus around which the local interests, passions, rights, and duties, collected and clung. It gave scope to the activity of a real political life, most thoroughly democratic and republican. The colonies still recognised the supremacy of the mother-country; monarchy was still the law of the state; but the republic was already estab- lished in every township. The towns named their own magistrates of every kind, rated themselves, and levied their own taxes. || In the town- LlS- \>X\\i\ liii- • Constitution of 1038, p. 17. t In 1641 the general assembly of Rhotle Island unanimously de- clared that the government of the state was a democracy, and that the power was vested in the body of free citizens, who alone had the right to make the laws and to watch their execution. Code of lOoO, p. 70 t Pitkin's History, p. 47. § Constitution of 1C3S, p. 12. II Code of 1 iVM), p. 80. Ml 88 ORKSIX OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS i!'i ships of Now En{j;Ian(l tlio law of rcproscntation was not adopted, but llio allUirs of tlie coinmunity wero discussed, as at Athens, in the market-place, by a jfeneral assembly of the citizens. In studying the laws which were promulgated at this first era of the American republics, it is impossible not to be struck by the remarkable acquaintance with the science of government, and ♦the advanced theory of legislation, which they display. The ideas there formed of the duties of so- ciety toward its metubers, are evidently nmch loftier and more comprehensive than those of the Kuroj)ean legislators at that time : obligations were there imposed which were elsewhere slisjlited. In the states of New Knghiiid, from the first, the condition of the poor was provided lor ;* strict measures were taken for the maintenance of roads, and sur- veyors wore appointed to attend to thenj ;■{■ registers were established in every parish, in which the results of public deliberations, and the births, deaths, and marriages of the citizens were entered ;:j: clerks were directed to keej) these registers ;§ ofiicers were charged with the adnunistration of vacant inheritances, and with the arbitration of litigated landmarks ; and many others were created wi\()se chief functions were the maintenance of public order in tlie com- munity. || The law enters into a thousand useful provisions for a number of social wants which arc at present viry in- adequately felt in France. But it is by the attention it pays to public education that the original character of American civilisation is at once placed in the clearest light. " It being," says the law, " one chief project of >Satan to keep men from tlie knowledge of the Scripture by persuading from the use of tongues, to the end that learning may not be buried in the graves of our forefa- thers, in church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors, . . ."IF Here follow clauses establishing schools in every township, and obliging the inhabitants, under pain of heavy fines, to support them. Schools of a superior kind were founded in the same manner in the more ])opulous dis- tricts. The municipal authorities were bound to enforce the sending of cliildron to school by their parents ; they were empowered to inflict fines upon all who refused compliance; and in cases of continued resistance, society assumed the • Code of 1G50, p. 78. § Ihid, p. SO. II Ibiil, p. 40. t Code of 1 750, p. 04. J See Hnlcliitisoii'a History, vol. ir Code of KJ.ji), p. 9U. p. 4 55, AND ITS IMl'OKTANCE. 39 place of tlio parent, took possession of tlic child, and deprived the father of" tiiose natural rij^hts which he used to so bad a purpose. The reader will undoubtedly have remarked the preamble of these enactments : in America, religion is the road to knowledge, and the observance of tlic divine laws leads men to civil freedom. If, after having cast a rapid glance over the state of Amc. rican society in KioO, we turn to the condition of Europe, and more especially to that of the continent, at tiie same pcricxl, we cannot fail to be struck with astonishment. On the con- tinent of Europe, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, absolute monarchy had everywhere triumphed (ver the ruins of the oligarchical and feudal liberties of the middle ages. Never were the notions of right more completely confounded than in the midst of the splendor and literature of Europe ; ne.er was tliore less political activity among the people ; :'vver were the princij)les of true freedom less widely circulated j and at that very time, those ])rinciples, which were scorned or unknown by the nations of Europe, were proclaimed in the deserts of the New World, and were accepted as the iif'.isre creed of a great people. The boldest theories of the 'mnii-n reason were jjut into practice by a community so humble, tiiat not a statesman condescended to attend to it ; and a le- gislation without precedent was produced off-hand by the imagination of the citizens. In the bosom of this obscure demoeracy, which had as yet brought forth neither gcierals, nor philosophers, nor authors, a man might stand up in the face of a free ])f>ople, and pronounce amid general acclama- tions the following fine definition of liberty :* — " Nor would I have you to mistake in the point of your own liberty. There is a liberty of corrupt nature, which is alFected both by men and beasts to do whnt they list ; and this liberty is inconsistent with authority, i'l.pr lent of all re- straint ; by this liberty ' sumiis onines cLru riorcs ;' 't is the grand enemy of truth and peace, and all the ordinances of God are bent against it. But there is a civil, a moral, a fede- ral liberty, which is the proper end and object of authority ; is a liberty fi^r that only whiuli is just and good : for this liberty you are to stand with the hazard of your very lives, * Mather's Magnalia Chnsti Americana, vol. ii., p. 13. Tliis speech was made by Winthrop ; he was accused of havinfj;coinmiUed arbitrary actions during his inafjistracy, but after havina; made the speech of whicli tlie above is a fragment, he was acipiitted by acclamation, and from tliat time forward he was always re-elected governor of the state See Marsliall, vol. i., p. 106. 40 ORIG'\ OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS *; l.-* and whatsoever crosses it. is not authority, but a diiitemper thereof. This liberty is maintained in a way of subjection to authority ; and the authority set over you will, in all adnii- nistrations for your good, be quietly submitted unto by all but such as have a disposition to shake off the yoke and lose their true liberty, by their umrmuring at the honor and power of authority." The remarks T have made will suffice to display the cha- racter of Anglo-American civilisation in its true light. It is the result (and this should be constantly present to the mind) of two distinct elements, which in other places have been in frequent hostility, but which in America have admirably in- corporated and combined with one another. I allude to the spirit of religion and the spirit of liberty. The settlers of New England were at the same time ardent sectarians and daring innovators. Narrow as the limits of some of their religious opinions were, they were entirely free from political prejudices. Ilonce arose two tendencies, distinct but not opposite, which are constantlv discernible in the maimers as well as in the laws of the country. It might be imauincd that men who sacrificed tlieir friends, their family, and their native land, to a religious conviction, were absorbed in the pursuit of the intellectual advantages whicli they purchased at so dear a rate. The energy, how- ever, with which they strove for the acquirements of wealth, moral enjoyment, and the comforts as well as the lii)ertiesof tiie worhl, was scarcely inferior to that with which they de- voted themselves to Heaven. Political principles, and all human laws and inslitiitions wore moulded and altered at their pl(>asure ; the barrit>rs of the society in which they were born were broken down bcilire tliem ; t\w old principles which had governed the world for ages were no more ; a path without a turn, and a field with, out a hori/on, were opened to ihe exploring and anient curi- osity of man ; Init at the limits of the |)olitietil world he checks his researches, he discreetly lays aside the use of his most f()rmi(lal)]e luculties, he no longer consents to doubt or to iimovate, but carefully absfaining from raising the emtiiinof the sanctuary, Ik? yields with submissive respect to truths whic' ' e will not discuss. 'i'hus in the nionil world, everything is classed, adapted, decided, and loreseen ; in the political world evi^rythiiiu" is agitated, uncertain, and disputed : in the one is a passive, AND ITS IMPORTANCE. 41 though a voluntary obedience ; in the other an independence, scornful of experience and jealous of authority. These two tendencies, apparently so discrepant, are far from conflicting ; they advance togetiier, and mutually sup- port each other. Religion perceives that civil liberty affords a noble exercise to the faculties of man, and that the political world is a field prej)ared by tiie Creator for the efforts of the intelligence. Contented with the freedom and the power which it enjoys in its own sphere, and with the place which it occupies, the em- pire of religion is never more surely established than when it reigns in the hearts of men unsupported by aught besides its native strength. Religion is no less the companion of liberty in all its bat- ties and its triumphs ; the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims. The safeguard of morality is religion, and morality is tlio best security of law as well as the surest pledge of freedom.* REASONS OF CERTAIN ANOMALIES WHICH THE LAAVS AND CUSTOMS OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS PRESENT. '■■'^ Remains of nristocratic Institutions in tlio midst of a romploto Demo- cracy. — Wliy ? — Distinction carofnlly to l)o drawn between what is of Puritanical and what is of English Origin. The reader is cautioned not to draw too general or too abso- lute an inference from what has been said. Tlic social con- dition, tlie religion, and the manners of the first emigrants undoubtedly exercised an immense influence on the destiny of their new country. Novorthfless it was not in their jiower to found a state of tlungs originating sohdy in themselves; no man can entirely shake off the iiiflueiici' of fiie past , and the settlers, unintentionally or involuntarily, mingled habits derived from their education and from tiie trach'tions of their country, wit!i those habits and notions whicli were exclusively their own. To form a judgujcnt on the Anglo- American!? of the pr(>sent day, it is tlierot'ore nec(>ssary carefully to dis- tinguish what is of puritanical from what is of I'lnglisli origin. Lawsand customs are frc'iuenflytobe met with in th(^ United States which contrast strongly with all that surroimds them. I'heso laws seem to be drawn up in n spirit contrary to tho • See Appendix F. 42 ORIGIX OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS ih prevailing tenor of the American legislation ; and these cus- toms are no less opposed to the general tone of society. If the English colonies had been founded in an age of aarkness, or if tlieir origin was already lost in the lapse of years, the problem would be insoluble. I shall quote a single example to illustrate what I advance. The civil and criminal procedure of the Americans has only two means of action — committal or bail. The first measure taken by the magistrate is to exact security from the defendant, or, in case of refusal, to incarcerate him : the ground of the accusation, and the importance of the charges against him are then discussed. It is evident that a legislation of this kind is hostile to tlie poor man, and favorable only to the rich. The poor man has not always a security to produce, even in a civil cause : and if he is obliged to wait for justice in prison, he is speedily re- duced to distress. The wealthy individual, on the contrary, always escapes imprisonment in civil causes ; nay, more, he may readily elude the punishment which awaits him for a delinquency, by breaking his bail. So that all the penalties of the law are, for him, reducible to lines.* Nothing can be more aristocratic than this system of legislation. Yet in America it is the poor who make the law, and they usually reserve! the greatest social advantages to themselves. The explanation of tlie phenomenon is to be found in England ; the laws of which I speak are English,f and the Americans have retained them, however repugnant they may l)e to the tenor of tlirir legislation, and the mass of their ideas. Next to its habits, the thing whieh a nation is least apt to change is its civil legislation. Civil laws are only familiarly known to legal iucn, whose direct interest it is to maintain tliem as they are, whether good or bad, simply because they themselves are conversant with them. The body of the nation is scarcely aefpiainted with them; it merely perceives their action in |mrtieular eases ; but it lias sonu^ dillieulty in seizing 'heir tendency, and obeys them without relleetion. I ha\e (juole(l one instance where it would have bi-en easy to adduce a great nund)er of others. The surface of Ameriean soeiety is, if I may use the ex- pression, covered w ith a layer of democracy, from beneath which the old aristocratic colors sometimes peep, (a) • ('rimes m> doubt exist lor wliicli Imil is iiiiuiiniMsililc, Ixit llicy aro few in nimilirr. t St'c l!|,ii'l have done, that t!ie furfeiture of the M'curity uiven, exoner.itcs the accusid Iroin puiiisbmcMt. lie miiy he auain arrested mid det;iined in prison, ns se- curity would not ordinarily be reciived tnun a person who had given such eviilmcc of his guilt us would lie derived from his nllempt to escape And the ditiiculty lA' escape is rendiri'd so great by our con- stitutional provisions lor Iht; delivery, by the ditlereni states, of fugi- tives from justice, and by our treaties with I'ngland and France for tlio suinu purpose, that tlie instances of successful evasion are few nnd rure. ■Kjj ' I!i4 % • I m > m 44 SOCIAL CONDITION OF which regulate the conduct of nations : whatever it does not produce, it modifies. It is, tiierefore, necessary, if we would become acquainted with the legislation and the manners of a nation, to begin by the study of its social condition. THE STRIKING CHARACTERISTIC OF THE SOCIAL CONDITION F THE ANGLO-AMERICANS IS ITS ESSENTIAL DEMOCRACY. The first Emifjrant.s of New England. —Their Eciuality. — Aristocratic Laws introduced in the South — Period of the Revolution. — Cliaiige in the Law of Descent. — Eltects produced by this Cliange. — Demo- cracy carried to its utmost Limits in the new States of tiie West. — lilquality of Education. Many important observations suggest themselves upon the social condition of the Anglo-Aniericaiis ; but there is one which takes precedence of all the rest. The social condi- tion of the Americans is eminently democratic ; this was its character at the foundation of the colonics, and is still more '■trongly marked at the present day. I have stated in the preceding cimpter that great equality existed amonji the emijfratits w ho settled on the shores of New England. The germe of aristocracy was never j)lanted in that part of the Union. The only influence which oh- tained there was that of intellect ; the people were used to reverence certain names as the emblems of knowledge and virtue. Some of their fellow-citizens acquired a power over the rest which might truly have bee. called aristocratic, if it had been capable of invariable transmission from father" to son. This was the state of things to the east of the Hudson : to the southwest of that river, and in the direction of the Flori- das, the case was ditferent. In most of the states situated to the southwest of the Hudson some great English i)roprie- tors had settled, who had imported with them aristocratic principles and the English law of descent. I have explained the reasons why it was impossible ever to establish a power- ful aristocracy in America ; these reasons existed with less force to the southwe.st of the Hudson. In the south, cne man, aided by slaves, could cultivate a great extent of coun- try : it was therefore common to see rich landed proprietors. But their influence was not altogether aristocratic as that term is underst(jod in Europe, since they pos,sessed no privi- '.h Hi THE ANGLO-AMERICANS. •15 1 !1 leges ; and the cultivation of their estates being carried on by slaves, they had no tenants depending on them, and con- s(>quiiitly no patronage. Still, the great proprietors south of the Hudson constituted a superior class, having ideas and tastes of its own, and forming tlie centre of political action. This kind of aristocracy sympathized with the body of the people, whose passions and interests it easily embraced j but it was too weak and too short-lived to excite either love or hatred lor itself. This was the class which headed the in- surrection in t!ie south, and furnished the best leaders of the American revolution. At the period of wiiich we are now speaking, society was shaken to its centre: the people, in whose name the struggle iiad taken place, conceived the desire of exercising the au- thority which it had ac((uired ; its democratic tendencies were awakened ; and having thrown otF the yoke of the motlier-country, it aspired to independence of every kind. The inlluence of individuals gradually ceased to be felt, and custom and law united together to produce the same result. But the law of descent was the last step to equality. 1 am surprised that ancient and modern jurists have not attrib- uted to tliis law a greater influence on lunnan affairs.* It is true that these laws l)elong to civil affairs : but they ought nevertheless to be placed at the head of all political institu- tions ; for, while political laws are only the symbol of a na- tion's condition, they exercise an incredibh; influence upon its social state. They have, moreover, a sure and uniform manner of operating upon society, affecting, as it w^ere, gene- rations yet unknown. Tiirough their means man acquires a kind of preternatural power over the future lot of ins fellow-creatures. When tiie legislator has once regulated the law of inheritance, he may ff'st from his labor. Tiie macliine once put in motion will go on for ages, and advance, as if self-guided, toward a given point. When framed in a|)artieular manner, this law unites, draws togeth(>r, and vests property and power in a i\'\v hands : its tendency is clearly aristocratic. On opposite principles • I uiuli'i'stiind l)y tho l,i\v of d'sociit nil thuSi.' laws wliusc priiicipiil object it is to ri','iil,iti' tlu' (iistiil)iiliou of |)ro|n'rty alliT tlic (li-atli of its owtu-r 'I'lu' l;iw of entail is of this miinbiT : it rtTtaiiily prevents the r)\vner from disposiiii; of liis poss 'ssions liefore his deatii ; hut tliis is siilely witli a view of pres-TV inir thein entire for the heir The [irincipil uhjoct, Ihen-for.', of the 1 i\v of entail is to renuhitc the de- scent of proprrty after the death of its owner : its otiier provisions aro inendv means to tliis end. if' 46 SOCIAL CONDITION OF r it ;! \ 1 :;^':i its action is still more rapid ; it divides, distributes, and dis- perses both property and power. Alarmed by the rapidity of its progress, those who despai" of arresting its motion endeavor to obstruct by difficulties and impediments ; they vainly seek to counteract its effect by contrary etforts : but it gradually reduces or destroys every obstacle, until by its incessant activity the bulwarks of the influence of wealth are ground down to the fine and shifting sand which is the basis of democracy. When the law of inheritance permits, still more when it decrees, the equal division of a father's property among all his children, its effects are of two kinds : it is important to distinguish them from each other, although they tend to the same end. In virtue of the law of partible inheritance, the death of every proprietor brings about a kind of revolution in pro- perty : not only do liis possessions change hands, but tlieir very nature is altered ; since they are parcelled into shares, which become smaller and smaller at each division. This is the direct, and, as it were, the physical effect of the law. It follows, then, that in countries where equality of inheritance is established by law, property, and especially landed pro- perty, must have a tendency to perpetual diminution. The effects, however, of such legislation would only be percep- tible after a lapse of time, if the law was abandoned to its own working ; for supposing a family to consist of two chil- dren (and in a country peopled as France is, the average number is not above three), these children, sharing among them the fortune of both parents, would not be poorer than their father or mother. But the law of equal division exercises its influence not merely upon the property itself, but it affects the minds of the heirs, and brings their passions into play. These indi- rect consequences tend powerfully to the destruction of largo fortunes, and especially of large domains. Among the nations whose law of descent is founded upon the right of primogeniture, landed estates often pass from generation to generation without undergoing division. The consequence of which is, that family ll'eling is to a certain degree incorporated with the estate. The family represents the estate, the estate the family ; whose name, together with its origin, its glory, its power, and its virtues, is thus perpetu- ated in an imperishable memorial of the past, and a sure plr(lg(? of tlie future. Wlien the equal partition of property is estabiislied by law, the intimate connection is destroyed between family feeling , and dis- j rapidity ts motion iits ; tliey •ts : but it itil by its of wealth ch is the ) permits, a father's ,vo kinds : I although death of m in pro- but tlieir to shares, , This is ; law. It dieritance nded pro- on. The e perccp. led to its two chil- average ig among )orer than lence not minds of lese indi- 1 of largo led upon )ass from ^n. The a certain presents tlier with perpetu- 1 a sure d l)y law, y feeling M THE ANGLO-AMERICANS. 47 and the preservation of the paternal estate ; the property ceases to represent the Ikniily ; for, as it nnist inevitably be divided after one or two generations, it has evidently a con- stant tendency to diminisli, and must in the end be com- pletely dispersed. Tlie sons of tlie great landed |)roprietor, if tliey are few in number, or if Ibrtune befriend them, may indeed entertain the hope of being as wealthy as tlieir father, but not that of possessing the same property as he did ; their riches must necessarily be composed of elements different from his. Now, from the moment when you dive. . the land-owner of that interest in the preservation of his estate which he de- rives from association, from tradition, and from family pride, you may be certain that sooner or later he will dispose of it; for there is a strong pecuniary interest in favor of selling, as floating capital produces higher interest than real property, and is more readily available to gratify the passions of the moment. Great landed estates which have once been divided, novel come together again ; for the small proprietor draws from his land a better revenue in proportion, than the large owner does from his ; and of course he sells it at a higher rate.* The calculations of gain, therefore, which decided the rich man to sell his domain, will still more powerfully inlluence him against buying small estates to unite them into a large one. What is called family pride is often founded upon an illu- sion of self-love. A man wishes to perpetuate and innnortal- ize himself, as it were, in his great-grandchildren. Where the esjjrit dc famUle ceases to act, individual selfishness comes into play. When the idea of family becomes vague, indeter- minate, and uncertain, a man thinks of his present conveni- ence ; he provides for the establishment of the succeeding generation, and no more. Either a man gives up the idea of perpetuating his family, or at any rate he seeks to accomplish it by other means than that of a landed estate. Thus not only do'-s the law of partible inheritance render it difficult for families to preserve their ancestral domains en- tire, but it deprives them of the inclination to attempt it, and compels them in some measure to co-operate with the law in their own extinction. * I (1(1 not mean to say tlr.it tlic small proprii tor cultivates his land better, liiit lie cultivates it with inoic anlur and care; so that lie makes uj) 1)) his lalior lor his want nf skill. • ill (-asy circumstances, and can therefore obtaii; the ele- ments of human knowledge. li\ Aincriea there arc comparatively few who are rich enoii'.'li to live v.ithout a profession. Every profession re- qiiir' ■ ;i!i appn ntic'sliip. which limits thf> time of iiistruelion 4 i.i M M 50 SOCIAL COI*DlTION OF [| II i 'I to the oarly years of life. At fifteen they enter upon tlieir calling, and thus their education ends at the age when ours beirins. Whatever is done afterward, is with a view to some special and lucrative object ; a science is taken up as a mat- ter of business, and the only branch of it which is attended to is such as admits of an immediate practical application. [This para<;raph does not fairly render the meaning of the author. The original I'^ench is as follows : — " En Anieri(iiie il y a jieii de riches ; presque tous les Aniericains ont done hesoin d'exercor uiie profession. Or, tonte profession cxige an apprentissage. Les Americains ne peuvent done dt)niicr a la cnlture gener:dc dc I'intelligence que les premieres amiei's do la vie : a ((uinze aiis, ils entrent dans une carriere : ainsi leur education tiuil le plus souvent a repoipie ou la notre commence." What is meant by the remark, that ''at fifteen they enter upon a career, and thus tlieir education is very often finished at the epcch when ours commences," is not clearly perceived. Our profi'ssionil men enter upon their course of preparation for tlieir rcs|iective profes- sions, wholly between eighteen and twenty-one years of age. Apprer.- tices to trades are bound out, ordinarily, at fourteen, but what general education they receive is after that period. Previously, they have ac- quired the mere elements of reading, writing, and arithmetic. But it is supposed there is nothing peculiar to America, in the age at which apprenticeship commences. In England, they commence at the same 'ge, and it is believed that the same thing occurs throughout Europe. It is feared that the author has not here expressed himself with his usual clearness and jirecision. — American Editor. '\ In America most of the rich men were formerly poor : most of those who now enjoy leisure were absorbed in busi- ness during their youth ; the consequence of which is, that when they might have had a taste for study they had no time for it, and when the time is at their disposal they have no longer the inclination. There is no class, then, in America in which the taste for intellectual pleasures is transmitted with hereditary (i)rtune and leisure, and by which the labors of tln> intolknt are held in honor. Accordingly there is an equal want of tlie desire and tlie power of application to these objects. A middling standard is fixed in America for human iinow- ledge. All approach as near to it as they can ; some as tiicy rise, others as they descend. Of course, an immense mul- titude of per.sons are to be found who entertain the saiiii' mnnber of ideas on religion, history, science, political eco- nomy, legislation, and goverimnent. The gifts of intellect proceed directly from God, and man cannot ])r('V('nt their im- ecpial distribution. But in conscciucneeoi' the stale of tilings which wo have here represented, it happens, that although ■ff ll f i! ;,:i. on tlieir en ours to some 3 a niat- ittendcd ation. a author. neriir.iius io:i I'xige la culture a ([uiuze t le jjlu.s T upon a lie I'jK.ch oft'ssioiial \,ti prol'cj- Apprei.- it (j;enei'ai / have ac- ;. But it at which the same it Evu'opo. 1 his usual y poor : in busi- is, that no time have no taste for T fortune ire hold ic dt.'sire 11 know- as they ISC mul- le sanii' al eco- intt'Ueet iK'ir un- f tilings ihhouji'h ■i I THE ANGLO-AMERICANS. 51 ^m ! the capacities of men are widely different, as the Creator lias doubtless intended they should be, they are submitted to the same method of treatment. In America the aristocratic element has always been fee- ble from its birth ; and if at the present day it is not actually destroyed, it is at any rate so completely disabled that we can scarcely assign to it any degree of influence in the course of allairs. The democratic principle, on the contr;; y, has gained so much strength by time, by events, and by legislation, as to have become not only predominant but all-powerful. There is no family or corporate authority, and it is rare to find even the influence of individual character enjoy any durability. America, then, exhibits in her social state a most extraor- dinary phenomenon. Men are there seen on a greater equal- ity in point of fortune and intellect, or in other words, more equal in their strength, than in any other country of the world, or, in any age of which history has preserved the re- membrance. POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE ANGLO-AMERICANS. The political consequences of such a social condition as this are easily deducible. It ".- itripos>;!)!o !n hr.liovo t;ia,t cqt'.alitr will not eventually find its way into the political world as it does everywhere else. To conceive of men remaining for ever unequal upon one single point, yet equal on iill others, is impossible ; they must come in the end to be equal upon all. Now I know of only two methods of establishing equality in the political world : every citizen must be put in possession of his rights, or rights nmst be granted to no one. 1 or iiations which have arrived at the same stage of social oxistonce as the Anglo-Americans, it is therefore very difficult to discover a medium between the sovereignty of all and the absolute power of one man : and it would be vain to deny that the social condition which I have been describing is eqtially liable to each of these consequences. Tiiere is, in fact, a manly and lawful passion for equality, which excites men to wish all to be powerful and honored. Tliis passion tends to elevate the humble to the rank of the great ; but there exists also in tiu' liiimaii heart a depraved taste ibr 52 PRINCIPLE OF THE SOVEKl^IGNTV equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lo^Ke^ the powerful to their own level, and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom. Not that those nations whose social condition is democratic naturally despise liberty ; on the contrary, they have an instinctive love of it. But liberty is not the chief and constant object of their desires ; equality is their idol : they mai-i riJlXCIPLE OF THE SOVKIlKiGNTV Oil a certain o.alilication, which was exceedingly low in the north, an.l more consi(h'rablt! in the .sonth. Tlio American revolution broke out, and the doctiincof the sovereignty of the people, which had been nurtured in the townships, took possession of tlie state ; every class was enlisted in its cause ; battles were iought, and victories ob- tained for it ; until it became the law of laws. A scarcely less ra})id change was elfected in the interior of society, where the law of descent completed the abolition of local influenc(>s. At the very time when this consequence of the laws and of the revolution became apparent to every eye, victory was irrevocably pronounced in favor of tlu^ democratic cause. All power was, in fact, in its hands, and resistance was no longer possible. The higher orders submitted without a mur- uuir and without a struggle to an evil which was thenceli.)rth inevitable. The ordinary fate of falling powers awaited them; each of their several mendjers iMlowed his own inter- est; and as it was impossible to wring the power from the hands of a people which they did not deti-st suilicieiitly to brave, their only aim was to secure its good-will at any price. The most democratic laws were consecpie/itly voted by the very men whose interests they in)paired ; and thus, although the higher classes did not excite the passions- of the people against their order, they accelerated the triumph of tin; new state of things; so that, by a singular change, the democratic im|)ulse was found to be ^nost irresistible in the very stales where the aristocracy had the lirmest hold. The state of Maryland, which had be(>n founded by men of rank, was the first to proclaim universal suilrage,* and to introduce the most democratic forms into the conduct of its gov(>rmuent. When a nation modifies the elective qualification, it may easily be fnreseen that sooner or later that (jualification will be entirely abolished. There is no more invariabl(> rule in the history of society : the fiirfher eli'ctoral rights are ex- ti'iidrd, the more is lilt the need of extending them; for uller luu'h concession Xhr strength of the democracy in- creases, and its demands increase with its streiigtli. The ambition of those who are below tlie appointed rate is irri- tated in exact ])r(iportion to the great number of those who are above it. The exception at last becomes the rule, con- • Si'(> till' iimi'iiiliiiciils iiiiidc to till' (•(uiMtitutinii uf Miirvliiul in IsOI iUKJ 1^ 1,1. t t OF THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA. i3.) cession follows concession, and no stop can be made short of universal sulIVage. At tlie present day the prineiph? of the sovereij^nty of the people has acquired, in the United States, all the practical development wiiich the imagination can conceive. It is un- encumbered by those fictions which have been thrown over it in otiier countries, and it appears in every possible ibini according to the exigency of tiie occasion. Sometimes the laws are made by the people in a body, as at Athens ; and SDnu.'limes its rej)resi'ntatives, chosen by universal sullrage, transact business in its name, and almost under its innncdiate control. In some countries a power exists which, though it is in a degree foreign to tlie social body, diri'cts it, and ibre(^s it to pursue a certain track. In others the ruling force is divided, l)eing partly within and partly without the ranks of the peo- ple. But nothing of the kind is to be seen in tlK? United States; then! society governs itself for Itself. All power centres in its bosom ; and scarcely an individual is to be met with who would venture to cnnecive. or, still more, totwpress, tlie idea of seeking it elsewhere. The nation participates in the making of ils laws by tlie choice of its legislators, and in the execution of them by the elioiee of the agents of the executive government ; it may almost be said to govern itself, so feebUi anc" so restricted is the share left to the ad- ministration, so little do the authorhies fi)rget their popular origin and the power from which they emanate.* m CHAPTER V. NECESSITY OF EXAMINING TIIE CONDITION OF THE STATES IlEFOUE THAT OF THE UNION AT LAIUJE. ley 111- Th.^ It is |)roposed to examine in the fiUdwing eh!>|)fer, what is till' Ibrm of government established in America on the prin- ciple of the sovereignty of the people ; wluit are its re- s lurees. its hiiidranees, its advantaiics, and ils diinjrers. The lirsl dillieultv which |)resents itself nrises from the complex niitiire of tlir> eoiistitiition of the United States, which consists oi' tW) distinct social structures, connected, and, as it were, i • Si'C \| |.|M||Ii\ 11, M H W I 'i! j'l' I i ■■' -:,||-,, . i I i'i -i* 56 NECESSITV OF EXAMINING THE inicasod, one witliin the otlicr ; two noveriiinenis, completely .separate, and almost independent, tlie one fullilling the ordi- nary duties, and responding to the daily and indefinite rails of a community, the oth.or eircumscrihed within certain limits, and only exercising an exceptional authority over tlie general interests of the country. In short, there are twenty- tour small sovereign nations, whose agglomeration constitutes tlie body of the Union. To examine the Union bef(ire we have studied the states, would be to adopt a method tilled with obstacles. The Federal government of the United S;at('s was the last which was adopted ; and it is in fact nothing more than a modification or a summary of these republican princi})les which were current in the whole community be- fore it existed, and independently of its (>xistence. More- over, the federal government is, as I have just observed, the excej)tioii ; the gcjvermnent of the states is the rule. Tlu; author who should attempt to exhibit the picture as a whole, before he had exi)laine- r'ean Union, all |)resent tiie same features as far as regards the external aspect of their institutions. Their political or administrative existence is centred in three loci of action, which may not inajMly b(^ compared to the diirerent nervous centr(>s which convey motion to tlie human lioily. The township is in the lowest order, then tlie county, and lastly the state : and I |)ropose to devote the fiillowing chapter to the examination of these three divisions. THE AMEIiK.'AN SVSTKM Ol' TOWNSHII'S AND MtrMril'AT, liOOIKS.* Why (lie Anllidv l)i'i.'iiN tlic F,\iiniiii;itinn of tlio I'dlitical InslilnlioiiH will) tilt' 'I nuiHliip.— Its KxistciK'c in ,ill Nnfioiis.— Dilliciiltv it Kst;iltlisliirivr anil Prcsi'i'vinir Indciicndcncc. — Its ItniiortiMcc — Wli" till' Aiitlmr liiis sclci'tiMl tlif rowiisliip Ssstcni of S'i'W Miii'liinl ;is till' iiiiiin (il)j('ct of his liHiniry. • [It is hv tills |prli|ilU"tsis tluit f illti'Illpl 111 I'cIkIiT till' I'lrllill fXprcssiiiiis " ('(iinnnnir" iiml " Si/sfhtir ConiniiitKi/." I ;iin not .iWiirc lli;it ;in\ l''.!i.;lisli woril ihtcisi'Iv ciincsiHiiiiis to tin' trtiirril tiTiii ol'llin oi'iuin,!l. In l''runc(' cvitv iwsociiition of liiinian ilwcjliims foriiii ■. S CONDITION OF THE STATKS. 57 — Wl I irIK li iiiii Hot !■ .1 ll'l til 11 It is not undesignedly tiiat I begin tliis subject with the town- siiip. The village or township is the only association which is so pertectly natural, that wherevcM" a number of men are coUtH'ted, it se(Miis to constitute itself. The town, or tithing, as the smallest division of a commu- nity, must necessarily exist in all nations, whatever their liiws and customs may be : if man makes monarchies, and estaiiiishes republics, the first assKciation of mankind seems constituted by the hand of God. l?ut altiiongh the existence of till! tounshij) is coeval with tliut of man, its lilvrtirs are not the kss rarely respected and easily destroyed. A nation is always able to establish great political assemblies, because it haijitually contains a certain lunnber of individuals fitted l)\- thi'ir talents, if not !)y their habits, for the direction of alfairs. The township is, on the contrary, composed of coarser nuil<'rials. which are less easily fashioned i»y the legislator. The diil'ieulties wliieh attend the consolidation of its indej)endenc<' rather augment than diniinisii witli the in- creasing enlightenment of tiie p(M)ple. A highly-civilized comnnmity s|)iii'ns the attempts of a local independene '. is disgusted at its numei'ous blunders, and is apt to dt spair of success before the experiment is completed. A.gain, no im. nninities are so ill-protecferj from fiie encroachments of the supreme power as those of municipal bodies in general : tliey are unable to struggle, single-hamled, again>t a strong or an enterprising government, and they camiot defend their cause witli success unless it i)e idrntilied with the cistoms of the nation ami sup|)orted by pidilic opinion. '-'■'•, until the inde])endence of townships is amalgaiuii*' •' witi *iie munncrs of a people, it is easily destroyed ; and it is only iTtera long existence in the laws that it can be thus iiniclguniat"d. Municipal freedom eludes the exertious (^f man ; it is varids' created ; but it is, as it were, secretl", :i(l opontani'o\,slv 11 riiiiiunnir, uwA cmtv ciiiinmint' is L;"\i'riii'(l nv ii innirc and ii rotiiri/ miiiiii i/iu/. Ill (illicr words, the tn-im ipiiint or miuiici|ial privilfic, wliii'li Ihdniins ill t'.iiL.d.Hul to rh.iili'ifd ciiriinralioiis aliiiic. is aliiii' I'xtcidi'd til fvi'i'v ciiiiiiiiiiiM' iiilci vvliiidi till' ■M;it]di- calliin tif the ('xpri'ssii)n, whifli isiifiHTuI in one iduiifiy and r sfrictrd in the nlliiT In Aiinrira, tlii' ciniiitifM til' the nnrtluMi) sl,ltt•^ mi- ili\idrd iiilii townsliips, (Ikwc nf the siiutlitTii inl'i parishes ; licsidi s \>lii('li, iniiiiii-i|ial li(idiis. Ikmi'Iii^ (In name nC ci, |iiiiMlii.MS, evist in tlie I'ities. I sliall apply these several expiM'ssiiins to render »lie tei-'ii raininuiif. The woi'd " parish,'" n<.\v enininonlx ns d in I'jiirlatM;, It 'liiiKS e\e|nsivi In t'> Ihi' eeelesiaslieal di\ isiiim ; it di'liotrs llie lili'i H >ner wliich .1 parsiiti't (/iiisunif tri'/t.iitp (if p»'rlia|iH jiarurhinnvH) rights vWi'wS. — 'rituixhiliir's ^Witr.^ Iks ul 111 ' I '■* ■|i i ,: '• Ifi' III m i: I Ml ? ill 58 NECESSITY OF EXAMINIXfr THE cnconderod in the midst of a semi-barbarous state of society. Th of th th distant act j)et;iiliar circumstances, and above all, time, may consoli- date it ; but tliore is certainly no nation on the continent ol' Europe which has experienced its advantages. Neverthe- less, local assemblies of citizens constitute the strength of free nations, Munici[)al institutions arc to liberty what priiuary schools are to science ; they bring it within the l)eoj)le's reach, they teach men how to use and how to enjoy it. A nation may rstal)lisli a system of free government, but without the spirit of numieipal institutions it cannot have the spirit of liberty. The transient passions, and the inte- rests of an hour, or the chance of circumstances, may have created the external forms of independi'iice ; but the despotic ten(l(Micy wlueli has been rej)elled will, sooner or latir, inevi- tably reappear on the surface. In order to explain to the reader the giMieral principhs on which the political organisations of the counties ancl town- ^hips of the United Stales rest, I have thought it expedient to choose one of the statics of New England as an exanijili', to exannno the mechanism of its constitution, and then to cast a general glance over the country. The township and the county are not organi'/ed in the same manner in every part of the Union ; it is, however, easy to perceive that the same |)rinciples have guidid the lormation 'if bdfh (if them tlirouuhout the I iiidu. I am inclined to believe that these ])rinciples have hi'en carried liirtlierin Nt'W I'jngland than elsewhere, and consequently that they oiler greater iaeilitii^s to tli(> observations tii'a stranger. The institutinns (if New England Ibrm a eomplete and regular whole; they have received the sanctinn of time, they have ihe support of the laws, and the still stronger sujiiMMt of tile manners nf the cDinmmiity, over whieh they exercise the must priidigiiius inlUienee ; they colisecjueiitly tleserve our attention on every account. LLAIITS OF THE TOWNSIIir. Tin; township of New I'jigland is n d!,"son whieh stiinds between \hi' com III II iir and the voiilon of Fr; ;-•( . .iid w liii li enr- responds in general to the I'lnglish tiliiing. or town. Its avernge popuIati(jn is from two to three llinus.ind ;* .so tbut, * 111 1^ I I, ihcIT Wil-,' .'IM- tcWIlsllij.fl ill tlic st;itr "I" M.i-:-i,l'llllnee to the iitniost limits of ])ossibility. In New l^lngland the majority acts by representatives in the conduct of tiie public businens of the state ; but if such an arrangement be necessary in "fueral atl'airs, in the town- ship, where the legislative and adtninistralive action of the govermuent is in more innm diate ■•onuiet with the sul)ject, the .system of representatimi is \ufi adopted. There is no corporation ; i»ut the body of ♦lectors, after la vinjr desionatid its magistrate s, directs tliem in anything that exceeds the simple and ordinary (Wecutive business of the state.* This state of thinirs is so contrary to our uleas, and so dillerent from our eusfonis, that it i^ neeessary li)r me to atlduce some examples to exolain it thoriu-hlv. Tlie public duties in the township arc extremelv numerous and mil) ' iv divided, as we shall .mo fiirth»>r en ; luit the large |)ro|)ortion of aduiinist rati\e power is vested in the hands of a small muniji'r of individuals called "the selectmen."! The general laws of the state inipo,se a certain mmdter of obligations on the selectmen, which may they fidfd without and r.lo,(i| I inhaliilanls; which ^ives an average of about'l.UOO inhabi- tants to eacli township * The same rules are not applie.ihle to the ureat towns, which t,fenerallv have a inavor, and a corporatio.i (li\idrd into two l)udies ; this, liowcMT. is an evceplion which reipiins a sanction of ,i law. See the act of'J.'d I'chrnirv. I'^',''.', for appointini; the anihoi ili<- of tlic ci! v of Huston. It frcipicntiv happens that sm;il! I.iwns is wdl as cities ,in' snl>iecl to a pecnliir aihninislration. In l>ij, jnl t iwnsliips in the state of .New York were i;overiieil in this iiMiiner — Wif/innis's liv t 'I'll!, c s.h-<-tinc'i are appoiilcil i-i oi.> <.])\A\ townsliips, ;ind nnn' in f'lif' H •60 NECESSITY OF EXAMINING THE Si i: i. I' ,,ii;., i the authorization of tlie body they govern, but wliicli they can only neglect on their own responsibility. The law of the state obliges them, for instance, to draw up the list of electors in the townships ; and if they omit this part of their functions, they arc guilty of a misdemeanor. In all the aflairs, how- ever, which are determined by the town-meeting, the select- men are the organs of the popular mandate, as in France the muire executes the decree of the municipal council. They usually act upon their own responsibility, and merely put in practice principles which have been previously recognised by the majority. But if any change is to be introduced in the existing state of tiling'^, or if they wish to undertake any new enterprise, they are obligod to refer to the source of their power. If, for instance, a school is to be established, the selectmen convoke the whole body of electors on a certain day at an apjwinted place; they explain the urgency of the case ; they give their opinion on the means of satisfying it, on the probable expense, and the site which sconis to be most favorable. The meeting is consulted on these several points ; it adopts the principh . marks out the site, votes the rate, and confides the execution of its resolution to the selectmen. The selectmen alone hive tlr:" right of calling a town- meeting ; but they may he recjuested to do so : if tlie citizens are desirous of submitting a new project to the assent of the township, they may demand a general convocation of the iidiabitants ; the selectmen are f)hliged to comply, but they liave oidy the right of presiding at the meeting.* The selectmen are elected every year in the month of April or of May. The town-meeting chooses at the same time a number of n.unicipal magistrates, who are intrusted with imj)ortant administrative i'nni'tions. The assessors rate the township ; t!ie collectors receive the rate. A constable is appointed to keep tlie peace, to watch the str"ets, and ti^ for- wuimI the execution of the laws ; the town-ch rk records all the town votes, orders, grants, births, deaths, and marriages ; the treastiM' ke '^^s the funds ; the overseer f)f the \)oor per- lltrnis till 'idicuit tusk of superintending the sution of the poor law^ • couimittee-n^' ar<^ ap;"' 'nted to aiiend to the thi" l;iVLri'Oiii's. Spo " The Town Ollicor," p. Isd. S('(> al<(>tlic piinci- [tiii l.iws i)f the sfiitc lit' Missiicliiisitts nlntivo ti) llie sch'cttM'ii : — Act (iC the vfOtli Ftiinmrv, I7sil, vol. i., ]). •Jll"; -.'Itli KcIumiih;. , 17'.h;, vol. i., p. Is^, 7tli M;ir'li, Isoi, vol. ii., p. |.'); jfltli .luni', I7'.i.'i. vol. i., p. I?.'! ; t'JtIi Miiicli, l^'HS, vol. ii., p. isf. ; -J-tli I'llnn.irs, I7s7. voi. i., p. ;iii-.>; '.'-.'(l .luiir, I7'.t7, vol. i., p. T).'!'.*. * Si'O laws of i\liiss;(c|m.-.i'tls, vol. i.. [>. I'lO. Act of the ■.'•'»th .Miiro!i, 178(J I l_.- .. _. II' * ch they can law of the t of electors r functions, (lairs, how- , the select- France the icil. They jrely put in cognised hy uced in the ke any new i"ce of their Wished, the n a Certain Micy of tlie atisfying it, s to be most eral points ; le rate, and 3tmen. :iig a tow li- the citizens ssent of the ition of tiu^ y, but they niontli of e same time rustf"! with )rs rate ihr Diistiihle is and to f(ir- reeords all narria^es ; e poor per- tion of the did to the ■;o llir iniiu'i- •tin '11 : — li I'lliriiiiiy, h .hiiit', 1 7!i'i. Iini.iry, 17''7, ■.'.')tli .Maiv'i, CONDITION OF THE STATES. 61 { schools and to public instruction ; and the road-surveyors, who take care of the greater and lesser thoroughfares of the township, complete the list of the principal functionaries. They are, however, still farther subdivided ; and among the inunicipal ollicers are to be ibund parish commissioners, who audit the expenses of public worship ; dillerent classes of inspectors, some of whom are to direct the citizens in case of fire ; tithing-men, listers, haywards, chimney-viewers, fence-viewers to nidntain the bounds of properly, timber- measurers, and sealers of weights and measures.* There are nineteen principal offices in a township. Every inhabitant is constrained, on pain of being fined, to undertake these flitferent functions ; which, however, are almost all paid, in order that the poor citizens may be able to give up their time without loss. In general the American system is not to grant a fixed salary to its functionaries. Every service has its price, and they are remunerated in proportion to what they have done. EXISTENCE OF THE TOWNSHIP. Every one the best .Ju(l;ro of his own Intorost. — Corollary of tlio Princi- plo oftlic SoviTfi^nty of tlic Pooplc.— Apiilicntion of iliese Doctrines in the 'rownsliips of AiniTJca. — 'I'lie 'l'o\\nship of Ntw EnulaiKl is Sovereii^n in that wliich concerns itself ahme ; suhject to the State in all other matters. — Hond of Township and (he State. — In Franco 1h(! (Jovernnicnt lends its Agents to the Commune. — In America the Reversi" occurs [ HAVE already observed, that the principle of the sovereisn- ty of the people governs the whole political svstein of the Anglo-Americans. Every page of this book' will ullbrd new instances of the same doctrine. In the nations by which tl^.e sovereignty of the people is recognised, every individuiil possesses an equal share of power, and |)artieipates alike in the government of the >^tate. Every individiud is theivlore supposed to be as w<'ll informed, as virtuous, and as strong, as an}- of his fcllnw-cilizens. He obeys the government, not i)ecanse In- is inferior to the autliDritir.s which conduct it, or that he is Ifss capable than his neighbor of governing himself, * .\\\ these mngistrntes actnally exist; their (IKVerent functions are all detailed in a hooU called, "The T,,\vn Olliccr," l.v ls,ia(> Coodwin, Worcester, 18-J7; and in the Collection of the General Lawsof Massa- I hus(.'tts, .1 vols., Moston, IS'J.'t. f '^;1 i^^ t I. M 02 N£tKS.SITY OF KXAMINING THE ;; ik i .h gf 1 i; i>:. 1, !ffl % but because lie aeknowiediies the utility of an association with iiis fi'llow-iiien, and because he knows tliat no such associa- tion can exist witlioul a regulating force. It' lie be a subject in all that concerns the mutual relations of citizens, he is tree and responsible to God alone for all that concerns himself. Hence arises the maxim that every one is the best and the sole judge of his own private interest, and that society has no right to control a man's actions, unless they are prejudicial to the conmion weal, or unless the common weal demands his co-operation. Tliis doctrine is universally admitted in thr, United States. I shall hereafter examine the general influence whicli it exercises on the ordinary actions of life : 1 am now speaking of the natun; of municipal bodies. The township, taken as a whole, and in relation to the govennnent of'the country, may be looked upon as an indi- vidual to whom the theory 1 have just alluded to is applied. Municipal independence is therefore a natural consequence f]4*tli<> prii.ciple of the sovereignty of the people in the tinited States, all ti;e American republics recognise it more or less ; but circumstances have peculiarly favored its growth in New England. In tills jnirt of the Union the impulsion of political activity was given in the townships ; and it may almost be said lliat cacli of them oriirinallv formed an inde|)endent nation. When the kings of England asserted tin ii" supremacy, they were contented to assume the central power of the state. The tow iiships of New EiigkaiJ rcmaiiied as they were before ; aiid although tluy are now subject to the siat<', thi-y werf ;it iii'st scarcely dept'iidiiit U])on it. It is iiiipoi'tant to remendier tliat tliey have iu)t been invested witli [)rivileges, but that they seem, on the contrary, to have surrendi>red a portion of their indi pendence to the state. Tlie townships are only subordi- nate to the state in thos(> interests which [ shall term socio!, as they ar(^ common to all the citizens. They are indepen- dent in all that concerns themselves : and among the inhabit- ants of New iMigland I believe that not a man is to be found who would acknow ledge that th'' state has any right to intcr- iere in their local interests. Th(> towns of New iMigland buy and sell, prosecute or are indicted, augment or diminish their rates, without the slightest ojiposition on the jiart of the ad- ministrative authority of the state They are bound, however, to comply w ith the demands of the eoiinnunity. If the stute is in need ol' monev, a town can neither give nor w itldrild the supplies. If the state proj' els a road, tln' townsliip eanu'it refuse to let it cross its t<'rriloi'\- ; «|: If^- n, 'I CO.NUITION OF THK STATK.S. 03 ation with h cissocia- a subject , he is free s himself. st and the ety has no )reju(lieial nuinds liis led in tiid I influence 1 am now ion to the s an indi- ;s applied, isequencc he tinited v or l(>ss ; th in New il activity '■ said that n. When hey were te.' The [e before ; we.i-e at ■eiiienihei" that they 1 of their suhordi- m social, iiidepen- ■ iidiahit- he (nund to inti'r- iind buy isli their ■ th(! ad- liands of )uri can ioj' ei> a Irrilnry; if a polic.' regulation is made by the state, it must be enforce d by the town. A uniibrm system of instruction is organised all over the country, and every town is bound to establish the schools which the law ordains. In speaking of the adminis- tnition of the United States, I shall have occasion to point out the means by which the townships are compelled to obey in tlies(! dilferent cases: I here merely show the existence of the obligation. Strict as this obligation is, the government o|' the state im])oses it in principh^ only, and in its perform- ance the township resumes all its independent rights. Thus, taxes are voted by the state, but they are assessed and col- lectt d by [ho township ; the existence of a school is obliga- tory, but the township builds, pays, and superintends it. In France the state collector receives the local imposts ; in America the town collector receives the taxes of the state. Thus the French government lends its agents to the corimune : ill Amei'ica, the township is the agent of the governnicnt. This fact alone shows the extent of the dilfercnces which exist between the two nations. PUBLIC SPIRIT OF THE TOWNSHIPS OF NEW ENGLAND. How tlic Towiisliip of Xi'W Enuliiiul wins the Aflt'Ctions of its Inlinbit- aiits. — DiHiciilly of crciitiiiix local |)iil)lic Spirit in Europe. — 'I'lio Jii^lits and Duties of t!io Atnerican Tuwnsliip favoralile to it. — Clia- rai'ti'vistirs of Home in the Ignited Slates. — Maiii!estatious id' jiuiilic Spirit in New Kn^'l ind.— Its happy llilects. l.v America, not oidy tlo numicipal bodies exist, but they are kepiiilive and supported by public spirit. The towiislii|) of New England possi^sses two advantag(>s which infallibly secure the attentive interest of mankind, namely, independ- ence ai)d authority. Its sphere is indeed small and limited, but within that sphere its action is unrestrained ; and its iii- depi iideiiei! wiiiild give to it a real inip(jrtance, even if its extent and population did not ensure it. It is to be remembered that the at1!>ctions of men are gene- rally turned only w here then* is strength. Patriotism is not durable in a eoii(|uere(l nation. The New I'inghmder is attached to his tt)wnship, not only because he was born in if, but because it eon.stitutes a strong and free social body of n liich he is a member, and w hose government eliiinis and ileserves the e\(>rei.se of his sagiieitv. In I'iUropiv the absence (d' local j)ulilic spirit is a frefjiK nt subject of regret to tJioso ■i IS H: 1 ... !m ' Ml' , 1 ill !■ 1 II, :h 64 NKCKSSITV OF KX.A MIXING THE who arc in power ; every one agrees that there is no surer guarantee of order and tranquillity, and yet noihing is more dilHcuIt to create. If the niunieipal bodies .\l .e made pow- erful and independent, the authorities of the njiiion might be disunited, and the peace of the country endangered. Yet, without power and independence, a town may contain good subjects, but it can have no active citizt-ns. Another impor- tant fact is, tliat the township of New England is so consti- tuted as to excite the warmest of human alii ctiftns, witlmut arousing the ambitious passions of the heart of man. The officers of the county are not elected, and their authority is very limited. Even the state is only a second-rate commu- nity, whose tranquil and obscure administration oilers no inducement sulheient to draw men away from the circle of their interests into the turmoil of public aiUiirs. The federal government confers power and honor on tiie men :vho con- duct it; but these individuals eun never be very numerous. The high station of the presidency can only be reached at an advanced j)criod of lili' ; and the other federal I'unctionaries are generally men mIio have been faviu'ed by fortune, or dis- tinguished in some other career. Such cannot be the j)erma- nent aim of the ambitious. But the township serves as a centre iL>r the desire of ))ublie estei'm, the want of exciting interests, and the taste l()r authority and po[)ularity, in the midst of the ordinary relations of lile : and the passions which commoidy embroil society, ''lange their eliaraet(n' w hen they li/ui a vent so near the domestic lb arth and the family circle. In tiie American states power has bet)! disseminated with admiraule skill, fl>r the j)ur[)ose of interesting the greatist jjossible rnnnber of persons in the common weal. lnd( pen- dently of the electors who are from liriie to time called into action, the body politic is divided into innumerable function- aries and officers, who all, in their several spheres, represcMit the same powerful corporation in w hose name they act. The local admintst ration tims allords iin unfailing source of profit iiud interest to a vast mnnbei- of individuals. The American system, which divides the local authority among so many (citizens, does nut scruple to multi|)Iy the Inunctions of the town ollicers. For in the United JStales, it is believed, and with truth, that patriotism is a kind of devotie.n, which is strengthened by ritual observance. In this nianui r the activity of the township is coDiimially ] < ree[.;;iil,' ; ii is daily manifi sted in the f'iiHiln)ent of a duty, or ihe exrrcis' of a right ; and a constant tliou'rli getille inolion is thus kept up in society which animates w ithout disturbin;j it. c IS no surer liing is more e made pow- :ion might be gered. Yet, contain good lot her impor- is so coiisti- lioiis, without f man. Tlie • authority is ■ rat(> comnui- ion oilers no tlie circle of The iederal len '.v'ho eon- ry numerous. reached at an i'unelionaries )rtune, or dis- je the pernia- ) serves as a It of exciting arity, in the s^ions wiiich r w lien tliry aniily circle. iiinated with )(' greatist il. Indepen- ealled into )le I'unctioii- es, represent y act. Tlie tree of j)ro(it .•;il authority hiultiply the Stales, it is (if (levotinn, this manner .;;i.l.' : it is he cXi lrls;> is thus k( pt i COADITJON OF TJIE STATES. or. The American attaches himself to his jionie, as the moun- tanieer clings to his hills, because the characteristic features of his country are there more distinctly marked than else- where. The existence of the townships of New England is in general a happy one. Their government is suited to their tastes, and chosen by themselves. In the midst of the pro- found peace and general comfort which reign in America, the commotions of municipal discord are infrequent. The conduct of local business is easy. The political education of the people has long been complete ; say rather that it was complete when the people first set foot \>]^'>n the soil. In New England no tradition exists of adistiiu of ranks; no poi*- tion of the connnunity is tempted to o]ii the remainder ; and the abuses which may injure isolal ndividualsare for- gotten in the general contentment which prevails. If the government is defective (and it would no doubt be easy to point out its deficiencies), the fact that it really emanates from those it governs, and that it acts, either ill or well, casts the protecting sjiell of a parental pride over its faults. No term of comparison disturbs the satisfaction of the citizen: England fbrniorly governed the mass of the colonies, but the people was always sovereign in the township, where its rule is not only an ancient, but a primitive state. The native of New England is attached to his township because it is independent and free ; his co-operation in its atlliirs ensures his attachment to its interest ; the well-being it affords him secures his affection ; and its welfare is the aim of his ambition and of his future I'xertions ; he takes a part in every occurrence in the place ; he ])ractises the a't of government in the small sphere within his reach ; lie ac- customs himself to tliose forms which can alone ensure the steady progress of liberty ; he imbibes their spirit ; he ac- quires a taste for order, comprehi'iids the union of the balance of powors, and collects cdear practical notions on the nature of ills duties and the extent of his rijrhts. THE COUNTIES OF NEW ENGLAND. The division of the eounti(>s in America has considerable analogy with that ol' the arrondisseinents of France. The limits of the eountif^s are arbitrarily laid down, and the various districts which they contain have no necessary con- nexion, no common traditional or natural symiiathy : their 1, 1 H 1 :1 f^' ■j m \ m }\WL n. m V f ^■1 f-BI :;■ i ■•■% ;'■ .kiuc i( K(i ^, ife, ^ V^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) &^ // Z 3" f/. 1.0 1.1 11.25 bilM |2.S ■UUW ♦" — Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAtN STRUT WIISTIII.N.Y. MStO (716)t7i-4S03 V qv ^ '^ \ :\ ^\ ^\ ^>^ '^ ■^% i^^^ sc & 66 NECESSITY OF EXAJILMNG THE l-y i:'K object is simply to facilitate the administration of public atlairs. The extent of the township was too small to contain a system of judicial institutions ; each county has, however, a court of justice,* a sheriff to execute its decrees, and a prison for criminals. There are certain wants which are felt alike by all the townships of a county ; it is therefore natural that they should be satisfied by a central autliority. In the state of Massachusetts this authority is vested in the hands of several majiistratcs who are appointed by the gov- ernor of the state, with the advicef of his council.:]: Tlie officers of the county have only a limited and occasional authority, which is applicable to certain predetermined cases. The state and the townships possess all the power requisite to conduct public business. The budget of the county is only drawn up by its officers, and is voted by the le^nsla- ture.§ There is no assembly which directly or indirectly represents the county ; it has, therefore, properly speaking, no political existence. A twofold tendency may be discerned in the American constitutions, which impels the legislator to centralize the legislative, and to disperse the executive power. The town- ship of New England has in itself an indestructible element of independence ; but this distinct existence could only be fictitiously introduced into the county, where its utility had not been felt. All the townships united have but one repre- sentation, which is the state, the centre of the national autho- rity : beyond the action of the township and that of the nation, nothing can be said to exist but the influence of individual exertion. : i !.i ■ ■' * Sec the act of 14th February, 1821. Laws of Massacliusetts, vol. i.,p. r,:,!. t See the act of 20th February, 1819. Laws of Massachusetts, vol ii., p. '194. t Tlie council of the Rovcrnor is an elective body. § See the act of 2d November, 1791. Laws of Massachusetts, vol L, p. 01. CONDITION OF THE STATES. 67 ADMINISTRATION IN NEW ENGLAND. Administration not perceived in America. — Why ? — The Europeans believe that Liberty is promoted by depriving the social Authority of some of its Rights ; tiie Americans, by dividing its Exercise. — Almost all the Administration confined to the Township, and divided among the town Officers. — No trace of an administrative Hierarchy to be perceived either in the Township, or above it. — The Reason of this. — How it happens that the Administration of the State is uniform. — Who is empowered to enforce the Obedience of the Town- ship and the County to the Law. — The introduction of judicial Power into the Administration. — Consequence of the Extensidu of tiie elective Principle to all Functionaries.— The Justice of the Peace in New England. — By whom Appointed. — County Officer. — Ensures the Administration of the Townships. — Court of Sessions. — Its Ac- tion.— Right of Inspection and Indictment disseminated like the other administrative Functions.— Informers encouraged by the divi- sion of Fines. Nothing is more striking to a European traveller in tiie United States than the absence of what we term government, or the adminLstration. Written laws exist in America, and one sees that ihey are daily executed ; but although every- thing is in motion, the hand which gives tlie impulse to the social machine can nowhere be discovered. Nevertheless, as all people are obliged to have recourse to certain gram- matical forms, which are the foundation of human language, in order to express their thoughts ; so all communities are obliged to secure their existence by submitting to a certain portion of authority, without which they fall a prey to anarchy. This authority may bo distributed in several ways, but it must always exist somewhere. There are two methods of diminisjiing the force of autho- rity in a nation. The first is to weaken the supreme power in its very prin- ciple, by forbidding or preventing society iVom acting in its own defence under certain cireunistanees. To weaken au- thority in this mamu'r is what is generally termed in Europe to lay the foundations of freedom. The second maimer of diminishing the influ(nK'e of autho- rity does not consist in stripping society of any of its rights, nor in paralysing its etiorts, but in distributing the exercise of its privileges among various hands, and in nmltiplying fimetionaries, to (>ach of whom the degree of power necessary l(»r him to perform his duty is intru.'ifed. There may be nations whom this distribution of social powers might lead to anareliy ; i)Ut in itself it is not anarchical. Tiie action of autiioiity is indeeil thus rendt-red less irresistible, and less perilous, but it is not jotiilly siipprc s-^m|. 'i -ilii >^%4 1 i' H 68 NECESSITY OF EXAMINING THE ? r ,ii I'ji'i ^:4 The revolution of the United States was the result of a mature and deliberate taste for freedom, not of a vague or ill-defined craving for independence. It contracted no alli- ance with the turbulent passions of anarchy ; but its course was marked, on the contrary, by an attachment to whatever was lawful and orderly. It was never assumed in the United States that the citizen of a free country has a right to do whatever he pleases : on the contrary, social obligations were there imposed upon him more various than anywhere else ; no idea was ever enter- tained of attacking the principles, or of contesting the rights of society ; but the exercise of its authority was divided, to the end tliat the office might be powerful and the officer insig- nificant, and that the community should be at once regulated and free. In no country in the world does the law hold so absolute a language as in America ; and in no country is the right of applying it vested in so many hands. The adminis- trative power in the United States presents nothing either central or hierarchical in its constitution, which accounts for its passing unperceived. The power exists, but its repre- sentative is not to be discerned. We have already seen that the independent townships of New England protect their own private interests ; and the municipal magistrates are the persons to whom the execution of the laws of the state is most frequently intrusted.* Be- side the general laws, the state sometimes passes general police regulations ; but more commonly the townships and town officers, conjointly with the justices of tlie peace, regu- late the minor details of social liie, according to the necessi- ties of the different localities, and pronuilgate such enact- ments as concern the health of the community, and the peace as well as morality of the citizens. f Lastly, these municipiil magistrates provide of their own accord and without any * Sep " The Tdwn Officer," eHpecially at the words SKi.rcTAiKN, ASHEKSOHS, COLI.KCTORS, SCHOOLS, SuRVKYORS OK lIlCiHWAYS. I take one exuinpU' in a thousand : the state ])r()l»il)it8 travcUinii on a Sunday ; tlie tf^tliin^-men, who are town-oHictrs, are es|i('eially charf^ed to keep watch and to execute the law. St" the hiws of Mas- sachusetts, vol. i., p. 110. Tie selectmen draw up the lists of electors for the election of the governor, and transmit the result of the hallot to the secretary of the state. See act of 'JIth February, 17S)(); lb., vol. i., p. '\>H. t Thus, for instance, the selectmen authorise the construction of drains, point out the jtrojier sites for slan^'hter-hcusfS and otiicr tr;i(iistices of tiie peac(>, assenihlcd in the chief town of the county ; thus licenses arc ^n'anted by the justices. See the act of '..'Stii Feb., 17>7 ; vol. i., j). 'J07. \ Tlius licenses are only granted to such persons as can produce a certificate of good conduct from the selectmen. If tiie selectmen refuse to give the certificate, the party may appeal to tlie justices assembled in the court of sessions; and they may grant the license. See the act of I'Jth March, IMfs; vol. ii., p. "iMi. The to\vnshi]is hav<> tiu hkIi? ('> make ity-laws, and to enforce tliein l)y fines whic!; are fixed by law; Imt tiic-'i' t)y-laws must be apjiroved bv the court of sessions. See the act of 'l'M\ ?vl.ircii, 17"5t'> ; v•!', \ Vol. iii., p. IbJ. i^ i'i- ro NKCESSITV OF I'.XAMIXING THK ii. ''] \]i a regular coinmunication with the officers of the townslii|j and the county ; to inspect their conduct, to direct their actions, or reprimand their faults. There is no point which serves as a centre to the radii of the administration. 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, enforc- ed ? In the states of New England the legislative authority embraces more subjects than it does in France ; the legisla- tor penetrates to the very core of the administration ; the law descends to the most minute details ; the same enactment pre- scribes the principle and the method of its application, and thus imposes a multitude of strict and rigorously defined ob- ligations on the secondary functionaries of the state. The consequence of this is, that if all the secondary functionaries of the administration conform to the law, society in all its branches proceeds with the greatest unHbrmity ; the difficulty remains of compelling the secondary functionaries of the ad- ministration to conform to the law. It may be affirmed that, in general, society has only two methods of enforcing the execution of the laws at its disposal ; a discretionary power may be intrusted to a superior functionary of directing all the others, and of cashiering them in case of disobedience ; or the courts of justice may be authorized to inflict judicial penalties on the offender: but these two methods are not always available. The right of directing a civil officer pre-supposes that of cashiering him if he does not obey orders, and of rewarding him by promotion if he fulfils his duties with propriety. But an elected magistrate can neither be cashiered nor promoted. All elective functions are inalienable until their term is ex- pired. In fact, the elected magistrate has nothing cither to expect or to fear from his constituents ; and when all public offices are filled by ballot, there can be no series of official dignities, because the double right of commanding and of en- forcing obedience can never be vested in the same individual, ai'd bi^cause the power of issuing an order can never be join- ed to that of infiicting a punishment or bestowing a reward. The comnuuiities therefore in which tlie secondary func- tionaries of the government are elected, arc perforce obliged to make great use of judicial penalties as a means of admi- nistration. This is not evident at first sight; for tlios(> in power are apt to look n|K)n tiie institution of elective^ func- tionaries as one concession, and the sul)jection of th(^ elective magistrate to tlu> judges of the land as anotlier. Tliey are icial mi- in I lie- livo are CONDITION OF THE STATES. 71 equally averse to both these innovations ; and as they are more pressingly solicited to grant the former than the latter, they accede to the election of the magistrate, and leave him indejjendent of the judicial power. Nevertheless, the second of these measures is the only thing that can possibly counter- balance the first ; and it will be found that an elective au- thority which is not subject to judicial power will, sooner or later, cither elude all control or be destroyed. The courts of justice are the only possible medium between the central power and the administrative bodies ; they alone can compel the elected functionary to obey, without violating the rights of the elector. The extension of judicial power in the political world ought therefore to be in the exact ratio of the extension of elective offices ; if these two institutions do not go hand in hand, the state nmst fall into anarchy or into sub- jection. It has always been remarked that habits of legal business do not render men apt to the exercise of administrative author ity. The Americans have borrowed from the English, their fathers, the idea of an institution which is unknown upon the continent of Europe: I allude to that of justices of the peace. The justice of the peace is a sort of mezzo termine between the magistrate and the man of the world, between the civil officer and the judge. A justice of the peace is a well-in- formed citizen, thour learn wliat a governor is; I shall content my- 8('ir willi I'l'iniirkiiiii in this place, that lie represents lliu exeeutive piiWiT 111" till' wlidle slate. t Sie the eonstilution of Massadwisetts, chap, ii,, § 1; chap, iii., § 3. 72 NECESSITY OF EXAMINING THE body of justices, who form in each county what is called iho court of sessions. The justices take a personal share in pub- lic business ; they arc sometimes intrusted with administra- tive functions in conjunction witli elected officers ;* they sometimes constitute a tribunal, before which the magistrates summarily prosecute a refractory citizen or tlie citizens in- form against the abuses of the magistrate. But it is in tlie court of sessions that they exercise tiieir most important func- tions. This court meets twice a year in the county town ; ii> Massachusetts it is empowered to enforce the obedionce of the greater number"}" of public officers.:}: It must be observed that in the state of I\Iassachusetcs the court of sessions is at the same time an administrative body, properly so called, and a political tribunal. It has been asserted that the county is u purely administrative division. The court of sessions pre- sides over that small number of atlairs which, as they con- cern several townships, or all the townships of the county in common, cannot be intrusted to any of them in particular. § In all that concerns county business, the duties of the court of sessions are thereiore purely adniinistrative ; and if in its investigations it . occasionally borrows the forms of judicial procedure, it is only with a view to its own information, ]j or * Thus, for example, a stranger arrives in a township from a coun- try where a contagions disease jjrevails, and he falls ill. Two justices of the peace can, with the assent of the selectmen, order the slierili'oC the county to remove and take care of him. Act of 22d June, 171>7 ; vol. i., p. "5 10. In general the justices interfere in all the imrortant acts of the ad- ministration, and give them a semi-judicial character. t I say f/ie greater number because certain administrative misde- meanors are hrougiit before tlie ordinary tribunals. If, for instance, a township refuses to make the necessary expenditure for its scliools, or to name a scluK.i-committee, it is liable to a heavy fine. IJut tliis pe- nalty is pronounced by tiie supreme judicial court or the court of com- mon pleas. Sec the act of lUth March, 1S27; laws of M;issachu- setts, vol. iii., p. lUO. Or wiien a townsliip neglects to provide tlie necessary war-stores. Act of 'i 1st February, 1S2'2; Id. vol. ii., [1. 570. X In their individual cajjacify, the justices of the peace take a p.uf in the business of the countit'S and townshii)s. Tlie more important •. is the indispensable foundation of an action at law. Thus if the selectmen omit to fulfil the legal formalities usual to town elections, they may be condemned to pay a fine ;:j: but * See the act of the 20th February, 178(1; laws of Massachusetts, vul. i., |). 217. j There is an indirect method of enforcinfj; tlie obedience of a town- ship. Suppose that the funds which the law demands for tlie mainte- nance of the roads have not been voted ; tlie town-survejor is then authorized, ex-officio, to low the supplies. As lie is ]ierson;dly respon- sible to private individuals for the state of the roads, and indictable be- fore the court of sessions, he is sure to employ the extraorc'inary riacht which the law j^ives him aijainst the townsl'iip. Tims l)y fiireatening the officer, the court of sessions exacts cdmpliaiice from the town. See the act of .'itli Mardi, I7S7; laws of iMassaciiasetts, vol. i. , p. 303 t Laws of Massachusetts, vol. 2., p. 15. 74 NECESSITY OF EXAMINING THE %!li :*■!! ■ when the public officer performs his duty without alil'ty, ana when he obeys the letter of the law without zeal or energy, he is at least beyond the reach of judicial interference. The court of sessions, even when it is invested witli its adminis- trative powers, is in this case unable to compel him to a more satisfactory obedience. The fear of removal is the only check to these quasi offences ; and as the court of sessions does not originate the town authorities, it cannot remove func- tionaries whom it does not appoint. Moreover, a perpetual investigation would be necessary to convict the subordinate officer of negligence or lukewarmness ; and the court of ses- sions sits but twice a year, and then only judges such offences as are brought before its notice. The only security for that active and enlightened obedience, which a court of justice cannot impose upon public officers, lies in the possibility of their arbitrary removal. In France this security is sought for in powers exercised by the heads of the administration ; in America it is sought for in the principle of election. Thus, to recapitulate in a few words what I have been showing : — If a public officer in New England commits a crime in the exercise of his functions, the ordinary courts of justice are always called upon to pass sentence upon him. If he comniits a fault in his official capacity, a purely ad- ministrative tribunal is empowered to punish him ; and, if the affair is important or urgent, the judge supplies the omission of the functionary.* Lastly, if the same individual is guilty of one of those in- tangible offences, of which human justice has no cognizance, he annually appears before a tribunal from which there is no appeal, which can at once reduce him to insignificance, and deprive him of his charge. This system undoubtedly pos- sesses great advantages, but its execution is attended with a practical difficulty which it is important to point out. I have already observed, that the administrative tri])unal, which is called the court of sessions, has no right of inspec- tion over the town officers. It can only interfere when the conduct of a magistrate is specially brought under its notice ; and this is the delicate part of the system. The Americans of New England are unacquainted with the office of j)ublic * If, for instance, a townshi]) persists in refusing to name its asses- sors, the court of sessions nominates them ; and the magistrates tlius appointed are invested with the same aiitliority as elected oliicers See the act ijiioted ahove, 2Utii I'\'bruary, 17S7. CONDITION OF THE STATES. 75 ■!|)('C- the prosecutor in the court of sessions,* and it may readily be per- ceived that it could not have been established without diffi- culty. If an accusing magistrate had merely been appointed in the chief town of each county, and if he had been unassisted by agents in the townships, he would not have been better acquainted witii what was going on in the county than the members of the court of sessions. But to appoint agents in each township, would iiave been to centre in his person the most formidable of powers, that of a judicial administration. Moreover, laws are the children of habit, and notliing of the kind exists in the legislation of England. The Americans have therefore divided the officers of inspection and of prose- cution as well as all the other functions of the administration. Grand-jurors are bound by the law to apprize the court to which they belong of all the misdemeanors which may have been committed in their county. f There are certain great otFences which are officially prosecuted by the state ;:}: but more frequently the task of punishing delinquents devolves upon the fiscal officer, whose province it is to receive the fine ; thus tiie treasurer of the township is charged with the prosecution of such administrative offences as fall under his notice. But a more especial appeal is made by American legislation to the private interest of the citizen,§ and this great principle is constantly to be met with in studying the laws of the United States. American legislators are more apt to give men credit for intelligence than for honesty ; and they rely not a little on personal cupidity for the execution of the laws. When an individual is really and sensibly injured by an ad- ministrative abuse, it is natural that his personal interest should induce him to prosecute. But if a legal formality be required which, however advantageous to the community, is of small importance to individuals, plaintiffs may be less easily found ; and thus, by a tacit agreement, the laws might fall into disuse. Reduced by their system to this extremity, the Americans are obliged to encourage informers by bestow- ing on them a portion of the penalty in certain cases ;|| and * I Bay the court of sessions, becnuse in common courts there is a mnjristrate who exercises some of tlie functions of a public prosecutor. t The firand- jurors are, for instance, bound to inform the court of the bad state of tiie roads. Laws of Massachusetts, vol. i., p. 30S. J If, for instance, tlie treasurer of the county holds back his account Laws of Massachusetts, vol. i., p. ■KJti. § Thus, if a private individual breaks down or is woiuided in conso- (]uence of the badness of a road, he can sue the township or the county for damages at the sessions. Laws of Massachusetts, vol. i., p. 3U!). II In cases of invasion or insurrection, if the town oflicers neglect to 76 NECESSITY OF EXAMINING THE to ensure tlie execution of the laws by the dangerous expedi- ent of degrading the morals of the people. The only administrative authority above the county magis- trates is, properly speaking, that of the government. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE UNITED STATES. Difference of the States of the Union in their Systems of Administra- tion.— Activity and Perfection of the local Authorities decreases to- wards the South. — Power of the Magistrates increases ; that of the Elector diminishes. — Administration passos from the Township to the County. — Sti 93 of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania. — Principles of Administration applicable to the whole Union. — Election of public Officers, and Inalienability of their Functions. — Absence of Gradation of Ranks. — Introduction of judicial Resources into the Adminis- tration. I HAVE already premised that after having examined the constitution of the township and the county of New England in detail, I should take a general view of the remainder of the Union. Townships and a local activity exist in every state ; but in no part of the confederation is a townslii;^ to be met with precisely similar to those in New England. The more we descend toward the south, the less active does the business of the township or parish become ; the number of magistrates, of functions, and of rights, decreases ; the popu- lation exercises a less immediate influence on affairs ; town- meetings are less frequent, and the subjects of debates less numerous. The power of the elected magistrate is aug- mented, and that of the elector diminished, while the public spirit of the local communities is less awakened and less in- fluential.* furnish tlie necessary stores and ammunition for the militia, tlio town- ship may be condemned to a fine of from two to five hundred dollars. It may readily be imagined that in such a rase it might happen that no one cared to prosecute : hence tlie law adds that all the citizens may indict oflences of this kind, and that half the fine shall belong to the plaintiff. See the act of 0th March, ISIO; vol. ii., p. 230. The same clause is frequently to be met with in the laws of Massachusetts. Not only are private individuals thus incited to prosecute public officers, but the public officers are encouraged in the same manner to bring the disohedinice of private individuals to justice. If a citizen refuses to perform the work which has been assigned to him upon a road, the road-surveyor may prosecute him, and he receives half the penalty for himself. See the laws above quoted, vol. i., p. .308. * For details, see Revised Statutes of the state of New York, part I , d CONDITION OF THE STATES. 77 1 ; These dilTerences may be j.erceived to a certain extent in the state of New York ; they are very sensible in Pennsyl- vania ; but they become less striking as we advance to the northwest. The majority of the emigrants who settle in the northwestern states are natives -4' New England, and they carry the habits of their mother-country with them into that which they adopt. A township in Ohio is by no means dis- similar from a township in Massachusetts. We have seen that in Massachusetts the principal part of the public administration lies in the township. It forms the common centre of the interests and atFections of the citizens. But this ceases to be the case as we descend to states in which knowledge is less generally diffused, and where the township consequently offers fewer guarantees of a wise and active administration. As we leave New England, there- fore, we find that the importance of the town is gradually transferred to the county, which becomes the centre of ad- ministration, and the intermediate power between the govern- ment and the citizen. In Massachusetts the business of the town is conducted by the court of sessions, which is composed of a quorum named by the governor and his council ; but the county has no representative assembly, and its expenditure is voted by the national («) legislature. In the great state of New York, on the contrary, and in those of Ohio and Penn- sylvania, the inhabitants of each county choose a certain number of representatives, who constitute the assembly of the county.* The county assembly has the right of taxing the iahabitants to a certain extent ; and in this respect it en- joys the privileges of a real legislative body : at the same chap, xi., vol. i., pp. 330-3G4, entitled, " Of the Powers, Duties, and Privileges of Towns." See in tlie diijest of the laws of Pennsylvania, the words, Assessors, Collector, Constables, Overseer of the Poor, Supervisors of Highways : and in the acts of a general nature of the state of Ohio, the act of 25tli February, 1834, relating to townships, p. -112; beside the peculiar dispositions relating to divers town officers, such as town- ship's clerks, trustees, overseers of the poor, fence-viewers, appraisers of property, township's treasurer, constables, supervisors of highways. (a) The autlior means the state legislature. The congress lias no control over the expenditure of the counties or of the states. * See the Revised Statutes of the state of New York, part i., chap, xi., vol. i.,p. 410. Idem, chap, xii., p. 300: also in the acts of the state of Oliio, an act relating to county commissioners, 2.'')th February, 1821, p. 2')3. See the Digest of the Laws of Pennsylvania, at the words, Countv-rates and Levies, p. 170. In the state of \cw York, each townsiiip elects a representative, who has a share in tlie administ.-ation of tiie county as well as in that of the township. 78 NECESSITY OF EXAMINING THE time it exercises an executive power in tlie county, frequently directs tlic administration of tlie townships, and restricts their authority within mucli narrower bounds than in Massa- chusetts. Sucli are the principal differences which the systems of county and town administration present in the federal states. Were it my intention to examine the provisions of American law minutely, I should have to point out still farther ditferences in the executive details of the several communities. But what I have already said may suffice to show the general prhiciples on which the administration of the United States rests. These principles are differently applied ; their conse- quences are more or less numerous in various localities ; but they are always substantially the same. The laws diller, and their outward features change, but their character does not vary. If the township and the county are not everywhere constituted in the same manner, it is at least irue that in the United States the county and the township are always based upon the same principle, namely, that every one is the best judge of what concerns himself alone, and the person most able to supply his private wants. The townsiiip and the county are therefore bound to take care of their special interests : the state governs, but it does not interfere with their administration. Exceptions to this rule may be met with, but not a contrary principle. The first conseijuence of this doctrine has been to cause all the magistrates to be chosen either by, or at least from among the citizens. As the officers are everywhere elected or appointed for a certain period, it has been iuipossil)le to establish the rules of a dependent series of autiiorities ; there are almost as many independent functionaries as there are functions, and the executive power is disseminated in a nuilti- tude of hands. Hence arose the indispensable necessity of introducing the control of the courts of justice over the administration, and the system of pecuniary penalties, by which the secondary bodies and their repres(Mitatives are con- strained to oi)ey th(> laws. The system obtains I'rom one end of the Union to the other. The |iower of punishing the mis- conduct of pul)lic officers, or of j)erf!)rming the part of tli(^ e.xecutive, in urgent eases, has not, however, been bestowed on the same iudg<\s in all th(> states. The Anglo-Americans derived the instituti jn of justices of the jieaee I'rom a common source ; but although it exists in all the states, it is not always turned to the same use. 'I'lie justices of the peace every- wlu're participate in th(^ administration of the townships and CONDITION OF THE STATES. 79 the oouiities,* either as public ofRcers or as the judges of pub- lic misdemeanors, but in most of the states the more important classes of public olFences coine under the cognisance of the ordinary tribunals. The I'lection of public officers, or the inalienability of their fuuciions, the absence of a gradation of powers, and the intro- diiution of a judicial control over the secondary branches of the administration, are the universal characteristics of the American system from Maine to the Floridas. In some states (and that of New York has advanced most in this direction) traces of a centralised administration begin to be discernible. In the state of New York the officers of the central government exercise, in certain cases, a sort of inspection of control over the secondary bodies. f At other times they consthute a court of appeal for the decision of adUirs.ij: In the state of New Y^ork judicial penalties are less * In sdiiio oftlie soutlierii states tlio cdiiiity-courts are rliarfjcd witli all the details of tlio adininistratidii. See tlie Statutes of tlie State of Te?iiiessee, arts. JuDiciAnY, Taxks, &e. t For instance, the direction of pul)lie instrnction centres in the hands of the government. The lei^islature names tiie members of the university, wlio are denominated rejjents ; the iiovernor and lieutenant- ^'overnor oftlie state arc necessarily oftlie numher. Revised Statutes, vol. i., |). ■I.').'). The regents of tiie university annually visit the colleges and academies, and make their report to the letiislature. Tlii'ir super- intendence is not inellii'ient, for several reasons: the colleges in order to become corporations stand in need of a charter, which is only granted on the recommendation of the rejients : every year funds are distributed by the state for the encouraf^ement of li'arniiii;, and the ret^eiits are the distributors of this money. See cliap. xv., " Public instruction," Revised Statutes, vol !., p. I.').') The school commissioners arc ohliixed to send an annual report to the superintendent oftlie state. Idem, p. I IS. A similar report is annually made to the same person on the number and condition oftlie poor. ld nomination of • Thus llie . y>.'l. t Several traces nf eenlr.ilis.ition may lie discdViied in Massaeliusi'tts , fill' instaiiee, the e(iiiiiiiitti'es (if llie IdWii-scliools are direi'ti'(l to make un annual report to the secretary of state. See Laws of Massachusetts, vol, i., p. ,')(i7. t See the eonslitulidii of N'cw VdiU. 1^ In Miss.ichusells llic Senate is not iincsfi'd wil!i an;, adniinislra- tive fU'ictKiiis. ('I, 'l'li(.> W(ii(l:i liclow llii' Mini 111' lltiv iliilliirs hIiuiiIiI lie oiiiillcd ill tin' iiIkivc imli'. V CONDITrN OF THE STATKS. 81 public functionaries that it most commonly assumes an execu- tive power. It partakes of judicial power in the trial of certain political offences, and sometimes also in the decision t)f certain civil cases.* The number of its members is» always small. The other branch of the legislature, which is usually called the house of representatives, has no share whatever in the administration, and only takes a part in the judicial power inasnmch as it impeaches public functionaries before the senate. The members of the two houses are nearly everywhere subject to the same conditions of election. They are chosen in tiie same manner, and by the same citizens. The only ditlerence which exists between them is, that the term for wiiicli the senate is chosen, is in jfcneral longer than that of the house of representatives. The latter seldom remain in office longer than a year ; the former usually sit two or three years. By granting to the senators the privilege of being chosen for several years, and being renewed seriatim, the law takes care to preserve in the legislative body a nucleus of men already accustomed to public business, and capable of exei'- cising a salutary influence upon the junior members. The Americans, plainly, did not desire, by this separation of the U>gislutive body into two branches, to make one house hereditary and tiie other elective ; one aristocratic and the other dcnideratic. It was not their object to create in the one a bulwark to power, while the otiier represented the interests anil passions of the people. The only advantages which result from the pn^sent constitution of the United States, are, the division of the legislative ))ower, and t!ie ((niseqiieut cheek upon political assenibliis ; with the creation of a tribunal of appeal for tlie rexision of the laws. Time ami expei'iiiiee, however, have convinced the Ame- ricans tiiat if tliese are its only advantages, tlie division of the legislative power i still a prineipli> of the greatest neees- sity. Pennsylvania was the only one of the United Stales whieii at first attempted to establisii a single house of asseni- biy ; and l''ranklin himself was so far carried away by the neei'ssary eonstniuencrs of the priiici|)le of the sovereignty of the people, as to have concurred in the measure ; liut t'-.e l*ennsylvanians were soon obliged to change tli(> law . and to create two hous(' (if \i'\\ N'orli. ' '-S\ 82 NECESSITY OF EXAMINING THE This theory, which was nearly unknown to the republics of antiquity — wliich was introduced into the world almost by accident, lilie so many other great truths — and misunderstood by several modern nations, is at length become an axiom in the political science of the present age. THE EXECUTIVE TOWER OF THE STATE. Mi} Office of Governor in an American State. — The Place he occupies in relation to the Legislature.— His Rights and his Duties.— His De- pendence on the People. The executive power of the state may with truth be said to be represented by the governor, although he enjoys but a portion of its rights. The supreme magistrate, under the title of governor, is the official moderator and counsellor of the legislature. He is armed with a suspensive veto, which allows him to stop, or at least to retard, its movements at pleasure. He lays tlie wants of the country before the legis- lative body, and points out the means which he thinks may be u.sei'ully employed in providing for them ; he is tlie natural executor of its decrees in all the undertakings which interest the nation at largo.* In the absence of tlie legislature, the governor is bound to take all necessary steps to guard the state against violent shocks and unforeseen dangers. The whole military power of the state is at the dispo.sal of the governor. He is commander of the militia and head of the armed force. When the authority, which is by general consent awarded to the laws, is disregarded, the governor puts himself at the head of the armed force of the state, to quell resi.stance and to restore order. Lastly, the governor takes no share in the administration of townships and counties, except it be indirectly in the nomination of justices of the peace, whicli nomination he has not the power to revoke. f Tlie governor is an elected magistrate, and is generally chosen l()r one or two years only ; .so that he always con tiiuies to be .strictly dependent on the majority who return(V him. * Pracficiilly spciikinir, it is not nhvuys flie tfovornor who oxinMitc* the plans ol'fhe lotfiHliitnre ; it oltcn lijiiipciis th.it Ihe hiltcf, in votin:; a inciisnrc, names special aueiils (o siipciintciid thr oxi'ciitioii of it. t in some of the slates the /'stices o!' tlic peace aie not nominated by tlio j^oveiiior. CONDITION OF THE STATES. 83 POLITICAL EFFECTS OF THE SYSTEM OF LOCAL ADMINISTRATION IN THE UNITED STATES. >ml rnor to tioii tlu' illy oil ll(V tin;; itin proportioned to its wants. The absence of a central government will not, thr>n, as has often been asserted, prove the destruction of tlie repub- lics of the New World ; far from supposing tliat the Ameri- can govenniieiitsivre not sulfieitnitly centralized, I shall prove hereafter that tiicy are too much so. The legislative bodies daily encroach upon the authority of the government, and their t(Midency, like that of the French convention, is t() ap- propriate it entirely to themselves. Under these circunu 86 NECESSITY OF EXAMINING THE :^fi 1 " stances the social power is constantly changing hands, be- cause it is subordinate to the power of the people, which is too apt to forget the maxims of wisdom and of foresight in the consciousness of its strength : hence arises its danger ; and thus its vigor, and not its impotence, will probably be the cause of its ultimate destruction. The system of local administration produces several dif- ferent effects in America. The Americans seem to me to have outstepped the limits of sound policy, in isolating the administration of the government ; for order, even in second- rate affairs, is a matter of national importance.* As the state has no administrative functionaries of its own, stationed on different parts of its territory, to whom it can give a com- mon impulse, the consequence is that it rarely attempts to issue any general police regulations. The want of these regulations is severely felt, and is frequently observed by Europeans. The appearance of disorder which prevails on the surface, leads them at first to imagine tliat society is in a state of anarchy ; nor do they perceive their mistake till they have gone deeper into the subject. Certain undertak- ings are of importance to the whole state ; but they cannot be put in execution, because there is no national administra- tion to direct them. Abandoned to the exertions of the towns or counties, under the care of elected or temporary • The authority which represents the state oiip;ht not, I think, to waive the rii,^ht of inspecting; the local administration, even when it does not infirfere more actively. Suppose, for instance, tiiat an agent of the govirnn.ent was stationed at some appointed spot, in the coun- ty, to prosi'c lite tlie misdonieanors of the town and county ofiiccrs, would not a more uniform order be the result, without in any way compromising tlie independence of the township ? Nothing of the kind, liowever, exists in America; there is notliing above tlie county courts, which have, as it wore, only an accidental cognizance of the offences tliey are meant to reprc i. [This note seems to liave been writtv'U without reference to the pro- vision existing, it is believed in every state of the Union, by which a local officer is appointed in each county, to conduct all public prose- cutions at tlie expense of tlic state. And in each county, a grand- jury is assembled tliree or four times at least in every year, to which all who are aggrieved liave I'ree access, and where every complaint, particularly those against public officers, wliich has the least color of truth, is sure to be heard and investigated. Sucli an agent as tiie author suggests would soon come to be con- sidered a public informer, tlie most odious of all cliaracters in the United St.ites ; and he would lose all ;(iiciency and strength. With the jirovision above mentioned, there is little d.inger that a citi/en, op- pressed by a jiublic officer, would find any diliicnlty in becoming bis own informer, and inducing a rigid inquiry into the allegt d misv-on- duct. — Jlmirican Editor.^ I 1 /.< J?* CONDITION OF THE STATES. 87 agents, they lead to no result, or at least to no durable benefit. Tlie partisans of centralisation in Europe maintain that the government directs the affairs of each locality better than the citizens could do it for themselves : this may be true when the central power is enlightened, and when the local districts are ignorant ; when it is as alert as they are slow ; when It is accustomed to act, and they to obey. Indeed, it is evident that this double tendency must augment with the increase of centralisation, and that the readiness of the one, and the incapacity of the others, must become more and more proi linent. But I deny that such is the case when the people is iis enlightened, as awake to its interests, and as ac- customed to reflect on them, as the Americans are. I am persuaded, on the contrary, that in this case the collective strength of the citizens will always conduce more efficaci- cously to the public welfare than the authority of the govern- ment. It is diflicult to point out with certainty tlie means of arousing a sleeping population, and of giving it passions and knowledge which it does not possess ; it is, I am well aware, an arduous task to persuade men to busy themselves about their own alFairs ; and it would frequently be easier to interest them in the punctilios of court etiquette than in the repairs of their conmion dwelling. But wlienever a central administration atfects to supersede the persons most inter- ested, I am inclined to suppose that it is either misled, or de- sirous to mislead. However enlightened and however skil- ful a central power may be, it cannot of itself embrace all the details of the existence of a great nation. Such vigi- lance exceeds the powers of man. And when it attempts to create and set in motion so many complicated springs, it must submit to a very imperfect result, or consume itself in bootless etforls. Centralisation ">ucceeds more easily, indeed, in subjecting the external actions of men to a certain uniformity, w liieh at last commands our regard, independently of tlie objecls to which it is applied, like those devotees who worshij) the sta- tue and forget the deity it represents. Centralisation iinj)ai'ts without dilHculty an admirable regularity to the routine of business ; rules the details of the social police with sagacity ; represses the smallest disorder and the most petty misde- m(>aiiors ; maintains society in a slatu quo, alike secure from imjirovcment and decline ; and perpetuates a drowsy pre- cision in the conduct of alUiirs, wliieh is liailed i)y the heads of the ufhninistration as a sign of perfect order and public ^t t 88 NECESSITY OF EXAMINING THE tranquillity ;* in short, it excels more in prevention than in action. Its force deserts it when society is to be disturbed or accelerated in its course ; and if once the co-operation of private citizens is necessary to tlie furtherance of its mea- sures, the secret of its impotence is disclosed. Even wliile it invokes their assistance, it is on the condition that they shall act exactly as much as the government chooses, and ex- actly in the manner it appoints. They are to take charge of the details, without aspiring to guide the system ; they are to work in a dark and subordinate sphere, and only to judge the acts in which they have themselves co-operated, by their results. These, however, are not conditions on which the alliance of the human will is to be obtained ; its carriage must be free, and its actions responsible, or (such is the constitution of man) the citizen had rather remain a passive spectator than a dependent actor in schemes with which he is unacquainted. It is undeniable, that the want of those uniform regula- tions which control the conduct of every inhabitant of France is not unfrcquently felt in the United States. Gross instances of social indifference and neglect are tr- je met with ; and from time to time disgraceful blemishes .re seen, in completo contrast with the surrounding civilisation. Useful undertak- ings, which cannot succeed without perpetual attention and rigorous exactitude, are very frequently abandoned in the end ; for in America, as well as in other countries, the people is subject to sudden impulses and momentary exertions. The European who is accustomed to lind a functionary always at liand to interfere with all he undertakes, has some difficulty in accustoming himself to the complex mechanism of the administration of the townships. In general it may be affirmed that tlie lesser details of the police, which render life easy and comfortable, are neglected in America ; but that the essential guarantees of man in society are as strong there as elsewhere. In America the power which conducts the government is far less regular, less enlightened, and less learned, but a hundredfold more authoritative, than in Eu- * China appears to me to present the most perfect instance py iu-ing. who is struuifling f!)r his lift' against the ministers of iustice, while the po|)ulation is merely a spectator of tiie conflict : in America he is looked upon as an enemy of the human race, and the whoh; of mankind is against him. * Sec Appiiulix I, Ih, •itlC'S tlio 'xist, tho tlic il tli(> 'less iirlit. •sUmI |)ill;r saw uikI ill 11 '\u details of the administratii)n ; and an opportunity of doing so is sure to j)re- seiit itself in the end, as was the ease in I'rance. In the French revolution there were two impulses in op]iosite direc- tions, which must never lie confounded ; the one was favora- ble to liberty, the other to despotism. Under th(> ancient monarchy the king was 'he sole author of the laws ; and be- low th ' power of the sovereign, certain vestiges of provincial institutions half-destroyetl, were still distinguishable. These provincial institutions were iiieolicreiit, ill-compacted, and fre- (|uently alisnrd ; in tli(> hands of the aristocracy they had sometimes be( n eon\('ilrd into instruments of oppression. The revolution deelared itself the enemy of royalty and of provincial institutions at the same time ; it eoiitiumded all thiit had prceedrd it — despotic |H)\\('r and the cIk cks to its abns( •> — ill an iiidiserimiiiate hatnd; and its tt ndeiicy was at once to republicanism and to centralisation. 'I'liis double character of the I'rench revolution is a fact which has been ;*/■!'] 94 JUDICIAL POWER IN THK UNITED STATES, adroitly handled by the friends of absolute power. Can they be accused of laboring in the cause of despotism, when they are defending of the revolution ?* In this manner popularity may be conciliated with hostility to the rights of the people, and the secret slave of tyranny may be the professed admirer of freedom. I have visited the two nations in which the system of pro- vincial liberty has been most perfectly established, and I have listened to the opinions of ditlerent parties in those countries. In America I met with men who secretly aspired to destroy tiie democratic institutions of the Union ; in England, I ibund others who attacked aristocracy opeidy ; but 1 know of no one who docs not regard provincial independence as a great benefit. In both countries I iiave heard a thousand dillerent causes assigned for the evils of the state ; but the local sys- tem was never mentioned among them. I have heard citizens attribute the power and prosperity of their country to a mul- titude of reasons : but they all placed the advantages of local institutions in the foremost rank. Am I to suppose that when men who are naturally so divided on religious opinions, and on political tlieories, agree on one point (and that, one of wliich they have daily experi- ence), tliev are all in error? The only nations which deny the utility of jjrovincial liberties are those which have fewest of them ; in other words, those who are unac(|uainled with the institution are the only persons who pass a censure upon it. W\ CHAPTER VI. JUDICIAL POWER IX TIIK UNITED STATES, AND ITS INFLUENCE ON POLITICAL SOCIETY. The Ansilo-Amoriran.i have rctiiincd flic (^linmctoristios of jud' -ijil J'ower which sue comiiKiri to nil Niitioiis. — 'riicy iiavc, hiiwcvcr, in;iilc it A pownl'iil |io!itic;il Oru;in.— How.— In wlmt tlu' itidiciiil Sysloiii of the Aii.'lo-AiiH'riciiH dillrrs iVom tli;it of ;dl oIIht Na- tions. — Why the AiinTiciiti .Iiidrcs hiivp tlio riiilit of di'c|iirii\i,' the Laws to he UncoiiHtitiition:d. — How they use this Ki'.,'lit. — I'reeim- tioiis taken hy the L(i;isl,itor to prevent its ahiise. I IIAVE tlionglit it csscntiul todcvut" a sr|)arate chajJtcM' to flie judicial authorities of flic Tnitid Stales, jest their great poli- * Sec Appendix K. AND ITS INFLUENCE ON POLITICAL SOCIETV. 95 tical importance should be lessened in the reader's eyes by a merely incidental mention of them. Confederations liave ex- isted in other countries beside America ; and republics have not been established on the shores of the New VV^orld alone : the representative system of government has been adopted in several states of Europe ; but I am not aware tiiat any nation of the globe has hitherto organized a judicial power on the princi|)le adopted by the Americans. Tlie judicial organiza- tion of the United States is the institution which the stranger has the greatest dilHculty in understanding. He hears the authority of a judge invoked in the political occurrences of every day, and he naturally concludes that in the United States the judges are important jmlitical i'unctionarics : never- theless, when he examines the nature of tlie tribunals, they oiler nothing which is contrary to the usual habits and privi- leg<^s of those bodies; and the magistrates seem to him to in- terfere in public allairs by chance, but by a chance which recurs every day. When the Parliament of Paris remonstrated, or refused to enregister an edi(!t, or when it sunnnoned a functionary accused of malversation to its bar, its political influence as a judicial body was clearly visible ; but nothing of tlie kind is to be s(>en in the United States. The Americans have re- tained all the ordinary characteristics of judicial authority, and have carefully restricted its action to the ordinary circle of its functions. The first characteristic of judicial power in all nations is the duty of ari)itration. Ihit rights nuist be contested in order to warrant the interferenee of a tribimal ; and an action must be i)r()uixiit to (ibtain the decision of a judije. As lonsted, the judicial authority is not called upon to discuss it, and it may exist witliout bi'ing ])er- ceived. When a jndge in a given east' attacks a law relating to that case, he extends the circle *)f his customary duties, without, liDwever, ste|»ping beyond it; since he is in some measure obliged to decidi* upon tiie law, in order to decide the cas(>. JJut if lie |)ronounces upon a law without resting upon a case, he clearly steps beyond his s|)here, and invades that of the legislative* authority. The second eharaeteristic of judicial power is, that it |)ro. nounees on special eases, and not upon general principles. Ifa judg(>, in deciding a partieulur |ioint, destroys a general priMei|)le, by passing a judgment whieli tends to reject all tlie inferences from that principle, and conseipHMitly to annul it, he remains within the ordinarv limits of his functions. lUit .1 .4; '■; ! ; W^ *m H yy Jl'DlClAh roWKH l.\ THE U.MTKD STATES, if ]io directly attacks a <2;eneral principle without liaving a particular case in view, he leaves the circle in which all na- tions have agrr >cl to confine his authority ; he assumes a more important, and perhaps a more useful influence than that of the magistrate, hut he ceases to represent the judicial power. The third characteristic of the judicial power is its inability to act unless it is appealed to, or until it has taken cognizance of an alfair. This characteristic is less general than the other two ; but notwithstanding the exct ptions, I think it may be regarded as essential. The judicial power is by its nature devoid of action; it must be put in motion in order to pro- duce a result. When it is called U|)on to repress a crime, it punishes the criminal ; when a wrong is to be rtidressed, it is ready to redress it ; when an act requires interpretation, it is prejjaivd to interpret it ; but it does not pursue criminals, hunt out wrongs, or exaun'ne into evidence of its own accord. A judicial lunetionary who should o|)en proceedings, and Usurp the censorshi[) of the laws, would in some measure do violence to the passive nature of his authority. The Americans have retained these three distinguisliinfj characteristics of the judicial power ; an American judge can only pronounce a decision when litigation has arisen, he is only conversant with special cases, and he cannot act until the cause has been duly brought heibre tiie court. IJis vosi- tion is therefore perfectly similar to that of tli(> magistrate of other nations ; and ho is nevertheless invested with immense political power. If the sj)here of his autliority and his means of action are the same as those of oilier judges, it may be asked whence he derives a power which they do not possess. The cause of this ditrerence lies in tlie siuiph' fact that the Americans have acknowledged thc^ right of the judges to found tiieir decisions on the constitution, rather than on the laws. Ill other words, they have left them at liberty not to apply such laws as may appear to them to be unconstitutional. I am aware tiiat a similar right has been claiiiwd — hut claimed in vain — by cniirts of justice in other countries ; hut in America it is recogiii/.( d by all the nutliorities ; and not a party, nor so miu'li as an iiidi\idual, is tijiind to eonti st it. This fact can only be explained by the principles of the Ame- J'ican eoiistilulinii. In France the coiistitutiuii is (or at h ast is supposed to be) iiiinnitable : and the I'cci iv( d tli<'iir\ is that no power has the right of changing any [art of il. In I'iiiglaiKl. I'h' ])!irliumcnt hiis an aekiioulrdged riglit to iiKidifv tlie con^tllntiiiii ; jis. tlierrllire, the cniistilutiiin may undergo AND ITS INFJ.UENCt; ON J'OLITICAIv SOCUiTV t)7 perpetual cliuiiges, it does not in reality exist ; the parliament is at once a legislative and a constituent assembly. The po- litical tiieories of America are more simple and more rational. An American constitution is not supposed to be inunutablo as in France ; nor is it susceptible of modification by the ordinary j)o\vers of society as in England. It constitutes a detached whole, which, as it represents tlie determination of the whole people, is no less binding on the legislator than on the private citizen, l)ut which may bo altered by the will of the {)eopl(^ in predetermined cases, according to established rules. In America the constitution may, therefore, vary, but as long as it exists it is the origin of all authority, and the sole vehicle of the predominating force.* It is easy to perceive in wiuit manner these dilllrences must act upon the position and the rights of the judicial bodies in tile three countries I have cited. If in France the tribunals were authorized to disobey the laws on the ground of tiieir being opposed to the constitution, the suprente power would in fact bo placed in their hands, since they alone would have the right of interpreting a constitution, the clauses of which can be modified by no authority. They would, therefore, take the place of the nation, and exercise as absolute a sway over society as the inherent weakness of judicial power would allow them to do. Undoubtedly, as the French judges are incompet(Mit to declare a law to be unconstitutional, the power (tf changing tiu; constitution is indirectly given to the legisla- tive^ i)oily, since no legal barrier would oppose the alterations which it might prescribe. IJut it is better to grant the power of changing the constitution of the people to men w in) npre- sciit (however impei'ft'i'tly) the will of the people, tlian to men who represent no one but tiiiMiiselves. It would be still more unreasonable to invest the English judges witii the right <»f resisting the decisions of tiie. li'gis- lative body, since the parliament which malu's the laws also mak(>s the constitution ; and conse(|uentIy a law emanating from the tinee powers of tiie state can in no case be uncon- stitutional. I?ut neither of these remarks is applicabli' to AmtM'ica.f In the L'nited Stales the constitution governs tin- legislator as nuich as tlie i>rivate citizen : as it is the (irst of laws, it canmit be moiiified by a law ; and it is therelitre just tliat the trn)unals should obey the constitution in preferences to any law. Tliis condition is essential to the power of the judica- * Si'c A|ii>(iiil,\ I,. f Soo Appendix M. i ■'■ r ■ . •■n i m M lit ^'1 t • 1 t I m. ii w 93 JUDICIAL rOWEIi OF THE UNITED STATES, ture ; for to select that legal obligation by which he is most strictly bound, is the natural right of every magistrate. In France the constitution is also the first of laws, and the judges have the same right to take it as the ground of their decisions ; but were they to exercise this right, they nmst perforce encroach on rights more sacred than their own, namely, on those of society, in wliose name they are acting. In this case the state motive clearly prevails over the motives of an individual. In America, wliere the nation can always reduce its magistrates to ohedionce by changing its constitu- tion, no danger of this kind is to be feared. Upon this point therefore tiie political and the logical reason agree, and the people as well as the judges preserve their privileges. Whenever a law which the judge holds to be unconstitu- tional hi argued in a tribunal of the United States, he may re- fuse to adnii', it as a rule ; this power is the only one which is peculiar to the American magistrate, but it gives rise to immense political influence. Few laws can escape the searching analysis ; for there are few which are not prejudi- cial to some private interest or other, and none which may not be brought before a court of justice by the choice of parties, or by the necessity of the case. But ♦Voni the time that a judge lias refused to apply any given law in a case, that law loses a portion of its moral sanction. The persons to whose interest it is prejudicial, learn that means exist of evading its authority ; and similar suits are multiplied, until it becomes powerless. One of two alternatives nmst then bo resorted to: the people must alter the constitution, or the le- gislature must repeal the law. The political power which the Americans have intrusted to their courts of justice is therefore innnense ; but the evils of this power are considerably diminished, by the obligation which has been iniposed of attacking the laws through the courts of justice alone. If the judge had been empowered to contest the laws on the ground of theoretical generalities; if he had been enabled tooi^'U an attack or to pass a censure on the legislator, he would have phiyed a prominent part in the political sphere ; and as llic eluimpioii or the antagonist of a party, he would have arrayed tiie hostile passions of th(; nation in the ronlliet. Ikit wlien a jnilgc contests a law, ap- plied to some particular ease in an ohscui'e jjrocecdin- . tn i importance of his attack is concealed from the public ga/.c ; liis decision bears u|)on the interest of an individual, and if the law is slighted, it is only eollaferally. Moreover, although it be censured, it is not abolished j its moral Ibrce may be (limi- I' AND ITS INFLUENCE ON POLITICAL SOCIETY. 99 nished, but its cogency is by no means suspended ; and its final destruction can only be accomplished by the reiterated attacks of judicial functionaries. It will readily be under- stood that by connecting the censorship of the laws with the private interests of members of the community, and by inti- mately uniting the prosecution of the law with the prosecu- tion of an individual, the legislation is protected from wanton assailants, and from the daily aggressions of party spirit. The errors of the legislator are exposed whenever tJieir evil consequences are most felt ; and it is always a positive and appreciable fact which serves as the basis of a prosecution. I am inclined to believe this practice of the American courts to be at once the most favorable to liberty as well as to public order. If the judge could only attack the legislator openly and directly, he would sometimes be afraid to oppose any resistance to his will ; and at other moments party spirit might encourage him to brave it every day. The laws would consequently be attacked when the power from which they emanate is weak, and obeyed when it is strong. That is to say, when it would be useful to respect them, they would be contested ; and when it would be easy to convert them into an instrument of oppression, they would be respected. But the American judge is brought into the political arena inde- pendently of his own will. He only judges the law be- cause he is obliged to judge a case. The political question which he is called upon to resolve is connected with tlie inte- rest of the parties, and he cannot refuse to decide it without abdicating the duties of his post. He performs his functions as a citizen by fulfilling the strict duties which belong to his profession as a magistrate. It is true that upon this system tlie judicial censorship which is exercised by the courts of justice over the legislation cann"f extend to all laws indis- criminately, inasmuch as some of them ran never give rise to that precise species of contestation which is termed a law- suit ; and even when such a contestation is possible, it may happen that no one cares to bring it before a court of justice. The Americans have often felt tliis disadvantage, but they have left the remedy incomplete, lest they should give it efli- cacy which in some cases might prove dangerous. Within tliese limits, the power vested in the American courts of jus- tice of pronouncing a statute to be unconstitutional, f<)rins one of the most powerful barriers which have ever lieen devised against the tyrr.nny of political asse'ublies. 7} {■■! ":) ■■■ M',' 100 JUDICIAL POWEK OF THE UNITED STATES, ■ OTHER POWERS GRANTED TO THE AMERICAN JUDGES. fii the United States all tlie Citizens have the Right of indicting thp public Functionaries before the ordinary Trilxinuls. — How they use this Right. — Art. 75 of tlie An VIII. — The Americans and the English cannot understand the Purport of this Clause. It is perfectly natural that in a free country like America all the citizens should have the right of indicting public func- tionaries before the ordinary tribunals, and tliat all the judges should have the power of punishing public offences. The right granted to the courts of justice, of judging the agents of the executive government, when they have violated the laws, is so natural a one that it cannot be looked upon as an extra- ordinary privilege. Nor do the springs of government appeal to me to be weakened in the United States by the custom which renders all public officers responsible to tiie judges of the land. The Americans seem, on the contrary, to have increased by this means that respect which is due to the authorities, and at the same time to have rendered those who are in power more scrupulous ofolFending public opinion. I was struck by the small number of political trials which occur in the United States ; but I have no difficulty in accounting for this circumstance. A lawsuit, of whatever nature it may be, is always a difficult and expensive undertaking. It is easy to attack a public man in a journal, but the motives which can warrant an action at law must be serious. A solid ground of complaint must tlierefore exist, to induce an individual to prosecute a public officer, and public officers are careful not to furnish these grounds of complaint, when they are afraid of being prosecuted. This does not depend upon the republican form of the American institutions, for the same facts present themselves in England. These two nations do not regard the impeach- men! of the principal officers of state as a sufficient guarantee of their independence. But they hold that the right of minor prosecutions, which are within tlie reach of the whole com- munity, is a better pledge of freedom than those great judicial actions which are rarely employed until it is too late. In the middle ages, when it was very difficult to overtake ofTenders, the judges inflicted the most dreadful tortures on the few who were arrested, which by no means diminished the number of crimen, jt has. since hee.n, dij^wn'cred tha when justice is.iiio'x c( r>iui. rind (iior'^ n;'«ii,;K'i! .ivs-at the same time more efficacious.- T-lie KngliMli awA tne Americans hold AND ITS INFLUENCE ON POLITICAL SOCIETY. 101 that tyranny and oppression are to be treated like any other crime, by lessoning the penalty and facilitating conviction. In the year VIII. of the French republic, a constitution was drawn up in which the following clause was introduced : " Art. 75. All the agents of the government below the rank of ministers can only be prosecuted for offences relating to their several functions by virtue of a decree of the conseil d'etat ; in which case the prosecution takes place before the ordinary tribunals." This clause survived the " Constitution de I'an VIII.," and it is still maintained in spite of the just complaints of the nation. I have alwaj's found the utmost difficulty in explaining its meaning to Englishmen or Ameri- cans. They were at once led to conclude that the conseil d'etat in France was a great tribunal, established in the centre of the kingdom, which exercised a preliminary and somewhat tyrannical jurisdiction in all political causes. But when 1 told them that the conseil d'etat was not a judicial body, in the common sense of the term, but an administrative council composed of men dependent on the crown — so that the king, after having ordered one of his servants, called a prefect, to commit an injustice, has the power of commanding another of his servants, called a councillor of state, to prevent the former from being punished — when I demonstrated to them that the citizen who had been injured by the order of the sovereign is obliged to solicit from the sovereign permission to obtain redress, they refused to credit so flagrant an abuse, and were tempted to accuse me of falsehood or of ignorance. It frequently happened before the revolution that a parliament issued a warrant against a public officer who had committed an offiMice ; and sometimes the proceedings were annulled by the authority of the crown. Despotism then displayed itself openly, and obedience was extorted by force. We have then retrograded from the point which our forefathers had reached, since we allow things to pass under the color of justice and the sanction of the law, which violence alone could impose upon them. 10* 102 POLITICAL JURISDICTION CHAPTER VII. POLITICAL JURISDICTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 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 Offi- cers. — He more frequently passes a Sentence of Removal from Office than a Penalty. — Political Jurisdiction, as it Exists in the United States, is, notwithstanding its Mildness, and perhaps in Consequence of that Mildness, a most powerful Instrument in the Hands of the Majority. I UNDERSTAND, by political jurisdiction, that temporary right of pronouncing a legal decision with which a political body may be invested. In absolute governments no utility can accrue from the introduction of extraordinary forms of procedure ; the prince, in whose name an offender is prosecuted, is as much the sovereign of the courts of justice as of everything else, and the idea which is entertained of his power is of itself a suffi- cient security. The only thing he has to fear is, that the external formalities of justice may be neglected, and that his authority may be dishonored, from a wish to render it more absolute. But in most free countries, in whicn the majority can never exercise the same influence upon the tribunals as an absolute monarch, the judicial power has occasionally been vested for a time in the representatives of society. It has been thought better to introduce a temporary confusion between the functions of the different authorities, than to violate the necessary principle of the unity of government. England, France, and the United States, have established this political jurisdiction in their laws ; and it is curious to examine the different use which these three great nations have made of the principle. In England and in France the house of lords and the chambre des pairs constitute the highest criminal court of their respective nations; and although they do not habitually try all political offences, tliey are competent to try them all. Another political body enjoys the right of impeachment before the house of lords : the only difference which exists between the two countries in this respect is, that in England the commons may impeach whomsoever they please before the lords, while in France the deputies can only employ this mode of prosecution against the ministers of the srown. ly. iN THE UNITED STATES. 103 i In both countries the upper house make use of all the ex- istiiig penal laws of the nation to punish the delinquents. In tlie United States, as well as in Europe, one branch of the legislature is autiiorized to impeach, and another to judge : the house of representatives arraigns tiie otlender, and the senate awards his sentence. But the senate can only try such persons as are brought before it by the house of repre- sentatives, and those persons must belong to the class of public functionaries. Tims the jurisdiction of the senate is less extensive than that of the ])eers of France, while the right of impeachment by the representatives is more general than that of the deputies. But the great ditlerence which exists between Europe and America is, that in Europe politi- cal tribunals are emjwwered to inflict all the dispositions of the penal code, while in America, when they have dej)rived the offender of his oflicial rank, and have declared him inca- pable of filling any political office for the future, their juris- diction terminates and that of the ordinary tribunals begins. Suppose, for instance, that the president of the United States has committed the crime of high treason ; the house of representatives impeaches him, and the senate degrades him ; he must then be tried by a jury, w hich alone can deprive him of his liberty or his life. This accurately illustrates the subject we are treating. The political jurisdiction which is established by the laws of Europe is intended to try great otFenders, whatever may be their birth, their rank, or their powers in the state ; and to this end all ti»e privileges of the courts of justice are temporarily extended to a great jK)litical assembly. The U>gislator is then transformed into a magis- trate : he is called upon to admit, to distinguish, and to punish the ollence ; and as he exercises all the authority of a judge, the law restricts him to the observance of all the duties of that high office, and of all the formalities of justice. When a public functionary is impeached before an English or a French political tribunal, and is found guilty, the sentence deprives liim ipso facto of his functions, and it may pronounce him to be incapable of resuming them or any others for the future. But in this case the political interdict is a consequence of the sentence, and not the sentence itself. In Europe the sentence of a political tribunal is therefore to be regarded as a judicial verdict, rather than as an administrative measure. In the Unite(l States the contrary takes place ; and although the decision of the senate is judicial in its form, since the senators are obliged to comply with the praetic<>s and formalities of a coui't of justiee ; alt!iniit'.ii it is jiiilicial in n sj)eet to the . > ! ii hi t .S! ! ■ if- ' 1- tli' . 104 POLITICAL JUHISDICTION I'lotivos on which It is founded, since the senate is in j^rnoral obliged to take an ollence at common law as the basis of its sentence ; nevertheless the object of the proceeding is purely administrative. If it had been tlie intention of tlie American legislator to invest a political body with great judicial autiiority, its ac- tion would not have been limited to the circle of public func- tionaries, since the most dan<[erous enemies of the state niav be in the possession of no functions at all ; and this is espe- cially true in rejjublics, where party favor is the first of autiiorities, and where the strength of many a leader is in- creased by his exercising no legal power. If it had been the intention of the American legislator to give society the means of repressing state offences by exeiiiplary punislunent, ac- cording to the practice of ordinary judgment, the resources of the penal code would all have been placed at the disposal of the political tribunals. But the weapon with which the y are intrusted is an imperfect one, and it can never reach the most dangerous offenders ; since men who aim at the entire subversion of the laws are not likely to murnmr at a political interdict. The main object of the political jurisdiction which obtains in the United States is, therefore, to deprive the citizen of an authority which he has used amiss, and to prevent him from ever acquiring it again. This is evidently an administra- tive measure sanctioned by the formalities of judicial investi- gation. In this matter the Americans have created a mixed system : they have surrounded the act which removes a pid>- lic functionary with the securities of a political trial ; and they have deprived all political condemnations of tlieir sever- est penalties. Every link of the system may easily bo traced from this point; we at once perceive why the Ameii- can constitutions subject all the civil functionaries to tLe jurisdiction of the senate, while the military, whose crini; s are nevertheless more formidable, are exempt from t])at tri- bunal. In the civil service none of the American functioiuu ries can be said to be removeable ; the places which some of them occupy are inalienable, and the others derive tlu ir rights from a power which cannot be abrogated. It is there- fore necessary to try them all in order to deprive them of their authority. But military officers are dependent on tlie chief magistrate of the state, who is liiinM I a civil function- ary ; and the decision which condemns him is a blow up(/n them all. If we now compare tlie American and European systems, !N TIIK UNITKD STATKS. 105 II wo sliall meet with tlitrerences no less striking in tlic diiicr- cnt eilbcts wliicli each of thoni piuihipcs or may produce, in France and in I'^ngland the jurisdiction ol" political bodies is looked upon us an extraordinary resource, whicii is only to be employed in order to rescue society from unwonted ilan- gers. It is not to bo denied that tiiese tribunals, as they are constituted in Europe, are apt to violate the conservative principle of the balance of i)ower in the state, and to threaten incessantly the lives and liberties of the subject. The same political jurisdiction in the United States is only indirectly hostile to the balance of power ; it caimot menace the lives of the citizens, and it does not hover, as in Europe, over the hea into one nation. Mut as each of fhem had enjoyed a separate existence, and a govermnent within its own control, tlii' peculiar interests and customs which resulted from this system, were opposed to a compact and intimate * Sop Appendix X. f See till' <-(inslitufion nf the fiiited Slates i . lOS THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. union, whicli would have absorbed the individual importance of each in the general importance of all. llonco arose two opposite tendencies, the one prompting the Anglo-Americans to unite, the other to divide their strength. As long as the war with the mother-country lasted, the principle of union was kept alive by necessity ; and although the laws which con- stituted it were defective, the common tie subsisted in spite rtf their imperfections.* But no sooner was peace concluded than the faults of the legislation became manifest, and the state seemed to be suddenly dissolved. Each colony became an independent republic, and assumed an absolute sovereignty. The federal government, condemned to impotence by its con- stitution, and no longer sustained by the presence of a com- mon danger, saw the outrages offered to its flag by the great nations of Europe, while it was scarcely able to maintain its ground against the Indian tribes, and to pay the interest of the debt which had been contracted during the war of inde- pendence. It was already on the verge of destruction, when it officially proclaimed its inability to conduct the government, and appealed to the constituent authority of the nation. f If America ever a])proached (for however brief a time) that lofty j)innacle of glory to which the proud fancy of its inhabit- ants is wont to point, it was at the solemn moment at which the power of the nation abdicated, as it were, the empire of the land. All ages have furnished the spectacle of a })eoplo struggling with energy to win its independence ; and the efforts of the Americans in throwing off the English yoke have been considerably exaggerated. Separatcnl from their enemies by three? thousand miles of ocean, and backed hy a powerful ally, the success of the United {States may be more justly attributed to their geographical position, than to the valor of their armies or the pivtriotisnt of their citizens. It would be ridiculous to compare tlii' yVmerican war to the wars of the French revolution, or the efforts of the Americans to those of the h'rench, who, when they were attacked by the wliole of FiUrope, without credit and without allies, were still capable of o|)posing atw(>ntieth part of their population to their foes, and of hearing the tori-h of revolution beyond their frontiers while they stifled its devouring flame within the h. • .*>i'(' the, articles i>f flu« first coiiffdcratiini I'ornicd in 177S. 'I'liis consfifuli(ti\ Wiw imt iidoiitcd l)yiill tho stttfs imlil I7*'l. Sec uls'tlu' nniilyHJs (iivcn (iC lliis ronstiftitiini in tlu" l'\'(|(riilist, t'nini No. I") to Nc '-ii incliisivc. luni Slury's " Cnimiiciiliry ";i llic t'oiislitnticui at tlio Uiiitfd St,ili'H," |);i. ^.')-l I.'). f ("diutcss 111 111.' this ilof'.arution on lln; ilst of I'Vhruiirj', 17S7 llM llh.' to Itho THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 109 bosom of tli(!ii" country, lint it is a novelty in the history of society to see a great people turn acahn and scrutinizing eye upon itself when apprised by the legislature that tl»e wheels of government had stopped ; to see it carefully examine the extent of the evil, and patiently wait for two whole years until a remedy was discovered, which it voluntarily adopted without having wrung a tear or a drop of blood from man- kin;l. At the time wlicii the inadequacy of the first constitu- tion was discovered, America ossi sed the double advantage of that calm which had succccdi ■ the ellervescence of the revolution, and of those great men who had led the revolution to a successful issue. The assembly which accepted the task of composing the second constitution was small ;* but George Washington was its president, and it contained the choicest talents and the noblest hearts which had ever appeared in the New World. This nationnl commission, after long and ma- ture deliberation, offered to the ace(-ptance of the people the body of general laws which still rules the Union. All tiie states adopted it successively.! The new federal govern- inent eonnnenced its functions in 1789, afler an interregimm of two years. The revolution of America terminated when that of France began. SUMMARY OF THE FEDEKAL CONSTITUTION. Division of Autliority bi-twoen tlic I'^pdcrnl GdVcrnmcnf and tlio States. — Tlu> Oovcrninciit of the Stutt's is the Hulo : tlic l'odi.'ral Govern- ment the Exception. The first question which awaited the Americans was in- trii'ate, and by no iiKuins easy nf solution ; the object was so Id divide the authority of the diirereiit stati's which composed the Union, that each of them should continue to govern itself in all that concerned its internal pros|)erity, while the entire iiiition, represented by fii(^ Union, should continue to fi)rin a coiiipact body, and to provide for the exigencies of tiie peo- ple. It was as impossiide to defermin(> bt forehand, with any degree of aecuracy, the share of authority whiidi each of the • It (•(insisted (if (irtv-five nieniluTs : Wasliiiiiiton, Miidi8(in, Ilamil- lon, and llic two Morrises, were aniotiLT llie nninlier. t It was iHit adopted hy the letfislilive bodies, hnt roprrsentativpg were eleeted liy the people lor tins sole iinrpose ; and the new coiisti- tu*i(>n was discussed at length in tueh of these assunibiiesi. « no THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. ,1W \f:\ two (rovornments was to enjoy, as to foresee all the incidents in till' iwistcnoe of a nation. Tlie oblijrations and the claims of the federal government were simple and easily definable, because the Union had been formed with the express purpose of meeting the general exi- gencies of the people ; but the claims and obligations of the statt's were, on the other hand, complicated and various, be- cause those governments penetrated into all the details of social life. The attributes of tiie federal government were, then-lore, carefully enumerated, and all that was not included among them was declared to constitute a part of the privileges of the several governments of the states. Thus tiie govern- nient of the states remained the rule, and tha" of the confede- ration became the exception.* l)Ut as it was foreseen, that, in practice, questions might arise as to the exact limits of this exceptional authority, and that it would be dangerous to submit these questions to the decision of the ordinary courts of justice, established in the states l)y the states themselves, a high federal court was cre- ated,f which was destiiied, among otiier functions, to maintain the balance of jiower which had been established by the con- stitution between the two rival governments.:}: * See tlie amendment to the federal constitution ; Federalist, No. 32. Story, J). 711. Ki'nt's Commentaries, vol. i., p. .'iiil. It is to he observed, that whenever tlie ej'c/itsive rifjht of rej;ulating certain matters is not reservi'd to congress hv the constitution, the states may take U|i the allair, until it is l)roU'j;ht l)efore the n.ttional asseinhly. I'"nr instance, conirress has therii;htof makin;j; a ireiieral law of hankruptcy, which, howeviT, it neglects to do. Kach state is tiien at lihiTty to make a law for itself. This jioiut, however, has been established liy discussion in the law-courts, and may he said to helonj^ iniu'e properly to Jurisprudence. t The action ot'lliis court is indirect, as we sliall hereafter show. X It is tiius that the l'"ederalist. No. I'), explains the division of su- premacy lu'twecn the union and the states: " The powers dele:fatt'rmined cases, in which an indiscreet aiiuse of their independence might compromise the security of the Union at large. Thus, while the i)o\ver of niodifving and changing their leo:i.>ral government should be able to fultil itseny means of the trilnmals, as will he hereafter siiown. ^ Federal Constitution, sect. Id, art. 1. II Constitution, sect, s, '.», and 10, Federalist, Nos. 'M-3C) inclusive. ^<1 '!' "' ill i >i 1 ,t 112 'JlIE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. Ill oxaniiiiiiig the balance of power as established by tlie federal eoiistitution ; in remarking on the one hand the por- tion of sovereignty which lias been reserved to the several states, and on the other the share of power which the Union has assumed, it is evident that the federal legislators enter- tained the clearest and most accurate notions on the nature of the centralisation of government. The United States form not only a republic, but a confederation ; nevertheless the authority of the nation is more central than it was in several of the monarchies of Europe when the American constitution was formed. Take, lor instance, the two foUow- hig examples : — Thirteen supreme courtsof ju>-;' -o existed in France, which, generally speaking, had the right of interpreting the law without appeal ; and tliose jirovinees, styled ^wz/a- d'ctats, were authorized to refuse their assent to an inii)i)st which had been levied by the sovereign who r(>pres; iitcd the nation. In the Union there is but one tribunal to interpret, as there is one legislature to make the laws; and an impost voted by llie representatives of the nation is binding upon all the citizens. In these two essential points, therefore, the Union exccises more central authority than the French monarchy possessed, although the Union is only an assemblage of confederate republics. In Spain certain provinces had the right of establishing a system of customhouse duties peculiar to themsi^lves, although that privilege belongs, by its very nature, to the national sovereignty. In America the congress alone has the right of regulating the connnercial relatit)ns of the states. The government of the confederation is therefore more centralized in this respect than the kingdom of Spain. It is true that the power of the crown in France or in Spain was always able to obtain by fl)ree whatever the constitution of the country denied, and that the ultimate result was consequently the same ; and I am here discussing the theory of the con- stitution. FEDEHAL rOWEKS. After liaving settled the limits within which the federal ffov- ornment was to act, the next point was to determine the pow. ers which it was to exert. and 11-11. Kent's" Cominentaries, vol. !., pp 207 and 3S1. Story, pp, U'i'J and all. THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 113 LEGISLATIVE POWERS. Division of the lco;islative Body into two Branches. — Difference in the Manner of forming the two Houses. — The Principle of the Independ- ence of the States predominates in the Formation of the Senate.— The Principle of the Sovereignty of the Nation in the Composition of the House of Representatives. — Singular EHects of the Fact that a Con- stitution can only be Logical in the early Stages of a Nation The plan which had been laid down beforehand for the co»'- stitution of the several states was followed, in many points, in the organization of the powers of the Union. Tiie federal legislature of the Union was composed of a senate and a iiouse of Representatives. A spirit of conciliation prescribed the observance of distinct principles in the formation of each of these two assemblies. I have alreaily shown that two contrary interests were opposed to each other in the establish- ment of the federal constitution. These two interests had given rise to two opinions. It was the wish of one party to convert the Union into a league of independent states, or a sort of congress, at which the representatives of he several peoples would me<^t to discuss certain points of their common interests. The other party desired to unite ^he inhabitants of the American colonies into one sole nation, and to establish a government, which should act as the sole representative of the jiation, as far as tlu^ limited sphere of its authority would permit. The practical consequences of these two theories were exceedingly ditlerent. The question was, whether a league wa to be established instead of a national government ; whetiier the majority of the states, instead of a majority of the inhabitants of the Union, was to give the law ; for every state, the small as well as the great, then r(>tained the character of an independent power, a!id entered the Union upon a footing of perfect equal- ity. If, on the contrary, the iniiabitaiits of the United States were to be considered as belonifing to one and the .same nation, it was natural that the majc'ity of the citizens of the Union .shoald prescribe the law. Of cour.se the lesser states could not subscribe to the ajjplieation of this doctrine without, in fact, abdicating their existence in relation to the .sove- reignty of the confederation ; since tlu>v would have passed from the condition of a co-etjual and eo-legislative auihority, to that of an iiisigiiifieunt iVuetion of a great people. The f()rm('r .system would iiave invested them with an excessive an. (hority, the latter would have annulled their influence alto- 8 '■'S 1 1 ■J n. m i •a I m ;^ 114 THE FEDKRAL CONSTITUTION. gothcr. Under these circumstances, tlio result was, that the strict rules of logic were evaded, as is usually the case when interests are opposed to arguments. A middle course was hit upon by the legislators, which brought together by force two systems theoretically irreconcilable. The principle of the independence of the states prevailed in the formation of the senate, and that of the sovereignty of the nation predominated in the composition of the house of re- presentatives. It was decided that each state should send two senators to congress, and a number of representatives propor- tioned to its population.* It results from this arrangement that the state of New York has at the present day forty repre- sentatives, and only two senators ; the state of Delaware has two senators, and only one representative ; the state of Dela- ware is therefore equal to the state of New York in the se- nate, while the latter has forty times the influence of the former in the house of representatives. Thus, if the minority of the nation preponderates in the senate, it may paralyze the decisions of the majority represented in the other house, which is contrary to the sj)irit of constitutional government. The facts show how rare and how ditticult it is rationally and logically to combine all the several parts of legislation. In the course of time different interests arise, and different principles are sanctioned by the same people ; and when a general constitution is to be established, these interests and principles are so many natural obstacles to the rigorous appli- cation of any political system, whh all its consequences. The early stages of national existence are the only periods at which it is possible to maintain the complete logic of legislation ; and when we perceive a nation in the enjoyment of tiiis advantage, before we hasten to conclude that it is wise, we should do well to remember that it is young. When the federal constitution was formed, the interest of independence for the separate states, and the interest of union for the whole people, were * EviTv ten years con^rpss fixes anew tlie inimher of representatives which each state is to furnish. Tlic total nninber was I'l'j in IISV, and 211) in IS.'i.'i. (See American vMmanac, I'S.'d, p. 191.) The constitution (lecided that tliero should not bo more tlian one re- presentative tor every 3i),i)iJ(J persons; l)ut no minimum was fixed upon. The coufiress has not tliouulit fit to auiinient the numher of re- ])r('sent,itives in pro|iortion to the increase of jxipulition. The fu'st act whicli was passed on the subject (I Ith April, 17',''J: seo Laws of the United States, hy Story, vol. i., ]>. 'J.'i.')) decided tiiat there should he one representative for every ;j,'i,()()(J inhabitants. The last act, which was passed in lS'2'i, fixes the projiortion at one for lS,i)ii(l. 'I"he popu- lation represented is composed of all tlie freemen luul of three-fifths of the slaves. THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 115 the only two conflicting intei'P' *■: which existed among the Anglo-Americans ; and a c .^.^jromise was necessarily made between thom. It is, however, just to acknowledge that this part of the con- stitution has not hitherto produced those evils which might have been feared. All the states are young and contiguous ; their customs, their ideas, and their wants, are not dissimilar ; and the diilerences which result from their size or inferiority do not suffice to set their interests at variance. The small states have consequently never been induced to league them- selves together in the senate to oppose the designs of the larger ones ; and indeed there is so irresistible an authority in the legitimate expression of the will of a people, that the senate could offer but a feeble opposition to the vote of the majority of the house of representatives. It must not be forgotten, on the other hand, that it was not in the power of the American legislators to reduce to a single nation the people for whom they were making laws. The object of the federal constitution was not to destroy the inde- pendence of the states, but to restrain it. By acknowledging the real authority of these secondary communities (and it was impossible to deprive them of it), they disavowed beforehand the habitual use of constraint in enforcing the decisions of the majority. Upon this principle the introduction of the in- fluence of the states into the mechanism of the federal govern- ment was by no means to be wondered at ; since it only attested the existence of an acknowledged power, which was to be humored, and not forcibly checked. A FARTHER DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The Senate named by the provincial Lcffislatnro — the Representatives, by the People. — l)oubhT Kloction of the Former — Single Election of the Latter. — Term of the diflerent OlHces.— Peculiar Functions of each House, The senate not only differs from the other house in the prin- ciple wiiich it represents, but also in the mode of its election, in the term for which it is chosen, and in the nature of its functions. The house of representatives is named by the people, tiie senate by the legislators of each state ; the former is directly elected ; the latter is elected by an elected body ; ihe term flir which the representatives are chosen is only two years, that of the senators is six. The functions of the house m IK) THK FEDEUAL CONSTITUTION. of representatives are purely legislative, and the only share it takes in the judicial power is in the iinpeaclnnent of public officers. The senate co-operates in the work of legislation, and tries those political otl'ences which the house of represen- tatives submits to its decision. It also acts as the great executive council of the nation ; the treaties which are con- cluded by the president must be ratified by the senate ; and tlie appointments he may make must be definitively approved by the same body.* THE EXECUTIVE POWER. f Dependence of the President. — He is Elective and Responsible. — He is Free to act in liis own Sphere under the Inspection, but not under the Direction, of the Senate. — His Salary fixed at his Entry into Office. — Suspensive Veto. The American legislators undertook a difficult task in attempting to create an executive power dependent on the majority of the people and nevertheless sufficiently strong to act without restraint in its own sphere. It was indispensa- ble to the maintenance of the republican form of government that the representatives of the executive power should be sub- ject to the will of the nation. The president is an elective magistrate. His honor, his property, his liberty, and his life, are the securities which the peophi has for the temperate use of his power. But in tiie exercise of liis authority he cannot be said to he perfectly independent ; the senate takes cognizance of his relations with foreign powers, and of the di.stribution of j)ul)lic appointments, so that he can neither be bribed, nor can he employ the means of corruption. The legislators of the Union aeknow- ledged that the executive power would be incompetent to fulfil its task with dignity and utility, unless it enjoyed a greater degree of stability and of strength than had been granted to it in the .separate states. The president is chosen for four years, and he may be re- elected ; so that the chances of a prolonged administration may inspire him witli hopeful undertakings for the public good, and with the means of carrying them into execution. The president was made the sole representative of the execu- tive power of the Union ; and care was taken not to r i.(i( r * See tlic Kedoriilist, Xos, ry2.e,(], inclusive. Story, pji. 1<)9-3I4 Constitut'">i of the I'liitcd St;it('s, SL'ctions 2 iuid "I. t See tlic Fivlcrnli-t, Xos. (17-77. Constitution of tlie I'nited States, a t. 2. -t ;y, i)p. I I'l: ,")1.')-7m). Kent's ("oinim ntarii's, p. 2')') . i L THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 117 his decisions subordinate to tlie vote of a council — a danger- ous measure, which tends at the same time to clog the action of the governnient and to diminish its responsibility. The senate has the right of annulling certain acts of the president ; but it cannot compel him to take any steps, nor does it parti- cipate in the exercise of the executive power. Tlie action of the legislature on the executive power may be direct ; and we have just shown that the Americans care- fully obviated this influence ; but it may, on the other hand, be indirect. Public assemblies which have the power of de- priving an officer of state of his salary, encroach upon his independence ; and as they are free to make the laws, it is to be feared lest they should gradually appropriate to them- selves a portion of that authority which the constitution had vested in his hands. This dependence of the executive power is one of the defects inherent in republican constitutions. The Americans have not beca able to counteract the ten- dency which legislative assemblies have to get possession of the government, but they have rendered this propensity less irresistible. The salary of the president is fixed, at the time of his entering upon office, for tiie whole period of his magistiv.^y. The president is, moreover, provided with a suspensive veto, which allows him to oppose the passing of such laws as might destroy the portion of independence which the constitution awards him. The struggle between the pre- sident and tiie legislature must always be an unequal one, since the latter is certain of bearing down all resistance by persevering in its plans ; but the suspensive veto forces it at least to reconsider the matter, and, if the motion be persisted in, it must then be backed by a majority of two-thirds of the whole house. The veto is, in fact, a sort of appeal to the people. The executive power, which, vithout this security, might have been secretly oppressed, adopts this means of ])leading its cause and stating its motives. But if the legis- lature is certain of overpowering all resistance by persevering in its plans, I reply, that in the constitutions of all nations, of whatever kind they may be, a certain point exists at which the legislator is obliged to have recourse to the good sense and the virtue of his fellow-citizens. This point is more prominent and more discoverable in n^publics, while it is more remote and more can^fully concealed in monarchies, but it always exists somewhere. There is no country in the world in which everything can be provided for by the laws, or in which politicaj institutions can prove a substitute for common sense and public morality. Mm 118 THE FKDERAL CONSTITUTION. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE POSITION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THAT OF A CONSTITUTIONAL KING OF FRANCE. Executive Power in the United States as Limited and as Partial as the Supremacy which it Represents. — Executive Power in France as Universal as tlie Supremacy it Represents. — The King a Hranch of the Lcf{islature. — The President the mere Executor of the Law. — Other Differences resultinj^ from the Duration of the two Powers, — The President checked in the Exercise of the executive Authority. — The King Independent in its Exercise. — Notwithstandins; these Discrepancies, France is more akin to a Republic than tiie Union to a Monarchy. — Comparison of the Number of public Olficers depend- ing upon the executive Power in the two countries. The e.xecutive power has so important an influence on the destinies of nations that I am inclined to pause for an instant at this portion of my subject, in order more clearly to explain the part it sustains in America. In order to form an accu- rate idea of the position of the president of the United States, it may not be irrelevant to compare it to that of one of the constitutional kings of Europe. In this comparison I shall pay but little attention to the external signs of power, which are more apt to deceive the eye of the observer than to guide his researches. When a monarchy is being gradually trans- formed into a republic, the executive power retains the titles, the honors, the etiquette, and even the funds of royalty, long after its authority has disappeared. The English, after hav- ing cut off the head of one king, and expelled another from his throne, were accustomed to accost the succes.sors of those princes upon their knees. On the other hand, wlien a repub- lie falls under the sway of a single individual, the demeanor of the sovereign is simple and unpretending, as if his authority was not yet paramount. When tiie emperors exercised an unlimited control over the fortunes and the lives of their fellow- citizens, it was customary to call them Cesar in conversation, and they were in the habit of supping without formality at their friends' houses. It is therefore necessary to look below the surface. The sovereignty of the United States is shared between the Union and the states, while in France it is undivided and compact : hence arises the first and the most notable diller- ence which exists between the president of the United States and the king of France. In the United States the executive power is as limited and partial as the sovereignty of the Union in whose name it acts ; in France it is as universal as the THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 119 authority of the state. The Americans have a federal, and the Frencli a national government. The fir.st 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 have no weight till he has given his assent to tiiem ; he is moreover the ex.^cutor of all they ordain. The president is also the executor of the laws, but he does not really co-operate in their formation, since the refusal of his assent does not annul them. He is therefore merely to be considered as the agent of the sovereign power. But not only does the king of France exercise a por- tion of the sovereign power, he also contributes to the nomi- nation of the legislature, which exercises the other portion. He has the privilege of appointing the members of one chamber, and of dissolving the other at his pleasure ; where- as the president of the United States has no share in the formation of the legislative body, and cannot dissolve any part of it. The king has the same right of bringing forward measures as the cliambers ; a righ" wliich the president does not possess. The king is represented in each assembly by his ministers, who explain his intentions, support liis opinions, and maintain the principles of the government. The presi- dent and his ministers are alike excluded from congress ; so that his influence and his opinions can only penetrate indi- rectly into that great body. The king of France is therefore on an equal footing with the legislature, which can no more act without him, than he can without it. The president exer- cises an authority inferior to, and depending upon, that of the legislature. Even in the exercise of the executive power, properly so called, the point upon which his position seems to be almost analogous to that of the king of France — the president labors under several causes of inferiority. The authority of the king, in France, has, in the first place, the advantage of dura- tion over that of the president : and durability is one of the chief elements of strength ; nothing is either loved or feared but what is likely to endure. The president of the United Slates is a magistrate elected for four years. The king, in France, is an hereditary sovereign. In the exercise of the executive power the president of the Utiiied States is constantly subject to jealous scrutiny. He ma^ Oiuke, but he cannot conclude a treaty ; he may desig- •■ i!l i'Jsi . M i 120 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. nato, but he cannot appoint, a public oiliccr.* The king of France is absolute in the sphere of the executive power. The president of the United States is responsible for his actions; but the person of the king is declared inviolable by the French charter. Nevertheless, the supremacy of public opinion is no less above the head of one than of the other. This power is less definite, less evident, and less sanctioned by the laws in France than in America, but in fact exists. In America it acts by elections and decrees ; in France it proceeds by revo- lutions ; but notwithstanding the dillerent constitutions of these two countries, public opinion is the predominant autho- rity in both of them. The fundamental principle of legisla- tion — a principle essentially republican — is the same in both countries, although its consequences may be ditlerent, and its results more or less extensive. Whence I am led to con- clude, that France with its king is nearer akin to a republic, than the Union with its president is to a monarchy. In what I have been saying I have only touched upon the main points of distinction ; and if I could have entered into details, the contrast would have been rendered still more striking. I have remarked that the authority of the president in the United States is only exercised within the limits of a partial sovereignty, while that of the king, in France, is undivided. I might have gone on to show that the power (if tlie king's government in France exceeds its natural limits, however extensive they may be, and penetrates in a thousand diircreul ways into the administration of private intfM'csts. Among the examples of this influence may be (pioled that whii-h results from the great number of public fimetionaries. who all derive their appointments from the government. This number now exceeds all previous limits ; it amounts to lUi^.OOOf nomina- tions, each of wliieh may b(> considered as an element of power. The president of the United States has not the exclusive riglit * Tliu constitution luid left it (loiihlfiil whctliiT tlic iiicsidcnt was olilij^i'it to consnll the Hi'iiiitc in llio rt'inoval iis well as in tlic appoint- incnl of Ci'dcral oHiccrs. 'I'lic Kcdcralist (No. 77)si'rnicd to csiahlisli tilt' allinnativc : hut in I i, coniricss I'ornially di'cidi'd tli.it as the pri'xidcnt was rrs|ionsildi' lor his actions, he oniiht not to l>c forced to employ aj^cnts \\li,(JOU francs (eidit milli(ins sterlmic). THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 121 of making any public appointments, and their whole number scarcely exceeds 12,000.* [Those who are desirous of tracing the question respecting the power of the j)rcsident to remove every executive olficer of Ihe government without the sanction of the senate, will find some light upon it by re- ferring to Stii Marshall's Life of Washington, p. I'JG : 5 Sergeant and Kawle's Reports (Pennsylvania), 451 : Elliot's Debates on the Federal Constitution, vol iv., p. 3').'), contains the debate in the House of Re- presentatives, June IG, nO'J, when the question wiis first mooted Report of a committee of the senate in 1822, in Niles's Register of iyth August in that year. It is certainly very extraordinary that sucli a vast power, and one so extensively atl'ecting the wliole administration of tlie government, should rest on sucli sliglit foundations, as an inference from an act of congress, providing that when the secretary of the trea- sury should be removed by the president, his assistant should discharge the duties of the ollice. How congress could confer the power, even by a direct act, is not perceived. It must be a necessary implication from tile w-ords of the constitution, or it does not exist. It has been repeatedly denied in and out of congress, and must be considered, aa yet, an unsettled (piestion. — American Editor.'] ACCIDENTAL CAUSES WHICH MAY INCREASE THE INFLUENCE OF THE EXECUTIVE. Extern.il security of the Union. — Army of six thousand Men.— Few Siiips. — The President has no Opportunity of exercising his great Prerogatives. — In tlie Prerogatives he exercises he is Weak. If the executive powor i.s fcohUM" in America than in France, the cause i.s more atfributai)le to tlie circumstances than to the laws of the country. It is chielly in its forciffii relations that the executive power of a nation is called upon to exert its skill and viiror. If the existence of the Union were perpetually threatened, and its chief interest were in daily connexion with those of other pow- I'rfiil nations, the executi\e orovermiieiit would assuiiu* an in- creased importance in proportion to the measures expected of it, and those which it would cany into etl'ect. The president of the United States is the (dmmander-in-chief of the armv, but of an army composed of only six thousand men ; he coni- * This numbi'r is extracted from tlie " National Calendar," for IS.'l.'), Tiie National Calcmi.ir is an American almanac which cdi.t.iiiis tin' nanus of all Ihe fi'diTa! ulliccrs. It results from lliis c(iin|iHrisnM that the king nl i'iaiic<' has il.'Ven times as many iihiccs at his dispusal as (he pri'sidmt, althonirli the population of t ranee is nnt iniuii more than dnuble that ol the I'nion n '^rt !;.i; "^ Iff iK ; '■ I •r f.l \ in 122 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. mands the fleet, but the fleet reckons but few sail ; he coii ducts the foreign relations of the Union, but the United Staier, are a nation without neighbors. Separated from the rest of ihe world by the ocean, and too weak as yet to aim at the dominion of the seas, they have no enetnies, and their inter- ests rarely come into contact with those of any other nation of the globe. The practical part of a government must not be judged by the theory of its constitution. The president of the United States is in the possession of almost royal prerogatives, which he has no opportunity of exercising; and those pri\ ileges which he can at present use are very circumscribed : the laws allow him to possess a degree of influence which circum .stances do not permit him to employ. On the other liand, the great strength of the royal preroga- tive in France arises from circunustances far more tlian from the laws. There the executive government is con- stantly .struggling against prodigious obstacles, and exerting all its energies to rej)ress them ; so that it increases by the extent of its achit^'ements, and by the importance of the events it controls, without, for that reason, modifying its con- stitution. If the laws !uul made it as feeble and as circum- scrilw'd as it is in the Union, its influence would very soon become much greater. WHY THE rUESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT RE- QUIRE THE MAJORITY OF THE TWO HOUSES IN ORDER TO CARRY ON THE GOVERNMENT. It is an established axiom in Europe that a eon.stitutional king eaiMiot persevere in a system of government which is opposed i)y the two other brandies of the legislature. But several presidents of the United States have been known to lose the majorify in lie legislative body, witlioiit b(>ing obliged to al»aiiiloii the su|)rem(> power, and wi.lioiit inflicting a serious evil upon society. I have heard tliis faet (|Uoted as an instance of the iiidepeiidenee and power of executive goveriiineiit ill America: a moment's reflection will convince u.->, on the contrary, that it is a |troof ofits extreme weakness. A king ill Europe re(|iiires the siip|)ort of the legislature to eiialile him to pertiirm the duties iinposed upon him l)v the coiistiliition, because those duties are eiinrnious. A coiistitu- tii'ual king ill Europe is not ni'i-i'Iy the executor of the law, THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 123 out the execution of its provisions devolves so completely upon him, that he has the power of paralyzing its influence if it opposes his designs. He requires the assistance of the legislative assemblies to make the law, but those assemblies stand in need of his aid to execute it : these two authorities caimot subsist without each other, and the mechanism of government is stopped as soon as they are at variance. In America the president cannot prevent any law from being pass£>d, nor can he evade the obligation of enforcing it. His sincere and zealous co-operation is no doubt useful, but it is not indispensable in the carrying on of public afUiirs. All his important acts are directly or indirectly submitted to the legislature ; and wiiere iie is independent of it he can do but little. Jt is therefore his weakness, and not his power, which enables him to remain in opposition to congress. In Europe, harmony must reign between the crown and the other branches of the legislature, because a collision between them may prove serious ; in America, this harmony is not inois|. usable, because such a collision is impossible. .n ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT. Danders of the elective System inrreaso in Proportion to the Extent of (lie Prcroijiitive. — 'I'liis System pussible in Amcricii Ix-canse no powerful executive Autliority is ri'(iuin'(l. — Wliiit rireumstances are favoralili" to the eleetive System. — Why tlie Election of tlie President does not cause a Diviation from tlie IM'iiiciples of tiu' (lov- fi'nmeut. — Inthienee of the Election of the I'resident on secondary I-'unctionaries. The dangers of the system of el(>etion applied to the head of the executive government of a great people, have Ihhmi suT lieiently exemplified by experieni-e and by history ; and the remarks I am about to make ref(>r to America alone. Tiiese dangers may b(> more or less flirmidable ii» proportion to the place which the executive ])ower occupies, and to the impor- tanc<' it possesses in the state: and they may vary accord- iiig to the mode of election, and the circumstances in which the electors are placed. The most weighty argument against the flection of a ehief-magistriiti' is. that it oll'crs so splendid a lure to private ambition, and is so a|it to intlume men in the pursuit of power, that when hgitiiMule means are wanting, f iree may not unfre(|uei\tly sei/e what right denies. It is (liar that the greater the pri\ileges of tlu' ( xrcutive 124 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. authority are, the greater is the tem[)tatioii ; the more the ambition of" the candidates is excited, the more warmly are their interests espoused by a throng of partisans who hope to share the power when their patron has won the prize. The dangers ol' the elective system increase, therefore, in the ex- act ratio of the influence exercised by the executive power in the affairs of state. The revolutions of Poland are not solely attributable to the elective system in general, but to the fact tiiat the elected magistrate was the head of a powerful mon- archy. Before we can discuss the absolute advantages of the elective system, we must make preliminary inquiries as to whether the geographical position, the laws, the habits, the manners, and the opinions of the people among whom it is to be introduced, will admit of the establishment of a weak and dependent executive government ; for to attempt to render the representative of the state a powerful sovereign, and at the same time elective, is, in my opinion, to entertain two in- compatible designs. To reduce hereditary royalty to the condition of an elective authority, the only means that I am ae(|uainted with are to circumscribe its sphere of action be- forehand, gradually to diminish its prerogatives, and to accus- tom the people to live without its protection. Nothing, how. ever, is farther from the designs of tlii^ republicans of Europe tiian this course : as many of them only owe their hatred of tyranny to the sufferings which they have personally under- gone, the extent of the executive power does not excite their hostility, and they only attack its origin whhout perceiving how nearly the two things are connected. Hitherto no citizen lias shown any disposition to ex'iose his iionor and his life, in (trder to bec;ome the president of the United States; because the power of tiiat office is temporary, limited, and subordinate*. The pii/.e of fortune must be great to encourage ailventurers in so d(\sperate a game. No candidate has as yet i)een able to arouse th(> dangerous en- thusiasm or the passionate sympathies of the people in his favor, fir the very simple reason, that when he is at the head of the government he has l)Ut little power, but little wealth, an;] l)ut little glory to share among his friends ; and his in- fluence in the state is too small iiir the success or tin- ruin of a fae'ion to di-pend upon tin; elevation of an individual to power. The great advantage' of hereditary monarchies is, that as l!ie |)rivate interest of a family is always iittiuiately connected with the JMten sts of tlie state, the executive goVertlUli lit is never snspentied lor a siie^N' instant ; and if tlie alliiirs of a THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 1*25 monarchy are not better conducted than those of a republic, at least th&re is always some one to conduct them, well or ill, according to his capacity. In elective states, on the con- trary, the wheels of government cease to act, as it were of their own accord, at the approach of an election, and even for some time previous to that event. The laws may indeed accelerate the operation of the election, which may be con- ducted with such simplicity and rapidity that the scat of pcM er will never he left vacant ; but, notwithstanding these precautions, a break necessarily occurs in the minds of the people. At the approach of an election the head of the executive government is wholly occupied by the coming struggle ; his future plans are doubtful ; he can undertake nothing new, and he will only prosecute with inditFerence those designs which another will perhaps terminate. " I am so near the time of my retirement from office, " said President Jciferson on the iilst of January, 1809 (six weeks before the election), " that I fiel no passion, I take no part, I express no senti- ment. It appears to me just to leave to my successor the commencement of those measures whicii he will have to prosecute, and for w hich he will be res[)onsible." On the other hand, the ey(>s of the nation are centred on a single point; all are watching the gradual birth of so impor- tant an event. The wider the influence of the executive power extends, the greater and the more necessary is its con- stant action, the more fatal is the term of suspi'use ; and a nation whicii is accustonu-d to tlu; government, or, still more, one Uhcd to the administrative i)rotection t)f a j)owerful ex- ecutive authority, would be infallii)ly convulsed by an elec- tion of this kind. In the United States tlie action of the government may be slackened with im|)unity, because it is always weak and circumscrii)ed. One of the principal vices of the elective system is. that it always introd\iees a certain degree of instability into the in- ternal and external policy of tiie state. But this disadvan- tage is less sensibly felt if the share oi' power vestcvl in the elected magistrate is small. In Home the pijneiples of the government underwent no variation, although the consuls were clianged every year, because the senate, which Wiis an iiereditary assembly, possessed the directing authority. If the elective system were adopted in I'iurope, tlie condition of most of the moii.ircliical states \vt)uld be cliiniged at everv new election. In America the president exercises a certain inlluence on state atlairs, but he does not conduct tliem; the * ' ■ .'i'si' > (t f rll .!• -Jl jMP ]-i]mm .■{ j|^ •i [i i S'i' 'Iv'IS k 12G THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. preponderating power is vested in the representatives of the whole nation. The political maxims of the country depend therefore on the mass of the people, not on the president alone ; and consequently in America the elective system has no very prejudicial influence on the fixed principles of the government. But the want of fixed principles is an evil so inherent in the elective system, that it is still extremely per- ceptible in the narrow spliere to which the authority of the president extends. The Americans have admitted that the head of the execu- tive power, who has to bear the whole responsibility of the duties he is called upon to fulfil, ought to be empowered to choose his own agents, and to remove them at pleasure : the legislative bodies watch the conduct of the president more tiian they direct it. The consequence of this arrangement is, that at every new election the fate of all the federal public officers is in suspense. Mr. Quincy Adams, on his entry into office, discharged the majority of the individuals who had been appointid by his predecessor ; and I am not aware that General Jackson allowed a single rcmoveable functionary employed in the federal service to retain his place beyond the first year which succeeded his election. It is sometimes made a subject of complaint, that in the constitutional monarchies of Europe the fate of the humbler servants of an administra- tion depends upon that of the ministers. But in elective gov- ernments this evil is far greater. In a constitutional monar- chy successive ministers are rapidly formed ; but as the princi- pal representative of the executive power does not change, the spirit of innovation is kept within bounds ; the changes whieii take place are in the details rather than in the princi- ples of the administrative system ; but to substitute one system for another, as is done in America every four years by law, is to cause a sort of revolution. As to the misfortunes whieii may fall upon individuals in consequence of this state of things, it must be allowed that the uncertain situation of the public olTieers is less iVauglit with evil eonsetjuenees in Ame- rica than (>lsewhere. It is so easy to aecpiire an independent position in the United States, that the public olUeer who loses ins place may be deprived of the comforts of life, but not of the means of subsistence. I n>marked at the begiiming of this chapter that the dangers of the elective system applied to the licad of the state, are augmented or decreased by \\\r peculiar eireuMwtances of the people which adopts it. However tiie fimetioiis of the exe- cutive power may be restricted, it must always exercise a TIIK FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 121 great influence upon the foreign policy of the country, for a negotiation cannot be opened or successfully carried on other, wise than by a single agent. The more precarious and the more perilous the position of a people becomes, the more ab- solute is the want of a fixed and consistent external policy, anil the more dangerous does the elective system of tlie chief magistrate become. Tiie policy of the Americans in rela- tion to the whole world is exceedingly simple ; and it may almost be said thai no try stands in need " ' • m, nor do they require tb o-ope. -n of any other peoj j. Their independence is never threatened. In their present condition, therefore, the functions of the executive power are no less limited by circumstances, than by the laws ; and the presi- dent may frequently change his line of policy witliout in- volving the state in difficulty or destruction. Whatever the prerogatives of the executive power may be, the period which immetfiutely precedes an election, and the moment of its duration, nmst always be considered as a national crisis, which is perilous in proportion to the internal embarrassments and the external dangers of tlie country. Few of the nations of Europe could escape the calamities of anarchy or of conquest, every time they might have to elect a new sovereign. In America society is so constitiitecl that it can stand without assistance upon its own basis ; nothing is to be feared from tlie pressure of external danger's ; and the election of the president is a cause of agitation, but not of ruin. MODE OF ELECTION. Skill of the American Leirislators shown in the MocU^ of Election ndopted hy them. — Creation of asjiecial electoral IVxly. — Separato Votes of these Electors. — Casr in which the Mouse of Ke|in'senla- tives is called \ip(,ii to clioos,' tlie President. — Uesnlts of tlie twelve Elections which have taken Place since llio Constitution has hetMi established. Heside the dangers which are inhcM'ent in tlie system, many other dilfieultics may arise from tlie iunAo of electidii, wiiieii may !>:• obviati'd by the preeaiitidii of tlie legislator. When a people met ill arms on some public spot to choose its head, it was (>xpo.sed to all the chances of civil war resulting from so martial a mode of proceeding, beside the (biiigers of the t>lective system in itself. The I'olish laws, wliicli snbj' cted the election of the .sovereign to the veto of a siiudr individual, ^ », 128 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. suggested the murder of that individual, or prepared the way to anarchy. In the examination of the institutions, and the political as well as the social condition of the United States, we are struck by the admirable harmony of the gifts of fortune and the ollbrtsof man. That nation possessed two of the main causes of internal peace ; it was a new country, but it was inhabit- ed by a people grown old in the exercise of freedom. Ame- rica had no hostile neighbors to dread ; and the American legislators, profiting by these favorable circumstances, created a weak and subordinate executive power, which could with- out danger be made elective. It then only remained for them to choose the least danger- ous of the various modes of election ; and the rules which they laid down upon this point admirably complete the secu- rities which the physical and political constitution of the country already afforded. Their object was to find the mode of elretion which would best express the choice of the people with the least possible excitement and suspense. It was ad- mitted in the first place that the simple majority should be de- cisive ; but the dilficulty was to obtain this majority without an interval of delay which it was most important to avoid. It rarely happens that an individual can at once collect the ma- jority of the suffrages of a great people ; and this difficulty is enhanced in a republic of confederate states, where local influences are apt to preponderate. The means by which it was proposed to obviate this second obstacle was to delegate tlie electoral powers of the nation to a body of representatives. The mode of election rendered a majority more probable ; for the fewer the electors are, the greater is the chance of their coming to a final decision. It also otiered an additional pro- bability of a judicious choice. It then remained to be decid- ed whether this right of election was to be intrusted to the legislative ijody, the habitual representative assembly of the nation, or A^hcther an electoral assembly should be formed for the express purpose of proceeding to the nomination of a president. Tlie Americans ehnsi' the latter alternative, from a belief that the individuals wlio were returned to make the laws were incompetent to represent the wishes of the nation in the election of its chief n)citristrate ; and that as they are chosen for more than a year, the constituency they represent- ed might have changed its opinion in tluit tiiiir. it was thought that if llic legislature was empowcrt state assemlile, but they transmit to the ceiitnil Koverinnent llie list v the jar of coMlh''ti'u' iaterests. 9 , N J ( it It ' ■•'iB'.''iii i' 130 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. Thus it is only in case of an event which cannot often happen, and Avliich can never be foreseen, that tlie election is intrusted to the ordinary representatives of the nation ; and even then they are ohliired to choose a citizen who has already i)een d(>signated by a powerful minority of the special electors. It is by tliis happy expedient that the respect due to the popular voice is combined with the utmost celerity of execu- tion and tliose precautions which the peace of the country demands. But the dicision of the question by the house of representatives does not necessarily oiler an immediate solu- tion of the difficulty, for the majority of that assembly may still be doubtful, and in this case the constitution prescril)es no remedy. Nevertlieless, by restricting the number of candidates to three, and by referring the matter to the judg- ment of an enlightened public body, it has smoothed all the obstacles* which are not inherent in the elective system. In the forty years whicli have elapsed since the pronmlga- tion of the federal constitution, the United States have twelve times cliosen a president. Ten of these elections took place simultaneously by the votes of the special electors in the ditferent states. The house of representatives has only twice exercised its conditional privilege of deciding in cases of uncertainty : the first time was at the election of Mr. JefTerson in 1801 ; the second was in 1825, when Mr. John Quincy Adams was chosen. CRISIS OF THE ELECTION. The election may bo considered as a national Crisis. — Why ? — Passions of the People.— Anxiety of the President, — Calm which succeeds the Agitation of the Election. I HAVE shown what the circumstances are which favored the adoption of the elective system in tlie United States, and wiiat precautions were taken by tlie h^gislators to obviate its dangers. The Americans are accustomed to all kinds of elections ; and they' know by experience tlie utmo.st degree of excitement which is compatible with security. The va.^t extent of the country, and the disseminafion of the iiilial)itaiits. rench-r a collision between partii-s less probable and less dangerous there than elsewhere. The political circumstances under * .lefTorson, in ISDl, was not elected until the tiiirty-sixth time of balloting. THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 131 which the elections have hitherto been carried on, have pre- sented no real embarrassments to the nation. Nevertheless, the epoch of the election of a president of the United States may be considered as a crisis in the atlairs of the nation. The influence which he exercises on public business is no doubt feeble and indirect ; but the choice of the president, which is of small importance to each individual citizen, concerns the citizens collectively ; and however trifling an interest may be, it assumes a great degree of im- portance as soon as it becomes general. The president possesses but few means of rewarding his supporters in com- parison to the kings of Europe ; but the places which are at his disposal are sufficiently numerous to interest, directly or indirectly, several thousand electors in his success. More- over, political parties in the United States, as well as else- where, are led to rally around an individual, in order to acquire a more tangible shape in the eyes of tlie crowd, and the name of the candidate for the presidency is put forth as the symbol and personitication of their tluoriei. For these reasons parties are st -ongly interested in gaining the election, not so much with a view to the triumph of their principles under the auspices of the president elected, as to show, by the majority which returned him, the strength of the suppor- ers of those principles. For a long while before the a})pointed time is at hand, the election becomes the most important and the all-engrossing topic of discussion. The ardor of iaetion, is redoubled ; and all the artificial passions which the imagination can create in the bosom of a happv and piaceful land are agitated and brought to light. Tlie president, on the other iiand, is ab- sorbed by I lie eares of self-defence. He no longer governs for the interest of the state, but for that of liis re-election ; he does homage to the majority, and insti ad of checking its pas- sions, as his duty commands him to do, he frequently courts its worst caprices. As tlu^ election draws near, the activity of intrigue and the agitation of the populace increase; the citizens are divided into several camps, each of which as- sumes the name of its favoriti' candidate ; the whole nation glows with feverish excitement ; the election is the daily theme of the public papers, tlie subject of jirivate conversa- tion, tlie end of every thought and every action, tlie sole inter- est of the present. As soon as the choice is deterniined, this ardor is dispelled ; and as a calmer season returns, the cur- rent pf the .state, which has nearly broken its lianks, sinks to m L if* : :- I 132 THE FEDEHAL CONSTITUTION. its usual level ; but who can refrain from astonishment at the causes of the storm ? 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 ot being re -electee-, the chief Aim of a President of the United States. — Disadvantage of the System peculiar to America. — The natural Evil of Democracy is that it subordinates all Authority to the slight- est Desires of tlie Majority. — The Re-election of the President en- courages this Evil. It may be asked whether the legislators of the Liiiied States did right or wrong in allowing the re-election of the president. It seems at first sight contrary to all reason to prevent the head of the executive power from being elected a second time. The influence which the talents and the character of a single individual may exercise upon the fate of a whole peo- ple, especially in critical circumstances or arduous times, is well known : a law preventing the re-election of the chief magistrate would deprive the citizens of the surest pledge of the prosperity and the security of the commonwealth ; and, by a singular inconsistency, a man would be excluded from the government at the very time when he had shown his abil- ity in conducting its affairs. But if these arguments are strong, perhaps still more pow erful reasons may be advanced against them. Intrigue and corruption are the natural defects of elective government ; but when the head of the state can be re-elected, those evils rise to a great height, and compromise the very existence of the country. When a simple candidate seeks to rise by intrigue, his manoeuvres must necessarily be limited to a narrow sphere ; but when the chief magistrate enters the lists, he borrows the strength of the government for his own purposes. In the former case the feeble resources of an mdividual are in action ; in the latter, the state itself, witJi all its immense in- fluence, is busied in the work of corruption and cabal. The pri\ate citizen, who employs the most immoral practices to acquire power, can only act in a manner indirectly prejudi- cial to the public prosperity. But if the representative of the executive descends into the lists, the eares of government dwindle into second-ra*e importance, and the success of his ♦lection is his ♦irst concern. All laws and negotiations are THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 133 then to him nothing more than electioneering schemes ; places become the reward of services rendered, not to the nation, but to its chief; and the influence of the government, if not injurious to the country, is at least no longer beneficial to the community for which it was created. It is impossible to consider the ordinary course of affairs in the United States without perceiving that the desire of being re-elected is the chief aim of the president ; that his whole administration, and even his most indifferent measures, tend to this object ; and that, as the crisis approaches, his personal interest takes the place of his interest in the pi.blic good. The principle of re-eligibility renders the corrupt influence of elective governments still more extensive and pernicious. It tends to degrade the political morality of the people, and to substitute adroitness for patriotism. In America it exercises a still more fatal influence on the sources of national existence. Every government seems to be afflicted by some evil inherent in its nature, and the genii.: of the legislator is shown in eluding its attacks. A stax- may survive the influence of a host of bad laws, and the mi^;- chief they cause is frequently exaggerated ; but a law which encourages the growth of the canker within must prove fatal in the end, although its bad consequences may not be imme- diately perceived. The principle of destruction in absolute monarchies lies iu the excessive and unreasonable extension of the prerogative of the crown ; and a measure tending to remove the constitu- tional provisions which counterbalance this influence would be radically bad, even if its consequences should long appear to be imperceptible. By a parity of reasoning, in countries governed by a democracy, where the people *'; perpetually drawing all authority to itself, the laws which ii cr.Ase or ac- celerate its action are the direct assailants of the very princi- ple of the government. The greatest proof of the ability of the Amtn'ican legislators is, that they clearly discerned this truth, und that they had the courage to act up to it. They ctm-jeivcd that a certain autliority above the }x)dy of the people was necessary, which should enjoy a degree of indrpendence, without however be- ing entirely beyond the popular control ; an authority which would be forced to comply with the permanent, determinations of the majority, but which would be able to resist its caprices, and to refuse its most dangerous demands. To this end they centred the whole executive power of tiie nation in a single arm ; they granted extt nsive prerogati\ cs to the president, if m^mj Wa 131 Till:' Fi".I)Ki:Ar, CONSTITUTION. and they armed him with tlie veto to resist the encroachments of the h^gislature. Bi.t by introducing tlie principle of re-eloction, they partly destroyed tlicir work ; and they rendered tlie president but little inclined to exert the great power they had invested in his hands. If ineligible a second time, the president would be far from independent of the people, ior his responsibility would not be lessened ; but the favor of the people w oultl not be so necessary to liim as to induce him to court it by hu- moring its desires. If re.(^ligilile (and this is )nore especially true at the present day, when political morality is relaxed, and when great men are rare), the pn^sident of the United States becomes an easy tool in the liands of the majority. He adopts its likings and its animosities, ho hastens to antici- pate its wishes, he forestalls its complaints, he yields to its idlest cravings, and instead of fiiii(h"n;r if. as the lejrislature intended that he should do, he is ever ready to follow its bid- ding. Thus, in order not to deprive the state of the talents of an individual, those talents have been rendered almost useless, and to reserve an expedient for extraordinary perils the conn- try has been exposed to daily dangers. [The (iiU'stinn dftlio ijiopiitlv (iricaviiii: the prosidcnt rn-oliy;il)li', is oiu' of fliat cliiss wliicli ]irnl);!hly must lur ( wv ri'iiiiiiu iiiKlocided Tlio aii.tli(irliimsi'|t', at jjiiuc \2'>, gives a slidim vcasdii lur rc-cligihility, "so tliat tlio cliancc of a proloiiirfd adininislration in.iy iiispirc liiiii with liopeful undi'i'takiiigs for the pul)lir '^ihh], and with flit- iii(\»n8 of carrv- jng tlicm inli) ext'cntion," — roiisideratioiis of trrcat wriirlit. 'I'licro is an important fact Ijcarint; upon this (|iiostioii, whicli slionld he stated ill comicxiiiii witii it. i^ri'sidfiit Washiiniloii cstahlishcd the practice; of dc'cliiiiiig a third election, and every one of his siiccessors, eitlicr fi'iim a sense of its propriety or iVom ap|)rehensiuns ot' the force ot" |uihlii; opinion, has folhiwed the examph'. So tliat it lias become* as mnch u part of tiie constitnlion, tliat no citizen can he a third time elected president, as if it were expressed in that inslrument in words. This may perhajjs he considered a fairadjiistnu-nt of ol)iections on either side. Those aicainst a continned and perpetual re-e!iL;ihiiity are certaiidy met; while the ariiunients in favor of an opportunity to projonu' an administration under circumstances that may juslify it, are allowed tiieir due wei'^ht. One ellect of tiiis practical interpolation of (he con- stitution im(|Ursti(niahly is, to increase the chances of a president's hcinir once re-elected ; as uu'u will he more disposed to acipiiesce in a measure that thn.'i juactically excludcH the individual from I'Ver iiij,ain entering tin; lield ot' competition. — .iinirican Kilitor.\ THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 135 FEDERAL COURTS.* Political Importance of the Judiciary in tlie United States. — Difficulty of treating? this Subject. — Utility of judicial Power in Confedera- tions — What Tribunals could be introduced into the Union. — Ne cossity of establishinji; federal Courts of Justice. — Organization of tlie national Judiciary. — The Supreme Court. — In what it differs from all known Tribunals. I HAVE inquired into the letrislative and executive power of the Union, and tlie judicial power now remains to be ex- aniincd ; but in tliLs place I cannot conceal my fear.s from the reader. Judicial institutions exercise a jn;reat influence on the condition of tlie Anglo-Americans, and they occupy a prominent place among what are properly called political institutions: in this respect they are peculiarly deserving of our attention. But I am at a loss to explain the political ac- tion of tile American tribunals witliout entering into some ti'chiiicul details on tlieir et)nstitution and their forms of j)ro- eeeding; and I know not how to descend to these minutiie without wearying tlie curiosity of the read(>r by tlie natural aridity of the subject, or without risking to fall into obscurity througii a desire to be succinct. I can scarcely hope to escape these various evils; for if I a])|)('ar too prolix to a man of tlie Moild, a lawyi-r may on the other hand complain of my brevity. Hut tin se are tlie natural disadvantages of my sub- ject, and more especially of the point whiili 1 am about to discuss. Tli(^ aws. overeoiiimg tlie opposition tl le people tiiey govern, viz.. till' physical ii)ree which is at their own disposal, and the moral force which they derive from tluMlecisioiis of the courts of justitM'. A government w liich .'should have no other means of ex. acting obedience than open war, must he very near its ruin ; * See chapter vi., entitled, " Jiidii ial Pnwcr in tlie I'nited SIiIch," Thi;* cliapt T explnins tlie lieiier.il |iiiiviidi'H nl' tln' AiniTic.in tlicury 1)1' judicicd i:istitutiiins. .'^et' .ilsn t'le I'edcr.d coii-ititiilinii, ■,irl .'1. .Sco till' I'cdrralist. No-i. 's-s.'i. iucliisivi' : and a vmhIv iiititlcd. " ('(nisli- tutiiii.iil Law, hcini; a \'ii'W of (he I'riictice and Jiiiisdiilidn ',), r»l!,.')S|, r.'ls ; mid the or.'anic l,iw nf the'JIth Septein- ber, l"^'.•, ill the cnllei-tion of the laws nf Hie I'nifcd St.iti'S, by Stury, Vol. i., p. W.\ 'i4' 136 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION- for one of two alternatives would then probably occur : if its authority was small, and its character temperate, it would not resort to violence till the last extremity, arid it would connive at a number of partial acts of insubordination, in which case the state would gradually fall into anarchy ; if it was enterprising and powerful, it would perpetually have re- course to its physical strength, and would speedily degene- rate into a military despotism. So that its activity would not be less prejudicial to the community than its inaction. The great end of justice is to substitute the notion of right for that of violence ; and to place a legal barrier between the power of the government and the use of physical force. The au- thority which is awarded to the intervention of a court of justice by the general opinion of mankind is so surprisingly great, that it clings to the mere formalities of justice, and gives a bodily influence to the shadow of the law. The moral force which courts of justice possess renders the introduction of physical force exceedingly rare, and it is very frequently substituted for it ; but if the latter proves to be indisprnsal)le, its power is doubled by the association of tlie idea of law. A federal government stands in greater need of the support of judicial institutions ihan any other, because it is naturally weak, and opposed to formidable opposition.* If it were always obliged to resort to violence in the first instance, it couhl not fulfil its task. The Union, therefore, reriuind a national judiciary to enf«)rce the obedience of the citi/ms to the laws, and to repel the attacks which niiglit be directed against them. The (juestion tiien remained wluit tribunals were to exercise these privileges ; were tiiey to be intrusted to the courts of justice which were already organized in every state? or was it necessary to create fe juuiciary from the administrative* power of tlie slate, no doubt allects tlie security of every citizen, and the lil)erty of all. But it is no less important to the exisienee of the nation that these several powi should liave the same origin, should fbl- * t'cdcral laws iirc (lu)sc wliicli iii' st rci|iiiri' cimrls of jiisticc, and tlioHc at tin- siiinc litnc which hiivc imsf rarely i'sI;iIi!isIh'(I them. 'I'hc ri'asoii is that roiitVih'raliiins Ir.ivc iisiiiilly hccii loniu'il hy indp- pendciit stales, which cnfcrf liiK'd no real iiitciilinn nT (il)cyirii< the rciitiMl ^nvcriiinciit. Mild « hi<'h very readily ceded tlie riifht nt cnm- maiiiliiiLr ti) the federal evecniive, aiid \ery |ini(|eMlly res»!ived the ri;,'lit of non-ci>inj)liiince to tin insrlves. 1 THE FEDERAL CONST'TUTION. 137 low the same principles, and act in the same sphere ; in a woi'd, that they should he correlative and homogeneous. No one, I presume, ever suggested the advantage of" trying offen- ces committed in France, hy a foreign court of justice, in order to ensure the impartiality of the judges. The Ameri- cans form one people in relation to their federal government ; but in the bosom of this people divers political bodies have been allowed to subsist, which are dependent on the national government in a few points, and independent in all the rest — which have all a distinct origin, maxims peculiar to them- selves, and special means of carrying on their affairs. To intrust the execution of the laws of the Union to tribunals instituted by these political bodies, would be to allow foreign judges to preside over the nation. Nay more, not only is each state foreign to the Union at large, but it is in perpetual opposition to the common interests, since whatever authority the Union loses turns to the advantage of the states. Thus to enforce the laws of the Union by means of the tribunals of the states, woulu be to allow not only foreign, but partial judges to preside over the nation. But the number, still more than the mere character, of the tribunals of the states rendered them unfit for the service of the nation. When the ftnleral constitution was formed, there were already thirteen courts of justice in the United States which decided causes without appeal. That number is now increased to twenty-fl)ur. To suppose that a state can sub- sist, when its fimdamental la\\s may be subjected to four- and-tweiity diircrent iiitcrprt'tations at the same time, is to advance a |)roposition alilv(> contrary to reason and to expe- rience. The American legislators therefore agreed to create a f ■(!"- ral judiciary power to u|)ply the laws of the Union, and to determine certain (|U(\sti(ii)s alfeeting general intiTcsts, which were carefully dt'termincd hcforcliand. The entire judicial power of the Union was centred in one tribunal, which was denominated the sup>'cme court of the United 8tat»>s. But, to fin'ilitafc the expedition of business, inferior courts wre appended to it, which were eiiijiowcred to decide causes (if small importance without iippeal, and witli ap|)eal causes of more magnitude. The mendiers of the supreme court ai'e named neither by the people nor tiie legislature, but by the j)resident of the United States, acting wifii the advii-c of the senate. In order to render tiiem independent of the ofh<'r authorities, their ollice wns maili' inalieniiltle ; ami it was det«>rmini'd that t.'icir salary, when once lixid, sliould not be \'-~:ln 138 TUli: FKDEKAI. CONSTITUTION. ullcivd by the Icffisliiturt'.* ll was easy to prodaiin tlio prin. ciplc of a (('(It-ml judiciary, but diilicultic's inultipliod wIkmi the extent of its jurisdiction was to be determined MEANS OF DKTERMINING THE JURISDICTION OF THE FEDERAL COURTS. Dillicnlty of (Ictcrmiiiiiii;' (lu- Jurisdiction of scpiirato conrls of .Instico ill ('oiifi'dcnitioii, — 'I'lic Courts of the I'nioii olilaiiicd tlic Kinlit of fixiiiu: llioir own .Inrisdic'ion. — In wlmt Ixcspcct lliis Kulc iittiicks tlif Portion of So\frciij;nly ri'scrvcd to llic scvonil St;it( ■I'll SoviTcii^nty of lliosc Stiitcs r<'sti'ict('d hy llio Laws, and tlu^ Inter- pretation of till" J^awH. — t"oiisi'(|ni'ntly, (lie DangiT of tlio stiveral Slates is more apparent than real. As the constitution of tlie Ifiuhnl States reco privileocs of the national su|ire- 'riie Union was divided into distrielr- 111 eacii o f w liieli a resident t'edeval judiie \\;is a|ipoiiilrd, and the coni't inwiiicdi le pi'i Kled Was lernied a "district coiirl." I"a(di of tlie indues ot' the siijireiiie court anniially visits a certain portion of the Kepnhlic, in onh'r to try the most import, ml causes npoii the spot ; the I'onrt presided o\t'r li_\ tliis ma;;istr.ite is styled a "circuit court." La-i|l>,all liic most serious cases ol' litii.';dioii are hronuht li.'fire the sii|iri'me cmirt, which holds a solemn session once a year, at wlii(di all the jndiies i>f the circuit courts must atlei .1. T le JUIN w as inlrodui II to ihe tediral courts in tile same manner, and iu the >,ime c, si s as into ilie courts ot' the states. It will 1). served tiiat ni all r\ i'\isi> Iwceii tlie sniirinie court of the I'niled .'^tafes and the I'reuch coiir d ■ cassation, since tho itter oiil\ hears appi'als. The supreme court decides upi'ii the e\ i. ur (It if the fact, as W(dl as npmi Ihe law of t!i d W her. .iS tlie e cassilioii does not pronounce a i.ecision el its own, hid refers the c.ius, to th :r' 'Ir.itn I ihcr llihiind. See the law o| •.' Itll .'>e!itemhi r, I 7"»'.i. la\>softlie ruitel ,'>tates, lis Siorv, vo|, i. :i. .".;i. .11 TUK FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 139 macy. But it was impossible tn create an arbiter between a superior court of tlie Union and tbt^ superior court of a sepa- rate state, wbi(;b would not belong to one of tbese two (^lasses. It was tluM'cfore necessary to allow one of tliest; courts to jud«fe its own cause, and to take or to retain cognizance of tlie point wliicli was contesti^d. To grant tliis privilegf* to ibe dillerent (fourls of tlie states, woulil liave been to destroy tbe sovereignty of tbe Union d" farlo, after baviiig (•stul)lisbed it de jure ; Ibr tbe interpretation of tli(> constitulion would soon bave restored tbut portion of independence to tli(> states of wbieb tbe terms of tliat act depriv<'d tbeni. Tbe object of tbe cri'afion of a federal tribunal was to prevent tbe courts of tbe states from deciding (piestions atl'ecting tlie mitiniiul interests it) tiieir own department, and so to tl)rm a uniiorm body of jurisprudence for tbe interpretation of tiie laws of tbe Union. Tins end woidd not bave been acconi|ilisbed if tbe courts of tbe several states bad been competent to deeido upon cases in tbeir se|)arate capacities, from wbicli tbey were obliged to abstain as federal tribunals. Tbo supremt^ court of tbe United States was tberei!)re invested witb tbe rigbt of determining all (piestions of jurisdiction.* Tbis was a severe blow upon tbe indej)endenee of tbe states, wbicb was tbus restricted not only by tbe laws, but by tbe interpretation of tbem ; by one limit wbicb was known, and by anotber wbicb was dubious ; by a rule wliiidi was certain, and ii rule wbicb was arbitrary, it is true tbe con- stitution lull! laid (low II tb(> precisi- limits of tlie iederul supre- macy, but wbenever tbis supremacy is cnntested by one of tbe states, a fed(>ral tribmuil decides ibe ipK stion. Never- tbidess, tbe dangers w ilb wbicb tbe indcpeiidi iice of tlu; states was tbreatened bv ibis mode of i»i serious tban ibey appear to W dinij are ess e snal bereafter tbat in America tbe real strengtb of tb(> country is vested in tbe provincial far more tban in tlie fedi-ral <_r<>vernment. 'J'be .f Ibe •lined Icilei'al judges are eoiiseious .f lb power in w I lose name tbev act, and tliev are more m( relative weakness o tb to abandon a rigbl of jurisdiction in cases wbere it is justly In order to (liniiiii-^li llic imiiilicr of tlicsc suits, it \v,h d ccidi'i in ii iircil iii.iiiv liMlcr. '.ills.'S, the courts ol tile .stiilcs sliou 1.1 1) I tli;it (•ii\- |Hi\vci'('il to (lc('i(ir coiijoiiitly willi lliiisf of \\\v Union, the losinir |>;irty ii;i\iii:,' lln-n ;i riulit o|' ;i)i|)(';il to llic siiprciiir coiiit of tlw I'nili'd St. lies. 'I'lu' suprciiic conrt of V'ir'^ini.i contt'stcd flio liiiiit of tlui sdprt'ine fonrt of tin- I'nili'd Stiitos to jiid;,^' an appciil fnun its di-ci- sions, hilt iiiisni'i'i'sstully. Sit Kent's ('oinmfiit;irirs. vol. i., pp. ;)ii(i, ,'170, ,t sri/. : Story's Coiniin'iit.ii'ii's, p. I'lli'i; and " 'I'lic Orfiiiiiio Law of lllr I'llilrd St.itcs," Vol. i., p. .'I.') IL... 140 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. their own, than to assert a privilege to which tliey have no legal claim. DIFFERENT CASES OF JURISDICTION. The Matter iind tiie Party are the first Conditions of the federal Ju- risdiction. — Suits in which Ambassadors are engaged. — Suits of the Union. — Of a separate State.— IJy whom tried.— Causes resulting from tlic Laws of the Union. Wiiy judged by the federal Tribu- nal. — ('auses relating to the Non-performance of Contracts tried by the federal Courts. — Conse(iuences of this Arrangement. After having appointed the means of fi.xing the competency of the federal courts, the legislators of the Union defined the cases which sliould come within their jurisdiction. It was estahlished, on the one hand, that certain parties must always be brought before the federal courts, without any regard to the special nature of the oause ; and, on the other, that cer- tain causes must always be brought before the same courts, without any regard to the quality of the parties in the suit. The.se di.stinctions were therefore admitted to be the bases ot the federal Jurisdiction. Ambassadors are the representatives of nations in a state of amity with the Union, and wiiatever concerns tiiesi^ per- sonages concerns in some dejiree tlie whole Union. When an and)a,ssador is a party in a suit, that suit atfects the wel- fare of the nation, and a federal tribunal is naturally called upon to decide it. The Union itself may be involved in legal proceedings, and in this ease it would be alike contrarv to tiie eu-stums of all nations, and to conunon .sense, to appeal to a tribunal representing any other sovereignty than its own ; the fede- ral courts, theretbre, take cognizance of these atlairs. When two parties belonging to two ditliTent stat(\s are en- gaged in a suit, the case cannot with j)ropriety be brought before a court of either state. Tiie surest expedient is to select a tribunal like that of tlie Union, wliich can e.xeite tlie su.spicions of neither party, and which oU'ers the most natural as well as the most certain remedy. When the two parties ar(>not private individuals, but states, an important polititial consideration is added to the .same mo- tive of equity. TluMjuality of the parties, in fhisca.se, gives a national importance to all their disputes ; and the most tri- THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 141 fling litigation of the states may be said to involve the peace of the whole Union.* The nature of the cause frequently prescribes the rule of competency. Thus all the questions Which concern maritime commerce evidently fall under the cognizance of the federal tribunals. f Almost all these questions are connected with the interpretation of the law of nations ; and in this respect they essentially interest the Union in relation to foreign pow- ers. Moreover, as the sea is not included within the limits of any peculiar jurisdiction, the national cc ts can only hear causes which originate in maritime affairs. The constitution comprises under one head almost all the cases which by iheir very nature come within the limits of the federal courts. The rule which it lays down is simple, but pregnant with an entire system of ideas, and with a vast multitude of facts. It declares that the judicial power of the supreme court sliall extend to all cases in law and equity arising under the Imcs of the United States. Two examples will put the intentions of the legislator in the clearest light : — The constitution prohibits the states from making laws on the value and circulation of money : if, notwithstanding this prohibition, a state passes a law of this kind, with which the interested parties refuse to comply because it is contrary to the constitution, the case must come before a federal court, because it arises under the laws of the United States. Again, if difficulties arise in th(^ levying of import duties which have been voted by congress, the federal court must decide the case, becausf^ it arises under the interpretation of a law of the United States. This rule is in perfect accordance with the fundamental principles of the federal constitution. The Union as it was established in 1789, possesses, it is true, a limited supremacy ; but it was intended that within its limits it should form one * Tlio constitution also says tliat tlio fodrral oonrts sliall doridn " controvi-rsios l)(>twei'n a state and tiie citizt'iis of aimtlu'r state." And hero a most important (|ncstion of a coiistitntional natnic arose, which was, wlu'tlu'r the juris(iietion driven by the constitution in cases in wliidi a state is a party, extendety, that every nation lias the riirht of decidin<; by its own courts those (luestions which con- cern the execution of its own laws. To this it is answei'<'d, that tiie Union is in so sin_u;ular a position, that in relatio o some matter^j it constitutes a peopb\ and tiiat in ndation 1o Uut tl le iiiier(>nce to !)(» drawn all tiu^ rest it is a nonentity is, that in the laws relatinjx to tlicsi" matters tli(^ Union pos- sesses all liie riii'bts of absolute sovereiuiity. The dilliculty is to know wluit these matters ar(> : and w ben once it is re- sol ve( •( uid ue have shown bow it was res( lived. m speakmrr of the means of detennininjf the jurisdiction of the iederal courts), no furtluM* doubt can arise; for as soon as it is es- tablished thai a suit is federal, that is to .say, that it belon share of sovereijiiity reserved by the constitution to tlie Union, the natural conse(|uence is tliat it should come within (be jurisdiction of a f'deral court. WluMiever the laws of the United Stat(>s are attacked, or whenever they are resort"d to in self-defence, the federal courts mu.st be appealed to. Thus the jurisdiction of the tri- bunals of the Union extends and narrows its limits exactly in the same ratio as the sovereiiriity of the Union au^iiiients or decreases. We have shown that the |)rincipal aim of the letfislators of 178!) was to divide the sovereign! authority into two parts. In tlh> one they placed the control of all the iren- eral interests of the Union, in the other t!ie control of the spe- cial interest of its compon(>nt states. TIk ir chief solicituilc was to arm the fi'deral ^■ovtM'nmeiit w itli siillicient power to enable it to resist, within its sjihere. the encroachments of the several .states. As for these eommmiities, the princi|)le of ind(>pendence within certain limits of tin ir own was ado])ted in tbi'ir behalf; and they wen* concealed from the inspection, and proti>cted from the control, of the cititrul liDViriiment. In vspeakinji of the division of the authority, I observed that this latter principle had not always been In Id sacred, since the * Tliis principle wiis in some inciisiiro rcstrictcil U\ the iiitroductioti of tlu> st'Vi'rid st'.iti'H lis iiuli'|)t';i(lt'it powrrs into liic sc iiitc, and i)y idldwiii'i tlicni to voto scpariitcly in lliu Imnse ol ri'iircsciit ilivcs wiicn till' pr^'sidfnt is clcctod l>> tliat body ; l)ut tlu'sc iivc «'xci'|itioiis, iind tile coiitr;iiy principle is tlio rule. TlIK I'KDKKAI. CONSTITUTION. Ti3 states arc prevented fVoiii passing (;ertain laws, \\liieli appa- rently l»el()ii_s a law oftliis kind, the citi- zens who are injured by its execution can appeal to the fede- ral courts. [TIk^ rtMiiiirlv of (lie snitlior, tliat wlicnovor tlu; laws of (lu; T'nitcd S(;it('s iiri' ii(t;i('k('(l, or wliciicvcr tlioy are rcsorti'd lo in scirdcfcucc, tin; IrdciMl coiii'ts tiiii.sl he ii()|i('alc(l (o, wliicli is iiiorc; strongly cviircsscd in the orit^iiiiil, is citoiicous ami c ilciilatcd (o iiiislcad on a point <>!' Hiiint' iinporlancc. l>y tlu' L;iMnt of power to tlic coiiits of the I'niicd Slilcs to di'cidi' certain cases, tlie powers of the state; conns are not snspendcd, t>nt art? exercised concinrently, snhject to an apjieal to the courts oClhi! (Jnit(>d Slates. IJul it the (lecision ol'tho state court is in fiiiHtr of till' rii^ht, lith', or privih'^e idainied under tlie constitulion, ii treaty, or under a huv of conirri'ss, no appeal lies to tiie federal courts. The appiral is fiiven oidv when tlm decision is a which arise under laws made i)y the several states in opposition to tiie constitution. Tlie states are ])ro- hihited from makiiio; r,r-/ws7-/«f7o laws in (.-riminal cases ; and any person coniiemiied hy virtue of a law (»f this kind can appeal to tlic judicial power of the Union. Tiie states are likew ise prohi!)ited from makiupted hy him, is a contract, ami cannot he revoked hy any future law. .A charter ;;ranted hy the state to a company is a contract, and o pially hindin^rto thestati; as to the i^rantee. 'I'lie clause of ttie constitution here referred to ensures, fheri'fore, the existence of a ^reat part of ac(piired ri:;iits, hut not of all. I'roperts may lejially he held, thou'.tli it may not havi' passed into thi' possessor's iiands hy means of a contract ; and its possession is an acipiired ri^hl, not guarantied hy the federal constitution f .\ reinarkahle instance of this is given hy Mr. Story (p. .'ins, or in the l.irge edition, § l.'iSS). "Dartmouth college in New Hampshire had heeii lonnded by a charter granted to certain individuals hi't'on- the American re\olutioii, and its trustees formeil a corporation under this i'r: I -aS \ ' A\ 144 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. This provision appears to me to be tlie most serious attack upon the independence of the states. The riglits awarded to the federal government for purposes of obvious national importance are definite and easily comprehensible ; but those with which this last clause invests it are not either clearly appreciable or accurately defined. For there are vast nujnbers of political laws which influence the obligations of contracts, which may thus furnish an easy pretext for the aggressions of the central authority. [Tlio Iciws of the auilior respecting the danfjer tttier slate. M. J)e Tociineville's observation, that the rights with which the clause . 1 liuestioii invests the I'ederal government " are not clearly appreciable or accurately delined," proceeds upon a mistaken view of the clause itself It ridates to the ult/ignti(in of a contract, and forbids any act by whicii tliat obligation is impaired. To American lawyers, this seems to be as precise and definite as any rule (-an be made by human language. The distinction between tiie rii^lit to the fruits of a contract, and the time, tribunal, and manner, in whicli that right is to be enforced, seems very palj)able. At all events, since the decision charter. The legislature of New Hampshire had, without the consent of this corporation, jiassed an act changing tlie organization of (he original provincial charter of the college, and transferring all the rights, privileges, and franchises, from the old charter trustees to new trustees appointed under the act. The constitutionality of the act was contested, and after solemn arguments, it was deliberately liehl by the supreme court that the provincial charter was a contract within the meaning of the constitution (art. i , sect. 10), and that the amend.itory act was utterly void, as impairing the obligation of that charter. Tiie c(dlege was deemed, like other colleges of private foundation, to bi' a private eleemosynary institutij;ation of a con- tract, and thus the contracts tiiouiselves be destroyed ? The answer to (his Would be, that tiie ([uestion would not arise under the clause for- bidding? laws impairin;' the obli^^ation of contracts, lor tliat clause applies only to the states and not to the fedcr;d irovernrnent. If it be intended, that the states may lind il necessary to pass politi- cal laws, wliich ad'ect contracts, and that under tiie pretence of vindi- cating the obligation of contracts, the central authority may make aggressions on the states and annul their political laws : — the answer is, that the motive to the adoption of the clause was to reach laws of every description, puiitical as well as all others, and that it was the aiiuse by the states of wiiat may be called jiolitical laws, viz. : acts conliscating deniaiiiis of foreign creditors, that gave rise to the prohi- bition. Tiie settled doctrine now is, that states may ])ass laws in respect to the making of contracts, may prescribe what contracts shall be made, and how, but that they cannot impair any that are already made. Tlie writer of this note is unwilling to dismiss the subject, without remarking upon what he must think a fundamental error of the author, which is exhibited in the passages comirieiited on, as well as in other passages : — ancT tliat is, in sui)i)osing the judiciary of the United States, and particularly the supreme court, to be a part of the political fede- ral government, and as the ready instrument to execute its designs u|)on the state antliniities. Altliougli the judges are in form commis- sioned liy the United States, yet, in fact, they are ap})ointed by the delc- frates of the state, in the senate of the I'liited States, concurrently witli, and acting upon, the iiemination ol' the president. If the legis- lature of each state in the Union were to ele<'t a jndne of tlie supreme court, he would imt be less a political ollicer ot'tlie I nited States than he \w\\ is. In truth, the judiciary have no political duties to perform ; they are arbiters chosen by the federal and state goveriinients, jointly, and when apjiointed. as independent of the noe as of the otlier. Tiiey cannot be removed without tiie consent of the states repriisented in (ho senate, and tiiey can be reuioved witiioiit the consent of the pi'esideiit, and against liis w ishes. Such is the theory of tiie constitution. And it has been felt I'.iactically, in the reji-etion by the senate of peisnus nominati>d as jndgi's, by a president of the same political party wirii u majority of the senatvecu- tivp of the I'nited States, liy the expectation of otliees in his liill, (lie answer is, that ju(L^(\s of slate courts are c pudly expesed to the same iiillueiice — that all state otlieers, from t!ie hiuhest to the lii\ves(, are ia tiie same iiredicament ; and tiial this circuinslaiice does not, ihert lore, ct Prosecutions of private Individuals in the federal Courts. — Indirect Prosecution in the States which violate the Laws of the Union. — The Decrees of the Supreme Court enervate but do not destroy the provincial Laws, I HAVE shown what the privileges of the federal courts are, and it is no less important to point out the manner in which they are cxcrcisod. The irresistible authority of justice in countries in which the sovereignty is undivided, is derived from the fact that the tribunals of those countries represent the entire nation at issue with the individual against whom their decree is directed ; and the idea of power is thus intro- duced to corroborate the idea of right. But this is not always the case in countries in which the sovereignty is divided : in them the judicial power is more frequently opposed to a frac- tion of the nation than to an isolated individual, and its moral authority and physical strength arc consequently diminished. In federal states the power of the judge is naturally decreased, and that of the justiciable parties is augmented. The aim of the l(>gislator in confederate states ought therefore to be, to render the position of the courts of justice analogous to that which they occupy in countries where the sovereignty is undivided ; in other words, his efforts ought con.stantly to tend to maintain the judicial power of *ho, confederation as the representative of the nation, aiid the justiciable i)arty as the representative of an individual interest. Every government, whatever may be its constitution, re- quires the means of constraining its .subjects to discharge their obligations, and of protecting its privileges from their assaults. As far as the direct action of the government on the comnmnity is concerned, the constitution of the Uni- ted States contrived, by a master-stroke of policy, that the federal courts, acting in the name of the laws, should only take cognizance of parties in an individual capacity. For, THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 147 as it had been declared that the Union consisted of one and the same people within the limits laid down by the •constitution, the inference was that the government created by this constitution, and acting within these limits, was in- vested with all the privileges of a national government, one of the principal of whicli is the right of transmitting its injunctions directly to the private c'tizen. When, for in- stance, the Union votes an impost, it does not apply to tlii,' states for the levying of it, bu to every American citizen, in proportion to his assessment. The supreme court, which is empowered to enforce the execution of this law of the Union, exerts its influence not upon a refractory state, but upon the private taxpayer; and, like the judicial power of other nations, it is opposed to the person of an individual. It is to be observed that the Union chose its own antajjonist ; and as that antagonist is feeble, he is naturally worsted. But the difficulty increases when the proceedings are not brought forward hj but against the Union. Tlic con- stitution recognizes the legislative power of the state ; and a law so enacted may impair the privileges of the Union. in which case a collision is unavoidable between that body and the state which had passed the law ; and it only re- mains to select the least dangerous remedy, which is very clearly dcducible from the general principles I have before established.* It may be conceived that, in the case under considera- tion, the Union might have sued the state before a federal court, wliich would have annulled the act ; and by this means it would have adopted a natural course of proceed- ing: but the judicial power would have been placed in open hostility to the state, and it was desirable to avoid this predicament as much as possible. The Americans hold that it is nearly impossible that a new law should not impair the interests of some private individuals by its provisions : these private interests are assumed by the Ame- rican legislators as the ground of attack against such mea- sures as may be prejudicial to the Union, and it is to those cases that the protection of the supreme court is extended. Suppose a state vends a certain portion of its territory to a company, and that a year afterwards it passes a law by which the territory is otherwise disposed of, and that clause of the constitution, which prohibits laws impairing tlie obliga- tion of contracts, is violated. When the purchaser under •See chapter vi., on judicial power ii\ America. it! !H ■);, 1/ mm I J Hit !tU;iJ h 148 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. the second act appears to take ,)o.ssession, tlie possessor under the first act brings his action before tlie tribunals of the Union, and causes the title of the claimp,nt to be pro- nounced null and void.* Thus, in point of fact, the judicial power of the Union is contesting the claims of the sovereignty cf a state ; but it only acts indirectly and upon a special ap- plication of detail: it attacks the law in its consequences, not in its principle, and it rather weakens than destroys it. The last hypothesis that remained was that each state formed a corporation enjoying a separate existence and dis- tinct civil rights, and that it could therefore sue or be sued before a tribunal. Thus a state could bring an action against another state. In this instance the Union was not called upon to contest u provincial law, but to try a sui: in which a state was a party. This suit was perfectly similar to any other cause, except that the quality of the parties was dilFerent ; and here the danger pointed out at the beginning of this chapter exists with less chance of being avoided. The inherent disadvantage of the very essence of federal con- stitutions is, that they engender parties in the bosom of the nation which present powerful obstacles to the free course of justice. HIGH BANK OF THE SUPREME COURTS AMONG THE GREAT POWERS OF STATE. No Nation cvoroonstitnfod sn drcat a judicial Power as tlio Americans. I'^.xtont of its Prentnativt'.— It>< political liilliiencc. — 'I'lic 'Praniinillity an.l tlic very Kxistcnce ol' tlie Union dopcnd on tlio J3iscretion of the seven federal Judges. When we have sueei^sfiillv examiniMl in detail the orjiani. zalif)n of the supreme court, and tlie entire prerogatives which it exerci.ses, we shall readily admit that a more impos. ing judicial power was never constituted by any people. The su|)reme cou'l is placed at the head of all know n tril)U- nals, botii i)y the nat\ire of its riglits and liie class of justici- able parties which it controls. In all the civiliy/d countries of Europe, the government has always shown tli(> greatest repugnniiee to allow tlie cas(>s to wliieh it was itself a party to be decided by the ordinary course of jnstic(\ This rej)Ugnane(> naturally attains i*s •See Kent's Conintentniici. vol. i., p, .'I's?. m THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 149 utmost height in an absolute governnncnt ; and, on the other hand, the privileges of the courts of justice are extended with the increasing liberties of the people ; but no European na- tion has at present held that all judicial controversies, with- out regard to their origin, can be decided by the judges of common law. In America this theory has been actually put in practice ; and the supreme court of tiie United States is the sole tribu- nal of the nation. Its power extends to all the cases arising under laws and treaties made by the executive and legisla- tive authorities, to all cases of admiralty and maritime juris- diction, and in general to all points wliicii aiFect the law of nations. It may even be aUlrmed that, altliough its constitu- tion is essentially judicial, its prerogatives are almost entirely political. Its sole object is to enforce the execution of the laws of the Union ; and the Union oidy regulates the rela- tions of tlie government with the citizens, and of the nation with foreign powers : the relations of citizens among tiiem- selves are almost exclusively regulated by the sovereignty of the states. A s(>cond and still greater cause of the preponderance of this court may be adduced. In the nations of Europe the courts of justice are oidy called upon to try the controversies of private individuals; but the supreme court of tiie United States summons sovereign powers to its bar. When the clerk of the court advance.- on the steps of the tribunal, and simply says, " Tl;e state of New York 'cerstis the state of Ohio," it is impossible not to feel that tlie court which he addresses is no ordina y body ; and when it is recollected that one of these parties represents one million, and the other two millions of men, on(^ is struck l)y the responsibility of the seven judges w'lose il''(;ision is about to satisl'v or todisappoint si> large a number of their fellow-citizens. The peaer>, the prosperity, and the very existence of the I iiion, are invested in the hands of the seven judges. With- out liieir active co-operation the constitution would be a dead letter: the executive appeals to lliem i!)r assistance against the encroachments of the legislative powiM's ; tiie legislature deminids their proleetion from tlie designs of the executive ; they defend the Union tVoui the disobedienc)' of the state's, the states from the eNuiigenitrd clnims of the Union, the public interest ngaitisl ih.- interests of privati- citizens, and the con- MiAulivi' spirit of order itgiiinst llie lli'i ting imioviiticMis of deni' ci'acv. Their power is riinniio'us. l.iit it is clothed in fill' aiilhority of pulilie opinion. riie_\ ai'e tlit all-powcrfu) '\i V- : ti ■ ■i Hi ((( : I .ft mi) THK j-i;ni:KAi, coastitution. guardians of a people wliicli respects law ; but tiiey would 1)0 iniiKitoiit against popular neglect or pojtulur contempt, Tlie force of public opinion is the most intractable of agents, because its exact limits cannot be .lefuied ; and it is not less dangerous to exceed, than to remain below the boundary pre- scribed. The federal judges nnist not only bo good citizens, and men possessed of that information and integrity wiiich arc indispinisable to magistrates, but they nmst be statesmen — politicians, not unread in the; signs of the times, not afraid to brave the obstacles which can be subdued, nor slow to turn aside such encroaching elements as may threaten the supre- macy of the Union and tlic obedience which is due to the laws. The president, who exercises a limited power, may err without causing great misi-hief in tiie state. Congress may decide' amiss witliout destroying the Union, because the elec- toral body in which congress originates may cause it to re- tract its decision by cliaiiging its members, liut if the siii)reme court is ever composed of imprudent men or bad I'itizens, the Union may be plunged into anarchy or civil war. The n^al cause of this danger, however, does not lie in the constitution of the tribunal. i)Ut in the vei'v nature of li'deral governments. \\ e have observed tliat m confederate pioples it is especially necessary to consolidate tin' judicial authority, bei'ause in no o'her nations ilo those independent pi rsons who are able to cope with the .social body, exist, in greater power or in a bett(>r condition to resist the physical strength of th.' government. Hut the more a ]iower recpiires to be strengthened, the more extensive and independent it must be made ; and the 'h existed in the llinii"- i on >iitu*ioiis. The chief cause of the >iiperiorit\ of 'he li >' ;al constitu- tion lay in the t'haraider of the leoislntors ^' lio compose .1 I'. At the time when it was firmed the dano-e.< of the eoMli'dera- tioii Were imminent, and its ruin seemed inev itahle. In this extremity the peop,e chose tlie men wlio mo>f deserved the esteem, rather than thosi> w ho had i^aiiied the allictions of the country. I have ali'eadv ohserxed, that distino;nisiied us nlmost all the leoislators of tiie I iiioii were jitr their in- telliiieiKv, they Were still more so jlir their patriotism. 'J'ln y had all heen nurtured at a time when the spirit of liherty was liraeed hy a continual struo:L:le aoaiiist a powerful ami predominant anlhority. When the eonti st was lerminated, while the excited jiassiolis of the popiilace persisted ill war- rinji with dioiuers which had ecased to threaten them, these* men .stopped short ill their career; they i-ast a calmer and ':U. n r ■u :(■. ■ , -v. u VM^, ■ m I' 152 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION »>' <■■■ iiKire penotrating look upon tlie country whicli was now tlicir own ; llioy porccivotl that the war of indopendence was defi- nitely ended, and tliat the only dangers which America had to fear were those which might result from the ahuse of the fi'eedom she had won. They had the courage; to say what they helieved to be true, because they were animated by a warm ar.d sincere love of liberty ; and they ventured to pro- pose I'cstrictions, because they were resolutely opposed to de- struction.* The greaior number of the constitutions of the states assign one year for the duration of the house of representatives, and two years for that of the senate ; so that members of the legislative body are constantly and narrowly tied down by the slightest desires of their constituijits. The legislators of the Union were of opinion that this excessive dependence of the legislature tended to alter the nature of tiie main c principal (niinilcrs of (lie dinslitution, \i'iitunMl to o\|ii'rs.-i tho I'ollowinu' si'nti- nicnts in tin- l''tHltM-alist, Xo. "I: " Tliovo are soino who wtuild ho inclined to icnard the scrvilo pliancy of the (>\ocntivo to a prcvailin,;^ cnrrcut, citiuv in the conuuiinity or in the hrishiturc, as its hcst rc- coinincndation J>nt sncli men enti'rtain very crude notions, as well of the purpose for which i;o\ernnient was instituted, as of tlie true inems hy which tlu> ])nl)lic happiness may he promoted. The repnl)- lican principle demands that the deliherative sense nf tile cdinmunity should Li'KVern the ceiidnct of those to whom tiiev intrust the manage- ments ill their a lliurs hut it diM's uot reipnre an uinpi dilied cunipl.u- SMice ti> every suddi^i hreeze of passion, or to every transii'ut impulse which the people may receive from the arts of men who jljtier tiii'ir ])n'judiees to hetray their interests It is a just ohservation that tlu^ people commonly iiifrmf the pnhfii' ^ooil. 'I'liis often applies to their Very errors. I'ut their irood seiisi- would despise the adulator who should iirelend that tiny would always nasoii ri^fif aliout the nwnnn of proii'otiuLr it. They iserve it. When sions present themselves in which the interests of the people ;tre at \arianci' with their inclinations, it is the dnt,\ of persons \> imni tin y .imil id I p{ rluiii(\ for ha\t' appointed to he the Ltuardians of those interests, t A i: the ti arv delusion, order to Liivc iheiii lime a more cool an< sedate retliition. In,..t.(nces iiiiuht l>e cited in which a conduct of this kind hassived the people troiii ver\ fit d coiise ;i ences of their own mistakes, atid has procured 1 istiiv.; mo Hiine its ol their jiralilude to the iinuiwlio ha I eonr iife and mau'n lu'milv eiiMuh to «i rve at the peril of their displeasure. THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 153 pie. They increased the lenirth of tlic time for which the represontatives were returned, in order to give them freer scope for the exercise of their own judgment. The federal constitution, as well as the constitutions of the diderent states, divided the le^nslativc hodyinto two hranches. But in the states these two branches were composed of tlie same elements and elected in the same manner. Tlic con- sequence was that the passions and inclinations of the popu- lace were as I'apidly and as enorgeticaliy represented in one chamber as in the other, and tliat laws were made with all the characteristics of violence and precipitation. By the federal constitution the two houses orig'.natj in like manner in the choice of the people ; but the conditions of eligibility and the mode of election were changed, to the end that if, as is the case in certain nations, one branch of the legislature repri'senls tlie same iiiti rests as tlie other, it may at least re- present a superior degree of intelligence and discretion. A mature age was madr one of the conditions of the s(>natorial dignity, and tlu; upper house was (diosen by an elected as- sembly of a limited numlier of meiM*H?rs. To concentrate tlie wliol > social frtrce in the liands of the legislative body is the natural ti ndi iicy of demof^'acies ; for as this is the |)o\\r'r wliii'h euianato the nio>t directly from the people, it is made to participate most fuliv in the prepon- derating authority of the nudtitnde, and it is naturally Icil to nnjuopolise every species of iullucncc. This coneentralioii is at once prejudii-ial i > a wcll-eoiiducted administration, and li'vorable to the despotism of the majority. The legislators of the states fre(|Uently yielded to tliese democratic |.ropen- sities, witi.'h were invaiiably and coun'geously resisted by the founders of the I'nion. In the stat'S the executive power is vesli'd in llie luinds of a magistrate, \\ ho is appiii'cntly placed upon a li'\cl with the legislature, i)ut who is in reality nothing more than llic Mind agent and tln' passixc instrument of its decisions. He can derive no induence tVom the duration of his fmutiuns, which terminate u ith the revohing year, or from the exercise of' prerogatives which can scarcely be said to exist. 'I'lie legis- lature can condemn him to inin lion Ity ihtnistitig the c\(>cu. lion ol' the laws to special committi is of its own mcndicrs, ami can annul his temporary dignity by depriving liini >d'lus salary. The federal coiislitnlion vests all the pri\ilegcs and all the responsibility ol' the e\ecuti\e |'owcr in a single mdi- vidual. The duration of tin' j >idency is fixed at fnur yciirs ; the salary of the individiinl wl:'. fills tluit oII'k e can- u IM 154 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. :! not be altered during the term of his functions ; he is pro- tected by a body of otlieial dependents, and armed \vitl» a suspensive veto. In short, every effort was made to confer a strong and independent position upon the executive author- ity, within the limits which had been prescribed to it. In the constitution of all the states the judicial power is that which remains the most independent of the legislative authority : nevertheless, in all tlie states the legislature has reserved to itself the right of regulating the emoluments of the judges, a practice which necessarily s-ubjects these ma- gistrates to its immediate influence. In some states the judges are only temporarily appointed, which deprives them of a great portion of tiieir power and their {'ivcdom. In others the legislative and judicial powers are entirely con- founded : thus the senate of New York, for instance, consti- tutes in certain cases the superior court of the state. Tlie federal constitution, on the other hand, carefully separates the judicial authority from all external inllueiu/es : and it provides tijr the independence of the judges, by declaring tluii tlu'ir salary shall not be altered, and that their functions siuiU be inalienable. Is [ft is not luiivcrsall) rnrrcct, sis supposed i>y tlio unllior, that tlie stale lufjislaturi's can (k|)rivc' tlnir govoi-nor of Ills salary at i)lL'asuro. In tlio I'onstitntion of Now York it is provided, tliat tlu! i;ovcrnor " sliali roccjvo for liis services a coinpcn.'-aticn wiiirli sh dl ncitiiiT Ix; incroas.'d nor diniinislK'd during- tlie tcrin for wlii.di lie sliall have been oh'ctt'd ;■' and similar pv(i\ isions ari' hclifvi'd to exist in otluT statis. Nor is tlio reniarlc stiiclly correct, that the federal constiiiition '* pro\ ides lor the independeiicr ot' the judi^es, l)y derliirinii" that their >. d iry sliall not he oltirvd."' The provision of tin- constitulio:', is, that tiiey shill, *-at stated tiines, receive for tiieir services a compensation wliicli shall not i)i' diminishe I during; their continuance in ollice." — ^Imcricnii Kditor. ] The practical coiis(V|uences of these dilU'rent svsfems may easily be perceived. n at -tive oljserver will soon reiiuirk that the business of li. iJiion is iiicunpuriilily better c dm- iliieted than tliat of ;;mv inili\ idual s,.;. •. 'I'Ik* (ond-'ctof tlie ii'deral governmei:; is more liiir and more teiiijicrate tlian iliat of the states; its (l(>signs are more i'nuighf witli wisdom, its projects arc; more dural)le and more skiltiilly combined, iis measures ar«» put into execution with more vigur and con- sistency. I recapitulate tlie substance of tliis clKipIt r in ;i ['r\v Words : — Tlie exist" nee of democracies is llirealeiied I)) two daiigeis, I THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 155 viz. : the complete subjection of the legislative body to the caprices of the electoral body ; and the concentration of all the powers of the government in the legislative authority. The growth of tiiese evils has been encouraged by the policy of the legislators of the states; but it has been resisted by the legislators of the Union by every means which lay within their control. CHARACTERISTICS WHICH DISTINGUISH THE FEDERAL CONSTITU- TION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FROM ALL OTHER FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONS. American Union a)ii)f'ars to resemble all other Confederations. — Never- theless its Knects are dillerent. — Reason of tliis — Distinctions be- tween tile Union and all other ('onfederations. — The American Gov- ernment not a l''ederal, but an imperfect National Government. The United States of America do not afford either the first or the only instance of confederate states, several of which have existed in modern Europe, without adverting to those of anti- quity. Switz(>rlan(l. tli(> Germanic empire, and the repul)lic of the United Provineis. cither have been or still are confede- rations. In .studying the constitutions of these dillerent coun- tries, tlie politician is surprised to observe that the powers with wliicli they invested the fedi'ral govermnent are nearly identical with the privileges awarded by the American con- stitution to the government of the United States. They con- fer upon the central power the same rights of making peace and war, of raising money and troops, and of providing for th." general exigencies and tiie common interests of tlie nation. Nevertheless the ledi-ral government of thes(> different people lui' always been as remaricabic ilir its weakness and iiielli- cirncy as tiinl of the Union is li)r its \ igorons and cnteritrising spifit. Again, the first American conli'derittion perished ihrougii tlie exicssive weakn(>ss of its government ; and this Weak government was, notwithstanding, in |)( ..-session of rights even more extensive tlian those of the federal gov(>rnment of the present (hiy. lUit tin' more recent constitution of tho United Stiites contains eertiiin principles which exercise u most importaul inllncnec, altliougli they do not at once slriko the observer. This eonstitulion, which may at first sight be conflunided Wiih the tedcral consiiiinions wliieli preceded it, rests upon a novel liieorv . which ma\ be e(.>nsidered us a y-rcat invention "I' • f, JV' f. ^k1l i f^1 156 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTIO:X. in modern political science. In all the confederations which had heen formed before the American constitution of 1789, the allied states agreed to obey the injunctions of a federal jroverrmient : but they reserved to themselves the right of or- daining and enforcing the execution of the laws of the Union. The American states which combined in 1789 agreed that the federal government should not only dictate the laws, but it should execute its own enactments. In both cases the right is the same, but the exercise of the right is different ; and this alteration produced the most momentous consequences. In all the confederations which have been formed before the American Union, tiie federal government demanded its suj)plies at the hands of the separate governments ; and if the measure it prescribed was onerous to any one of those bodies, means were found to evade its claims: if the state was power- ful, it had recourse to arms; if it was weak, it connived at the resistance which the law of the Union, its sovereign, met with, and resorted to ir.action under the plea of inability. Under these circumstances one of two alternatives has inva- riably occurred : either tiie most preponderant of the allitd peoples has assumed the privileges of the federal authority, and ruled all the other states in its name,* or the federal gov- ernment has been abandoned by its natural supporters, aiiar- ciiy has arisen between the confederates, and the Union has lost all power of act ion. f In America the subjects of the Uiiioii are not states, but private citizens : the national government levies a tax, not upon the state of Massachusetts, but upon each inliabitant of I\fassacluisetts. All former confederate governments i)r( sided over comnuniities, but that of liie Union rules individuals ; its force is not borrowed, but self-derived ; and it is served by its own (;ivil and military otlieers, by its own arn)y, and its own courts of justice. It cannot lie doubted that th(> spirit of \\\v. nation, tiie passions of the multitude, and the provincial pre- judices of each state, tend singularly to diminish the author- ity of a federal autliority thus eousiituted, and to facilitate the means of resistance to its mandates; but the comparative * 'fliis was tlie ci\si? in Oioi'i'i', wluii l'liili|) uiidiTtonk t» cviPiito the dccvi'i' dl' the Aiiipliii'tviuis ; in the F.ow ('(luiitiirs, wlicrc llu; pni\ iiici- (>( lloihiiKl ;il\Vi:vs nave llic law ; iiiid in our tiinc in the (Jer- inanic ('(jnlrdcratiiin, in wliicli Vnstiia and I'mssia ass'inii' a ^I'l'^it dv- l^iircc of inthiL'tioe ovit the; wluile CDnnliy, in the tiiitiie of tlic Diet. t Sncli has alwius bi'cn Il)(» silnatinn of tlio Swiss coiil'cdcratidn, which wiinld have jii'iishi'd ages ago but for the tniitnat j('ah)nsics ot' its neighbors. THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 157 weakness of a restricted sovereignty is an evil inherent in the federal system. In America, each state has fewer oppor- tunities of resistance, and fewer temptations to non-compli- ance ; nor can such a design be put in execution (if indeed it be entertained), witliout an open violation of the laws of the Union, a direct interruption of the ordinary course of justice, and a bold declaration of revolt ; in a word, without a decisive step, which men hesitate to adopt. In all former confederations, the privileges of the Union furnished more elements of discord than of power, since they multiplied the claims of the nation without augmenting the means of enforcing them : and in accordance with this iiict it may be remarked, that the real weakness of federal govern- ments has almost always been in the exact ratio of their nomi- nal power. Such is not the case with the American Union, in which, as inordinary governments, the federal government has tlie means of enforcing all it is empowered to demand. The human understanding more easily invents new things than new words, and we are thence constrained to employ a multitude of improper and ina(k>(|uate expressions. When several nations form a permanent league, and establish a supreme authority, which, although it has not the same influ- ence over the members of the communitv as a national gov- ernment, acts upon each of the confederate states in a body, this government, which is so essentially different from all others, is denominated a federal one. Another form of so- ciety is afterward discovered, in wliich several peoples arc fused into one and tiie same nation with regard to certain common interests, altliough they remain distinct, or at least only confederate, with regard to all their other concerns. In this case the central power acts directly upon those whom it governs, whom it rules, and whom it judges, in the same manner as, but in a more limited circle than, a national gov- verninent. Here the term of federal government is clearly no longer applieabh^ to a state of things wliieii must be styled an incomplete tiational government : a form of government has been found out which is neither exactly national nor fede- ral ; but no farther progress has been made, and the new word which will one day designate this novel invention does not yet exist. Tbc absence of this new species of confederation has been the ('aus{> which has bmiight all unions to civil war. to sub- jection, or to a stagnant apathy ; and the pi-opK's wiiieii form- ed these leagues have been either too dull to discern, or too i m m V i}ii \; M IS If' 158 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. pusillanimous to ai)ply this great remedy. The American confederation perished by the same defects. But the confederate states of America had been long accustomed to form a portion of one empire before they had won their independence : they had not contracted the habit of governing themselves, and their national prejudices had not taken deep root in their minds. Superior to the lost of the world in political knowledge, and sharing that knowledge equally among themselves, they were little agitated by the passions wldch generally oppose the extension of federal authority in a nal ion, and those passions were checked by the wisdom of the chief citizens. The Americans applied the remedy with prudent firmness as soon as they were conscious of tiie evil ; they amended their laws, and they saved their country. ADVANTAOKS OF THE FEDERAL SYSTEM IN GENERAL, AND ITS SPECIAL UTILITY IN AMERICA. Happiness and Frcodorn of smvill Nations. — Power of Great Nations. — Great Empires t'uvorahlo to tlie Growth of Civilisation. — Strength oOen the fu.st EK'nient of national Prosperity. — Aim of the federal .System to nni!c tiie twoi'old Advantage; 'esidting from a small and fiom 1 i:irf \ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) // ^ ??5% <° 1.0 i I.I I^IM |2.5 1!^ U& 12.0 MII^H 11:25 III 1.4 Ui& 1.6 Hiotograpliic .Sciences Corporation \ ^"^ ^ ri>^ <^ 13 WHT MAIN St «HT WltSTn,N.Y. MSM (7I«) •7)-4S03 6^ »■ 'fi 160 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. power of the state ; the strength of parties, with the import- ance of the ends they have in view ; but that devotion to the common weal, which is the surest clicck on destructive pas- sions, is not stronger in a large than in a small republic. It might, indeed, be proved witliout difliculty that it is less pow- erful and less sincere. The arrogance of wealth and the dt'jcction of wretclu'dncss, capital cities of unwonted extent, a lax morality, a vulgar egotism, and a great confusion of nitcrests, are the dangers which almost invariably arise from the magnitude of states, liut several of these evils are scarcely prejudicial to a monarchy, and .>ome of them con- tribute to maintain its existence. In monarchical states the strength of the government is its own ; it may use, but it does not rlcpend on, the community : and the authority of the prince is proportioned to the prosperity of the nation : but the only security which a republican government posses-ses against these evils lies in the support of the majority. This ■«up|)ort is not, however, proportionably greater in a large •epuitlie than it is in a small one ; and thus while the means }f attack pi'rpetually increase both in mnnb(>r and in influ- ence, the power of resistance remains the same ; or it may rather be said to diminish, since the prop(Misities and interests of the people are diversified by the increase of the j)opula- tion, and tlu^ difliculty of forming a compact majority is con- stantly augmented. It has been observed, moreover, that the intensity of liuiiiun passions is iieightened. not oidy by the importance of the end whic^li they pro|)ose to attain, but by the multitude of individuals who are animated by them at the same time. I'iVery one has had oecasion to remark that his emotions in the midst of a sym|)athi/.ing crowd are far greater than those which he would hav(^ felt in solitude. In great repui)lics the impetus of political passion is irr(sistil)le, not only because it aims at gigantic purposes, but beeause it is felt and shiired iiy millions of men at the siiiiie time. It may tlieref ire be asserted as a geni'ral pro|)osition, that nothing is more opposed to the well-being and the freedom of : -n than va-st empires, \evertbeless it is important to ac- knowl(Mlgi> th(^ peculiar advantag''s of great stiit( s. l''or the very reason which renders the desire of |)o\ver more intense ni these connmmities than among onliniiry men. the love of glory is also more prominent in the heaitsoi'a class of eiti/.ens, who regard tlu* a|)plause of a great peojile as a n \\;ird >'.orlhy of their exertions, and an elrxnting uieniinigi inmi to niiin. If we wiiuld learn why it is tliiit gri'iit iiiiiioiis eniitribiite more p)Werfully to the spr(>ad of Iminiin iiiipriiv( nient than 'i THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 161 small states, we shall discover an adequate cause in the rapid and energetic circulation of ideas, and in thooC great cities which are the intellectual centres where all the rays of human genius are reflected and combined. To this it may be added that most important discoveries deuiand a display of national j)Ower whicii tlie government of a small slate is unable to malvc ; in great nations tiie government entertains a greater nundx-r of general notions, and is more completely discnjjaired from the routine of precedent and the (.^olism of local jirejuilice ; its designs are conceived with more talent, and executed with more boldness. In time of peace the well-being of small nations is undoubt- edly more general and more complete ; but they are apt to suffer more acutely from the calamities of war than those great empires whose distant frontiers may for ages avert tlio presence of the danger from tiie mass of the people, which is more frequently afllieted than ruined by the evil. Bui in this matter, as in many others, the argument derived from the necessity of the case predominates over all others. If non(> but small nations existed, I do not doubt that mankind would be more happy and more free ; but the existence of great nations is unavoidable. This consideration introduces the element of physical strength as a condition of national prosperity. It jirofit.! a people but little to be allluent and free, if it ia $ 162 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. part a character of uniforiuity to the laws, which does not always suit the diversity of customs and of districts ; as he takes no cognizance of special cases, he can only proceed upon general principles ; and the population is obliged to conform to the exigencies of the legislation, since the legis- lation cannot adapt itself to the exigencies and customs of the population ; which is the cause of endless trouble and misery. This disadvantage does not exist in confederations ; congress regulates the principal measures of the national government, and all the details of the administration arc re- served to the provincial legislatures. It is impossible to imagine how nmch this division of sovereignty contributes to the well-being of each of the states which compose the Union. In these small conununities, which are never agi- tated by the desire of aggrandizement or the cares of self- defence, all public autiiority and private energy is employed in internal melioration. The central govermnent of each .state, which is in inuiiediate juxtaposition to the citizens, is daily apprise I of the wants which arise in society ; and new projects are proposed every year, which are discussed either at town-meetings or by the legislature of the state, and which are transmitted by the press to stimulate the zeal and to ex- cite the interest of the citizens. This spirit of melioration is constantly al've in the American republics, without com- promising their tranquillity ; the ambition of power yields to the less refined and less dangerous love of comfort. It is generally believed in America that the existence and the jiermaiience of the republican form of government in the New World depend upon the existence and the permanence of the federal system ; and it is not unusual to attribute a large share of the niisfl)rtnnes which have befallen the new states of Houth Ameiiea to the iiiiudieious t rection of ixreat r(pid)lies, instead of a divided and eonf('d(M-ate sovereignty. It is ineontestubly true that the love and the habits of' re. publican government in the United States were engendered in the townships and in the provincial asseml'lies. In a small state, like that of Comicetieut (;)r instance, where cutting a canal or laying down a road is a monientous political ques- tion, where the state has no army to pay and no wars to carry on, and where much wealth and nmch honor eamiot ho. bestowed upon tlic chief eiti/.rns. no ionu of govcrnnK nt can be mf)r(^ natural or more a|ipropriate than that of a re- public. Hut it is tiiis same repul'liean spirit, it is tlnse man- ners and customs of a fn e |ieoj)l(>, wlnVIi are ingt ndend and nurtured in the dilHrent states, to he afterward applied to liie J 1^ THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 163 country at large. The public spirit of the Union is, so to speak, nothing more than an abstract of the patriotic zeal of the provinces. Every citizen of the United States transfu- SOS his attachment lo his little republic into the coimiion store of American patriotism. In defending the Union, ho defends the increasing prosperity of his own district, the rigiit of conducting its afiairs, and the hope of causing measures of improvement to be adopted which may be favorable to his own interests ; and these are motives which are wont to stir men more readily than the general interests of the country and the glory of the nation. On the other hand, if the temper and the manners of the inhabitants especially fitted them to promote the welfare of a groat republic, the federal system smoothed the obstacles wliicii they might have encountered. The confederation of all the American states presents none of the ordinary disad- vantages resulting from great agglomerations of men. The Union is a great republic in extent, but the paucity of objects for which its goverimicnt provides assimilates it to a small state. Its acts are important, but they are rare. As the sovereignty of the Union is limited and incomplete, its exer- cise is not incompatible with liberty ; for it does not excite those insatiable desires of fame and power which has'e proved so fatal to "reat republics. As there is no connnon centre to the country, \ast capital cities, colossal wealth, abject pov- erty, and sudden revolutions arc alike unknown; and political passion, instead of spreading over tiio land like a torrent of desolation, spends its strength against the interests and the individual passions of every state. Nevertlioloss, all commodities and ideas circulate tlirougli- out the Union as freely as in a country inhabited by one people. Nothing checks the spirit of enterprise. Tiu; go- venunent avails itself of the ussistiuice of all who have tal- ents or knowledge to serve it. Within the frontiers of the Union the profoundest peace prevails, as within the heart the numberh ss (Ulliculties resultinj; from their federal constitution. I scurcily ever met witli a plain American cili/tn who could not distinguish, with surprising fiicility, the obliifutions crealfd l)v the laws of conjinss from those ereat- eil by the laws of his own state ; and who, after having iliserimiiiated between th(^ matters which come under tiie cog. u i ■"'I 1 11 w| B fi r 1 n 'III 1 ^ 5| i Vm ill M !^ll1 \\ IM lv| i H. ■I. ■I ! ^m % '-*4 1 ♦• ■m n ' i I'li! I I'.li \i' it t'\ w. W ,1 i i6U THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. nizancc of the Union, and those which the local legislature is competent to regulate, could not point out the exact limit ot the several jurisdictions of the federal courts and the tribu- nals of the state. The constitution of the United States is like those exqui- site productions of human industry which ensure wealth and renown to their inventors, but which are profitless in any- other hands. This truth is exemplified by the condition of Mexico at the present time. The Mexicans were desirous of establishing a federal system, and they took tlic federal con- stitution of their neighbors the Anglo-Americans as their model, and copied it with considerable accuracy.* But al- though they had borrowed the letter of the law, tliey were unable to create or to introduce the spirit and the sense which gave it life. They were involved in ceaseless embarrass- ments between the mechanism of their double government ; the sovereignty of the states and that of the Union perpetu- ally exceeded their respective privileges, and entered into collision ; and to the present day Mexico is alternately the victim of anarchy and the slave of military despotism. Tiie second and the most fatal of all the defects I have alluded to, and that which I believe to bo inherent in the ibderal system, is the relative W(>akness of the government of the Union. The principle upon whieli all confederations rest is that of a divided sovereignty. The legislator may render this partition less perceptible, he may even conceal it fjr a time from the public eye, but he cannot prevent it from existing ; and a divided sovereignty must always be less powerful than an entire supremacy. The reader has seen in the remarks I have made on the constitution of the Uni- ted States, that the Americans have displayed singular inge- nuity in combining the restriction of the power of the Union within the narrow limits of the federal gDvernment, with the semblance, and to a certain extent witii the force of a na- tional government. By this means the legislatoi-s of the Uniun have suceeeded in diminishing, thougii not in counter- acting, the natural danger of confederations. It has been remarked that the American government docs not apply itself to the states, but that it innnediately trans- mits its injunctions to the citizens, and compels them as iso- lated individuals to comply with its demands. But if the federal law were to clash with the interests and prejudices of a state, it might be feared tiiat all tlio citizens of that • See the Mexican constitution of 1S21 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 167 state would conceive themselves to be interested in the cause of a single individual who should refuse to obey. If all the citizens of the state were aggrieved at the same time and in the same manner by the authority of the Union, the federal government would vainly attempt to subdue them individually ; they would instinctively unite in the common defence, and they would derive a ready-prepared organiza- tion from the share of sovereignty which tiic institution of their state allows them to enjoy. Fiction would give way to reality, and an organized portion of the territory might then contest the central authority. The same observation holds good with regard to the federal jurisdiction. If the courts of the Union violated an impor- tant law of a state in a private case, the i-cal, if not the appa- rent contest would arise between the aggrieved state, repi'e- sented by a citizen, and the Union, represented by its courts of justice.* * For instance, the Union posses. i'^s by tlie constitution the rifjht of selling; i\nocciipie(l lands for its own iirolit. Supposing? that tho state of Ohio shonki claim the s^iine riiiht in belialf of ci-rtaiii territories ly- inj; within its boundaries, upon the plea that the constitution refers to those lands alone wliich do not belon:; to the jurisdiction of any par- ticular state, and conseijuently should ciiouse to dis;)ose of them itsL'lf, tlie litiiiation would be carried on in the name of the ])urchasers from the slate of Ohio, and the purchasers from tlie TTnion, and not in the names of OJiio and the Union, liut what would b,H'(jme of tliis le.fal fiction if thefederil purchaser was confirmed in hisri^ht bytliecourtd of tile Union, wiiile tlie other com|)elit')r was ordered to retain posses- sion by (he tribunals of tlie state of Ohio? [The dilhculty supposed by tlie author in tliis ui • s ima,u;inary. Thii ipu'Stioii of tith' to the lands in the case put, must dejiend upon the constitution, treaties, and laws of the United States and a deci- aion in the state court adverse to the claim or title set ■.,) under those laws, must, by th" very words of the constiluticni and of the judiciary act, lir suliject to review by the supreme court of the United States, wimsc^ decision is fmal. Tile remarks in tlie text of this page upon the relative weakness of the government of the Union, are cipially appli -ablj to any form of remiblican or democratic government, and are not peculiar to a fede- ral system. Under the circumstances supposed by the author, of all tlu' citizens of a state, or a large majority of them, aggrieved at the s.ime time and in the sime manner, by the operation of any law, the s.ime dillicully would arise in executing the laws of (lie state a3 thos,' of the Union. Indeed, such instances of the tiit;d ineliicai'y of stite laws are not wanting. The fact is, that all republics de- pend on the wiilinnness of the people to execute the Liws, If t!iey will not enforce them, there is, so far, an end to the government, for it piississes no power adeipiate to the cimtrol of the physical power of the people. Not only ill theory, but in fact, a republican government must bo ■J I;- ' ,1 m ^ !i: >i fl if il m iii I *' llij i: 168 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. Ho ^vould liavo but a partial knowledge of the world who sliould iii'.agino tiiat it is possible, by the aid of legal fictions, to prevent men from finding out and employing those moans of gratifying their passions which have been left open to them ; and it may bo doubted whether the American legis- lators, when they rendered a collisloii between the two sove- reignties less probable, destroyed the causes of such a mis- fortune. J3ut it may even bo affirmed that they were unable to ensure the preponderance of the federal element in a case of this kind. The Union is possessed of money and of troops, but the alllctions and the prejudices of the people are in the bosom of tl:o states. The sovereignty of the Union is an ab- stract being, which is connected with but few external objects ; the sovereignty of the states is hourly perceptible, easily un- derstood, constantly active ; and if the former is of recent crea- tion, the latter is coeval with the people itself. The sovereignty of the Union is factitious, that of the states is natural, and derives its existence from its own simple jnfluence, like the au- thority of a parent. The supreme power of the nation allects only a few of the chief interests of society ; it represents an innnensc but remote country, and claims a feeling of patriot- ism which is vague and ill-defined ; but the authority of tho states controls every individual citizen at every hour and in all circumstances ; it protects his property, his freedom, and his life ; and when we recollect the traditions, the customs, the prejudices of local and faniiliar attachment whh whicii it is connected, we cannot doubt the superiority of a power which is interwoven with every circumstance that renders the love of one's native country instinctive to the human heart. Since legislators are unable to obviate such dangerous col- lisions as occur between the two sovereignties which co exist in the federal system, their first object must be, not only to administered by the people themselves. Tlioy, and they alone, must exiHMitc tho luws. Aiui hence, ttie first principles in sucli govern- ments, tliat on wliich all others depend, and without which no other can exist, is and must b;?, obedience to the existins; laws at nil times and under idl circumstances. It is tlie vital condition of the social compact. He who diinis a dis-iensin;^ power Cor hiinsdf, by wiiich lie sus])ends t'.'.o operation of the liw in his own cas.>, is worse th:ui a usur|t,'r, tor lie not oiilv tramples under loot the con- stitution of his cou'itry, hut violates the reciprncal |)li'dre which he li;is -iiven to his tell iw-citi '.ens, and Ir.is received I'roin them, that he will iibidi' by the l;nv.s co;is'itut:oi:illv e i icted ; unon the stre;m:th of wliich plrd '.■, his ow.i per^Hid ri c!its ;\ad ic piisitions are i)rolected by the rest of the community. — ,'1 mrkim Ei/iUir.'] I'M' ..I'l THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 169 dissuade the confederate states from warfare, but to encourage such iustitutiuiis as may promote the maintenance of peace. Hence it results that the federal compact caimot be lasting unless there exists in the communities which are leagued together, a certain number of inducements to union wliich render their common depeiidanco agreeable, and the task of the government light ; and that system cannot succeed with- out the presence of favorable circumstances added to the in- fluence of good laws. All the people whicli have ever formed a confederation have been held together by a certain number of common interests, which served as the intellectual ties of association. But the sentiments and the principles of man must be taken into consideration as well as liis immediate interest. A cer- tain uniformity of civilisation is not less necessary to the durability of a confederation, than a uniformity of interests in the states which compose it. In Switzerland the difference which exists between the canton of Uri and tlie canton of Vaud is equal to that between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries ; and, properly speaking, Switzerland has never possessed a federal government. The Union between these two cantons only subsists upon the map ; and their discre- pancies would soon be perceived if an attempt were made by a central authority to prescribe the same laws to the whole territory. One of the circumstances which most powerfully contri- bute to support the federal government in America, is that the states have not only similar interests, a common origin, and a common tongue, but that they are also arrived at the same stage of civilisation ; which almost always renders a union feasible. I do not know of any European nation, liow small soever it may be, which does not present less uniformity in its differ- ent provinces than the American people, which occupies a territory as extensive as one half of Europe. The distance from the state of Maine to that of Georgia is reckoned at about one thousand miles ; but the difference between the civilisation of Maine and that of Georgia is slighter than the difference between the habits of Normandy and those of Britany. Maine and Georgia, which are placed at the oppo- site extremities of a great empire, are conseciuently in the natural possession of more real inducements to form a confede- ration than Normandy and Britany, wliich arc only separated by a bridge. The geographical position of the country contributed to increase the facilities which the American legislators derived :l ii it i • w i !■ I .1 170 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. from the manners and customs of the inhabitants ; and it is to this circumstance tliat the adoption and the maintenance of the federal system are mainly attributable. The most important occurrence which can mark tlic an- nals of a people is the breaking out of a war. In war a people struggle with the energy of a single man against for- eign nations, in the defence of its very existence. The skill of a guvernment, the good sense of the conniiunity, and the natural fondness which men entertain for their country, may sullice to maintain peace in the interior of a district, and to favor its internal prosperity ; but a nation can only carry on a great wa" at the cost of more numerous and more painful sacrifices ; and to supjwse that a great number of men will of tiieir own accord comply with the exigencies of the state, is to betray an ignorance of mankind. All the peoi)U's which have been obliged to sustain a long and serious warfare have consequently been led to augment the power of their govern- ment. Those which have not succeeded in this attempt have been subjugated. A long war almost always places nations in tiie wretched alternative of being abandoned to ruin by defeat, or to despotism by success. War therelbre renders the symptoms of the weakness of a government most palpa- ble and most alarming ; and I have shown that the inherent defect of federal governiuents is that of being weak. The federal system is not only deficient in every kind of centralized administration, but the C( ntral government itself is imperfectly organized, wliich is invariably an influential cause of inferiority when the nation is opposed to other coun- tries which are themselves governed by a single authority. In the federal constitution of tlie United States, by which the cen- tral government possesses more real force, this cx'A is still cxiremely sensible. An example will illustrate the case to the reader. The constitution confers upon congress the right of " call- ing forth militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ;" and another article de- clares that the president of the United States is the com- mander-in-chief of the militia. In the war of 181*2, tlie president ordered the militia of the northern slates to march to the frontiers; but Connecticut and Massachusetts, whose interests were impaired by tlie war, refused to obey the com- mand. They argued that the constitution authorizes tlu? federal government to call forth llie niililia in ea-t's of iusur- r( etion or invasion, but that, in tin' pn sent instance, there was neither invasion nor insurrection. Tiny added, that THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 171 the same constitution which conferred upon tlic Union the right of calling forth the militia, reserved to the states that of naming the otiiccrs ; and that consequently (as they un- derstood the clause) no officer of the Union had any right to connnand the militia, even during war, except the president in person : and in this case they were ordered to join an anny commanded hy another individual. These absurd and pernicious doctrines received the sanction not only of the governors and legislative bodies, but also of the courts of jus- tice in both states ; and the federal government was con- strained to raise elsewhere the troops which it required.* The only sal'eguard which the American Union, with all the relative perfection of its laws, possesses against the dis- solution wliich would be produced by a great war, lies in its probable exemption from that calamity. Placed in the cen- tre of an inunense continent, which offers a boundless ticld for human industry, the Union is almost as much insulated from the world as if its frontiers were girt by the ocean. Canada contains only a million of iidiabitants, and its pojiu- lation is divided into two inimical nations. The rigor of llio climate limits the extension of its territory, and shuts up its ports during the six months of winter. From Canada to the Gulf of Mexico a few savage tribes are to be met with, which retire, pei^shing in their retreat, before six thousand soldiers. To the south, the Union has a point of contact with the empire of Mexico; and it is thence that serious hostili- ties may one day be expected to arise. But for a long while to come, the uncivilized state of the Mexican coninmnity, the depravity of its morals, and its extreme poverty, will pre- vent that country from ranking higii among nations. As for the powers jf Europe, they are too distant to be for- midable.! The great advantage of the United States does not, then, consist in a federal constitution which allows them to carry * Kent's Commentaries, vol. i.,p. 211. I have selected an example which relates to a time posterior to the promulgation of the present eonslitution. If I had gone back to tlie days of the confederation, I might iiavc given still more striking instances. The whole nation Wiis at that time in a state of enthusiastic excitement ; the revolution was represented by a man wiio was tlie idol of tiie |)eoi)le ; but at tliat vi'ry period congress iuid, to say tlie truth, no resources at all at its (lispos;il. Troops and supplies were perpetually wanting. The best devised i)r()jects tailed in the execution, and the Union, which was constantly on the verge of destruction, was saved by the weakness of its enemies fiir more than by its own strcngtii. f Appendix O i'.7^ ■■Ml; iV*' 172 THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. " on great wars, but in a geographical position, which renders such enterprises improbable. No one can be more inclined than I am myself to appreci- ate the advantages of tlie federal system, which I hold to be one of the combinations most favorable to the prosperity and freedom of man. I envy the lot of those nations which have been enabled to adopt it ; but I cannot believe that any con- federate peoples could maintain a long or an equal contest with a nation of similar strength in which the government should be centralised. A people which should divide its sove- reignty into fractional powers, in the presence of the great military monarciiies of Europe, would, in my opinion, by that very act, abdicate its power, and perhaj)s its existence and its name. But such is the admirable position of the New World, that man has no other enemy than himself; and that in order to be happy and to be free, it sufiices to seek the gifts of pros- pcriiy and the knowledge of freedom. CHAPTER IX. I HAVE hitherto examined the institutions of the United States ; I iiavo passed their legislation in review, and I have depicted the present characteristics of political society in that country. But a sovereign power exists al)ove these institu- tions and beyond these characteristic features, which may de- stroy or modify them at its pleasure ; I mean tiiat of the peo- ple. It retnains to be shown in what manner this p.iwer, wliieh regulates the laws, acts: its propensities and its passions remain to be pointed out, as well as the secret springs which retard, accelerate, or direct its irresistible eoursf ; and the etreefs of its unbounded authority, with the destiny which is probably reserved for it. Wny THE PEOPLE MAY SmiCTLY UK SAID TO GOVEIIN IN THE UNITED STATES. Iv America the people appoints the legislative and the exe- cutive pi)wer, and furnishes the jurors who punish all ollenees against tlu; laws. Tlii> American in>rreeily be styled parties. I'arlies are a necessary • vil in l're(> gitvern- II! ill 1 1 :.\' 'r !■ J 1 i' \Ml 174 PARTIES IN THE UMTED STATES. mcnts ; but they liavo not at all times the same character and the san)c propensities. At certain periods a nation may be oppressed by such insupportable evils as to conceive the design of ellecting a total change in its political constitution ; at other times the mischief lies still deeper, and the existence of society itself i;; ( iidangered. Such are the times of great revolutions and of great parties. But between these epochs of misery and of confusion there are periods during whicli human society seem-- to rest, and mankind to mak(! a pause. This pause is, indeed, only apparent; fl)r time does not stop its course for nations any more than for men ; they are all advancing toward a goal with which they ere unacquuinted ; and we only imagine them to be stationary when their progress escapes our ol)S(.r- vation ; as men who are going at a loot i)aee seem to be stanihng still to those who run. But however this may be, there are certain epochs at which the changes that take place in the social and political consti- tution of nations are so slow and so insenL-ible, that men imagine tluMr pres'Ut condition to be a final state; and the human mind, belicning itself to be firmly based upon certain foundations, does not ( \tond its researches beyond the horizon which it descries. These are the times of small parties and of intrigue. The political parties w hich I style great are those which cling to j)rineiples more than to consequences; to «;eneral, and not to especial cases ; to ideas, and not to men. Thes(» parties are usually distinguished by a nobler charadtr. by more generous ])assioi)s, more grnuine convictions, and a more bold and open coniliut than the oliicrs. In tli(^ni, private interest, which always plays the chief part in political pas- sions, is more studiously veiled under the pretext of the public good ; and it nr.iy vxrn he sonuiimes concealed from the eyes of the very person whom it exeit(\s ami im|)els. Minor parties arc, on the other hand, generally deficient in political Ihith. As they are not sustained or dignilird by a lofty |)urpose, they ostensibly display the egotism of their character in their actions. They glow w ith a fiielitious zeal ; their langunge is vehement, but their conduct is timid and irresolute. The means they employ are as w retched as the end at which they aim. Hence it arises that when a calm state of things succeeds a violent rcvohitien. the leaders of society seem suddenly to disappear, and the powers of the human mind to lie concealed. Society is convulsed by great parties, by minor ones it is agitated ; it is torn by the former, PARTIES I\ THE UNITED STATES. 175 by the latter it is degraded ; and if tlicso sometimes save it by a salutary perturbation, those invariably disturb it to no good end. America has already lost the great parties which onco divided tlic nation ; and if her happiness is considerably increased, her morality has sufFered by their extinction. When the war of independence was terminated, and the (itiiiidations of the new government were to be laid down, the Million was divided between two opinions — two opinions which are as old as the world, and which are perpetually to be met with under all the forms and all the names which have ever obtained in free connnunities — the one tending to limit, the other to extend ind{ finitely, the power of the people. The conflict of these two opinions never assumed tliat degree of violence in America which it has frequently displayi'd else- w here. Botli parties of the Americans were in fact agreed upon the most essential points ; and neither of them had to destroy a traditionary constitution, or to overthrow the structun; of society, iu order to insure its own triumph. In neither of them, consequently, were a great number of private interests adi'cted I)y success or l)y defeat ; but moral principles of a high order, such as tiie love of equality and of independence, were concerned in the struggle, and they suf- ficed to iiindh^ violent passions. The party wlii<'h desin^l to limit the power of the people, endeavored to a|'ply its doctrines more especially to the constitution of the Union, whene(> it derived its name of fhleraJ. The other party, which alll'cted to be more exclu- sively attaclied to the caus(> of liberty, took that of rrpuh/ican. America is the land of democracy, and the federalists wire always in a minority ; but tiiry reckoned on their side almost all the ixreat men w ho had b( en called forth I)V the war of mdependenci MKt their moral unluriiee was very considerahle. Their cause was, moreov( r. favored by circumstances. The ruin of the confederation had impr. sscd the peoph> witli a dread ol' anarchy, and tiie fideralists did not I'ail to profit by this transient disposition of the nudtitud(>. For ten or twelve Ncars they were at th e li(>ail o fafll airs, and they were a hie tc np|>ly some, though not all. of their principles ; for the hostile current was lireoming from day to day too violent to lie checked or stemmed. In HOI the republicans got possession of tlie <:overiiiiieiit liomas .lellersoii was named iiresideiit ami he increased the inllueiu'e of their parly by the weight of his celebrity, the greatness of his talents, and the immenso extent of his pojuilarily. I ■1 17G PAllTIi;S IN THE UNITED STATES. I V"! The means by which the federalists had maintained their position were artificial, and their resources were temporary: it was by the virtues or the talents of tlieir leaders that they had risen to power. When the republicans attained to that lofty station, their opponents were overwhelmed by utter defeat. An iminensr! majority declared itself against tiie retiring party, and the federalists found tliemsclvcs in so small a minority, tliat they at once despaired of tlieir future success. From that moinent the republican or democratic party has proceeded from conquest to t'onquest, until it has actjuircd al)soluto supremacy in the country. The federalists, perceiving that they wi're vanquisiied without resource, and isolated in tiie midst of the nation, fell into two divisions, of which one joined the victorious republicans, and the other abandoned its rallying point and its name. Many years have already elapsf^J since they ceased to exist as a party. Tiie accession of the f deralists to power was, in my opinion, one of the most fortunate incidents wliicii accompa- nied the f()rmation of tlie gieat American Union : they resisted the inevitable propensities of tlieir age and of their country. IJut w Ik ther their theories were good or bad. they had the de- feet of I); ing inapplicable, as a syst(Mii, to the society which they pnifi'ssed to govern ; and that whic-h occurred under the auspices of Ji'llrrson must tli('rel!)re have taken place? sooner or later. IJnt their government gave the new republic time to a('(|iiire a certain stability, and al'terward to su|)port the rapid growth of the very doctrines which they had combated. A considerabl(> number of their principl(>s were in point of fact embodied in tli^ political creed of their opponents; and the federal constitution, which subsists at the present day, is a lasting monument of their patriotism and their wisdom. (Jreaf |)()litical [larties are not. then, to be met with in the United Stati s at tin- present limi'. Partirs, indeed, may be found which tluvaten the future tran(|uillity of the Union ; but there are none which seem to contest tlio pres(>nt fi)rm of government, or the present course of society. The parties by whi'h the Union is menaced do nf)t rest upon aiistraet principl(-s. but upon temporal interests. These inten sis, dis- Kcminated in the provinces n|' so viisi an empire, may bf< said to constitute rival nations rather tliiin partiis. Thus, upon a recent o'casion, the iioitli contended fl)r the system of com- mercial prohibition, and the south look up arms in fivor of free trade, simply becniis" the noi'ili is a mannllietiii'in!:. iiiid the south an agricultural district j and tiiat the nstrictive PARTIES IM -"HE UNITED STATES. 177 system which was profitable to the one, was prejudicial to the other. In the absence of great parties, the United States abound with lesser controversies ; and public opinion is divided into a thousand minute shades of dilference upon questions of very little moment. The pains which are talten to create parties are inconceivable, and at the present day it is no easy task. In the United States there is no religious animosity, because all religion is respected, and no sect is predominant ; there is no jealousy of rank, because the people is every- thing, and none can contest its authority ; lastly, tliere is no public misery to serve as a means of agitation, because the physical position of the country opens so wide a field to industry, tiiat man is able to accomj)lish the most surprising undertakings with his own native resources. Nevertheless, ambitious men are interested in the creation of parties, since it is difficult to eject a person from authority upon the mere ground that his place is coveted by others. The skill of the actors in the political world lies, therefore, in the art of cre- ating parties. A political aspirant in the United States be- gins by discriminating his own interest, and by calculating u{)on tliose interests which may be collected around, and amalgamated with it ; he then contrives to discover some doc- trine or some principle which may suit the purposes of this new association, and which he adopts in order to bring for- ward Ins party and to secure its popularity : just as the imprimatur of a king was in former days incorporated with the volume which it authorized, but to which it nowise be- longed. When tiiesc prelinn'narics are terminated, the new party is ushered into tiie j)olitical world. All the domestic controversiesof the Americans at first ap- pear to a stranger to bo so incomprehensible and so pui'rilc, that he is at a loss whether to pity a peoph' which takes such arrant trifles in good earnest, or to envy that happiness which enables it to iliseuss tiiem. Hut when he comes to study the sec":'t propensities whicii gf)vern the factions of America, he easily perceives tliat the greater part of tiiem are more or less connected with on(f or the other of these two divisions which have alwavs existed in free communities. The deeper we penetrate n ito tl le workinifs of these i)arties, the more (li> we perceive tiiat the object of tlw^ one is to limit, and that of the other to extend, the popular authority. I do not ass(>rt thai the ostensilde (Mid. or ev(>n that the secret aim, ol' American parties is to promote the rule of aristoj^raey or ileniocracy in the country, but 1 atlinn that nristoenitic or deinocratic pas- i 12 ; t¥. i '• •; 178 PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES. sions may easily be detected at the bottom of all parties, and that, altiiough they escape a si pcrficial observation, they are the main point and the very soul of every faction in the United States. To quote a recent example : when the president attacked the bank, the country was excited and parties were formed ; the well-informed classes rallied round the bank, the common people round the president. But it must not be imagined that the people had formed a rational opinion upon a question which otFers so many difficulties to the most experienced statesmen. The bank is a great establishment which enjoys an independent existence, and the people, accustomed to make and unmake whatsoever it pleases, is startled to meet with this obstacle to its authority. In the midst of the perpetual fluctuation of society, the community is irritated by so per- manent an institution, and is led to attack it, in order to see whether it can be shaken and controUedj like all the other in- stitutions of the country. REMAINS OF THE ARISTOCRATIC PARTY IN THE UNITED STATES. Secret Opposition of wealtliy Individuals to Democracy. — Their re- tirement. — Their tastes for exchtsive Pleasures and for Luxury at Home. — Tlieir Simplicity Abroad. — Their uflected Condescension toward the People. It sometimes happens in a people among which various opi- nions prevail, that the balance of the several parties is lost, and one of them obtains an irresistible preponderance, over- powers all obstacles, Imra.sses its opponents, and appro|)riates all the resources of society to its own purposes. The van- quished citizens despair of success, and they conceal their dis.satisflu'tion in silence and in a general apathy. The na- tion seems to be governed by a single ])rin('iple, and the pre- vailing party assumes the credit of having restored peace and unanimity to tin- country. But this apparent unaniniily is merely a cloak to alarming dissensions and perpetual oppo- sition. This is precis(>ly what occurred in AmcM'iea ; when the democratic^ ])arty got the upper hand, it took exclusive pos- session of tlie conduct of alliiirs. and from that time the laws and customs of society have been a(Iii|)t('d to its caprices. At the present day tlii^ more allluent elnsses of .society are so entirely removecl iVom the direction of political affairs in i III PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 179 the United States, that wealth, far from conferring a right to the exercise of power, is rather an obstacle than a ineans of attaining to it. The wealthy members of the community abandon the lists, through unwillingness to contend, and fre- quently to contend in vain, against the poorest classes of their fellow-citizens. They concentrate all their enjoyments in the privacy of their liomes, where they occupy a rank which cannot be assumed in public ; and they constitute a private society in the state, which has its own tastes and its own pleasures. They submit to this state of things as an irre- mediable evil, but they are careful not to show that they are galled by its continuance ; it is even not uncommon to hear them laud the delights of a republican government, and the advantages of democratic institutions when they are in pub- lic. Next to hating their enemies, men are most inclined to flatter them. Mark, for instance, that opulent citizen, who is as anxious as a Jew of the middle ages to conceal his wealth. His dress is plain, his demeanor unassuming ; but the interior of his dwelling glitters with luxury, and none but a few chosen guests whom he haughtily styles his equals, are allowed to penetrate into this sanctuary. No European noble is more exclusive in his pleasures, or more jealous of the smallest advantages which his privileged station confers upon him. But the very same individual crosses the city to reach a dark counting-house in the centre of traffic, where every one may accost him who pleases. If he meets his cobbler upon the way, they stop and converse ; the two citizens discuss the affairs of the state in which they have an equal interest, and they shake hands before they part. But beneath this artificial enthusiasm, and these obsequi- ous attentions to tiie preponderating power, it is easy to perceive that the wealthy members of the community enter- tain a hearty distaste to the democratic institutions of their country. Tlie populace is at once the object of their scorn and of their fears. If the nial-administration of the demo- cracy ever brings about a revolutionary crisis, and if mo- narchical institutions ever become practicable in the United States, tlie truth of what I advance will become ()l)vious. The two chief weapons which parties use in order to ensure success, are the public press, and the formation of associations. .ih 1^ 180 LIBERTY OF THE PRESS CHAPTER XI. LIBERTY OF THE PRESS IN THE UNITED STATES. 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 |ieople as it is understood in America. — Violent Language of the periodical Press in the United States. — Propensities of the periodical Press. — Illustrated by the United States. — Opinion of the Americans upon the Repression of the Abuse of the Liberty of the Press by judicial Prosecutions. — Reasons for which the Press is less powerful in Ame- rica than in France. The influence of the liberty of the press does not affect poli- tical opinions alone, but it extends to all the opinions of men, and it modifies customs as well as laws. In another part of this work I shall attempt to determine the degree of influence which the liberty of the press has exercised upon civil society in the United States, and to point out the direction which it has given to the ideas, as well as the tone which it has im- parted to the character and the feelings of the Anglo-Ameri- cans, but at present I purpose simply to examine the effects produced by the liberty of tiie press in the political world. I confess that I do not entertain that firm and complete attachment to the liberty of the press, which things thai are supremely good in their very nature are wont to excite in the miiid ; and I approve of it more from a recollection of the evils it prevents, than from a consideration of the advantages it ensures. If any one can pr \it out an intermediate, and yet a tenable position, between the cotiiplete independence and the entire subjection of the public expression of opinion, I should per- haps be inclined to adopt it ; but the difliculty is to discover this position. If it is your intention to correct the abu.scs of unlicens (1 printing, and to restore the use of orderly Ian- guage, you may in the first instance try the otlender by a jury ; but it' the jury acquits him, the opinion which was that of a single individual becomes the opinion of the country at large. Too mucli and too little has therefore hitiierto been done ; if you |)r()ceed, you must bring the delinquent before permanent jnugistrates ; but even here the cause nuist be heard bet()n' it can bo decided; and the very principles which no boi)k would liave ventured to avow are blazoned forth in the pleadings, and what was obscurely hinted at in a IN THE UNITED STATES. 181 single composition is then repeated in a multitude of other publications. The language in which a thought is embodied is the mere carcase of the tliought, and not the idea itself; tribunals may condemn the form, but the sense and spirit of the work is too subtle for their authority : too much has still been done to recede, too little to attain your end : you musi therefore proceed. If you establish a censorship of the press, the tongue of the public speaker will still make itself heard, and you have only increased the mischief. Tlie pow- f iS of thought do not rely, like the powers of physical strength, upon the number of their mechanical agents, nor can a host of authors be reckoned like the troops which com- pose an army ; on the contrary, the authority of a principle is often increased by the smallness of the number of men by whom it is expressed. The words of a strong-minded man, which penetrate amid the passions of a listening assembly, have more weigiit than the vociferations of a thousand orators ; and if it be allowed to speak freely in any public place, the consequence is the same as if free speaking was allowed in every village. The liberty of discourse must therefore be destroyed as well as the liberty of the press ; this is the necessary term of your efforts ; but if your object was 'n repress the abuses of liberty, they have brought you to tfie feet of a despot. You have been led froin the extreme of independence to the extreme of subjection, witiiout meeting with a single tenable position for shelter or repose. There are certain nations which have peculiar reasons for cherishing the press, independently of the general motives whicii 1 iiave just pointed out. For in certain countries which profess to enjoy tlie privileges of freedom, every individual agent of the government may violate the laws with impunity, since thoso whom he oppresses cannot prosecute him before the courts of justice. In this case the liberty of the press is not merely a guarantee, but it is the only guarantee of their liberty and their security which the citizens possess. If the rulers of these nations proposed to abolish the independence of the press, the people would be justified in saying : " Give us the right of prosecuting your offences l)efore the ordinary tribunals, and perha|)s we may then waive our right of ap- peal to the tribunal of pul)lic opinion." But in the countries in which tlie doctrine of the sovereign, ty of the people ostensibly pn>vails, the censorship of the press is not only dangerous, but it is absurd. When tln' right of every citizen to co-operate in the govcriunent of society is acknowledged, every citizen nuist be presumed to possess the Hi i i ii .III 182 LIBEKTY OF THE PRESS power of discriminating between the dilFerent opinions of his cotenij)orarics, and of appreciating the ditFerent facts from wliich inferences may be drawn. Tiic sovereignty of the people and the liberty of the press may therefore be looked upon as correlative institutions; just as the censorship of the press and universal sulFrago are two things which are irrccon- cileably opposed, and which cannot long be retained among the institutions of the same people. Not a single individual of the twelve millions who inhabit the territory of the United States has as yet dared to propose any restrictions to the liber- ty of the press. The first newspaper over which I cast my eyes, after my ari'ival in America, contained the following article : " In all this affair, the language of Jackson has been that of a heart- less despot, solely occupied with the preservation of liis own autliority. Ambition is his crime, and it will be iiis ])unishnient too: intrigue is his native element, and intrigue will confound his tricks, and will de- prive him of his ])ower ; he governs b'- means of corruption, and his immoral practices will redound to 1,' lame and confusion. His con- duct in the political arena has beC' tliat of a sliameless and lawless gamester. He succeeded at the time, but the hour of retribution ap- proaches, and iie will be obliged to disgorge his winnings, to tlirow aside iiis false dice, and to end liis days in some retirement where he may curse his madness at iiis leisure; for repentance is a virtue with which his heart is likely to remain for ever unacquainted." It is not uncommonly imagined in France, that the viru- lence of the press originates in the uncertain social condition, in the political excitement, and the general sense of conse- qucnt evil which prevail in that country ; and it is therefore supposed that as soon as society has resumed a certain degree of composure, the press will abandon its present vehemence. I am inclined to think that the above causes explain the rea- son of the extraordinary ascendency it has acquired over the nation, but that they do not exercise much influeiicc upon the tone of its language. The periodical jiress appears to me to be actuated by passions and propensities independent of the circumstances in which it is placed ; and the present position of America corroborates this opinion. America is, perhaps, at this moment, the country of the whole world which contains" the fewest germs of revolution; but the press is not le.ss destructive in its principles than in France, and it displays the same violence without the same reasons for indignation. In America, as in France, it con- stitutes a singular power, so strangely composed of mingled good and evil, that it is at the same time indispensable to the existence of freedom, and nearly incompatible with the main- IN THE UNITED STATES. 183 tenance of public order. Its power is certainly much greater in France than in the United States ; tiiough nothing is more rare in the latter country than to hear of a prosecution having been instituted against it. The reason of this is perfectly simple ; the Americans liaving once admitted the doctrine of sovereignty of the people, apply it with perfect consistency. It was never their intention to found a permanent state of things with elements which undergo daily modifications ; and there is consequently nothing criiiiinal in an attack upon the existing laws, provided it be not attended witii a violent infrac- tion of them. They are moreover of opinion that courts of justice are unable to check the abuses of the press; and that as the subtlety of human language perpetually eludes the severity of judicial analysis, otFences of this nature are apt to escape the hand which attempts to apprehend them. They hold that to act with efficacy upon tiie j)rcss, it would be ne- cessary to find a tribunal, not only devoted to the existing order of things, but capable of surmounting the influence of public opinion ; a tribunal w hich should conduct its proceed- ings without publicity, which should pronounce its decrees without assigning its motives, and punish the intentions even more than the language of an author. Whosoever should have the power of creating and maintaining a tribunal of this kind, would waste his time in prosecuting the liberty of the press ; for he would be the supremo master of the whole com- nmnity, and he would be as free to rid himself of the authors as of their writings. In this question, therclbre, there is no medium between servitude and extreme license ; in order to enjoy the inestimable benefits which the liberty of the press ensures, it is necessary to submit to the inevitable evils which it engenders. To expect to acquire the former, and to escape the latter, is to cherish one of tliose illusions which commonly mislead nations in their times of sickness, when, tired with faction and cxiiausted by effort, they attempt to combine hos- tile opinions and contrary principles upon tlie same soil. Tiie small influence of the American journals is attributa- ble to several reasons, among wliich are the following : — The liberty of writing, like all other liberty, is most formi- dal)le when it is a novelty ; for a people which has never been accustomed to co-operate in the con(lu(;t of state affairs, places implicit confidence in the first tribune who arouses its attention. The Anglo-Americans have enjoytd tliis liberty ever since the foundation of the settlements ; moreover, the press cannot create human passions by its own power, how- ever skilfully it may kindle them where they exist. In Ame- . ;\y 184 LIBERTY OF THE PRESS rica polities are discussed witli animation and a varied acti- vity, but they rarely touch tiiose deep passions which are excited whenever the positive interest of a part of the com- munity is impaired : but in the United States the interests of the community are in a most prosperous condition. A single glance upon a French and an American newspaper is sufl'i- cienttoshow the difference which exists between the two nations on this head. In Franr , the space allotted to commercial ad- vertisements is very limited, and the intelligence is not considerable, but tlio most essential part of the journal is that which contains the discussion of the politics of the day. In America three quarters of the enormous sheet which is set before the reader are filled with advertisements, and the re- mainder is frequently occupied by political intelligence or trivial anecdotes : it is only from time to time that one finds a corner devoted to passionate discussions like those with which the journalists of France are wont to indulge their readers. It has been demonstrated by observation, and discovered by the innate sagacity of the pettiest as well as the greatest of despots, that the influence of a power is increased in pro- portion as its direction is rendered more central. In France the press combines a twofold centralisation : almost all its power is centred in the same spot, and vested in the same hands, for its organs are far from numerous. The influence of a public press thus constituted, upon a sceptical nation, must be unbounded. It is an enemy with which a govern- ment may sign an occasional truce, but which it is difficult to resist for any length of time. Neither of these kinds of centralisation exists in America. The United States have no metropolis ; the intelligence as well as the power of the country is dispersed abroad, and in- stead of radiating from a point, they cross each other in every direction ; the Americans have established no central control over the expression of opinion, any more than over the con- duct of business. These are circumstances which do not depend on human foresiglit ; but it is owing to the laws of the Union that there are no licenses to be granted to the printers, no securities demanded from editors, as in France, and no stamp duty as in France and England. Tiie conse- quence of this is that nothing is easier than to set up a news- paper, and a small number of readers suffices to defray the expenses of the editor. The numlier of pnriodical and occasional publications whicli appear in the United States actually surpasses belief n] IN THE INITED STATES 185 The most enli^^litcned Americans attribute the subordinate influence of the press to this excessive dissemination ; and it is adopted as an axiom of political science in that country, that the only way to neutralise the effect of public journals i& to multiply them indefinitely. I cannot conceive why a trutn which is so self-evident has not already been more generally admitted in Europe ; it is comprehensible that the persons who hope to bring about revolutions, by means of the press, should be desirous of confining its action to a few powerful organs ; but it is perfectly incredible that the par- tisans of the existing state of things, and the natural sup- porters of the laws, should attempt to diminish the influence of the press by concentrating its authority. The govern- ments of Europe seem to treat the press witli the courtesy of the knights of old ; they are anxious to furnish it with the same central power which they have found 'O be so trusty a weapon, in order to enhance the glory of their resistance to its attacks. In America there is scarcely a hamlet which has not its own newspaper. It may readily be imagined that neither discipline nor unity of design can be communicated to so multifarious a host, and each one is constantly led to fight under his own standard. All the political journals of the United States are indeed arrayed on the side of the adminis- tration or against it ; but they attack and defend it in a thou- sand ditferent ways. They caimot succeed in forming those great currents of opinion which overwhelm the most solid obstacles. This division of the influence of the press pro- duces a variety of other consequences which are scarcely less remarkable. The facility with which journals can be established induces a multitude of individuals to take a part in them ; but as the extent of competition precludes the pos- sibility of considerable profit, the most distinguished classes of society are rarely led to engage in these undertakings. But such is the number of the public prints, that even if they were a source of wealth, writers of ability could not be found to direct them all. The journalists of tiie United States are usually placed in a very humble position, with a scanty education, and a vulgar turn of mind. The will of the majority is the most general of laws, and it establishes certain habits which form the characteristics of each pecu- liar class of society ; thus it dictates the etiquette practised at courts and the etiquette of the bar. The characteristics of the French journalist consist in a violent, but frequently an eloquent and lofty manner of discussing the politics of / i' f 1, !■ i l! > 186 LIBERTY OF THE PRESS the day; and the exceptions to this habitual practice are only occasional. The ciiaiacteristics of the American jour- iialist consist in an open and coarse appeal to the passions oi the populace ; and he habitually abandons the principles of political science to assail the characters of individuals, to track them into private life, and disclose all their weaknesses and errors. Nothing can be more deplorable than this abuse of the powers of thought ; I shall have occasion to point out here- after tlie influence of the newspapers upon the taste and the morality of the American people, but my present sui)ject ex- clusively concerns the political world. It cannot be denied that the eilects of tiiis extreme license of the press tend indi- rectly to the maintenance of public order. 'Vhe individuals wiio are already in possession of a high station in the esteem of their fellow-citizens, are afraid to write in the newspa- pers, and they are thus deprived of the most powerful instru- ment which they can use to excite the passions of the multi- tude to their own advantage.* The personal opinions of the editors have no kind of weight in the eyes of the public ■ tlie only use of a journal is, that it imparts the knowledge of certain facts, and it is only by altering or distorting those facts, that a journalist can con- tril)Ute to the support of his own views. But although tiie press is limited to these resources, its influ- ence in America is immense. It is the power which impels the circulation of political life through all the districts of that vast territory, lis eye is constantly open to delect tlie secret springs of political designs, and to summon the leaders of all parties to tiie bar of publii' opinion. It rallies the in- terests of the connnunity round certain principles, and it draws up the cr(>ed which tiietions adopt; ibr it allbr-ls a nii'ans of intercourse bctw(>en parties w liich hear, and which address each dtlier. without ever having been in immediate contact. W'lien a gr( at nuiniu'r ot" the organs of the press adopt the same line ol' condiHt. tlieir inllueniH' bceonu's irre- sistible ; anil public opinion, w lien it is perpetually assailed from the same side, eventually _\ ields to the attack. In the United States each sejiarafe journal exercises but little author- ity : but the jxiwcr of the periodical press is only second to that of the people. f * They (itilv writi' in tlir |);i|>i'r-t wlicn tlicy ('linnso ir) adilicss tlic pi'iiplc ill tlicireWM ir.iiiit' ; ;is, tor iiistiinci', wlicii llicy urc ciillcd n|i(iii to iiMH'l (Mliiimiioiis iiii;niliitioiis, ami lo cdriri'i ;i luis-Mliilciiieiil of facts. t Sec Appendix P. IN THE UNITED STATES. 187 The Opinions wliich are established in the United States under the Empire of tiie Liberty of the Press, are frequently more lirnfily rooted tiian those whicli are formed elsewhere under the Sanction of a Censor. In the United States the democracy perpetually raises fresh individuals to the conduct of public atikirs ; and the mea- sures of the administration are consequently seldom regu- lated by the strict rules of consistency or of order. But the general principles of the govermnent are more stable, and the opinions most prevalent in society are generally more durable than in many other countries. When once the Ame- ricans have taken up an idea, whether it be well or ill-founded, nothing is more ditlicult than to eradicate it from their minds. The .same tenacity of opinion has Deen observed in England, where, for the last century, greater freedom of conscience, and more invincible prejudices have existed, than in all the other countries of Europe. I attribute this consequence to a cause which may at first sight appear to have a very opposite tendency, namely, to the liberty of the press. The nations among which this liberty exists are as apt to cling to their opinions from pride as from conviction. They cherish them because they hold them to be just, and because tiiey exer- cised their own free will in choosing them; and llicy main- tain them, not only because they are true, but becau.;e they are their own. Several other reasons conduce to the same end. It was remarked by a man of i.f(>nius. that " ignorance lies at the two ends of knowledge."' IVrlmps it would iiave been more correct to say that absolute cdiivictidiis arc to be met with at the two extremities, and that doubt lies in the middle ; for the hmiian intellect may be considered iu three distinct states, which fre([uently succeed one another. A man believes implicitly, because he adopts a proposition without inquiry, lie doubts as soon as he is assailed by the objeetioiis which his iiKpiiries may have aroused. Hut he lVc(|Ueiitly sui'cceds in satisfying these doubts, and flieii he iiegins to i)elieve afresh : he no longer lays hold on a truth in its most sluidowy and uncertain l!»rni. but Ik* sees it clearly Ix'fori' him, and he advances onward bv the lijflit it irives liim.* Wlicii the liberty ol the press acts upon men who are in thr» first of these three states, it does not immediately disturb * It niiiy, hiiwcvcr.lM' (Imilili'il wlictlur this ratiomil and sclf-Kuidinff ('oiividiiiii iiroiist's ;is niiii'h Irrvor or fnlliusiaslic (h-vott'diicss in men iia their lirsl doi;nrati('al Ix'lief, r-^ ■ I' M , ll ■A} ■ ■'! 1 /. ';M 2!" i ii ' ■ -^iife' i^' I • Il I i X |i :< ! I I'! mil 188 LIBERTY OF THE PRESS IN THE UNITED STATES. their habit of believing implicitly without investigation, but It constantly modifies the objects of their intuitive convictions. The human mind continues to discern but one point upon the whole intellectual horizon, and that point is in continual mo- tion. Such are the symptoms of sudden revolutions, and of the misfortunes that are sure to befall those generations which abruptly adopt the unconditional freedom of the press. The circle of novel ideas is, however, soon terminated ; the torch of experience is upon them, and the doubt and mistrust which their uncertainty produces, become universal. We may rest assured that the majority of mankind will either believe they know not wlKU'elbre, or will not Know what to believe. Few are the beings who can ever hope to attain that state of rational and independent conviction which true knowledge' can beget, in defiance of the attacks of dnubi. It has been remarked that in times of great religious fer- vor, men sometimes change their religious opinions ; where- as, in times of general scepticism, every one clings to his own persuasion. The same thing takes place in politics under the liberty of the press. In countries where all the theories of social science have been contested in tlieir turn, the citi- zens who have adopted one of them, stick to it, not so much because they are assured of its excellence, as because they are not convinced of the superiority of any other. In the present age men are not very ready to die in defence of their opi- nions, but they are rarely inclined to change them ; and there are fewer martyrs ns well as iewer apostates. Another still more valiil reason may yet be adduced : when no abstract opinions are looked n\um as certain, men cling to the mere propensities and external int'>rest of their position, wliieh are naturally more tangible and more perma- nent than any opinions in the world. It is not a (piestion of easy solution whether the aristocracy or the democracy is most fit to govi-rn a country. Hut it is certain that democracy ainioys one part of the eommuiiity, and that aristocracy oppresses another part. NVheii the question is reducecl to the simple expression of th(> struggle between poverty and wi-alth, the tendency of each side of the dispute becomes perfectly evident witlK)Ut farther c(jntroversy. 1' n c il li a S( 01 POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 189 CHAPTER XII. POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. Daily use which the Anglo-Americans make of the Ri<;lit of Associa- tion. — Three kinds of political Association. — In wiiat Manner the Americans apply the representative System to Associations. — Dan- gers rosnlting to the State. — Great Convention of IS.'U relative to tiie Tariff" Legislative character of this Convention. — Why the unlim- ited Exercise of the Kight of Association is less dangerous in tiie United States than elsewhere. — Wliy it may l)e looked upon as ne- cessary. — Utility of Associations in a democratic People. In no country in the world has the prineiplo of association been more successfully used, or more unsi)ariiigly applied to a nmltitude of ditferent objects, than in America. Beside the permanent associations which are establishetl by law under the names of townships, cities, and counties, a vast number of others are formed and maintained by the agency of j)rivate individuals. The citizen of the United States is taught from his earliest infancy to rely upon his own exertions, in order to resist the evils and the difficulties of life ; he looks upon the social authority with an eye of mistru.st and anxiety, and he only claims its a.ssistance when he is quite unable to shift witliout it. This habit i quite nay even be traced in tlie schools of the rising generation, wliore the children in their games are wont to submit to rules which they have themselves establislied, and to punish misdemeanors which they have themselves de- fined. The same spirit pervades every act of soeial life. If a .stoppage oeeurs in a thoroughfare, and thfcireulatioii df the public is hi (lered, the neighbors immediately constitute a deliberative body ; and this extemporaneous assembly gives rise to an exi'eutive power, which remedies tlie iiieonveiiienee, before anybody has thought of recurring to an autiiority su- perior to that of the persons inune(iiateiy cnneeriied. If ti pul)lie pleasures are concerned, an association is f!)rnie(l to provide fl)r the splendor and tiie regularity of tlie enlertain- le ment. Societies are formed to resist eiuMuies wliiel 1 are ex- clusively of a moral natur(\ and to diminisli tiie vice nf inteinperaiuu' : in the United States associations are estaii- lisbed to |U"omote j)ul)lic (irdiM*. commerce', industry, morality. and relioion f!)r there is no end wliieli tlie hiiman wil seconded bv the collective (>\i'rtions of individuals, despairs of attaiiiii itr> Vt)i <;' ^:!' ■^1 . t < : * fn 1 1 '•'%] X lii i I in 190 POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS I shal' hereafter have occasion to show the effects of asso- ciatiun upon the course of society, and I must confine myself for the present to tiie political world. When once the right of association is recognized, the citizens may employ it in several ditlerent ways. An association consists simply in the puhlic assent which a immber of individuals give to certain doctrines; and in the engagement which they contract to promote the spread of those doctrines hy their exertions. The right of associating with these views is very analogous to the liherty of unlicensed writing ; but societies thus tornud possess more authority than the press. When an opinion is represented by a society, it necessarily assumes a more exact and explicit form. It numbers its partisans, and compromises their welfare in its cause ; they, on the other hand, become acquainted with each other, and their zeal is increased by their number. An association unites the ellorts of minds which have a tendency to diverge, in one single chainiel, and urges them vigorously toward one single end which it points out. The second degree in the right of association is the power of meetiiiff. When an association is allowed to establish centres of action at certain important points in the country, its activity is increased, and its inlluence extdded. Men have the opportunity of seeing eaeli other; means of execu- tion are more readily combined ; and oj)inions are maintained with a degree of warmth and energy which written language caimot approach. Lastly, in tlie exercise of tiie right of political association, there is a third degree : tiie partisans (jf an opinion may unite in electoral bodies, and choose deli'gatcs to rrpreseiit th(>m in a central assembly. Tiiis is. properly speaking, tiie appli- cation of the representative system to a party. Thus, in the first instance, a soeiety is forine(l between in- dividuals professing the same opinion, and the tie which keeps it together is of a purely int<'lleetual nature : in the second case, small asseml)li(>s are formed whidi only rej)rcseiit a frac-tion of the jiarty. Lastly, in the third case, they consti- tute a separate nation in liie midst of the nation, a govern- ment within the government. Their delegates, like the real delegates of the majority, re|)resent the entire collective force of their party ; and they i-njoy a certain degree of lliat national dignity and great inlluenci' which helong to the chosen representatives of the p('o]»l('. It is true lliat they have not the right of making the laws; but they have the power of attacking those wiiich are in lu'ing, and of drawing K'l IN THE UNITED STATES. 191 !L. up bof()rehand tlioso whicli tliey may afterward cause to be adopted. If, in a people whicli is imperfectly accustomed to the ex- ercise of freedom, or which is exposed to violent political passions, a delii)erating minority, which confines itself to tlie contemplation of future laws, he placed in juxtaposition to the leuislativo majority, I cannot i)Ut believe that pui)lic tranquil- lity incurs very great risks in that nation. There is doubtless a very w ide (Utference between proving that one law is in hself better than another, and i)roving that the former ought to be substituted for the latter. But the imagination of tlie popu- lace is very apt to overlook this dillerence, whicli is so ap|)a- rent in the minds of thinking men. It sometimes ha])pens that a nation is divided into two nearly equal parties, each of which atlects to represent the majority. If, in iunnediato contiguity to the directing power, another power be estab- lished, which exercises almost as much moral authority as the former, it is not to be believetl that it will long be content to speak without acting ; or that it will always be restrained by the a!)stract consideration of the nature of associations, wiiich are meant to direct, but not to enforce opinions, to suggest but not to make the laws. The more we consider the indenendence of ' 'P pn principal consequences, the more are we convinced that it is the ciuef, and. so to speak, the constitutive element of freedom in the modern world. A nation which is determiniMl to re- main free, is therefore right in demanding the unrestrained exercise of this independenee. Hut the iinrcstniincd liberty of political association cannot be entirely assimilated to the liberty of the jiress. The (tne is at tli(> same time less neci s- sary and more dangerous than the other. A nation may confine it within certain limits without l()i'feiting any part of its self-control ; and it may sometimes be obliged to do so in onler to maintain its own authority. In America the liberty of assoejution for political pur|)oses is unbounded. An example w ill show in the clearest light to what an extent this privilege is toleratecl. The (piestion of the Taritf. or of free trade, produced a great manifestation of party ti'eling in America ; the tarilf was not only a subject of debate as a ma1t(>r of opinion, but it exercised a favorable or a prejudicial influence upon seve- ral very powerful interi'sts of thestates. The north attribut- ed a irreiit portion of its prosperity, and the soutli all its suf- fi'rings, to this system. Insonmeli, that for u long time the cessary guarantee against the tyranny of the majority. In the I ni- te(l States, as soon as a party has become preponderant, all th(^ public autiiority passes under its control ; v - 1.. 'vate sup- porters occupy all tiie |)laces, and have all tiii' ivirce of the atiministration at their dis|)osal. As the most distiiigui^licd j)artisans of the other side of the (pieslion are unable to sur- mount the obstacles wliieli exclude tliem from power, they retiuire some means of estaldishing tbcnisclvcs upon their own IN THE UNITED STATES. 193 basis, and of opposing the moral autliority of the minority to the physical power which domineers over it. Tims, a dan- gerous expedient is used to obviate a still more formidable danger. The omnipotence of the majority appears to me to present such extreme perils to the American republics, that the dan- gerous measure which is used to repress it, seems to be more advantageous than prejudicial. And here I am about to ad- vance a proposition which may rcmintl the reader of what I said before in speaking of nmnicipal freedom. There are no countries in which associations are more needed, to pre- vent the despotism of faction, or the arbitrary power of a prince, than those which are democratically constituted. In aristocratic nations, the boily of the nobles and the more opu- lent part of the community are in themselves natural associa- tions, which act as checks upon the abuses of power. In countries in which those associations do not exist, if private individuals are unable to create an artificial and a temporary substitute for them, I can imagine no permanent protection against the most galling tyranny ; and a great people may be oppressed by a small faction, or by a single individual, with impunity. The meeting of a great political convention (for there are conventions of all kinds), which may frequently become a necessary measure, is always a serious occurrence, even in America, and one whicii is never looked forward to by the judicious friends of the country, without alarm. This was very perceptible in the convention of 1831, at which the ex- ertions of all the most distinguislicd luemlM rsof the assembly tended to moderate its language, and to restrain the subjects which it treated within < rtain limits. It is probal^le, in fact, that the convention of 1^31 exercised a very great influence upon the minds of tiie malecontents, and prepared them for the open revolt against the commercial laws of tlie Union, whicli took place in 183xJ. It cannot be denied that th(^ unrestrained liberty of associa- tion for political purposes, is the privilege which a jjeoplc is longest in learning how to exereis(>. If it doi'S not tlirow tin- nation into anarchy, it per|)etually augments the chances of that calamity. On one point, however, this perilous libt rty odi'rs a security against dungei's of another kind; in coun- tries where assD'-iutions are free, secret societies are unknown. In America there are numerous factions, but no conspi- racies. in 1^ ii Ml 'if HI :: II ■ill iS / i 11 194 POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS DifTerent ways in which the Ri^ht of Associution is understood in Europe and in the United States. DiHerent use wliich is made of it. The most natural privilege of man, next to the right of acting for lilmsolf, is that of combining his exertions with those of his fellow-creatures, and of acting in common with them. I am theref()re led to conclude, that the right of asso- ciation is almost as inalienable as the right of personal liberty. No legislator can attack it without impairing the very foun- dations of society. Nevertheless, if the liberty of associa- tion is a fruitful source of advantages and prosperity to some nations, it may be perverted or carried to excess by others, and the element of life may be changed into an element of destruction. A comparison of the different methods which associations pursue, in those countries in which they are managed with discretion, as well as in those where liberty degenerates into license, may perhaps be thought useful both to governments and to parties. The greater part of Euro- peans look upon an association as a weapon which is to be hastily fashioned, and immediately tried in the conflict. A society is to be formed for discussion, but the idea of impend- ing action prevails in the minds of those who constitute it : it is, in fact, an army ; and the time given to parley, serves to reckon up the strength and to animate the courage of the host, after which they direct the march against the enemy. Resources which lie within the bounds of the law may sug- gest themselves to the persons who compose it, as means, but never as the o;dy means, of success. Such, however, is not the manner in which the right of as- sociation is understood in the United States. In America, the citizens who form the minority associate, in order, in the first place, to show their numerical strength, and so to din)in- ish the moral authority of the majority ; and, in the second place, to stimulate competition, and to discover those argu- ments which are most fitted to act upon the majority ; for they always entertain hopes of drawing over their opponents to their own side, and of afterward disposing of the supremo power ill their name. Political associations in the United States are therefore peaceabli^ in their intentions, and strictly legal in the means whit-'' Miey employ; and they assert with perfect truth, that they only aim at success by lawful ex- pedients. The ditlerenec^ which exists between the Americans and ' 'rselvcs (lepentls on several causes. In hkirope there are ,. u IN THE UNITED STATES. 195 numorous parties so diametrically opposed to the majority, that they can never hope to acquire its support, and at the same time tiioy thinl< that they are sufficiently strong in them- selves to stru:9 " ' h P '. .,,1 mi iil ii m lH;l 198 GOVERNMENT OF THE CHOICE OF THE PEOPLE, AND INSTINCTIVE PREFERENCES OF THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. In the Unitod States the most talented Individuals are rarely placed at the Mead of Afliiirs. — Reasons of this Peculiarity. — The Envy which prevails in the lower Orders of France aj,^ainst tiie hif^her Classes, is not a French, but a ])urely democratic Sentiment. — Forsvliat Reason the most distinj;uisli('d Men in America fre(iuently seclude tiiem- selves from public allUirs. Many people in Europe arc apt to believe without saying it, or to say without believing it, that one of tl;n great advantages of universal sutlrage is, that it intrusts the direction of public affairs to men who are worthy of the public confidence. They admit that the people is unable to govern for itself, but they aver that it is always sincerely disposed to promote the wel- fare of the state, and that it instinctively designates those persons who are animated by the same good wishes, and who are tlie most fit to wield the supreme authority. I confess that the observations I made in America by no means coincide with these opinions. On my arrival in the United States I was surprised to find so nmch di.stinguished talent among the subjects, and so little among the heads of the government. It is a well-authenticated fiict, that at the present day the most talented men in the United States are very rarely placed at the head of aflairs ; and it must be acknowledged that such has been the result, in proportion as democracy has out- stepped all its former limits. Tlie race of American states. men has evidently dwindled most remarkably in the course of the last fifty years. Several causes may be assigned to this phenomenon. It is impossible, notwithstanding the most strenuous exertions, to raise the intelligence of the people above a certain level. Whatever may be the facilities of acquiring information, whatever may be the profusion of easy methods and of cheap .science, the human mind can never be instructed and edu- cated without devoting a considerable space of time to those objects. The greater or the lessor possibility of subsisting without labor is therefore the necessnry boundary of intellectual im- provement. This boundary is i lore remote in some coun- tries, and more restricted in otlnrs ; but it must exi.st some- where as long as the people is constrained to work in order to procure the means of physical subsistence, that is to say, as long as it retains its popular character. It is therefore ill, h DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 199 quite as difRcult to imagine a state in which all the citizens should be very well-informed, as a state in which they should all be wealthy ; these two dilHculties may be looked upon as correlative. It may very readily be admitted that the mass of the citizens are sincerely disposed to [)romote the welfare of their country ; nay more, it may even be allowed that the lower classes are less apt to be swayed by considerations of personal interest than the higher orders ; but it is always more or less impossible for them to discern the best means of attaining the end, which they desire with sincerity. Long and patient observation, joined to a nmltitude of difle- rent notions, is required to form a just estimate of the cha- racter of a single individual ; and can it be su|)posed that the vulgar have the power of succeeding in an inquiry which misleads the penetration of genius itself? The people has neither the time nor the means which are essential to the prosecution of an investigation of this kind ; its conclusions are hastily formed from a superficial inspection of the more prominent features of a question. Hence it oft(>n assents to the clamor of a mountebank, who knows the secret of stinm- luting its tastes ; while its truest friends Irecpiently fail in their exertions. Moreover, the democracy is not oidy deficient in that soundness of judgment whijh is necessary to select men really deserving of its confidence, but it lias neither the de- sire nor the inclination to find them out. It cannot be denied tiiat democratic institutions have a very strong tendency to promote the feeling of envy in the human heart ; not so much because they afford to every one the means of rising to the l(>vel of any of his fellow-citizens, as because those means perpetually disappoint the persons who e)n])loy them. De- mocratic institutions awaken and foster a passion for equality which they can never entirely satisfy. This complete e(|uality eludes the grasp of the peoj)le at the very moment when it thinks to hold it fast, and " flies," as Pascal says, " with eternal flight;" the people is excited in the pursuit of an advantage, which is the more precious because it is not siilliciently remote to be uidiiiown, or sulliciently near to be enjoyed. The lower orders are agitated by the chance of success, they are irritait d by its uncertainty ; and they pass from the enthusiasm of pursuit to the exhaustion of ill-suc- cess, and lastly to the acrimony of disappointment. What- ever transcends their own limits appears to be an obstacle to their desires, and there is no kintl of superiority, however legitimate it may be, which is not irksome in llieir sight ;-rd !■ >•■?•>% ■■ •* l! ■ilir 'p ti '11 I 200 GOVERNMENT OF THE It has been supposed that the secret instinct, which leads the lower orders to remove their superiors as much as possi- ble from the direction of public affairs, is peculiar to France. This, however, is an error ; the propensity to which I allude is not inherent in any particular nation, but in democratic institutions in general ; and although it may have been heightened by peculiar political circumstances, it owes its origin to a higher cause. In the United States, the people is not disposed to hate the superior class of society ; but it is not very favorably in- clined toward them, and it carefully excludes them from the exercise of authority. It does not entertain any dread of dis- tinguished talents, but it is rarely captivated by them ; and it awards its approbation very sparingly to such as have risen without the popular support. While the natural propensities of democracy induce the people to reject the most distinguished citizens as its rulers, th^se individuals are no less apt to retire from a political career, in which it is almost impossible to rt^tain their inde- pendence, or to advance without degrading themselves. This opinion has been very candidly set forth by Chancellor Kent, who says, in speaking with great eulogium of that part of the constitution which empowers the executive to nominate the judges : " It is indeed probable that the men who are best fitted to discharge the duties of this high olHeo would have too nmch reserve in their manners, and too much austerity in their principles, for them to be returned by the iiiajority at an election where universal suffrage is adopted." Such were the opinions which were printed without contra- diction in America in the year 1830. I hold it to be sufficiently demonstrated, that universal suffrage is by no means a guarantee of the wisdom of the popular choice ; and tha; whatever its advantages may bo, this is not one of them. DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 201 CAUSES WHICH MAY PARTLY CORRECT THESE TENDENCIES OF THE DEMOCRACY. Contrary Effects produced on Peoples as well as on individuals by great Dangers. — Why so many distinguished Men stood at the Head of Aflairs in America fifty Years ago. — Influence which the intelli- gence and the Manners of tlic People exercise upon its choice. — E.xample of New England, — States of the Southwest —Influence of certain Laws upon the Ciioice of the People. — Election by an elected Body. — Its Effects upon the Composition of the Senate. When a state is threatened by serious dangers, the people frequently succeed in selecting the citizens who are the most able to save it. It has been observed that man rarely retains his customary level in presence of very critical circum- stances ; he rises above, or he sinks below, his usual condi- tion, and the same thing occurs in nations at large. Extreme perils sometimes quench the energy of a people instead of stimulating it ; they excite without directing its passions ; and instead of clearing, they confuse its powers of perception. The Jews deluged the smoking ruins of their tem})les with liie carnage of the remnant of their host. But it is more conunon, both in the case of nations and in that of individuals, to find extraordinary virtues arising from the very imminence of the danger. Great characters are then thrown into relief, as the edifices which are concealed by the gloom of night, are illuminated by the glare of a conflagration. At tho.se dangerous times genius no longer abstains from presenting itself in the arena ; and the people, alarmed by the perils ol' its situation, buries its envious passions in a short oblivion. (}reat names may then be drawn from the urn of an elce- tion. I have already observed that the American statesmen of the present day are very inferior to those who stood at the head of affairs fifty y(nirs ago. This is as nmeii a eonsc- quenceof the circumstances, as of the laws of the country. When America was struggling in the high cause of indrpcn- dence to throw off the yoke of another country, and when it was about to usher a new nation into the world, tlic spirits of its iidiabitants were roused to the height which tluir great efl()rts required. In this general excitement, tlie mo^t distin- guished men were ready to forestall tiie wants of the commu- nity, and the people clung to them for support, and placed them at its head. Hut events of this magnitude are rare; and it is from an inspection of the ordinary course of affairs that our judgment nmst be f()rmed. ■ 'I i m jm m <».W m \n 1 'm 1} oU; ' .iV ,J?K •/'^' "'. i. v;t 1 ^- •■, 1 ' . '■ " • t- 1. / Vj -■ m ' . .' J . • :,* 4U II mnV llll M i \'l 202 GOVERNMENT OF THE If passing occurrences sometimes act as checks upon the passions of democracy, the intellij^ence and tlie manners of the community ^vercise an influence which is not less pow- erful, and far more permanent. This is extremely percepti- ble in the United States. In New England the education and the liberties of the communities were engendered by tlie moral and religious principles of their founders. Where society has acquired a sufficient degree of stability to enable it to hold certain max- ims and to retain fixed habits, the lower orders are accustomed to respect intellectual su[)eriority, and to submit to it without complaint, although they set at naught all those privileges which wealth and birth have introduced among mankind. The democracy in New England consequently makes a more judicious choice than it does elsewhere. But as we descend toward the south, to those states in which the constitution of society is more modern and less strong, where instruction is less general, and where the prin- ciples of morality, of religion, and of liberty, are less happily combined, we perceive that the talents and the virtues of those who are in authoi'ity become more and more rare. Lastly, wlien we arrive at the new southwestern states, in which the constitution of society dates but from yesterday, and presents an agglomeration of adventurers and speculators, we are amazed at the persons wlio are invested with public authority, and we are led to ask by what force, indeju'udent of the legislation and of the men who direct it, the state can be protected, and society be made to flourish. There are certain laws of a democratic nature whicii con- trii)Ute, nevertheh'ss, to correct, in some measure, the danger- ous tendencies of (le'.i'ocracy. ( )n ent(M'ing the house of representatives at Washington, one is struck by the vulgar demeanor of that great asst^nbly. The ey(> frecjuently does not discover a man of celebrity within its walls. Its mem- bers are abnost all obscure individuals, whose names present no associations to the mind : they are mostly village-lawyers, men in trade, or even persons belonging to the lower I'lasses of society. In a country in which education is very general, it is said that the representatives of tlie |)e()ple do not always know how to write correctly. At a few yards distance I'rom this spot is the door of the senate, wbicli contains within a small space a large pro|»or- tion of th(^ celel)rated men of America. Scareily an iiidi- vidiial is to be prrccived in it wlio docs not recall llie idea of un active and illustrious career : the senate is composed of DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 203 eloquent advocates, distinguished generals, wise magistrates, and statesmen of note, whose language would at all times do honor to the most remarkable parliamentary debates of Eu- rope. What then is the cause of this strange contrast, and why are the most able citizens to be found in one assembly rather than in the otli< r ? >Vhy is the former body remarkable for its vulgarity and ts )verty of talent, while the latter seems to enjoy a monopoly ol' intelligence and of sound judgment ? Both of these assemblies emanate from the people ; both of them are chosen by universal suffrage ; and no voice has hitherto been heard to assert, in America, that the senate is hostile to the interests of the people. From what cause, then, does so startling a difference arise ? The only reason which appears to me adequately to account for it is, that the house of representatives is elected by the populace directly, and that of the senate is elected by elected bodies. The whole body of the citizens names the legislature of each state, and the federal constitution converts these legislatures into so many electoral bodies, which return the members of the senate. The senators are elected by an indirect application of univer- sal suffrage ; for the legislatures which name them are not aristocratic or privileged bodies which exercise the electoral franchise in their own right ; but they are chosen by the totality of the citizens ; they are generally elected every year, and new members may constantly be chosen, who will employ their electoral rights in conformity with the wishes of the public. But this transmission of the popular authority through an assembly of chosen men, operates an important change in it, by refining its discretion and improving the forms which it adopts. Men who are chosen in this manner, accu- rately represent the majority of the nation which governs them ; but they represent the elevated thoughts which are current in the commun lity, the generous propiMisities which prompt its nobler actions, rather than the pi'tty passions which disturb, or the vices which disgrace it. The time may be already anticipated at which the Ameri- can republics will be obliged to introduce the plan of election by an elected lK)dy more frecjuently into their system of repre- sentation, or they will incur no small risk of perishing misera- bly among th(^ shoals of democracy. And here I have no scruple in confessing that I look upon this petndiar system of election us the vn\y means of bringing the exercise of j)olitie!d power to the level of ail classes of the peojtle. Those thinkers who regard this institution as I ■„. lii'i IS il 204 GOVERNMENT OF THE the exclusive weapon of a party, and those who fear, on the other hand, to make use of it, seem to me to fall into as great an error in the one case as in the other. INFLUENCE WHICH THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY HAS EXERCISED ON THE LAWS RELATING TO ELECTIONS. When Elections are rare, they expose the State to a violent Crisis. — Whea tiiey are frequent, they iveep up a degree of feverish Excite- ment. — The Americans have i)re;'orrc!(l the second of these two Evils. — Mutability of the Laws. — Opinions of Hamilton and Jeffer- son on this Subject. When elections recur at long intervals, the state is exposed to violent agitation every time they take place. Parties ex- ert themselves to the utmost in order to gain a prize which is so rarely within their reach ; and as the evil is almost ir- remediable for the candidates who fail, the consequence of their disappointed ambition may prove most disastrous : if, on the other hand, the legal struggle can be repeated within a short space of time, the defeated parties fake patience. When elections occur frequently, this recurrence keeps society in a perpetual state of feverish excittMiient, and im- parts a continual instability to public affairs. Thus, on the one hand, the state is exposed to the perils of a revolution, on the other, to perpetual mutability ; the former system threatens the very existence of the govern- ment, tlie latter is an obstacle to all steady and consistent policy. The Americans have preferred the second of these evils to the first ; but they were led to this conclusion by tlieir instinct much more than by their reason ; for a taste for va- riety is one of the characteristic passions of democracy. An extraordinary nmtability has, by this means, been introduced into their legislation. Many of the Americans consider the instability of their laws as a necessary consequence of a system whose general results are beneficial. But no one in the United States afleets to deny the fact of tiiis instability, or to contend thai it is not a great evil. ilamilton, af\er having demonstrated the utility of a powei which might prevent, or which might at least impede, the |)ro- mulgation of bad laws, adds: "It may periiaps be said that thf power of preventing bad laws in(;ludes that of preventing good ones, and may be used to the one purpose as well as to DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 205 the other. But this objection will have but little weight with those who can properly estimate the mischiefs of that incon- stancy and mutability in the laws which form the greatest blemish in the character and genius of our government. — (Federalist, No. 73.) And again, in No. 62 of the same work, he observes : " The facility and excess of law-making seem to be the dis- eases to which our governments are most liable.******* The mischievous effects of the mutability in the public councils arising from a rapid succession of new members, would fill a volume ; every new election in the states is found to change one half of the representatives. From this change of men must proceed a change of opinions and of measures which forfeits the respect and confidence of nations, poisons the blessings of liberty itself, and diminishes the attachment and reverence of the people toward a political system which be- trays so many marks of infirmity." Jefferson himself, the greatest democrat whom the democra- cy of America has as yet produced, pointed out the same evils. " The instability of our laws," he said in a letter to Madi- son, " is really a very serious inconvenience. I think we ought to have obviated it by deciding that a whole year should always be allowed to elapse between the bringing in of a bill and the final passing of it. It should afterward be discussed and put to the vote without the possibility of making any al- teration in it ; and if the circumstances of the case required a more speedy decision, the question should not be decided by a simple majority, but by a majority of at least two thirds of both houses." PUBLIC OFFICERS UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE DEMOCRACY OF AMERICA. Simple Exterior of the Americnn public Officers. — No official Cos- tume. — All pultlic Officers iiro reniuneiatcil. — Political Coiis(M]uence8 of this System. — No public Career exists in America, — Result of this. Public officers in the United States are commingl'Ml with the crowd of citizens ; they have neither palaces, nor guards, nor ceremonial costumeH This siinplr exterior of the per- sons in authority is eonn(>ete(l. not only with the peculiarities of the American character, but with tlie fundamental princl- ;' m : m 206 GOVERNMENT OF THE pics of that society. In the estimation of tne democracy, a government is not f. benefit, but a necessary evil. A certain degree of power inust be granted to public officers, for they would be of no use without it. But the ostensible semblance of authority is by no means indispensable to the conduct of affairs ; and it is needlessly offensive to the susceptibility of the public. The public officers tiiemselves are well aware that they only enjoy the superiority over their fellow-citizens, which they derive from their authority, upon condition of puiting themselves on a level with the whole community by their manners. A ni'blic officer in the United States is uni- formly civil, accessible to all the world, attentive to all re- quests, and obliging in all his replies. I was pleased by these characteristics of a democratic government ; and I was struck by the manly independence of the citizens, who respect the office more than the officer, and who are less attached to the emblems of authority than to the man who bears them. I am inclined to believe that the influence which costumes really exercise, in an age like that ir, which we live, has been a good deal exaggerated. I never perceived that a pub- lic officer in America was the less respected while he was in the discharge of his duties because his own merit was set off by no adventitious signs. On the otiier hand, it is very doubtful whether a peculiar dress contributes to the respect which public characters ought to have fiir their own position, at least when they are not otherwise inclined to respect it. When a magistrate (and in France such instances are not rare), indulges his trivial wit at the expense of a prisoner, or derides a predicament in which a culprit is placed, it would be well to deprive him of his robes of office, to sei; whether he would recall some portion of the natural dignity of man kind when he is reduced to the apparel of a private citi/en. A democracy may, however, allow a certain show of ma. gisterial j)omp, and clothe its officers in silks and gold, with- out seriously compromising its prineipl(>s. Privileges of this kind are transitory ; they belong to the place, and are dis- tinct from the individual : but if public oificers are not uni- formly remunerated by the state, the public charges must be intrusted to men :>{' opulence and indi-pendence, who consti- tute file basis of an aristocracy ; and if the people still re- tains its right of election, that election can only be made from a certain class of citizens. When a democratic republic renders offices vhich had for- merly been remuiierated, gratuitous, it may safely bo be- DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 207 licved tliat tliat state is advaneintf to monarcliical institutions ; and when a monarchy beans of performing them. Although, in democratic states, all the citizens are quaLfied to occupy stations in the govern- ment, all are not tempted to try for them. The number and the capacities of the candidates are more apt to restrict the clioice of electors than the conditions of the candidateship. In nations in which the principle of election extends to every place in the state, no political career can, propei'ly speaking, be said to exist. Men are promoted as if by chance to the rank which they enjoy, and they are by no mean", sure of retaining it. The consequence is that in tranquil times public functions offer but few lures tD ambition. In the United States the persons who engage in the perplexities of [)olitical life are individuals of very moderate pretensions. The pursuit of wealth generally diverts men of great talents and of great passions from the pursuit of power ; and it very frequently happens that a man does not undertake to direct the fortune of the state until i.e has discovered his incompe- tence to conduct his own affairs. The vast number of very ordinary men who occupy public stations is quite as attributa- ble to these causes as to the bad choice of the democracy. In the United States, I am not sure that the people would re- turn the men of superior abilities who might solicit its sup- port, but it is certain that men of this description do not come forward. i H I 1' '^^' w'-'' 1 208 GOVERNMENT OF THE ARBITRARY POWER OF MAGISTRATES* UNDER THE RULE OP AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. For what Reason the arbitrary Power of Ma|)ly it to all the olficers to whom the e:iecution of the laws is intrusted. DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 209 liat Ihe In ho 1)0 [so. is li'i- it Ihe can functionarieL ^.e, in point of fact, much more independent in the sphere of action which the law traces out for them, than any public officer in Europe. Very frequently the object which they are to accomplish is simply pointed out to them, and the choice of the means is left to their own discretion. In New England, for instance, the selectmen of each town- ship are bound to draw up the list of persons who are to serve on the jury ; the only rule which is laid down to guide them in their choice is that they are to select citizens possessing the elective franchise and enjoying a fair reputation.* In France the lives and liberties of the subjects would be thought to be in danger, if a public officer of any kind was intrusted with so formidable a right. In New England, the same magis- trates are empowered to post the names of habitual drunkards in public houses, and to prohibit the inhabitants of a town from supplying them with liquor. f A censorial power of this excessive kind would be revolting to the population of the most absolute monarchies ; here, however, it is submitted to without difficulty. Nowhere has so much been left by the law to the arbitrary determination of the magistrates as in democratic republics, because this arbitrary power is unattended by any p.larming consequences. It may even be asserted that the freedom of the magistrate increases as the elective franchise is extended, and as the duration of the time of office is shortened. Hence arises the great ditficulty which attends the conversion of a •ieniocratic republic into a monarchy. The magistrate ceases to be elective, but he retains the rights and the habits of an elected officer, which lead directly to despotism. It is only in limited monarchies that the law which prescribes the sphere in which public officers are to act, superintends all their measures. The cause of this may be easily detected. In liiniti'd monarchies the power is divided between the king and the people, both of whom are interested in the stability of the iiiatristrate. The king does not venture to place the pultlic otlicers under the control of the people, lest they should be teiiij)l('d to betray his interests ; on the other hand, the people f ars lest the magistrates sliould serve to oppress the liberties of the country, if they were entirely dependent upon the crown : they cannot therefore be said to depend on either * Sp>' f!ic act 27th February, 1S13. CJoneral Collection of the Laws of M.is-ii husi'tts, vol. ii., p. 3.'il. It should bo added that the Jurors are atdiwMni drawn friwa these lists by lot. t Sfi' iliL" act of '^sth Fi'luuiiry, 1787. General Collection of the Law.s ol' Missachusctts, vol. i., p. ;i(i-,'. U *% 11' ■ '! .^1 ■ I I'iJItt 210 GOVERNMENT OF THE the one or the other. The same cause wliich induces the king and the people to render public officers independent, suggests the necessity of such securities as may prevent their independence from encroaching upon the authority of the former and the liberties of the latter. They consequently agree as to the necessity of restricting the functionary to a line of conduct laid down beforehand, and they are interested in confining him by certain regulations which he cannot evade. [The observations respecting the arbitrary powers of magistrates are practically amon<^ the most erroneous in the work. The author seems to liavc confounded the idea of magistrates being independent with their being arbitrary. Yet he had just before spoken of their depend- ancc on ])opular election as a reason why there was no appreliension of the abuse of their authority. The independence, then, to which he alludes must be an immunity from responsibility to any other depart- ment. But it is a fundamental principle of our system, that all officers are liable to criminal prosecution " whenever they act purtiall" or op- pressively from a malicious or corrupt motive." See 15 l/endell's Reports, 278. That our magistrates are independent when they do not act partially or oppressively is very true, and, it is to be hoped, is e(iually true in every form of government. There would seem, there- fore, not to be such a degree of independence as necessarily to produce arbitrariness. The author supposes that magistrates are more arbitrary in a despotism and in a democracy than in a limited monarchy. And yet, the limits of independence and of responsibility existing in the United States are borrowed from and identical with those established in England — the most prominent instance of a limited monarchy. See the authorities referred to in the case in Wendell's Reports, before quoted. Discretion in the execution of various ministerial duties, and in the awarding of punishment by judicial officers, is indispensable in every system of government, from the utter impossibility of " laying down beforehand a line of conduct" (as the author expresses it) in such cases. The very instances of discretionary power to which he refers, and which he considers arbitrary, exist in England. There, the persons from whom juries are to bo formed for the trial of causes, civil and criminal, are selected by the sherifls, who are appointed by the crown— a power, certainly more liable to abuse in their hands, than in those of selectmen or other town-otticers, chosen annually by the people. The otlier power referred to, that of posting the names of habitual drunkards, and forbidciing their being supplied vvitii licpior, i^ but a reiteration of the principles contained in the English statute ot 32 Geo. III., ch. 4'), respecting idle and disorderly ])ersons. Indeed it may be said with great confidence, that there is not an instance of discretionary power being vested in American magistrates whicii does not find its prototype in the English laws. The whole argument of the autlior on this point, therefore, would seem to fail. — American Editor. 1 DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 211 INSTABILITY OF THE ADMINISTRATION IN THE UNITED STATES. re, the of ul of an 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, and they are so soon commingled with the ever-chang- mg population of the country, that the acts of a community freque^itly leave fewer traces than the occurrences of a pri- vate family. The public administration is, so to speak, oral and traditionary. But little is committed to writing, and that little is wafted away for ever, like the leaves of the sibyl, by the smallest breeze. The only historical remains in the United States are the newspapers ; but if a number be wanting, the chain of time is broken, and the present is severed from the past. I am convinced that in fifty years it will be more difficult to collect authentic documents concerning the social condition of the Americans at the present day, than it is to find remains of the administration of France during the middle ages ; and if the United States were ever invaded by barbarians, it would be necessary to have recourse to the history of other nations, in order to learn anything of the people which now inhabits them. The instability of the administration has penetrated into the habits of the people : it even appears to suit the general taste, and no one cares for what occurred before his time. No methodical system is pursued ; no archives are formed ; and no documents are brought together when it would be very easy to do so. Where they exist little store is set upon them ; and I have among my papers several original public docu- ments which were given to me in answer to some of my inquiries. In America society seems to live from hand to mouth, like an army in the field. Nevertheless, the art of administration may undoubtedly be ranked ar a science, and no sciences can be improved, if the discoveries and observa- tions of successive generations are not connected together in the order in which they occur. One man, in the short space of his life, remarks a fact; another conceives an idea; the former invent.s a means of execution, the latter reduces a truth to a fixed proposition ; and mankind gathers the fruits of individual experience upon its way, and gradually forms the sciences. But the persons who conduct the administration in America can seldom afford any instruction to each other ; 212 GOVERNMENT OF THE and when they assume the direction of sDciety, they simply possess those attainments which are most widely disseminated in the community, and no experience peculiar to themselves. Democracy, carried to its farthest limits, is therefore preju- dicial to the art of government ; and for this reason it is bet- ter adapted to a people already versed in the conduct of an administration, than to a nation which is uninitiated in public affairs. This remark, indeed, is not exclusively applicable to the science of administration. Although a democratic ffi)vern- ment is founded upon a very simple and natural principle, it always presupposes the existence of a high degree of culture and enlightenment in society.* At the first glance it may be imagined to belong to the earliest ages of the world ; but maturer observation will convince us that it could only come last in the succession of human history. [These remarks upon the " instability of administration" in Ame- rica, are partly correct, but partly erroneous. It is certainly true that our public men are not educated to the business of government ; even our diplomatists are selected with very little reference to their experi- ence in that department. But the universal attention that is paid by the intelligent, to the measures of government and to the discussions to which they give rise, is in itself no slight preparation for the ordinary duties of legislation. And, indeed, this the author subsequently seems to admit. As to there being " no archives formed " of public docu- ments, the author is certainly mistaken. The journals of congress, the journals of state legislatures, the public documents transmitted to and originating in those bodies, are carefully preserved and dissemi- nated through the nation : and they furnish in themselves the materi- als of a full and accurate history. Our great defect, doubtless, is in the want of statistical information. Excepting the annual reports of the state of our commerce, made by the secretary of the treasury, under a law, and excepting the census which is taken every ten years under the authority of congress, and those taken by the states, we have no offi- cial statistics. It is supposed that the author had this species of in- formation in his mind when he alluded to the general deficiency of our archives.— .American Editor."] * It is needless to observe, that I speak here of the democratic forip of government as applied to a people, not merely to a tribe. ( ii DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 213 , CHARGES LEVIED BY THE STATE UNDER THE RULE OF THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. • In all Communities Citizens divisible into three Classes. — Habita of each of these Classes in the Direction of public Finances. — Why public Expenditures must tend to increase when the People go- verns. — What renders the Extravagance of a Democracy less to be feared in America. — Public Expenditure under a Democracy. Before we can affirm whether a democratic form of govern- ment is economical or not, we must establish a suitable standard of comparison. The question would be one of easy solution if we were to attempt to draw a parallel between a democratic republic and an absolute monarchy. The pub- lic expenditure would be found to be more considerable under the former than under the latter ; such is the case with all free states compared to those which are not so. It is certain that despotism ruins individuals by preventing them from pro- duoing wealth, much more than by depriving them of the wealth they have produced : it dries up the source of riches, while it usually respects acquired property. Freedom, on the contrary, engenders far more benefits than it destroys ; and the nations which are favored by free institutions, invari ably find that their resources increase even more rapidly than their taxes. My present object is to compare free nations to each other ; and to point out the influence of democracy upon the finan- ces of a state. Communities, as well as organic bodies, are subirct to cer- tain fixed rules in their formation which they cannot evade. They are composed of certain elements which are common to them at all times and under all circumstances. The people may always be mentally divided into three distinct classes. The first of these classes consists of the wealthy ; the second, of those who are in easy circum.stances ; and the third is composed of those who have little or no property, and who subsist more especially oy the work which they perform for the two superior orders. The proportion of the individuals who are included in these three divisions may vary accord- ing to the condition of society ; but the divisions themselves can never be obliterated. It is evident that each of these classes will exercise an in- fluence, peculiar to its own propensities, upon the administra- tion of the finances of the state. If the first of the three ex- clusively possess the legislative power, it is probable that it ,'!!ipa wm 'k ■'I^ 214 GOVERNMENT OF THE will not be sparing of the public funds, because the taxea which are levied on a large fortune only tend to diminish the sum of superfluous enjoyment, and are, in point of fact, but little felt. If the second class has the power of making the laws, it will certainly not be lavish of taxes, because nothing is so onerous as a large impost which is levied upon a small income. The government of the middle classes appears to mc to be the most economical, though perhaps not the most enlightened, and certainly not the most generous, of free gov- ernments. But let us now suppose that the legislative authority is vested in the lowest orders : there are two striking reasons which show that the tendency of the expenditure will bo to increase, not to diminish. As the great majority of those who create the laws are possessed of no property upon which taxes can be imposed, all the money which is spent for the community appears to be spent to their advantage, at no cost of their own ; and those who are possessed of some little property readily find means of regulating the taxes so that they are burfhensome to the wealthy and profitable to the poor, although the rich are unable to take the same advantage when they are in posses- sion of the government. In countries in which the poor* should be exclusively inv(>st('d with the power of making the laws, no great economy of public expenditure ought to be expected ; that expenditure will always be considerable ; eitluM* because the taxes do not weigh upon tliosc^ who levy them, or because they are levied in such a manner as not to weigh upon those classes. In other words, the government of the democracy is the only one under which the power which lays on taxes escapes th(^ pay- ment of them. It may be objected (but the argument has no real weight) that the true interest of the people is indissolubly connected with tiiat of the wealthier j»ortion of the eommunity, since it cannot l)Ut suffer by the severe measures to which it resorts. Mut is it not the true interest of kings to render their sulijeets happy; iiiid the true interest of nobles to admit recruits into their order on suifabh* grounds ? If remote advantages had power to prevail over the passitms and the exigencies of the * The word pot^r is tisod here, niul tlirouKliout the rt'miiindcr of fills rli'.i|)t( contributions of the rich are thru less needed, and on the other, it is more dillieult to lay on taxes which do not atl'eet the interests of the lower classes. On this account universal sulIVage would be less dangerous in France than in England, iieeause in the latter country the propirty on which taxes may be levied is vested in fewer hands. Aiiieriea, where the great majority of the citizens is possessed of some lin'tune, is in a still more favor- able position than France. There are still farther causes which may increase the sum of public ex|)eii(litures iri democratic countries. When the aristocracy governs, the individuals who conduct the atliiirsof state are exem|»ted, by their own station in society, from every kind oi' priviitloii: they iire contented with their |H)sitioii ; power and renown are the objects ft)r which they strive ; and, as they are placed liir above the obscurer throng of citizens. I-I IM'' "I rS '1; ' 216 GOVERNMENT OF THE they do not always distinctly perceive how the wellbeing of the mass of the people ought to redound to their own lionor. riiey are not, indeed, callous to the sulTerings of the poor, but .hey cannot feel those miseries as acutely as if they were themselves partakers of them. Provided that the people ap- pear to submit to its lot, the rulers are satisfied and they demand nothing farther from the government. An aristocracy is more intent upon the means of maintaining its influence, than upon the means of improving its condition. When, on the contrary, the people is invested with the supreme authority, the perpetual sense of their own miseries impels the rulers of society to seek for perpetual meliorations. A thousand different objects are subjected to improvement ; the most trivial details are sought out as susc(>ptible of amend- ment ; and those changes which are accompanied with con- siderable expense, are more especially advocated, since the object is to render the condition of the poor more tolerable, Avho cannot pay for themselves. Moreover, all democratic communities are agitated by an ill-defined excitement, and by a kind of feverish inipatieiiee, that engenders a multitude of innovations, almost all of which are attended with expense. In monarchies and aristocracies, the natural taste w iiii li the rulers have for ])ower and for renown, is stinujlated by the promptings of ambition, and they are frequently incited by these temptations to very costly undertakings. In dt iiio- craeies, where the rulers labor under privations, they can only be courted by such means as improve their wellbeing, and these improvements cannot take place without a sacrilice fif money. When a people begins to reflect upon its situation, it discovers a nudtitude of wants, to which it had not before been subj(>ct, and to satisfy these exigencies, nn'oursc must be had to the coffers of the state. Hence it arises, tiiat the pultlie charges increase in proportion as civilisation spreads, and that the imposts are augmented as knowledge pervades tlic community. The last cause which freijuently renders a democratic government dearer than any other is, that a democracy does not always succeed in moderating its expenditure, iu-cuuse it does not understand tlie art of being eeononiical. As tlie de- signs which it entertains are fre(|uentiy ciiang<(l, and tho agents of those designs are more fre(|uently removed, its un- dertakings are often ill.een(hiete(| or letl nntinisbed : in the former ease the state s|i( iids smiis out of nil pro|Mirlion 'o llie end which it proposes to iieconiplisii ; in th<' second, the ex- pense itself is un|)rofitaliie. isl lie 10 II- w II' X- DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. nn TENDENCIES OF THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY AS REGARDS THB SALARIES OF PUBLIC OFFICERS. In Democracies those who establish hia;h Salaries have no Chance of profiting by them. — Tendency of the American Democracy to in- crease the Salaries of subordinate Olficers, and to lower those of the more important functionaries. — Reason of this. — Comparative State- ment of the Salaries of public Officers in the United States and in France. There is a powerful reason which usually induces democra- cies to economise upon the salaries of public officers. As the number of citizens who dispense the remuneration is ex- tremely large in democratic countries, so the number of persons who can hope to be benefited by the receipt of it is comparatively small. In aristocratic countries, on the con- trary, tlie individuals who appoint high salaries, have almo.st always a vague hope of profiting by them. These appoint- ments may be looked upon as a capital which they create for their own use, or at least, as a resource for their children. It must, however, be allowed that a democratic state is most parsimonious toward its principal agents, in America the secondary officers are nuieh better ])aid, and the dignitaries of the administration nuich worse than they are elsewiiere. These opposite eifects result from the same cause : the pen- pie fixes the salaries of tlie public officers in both cases; and the scale of remuneration is determined ijy the consideration of its own wants. It is iield to be fair that the servants of the public should be placed in the same easy circumstances as the public itself;* but when the (|U(>stion turns upon thn the goveiiimcnl, and the chamliers show a disposition to raise tin* lowest salaries and to lower the |iriiici- pal oiii'S. 'i'liiis the miiiistir o| linaiicr, who i'i'C('i\ed liin.niMMr. tin- der the elii|iiri', receives ^il.iiilil lr.,ill i^.'I'i; the dilv'i'ielirs-ncMer.lUX of liiiance, who then received JU.OUU fr., now receivu only :JO,oiiu I'r. sahiry . . . . i,r.oo ;ii7 Chief (derk . . . '2,1100 ■i;ii .Secretarv of state . ("i,OOII 1 ..'li 10 The {'resident . . 2'),(I0II 5,100 .DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 219 on agents : and their salaries are only raised when they refuse to perform their service for too scanty a remuneration. It is the parsimonious conduct of democracy toward its principal officers, which has countenanced a supposition of far more economical propensities than any whicli it really possesses. It is true that it scarcely allows the means of honorable subsistence to the individuals who conduct its affairs ; but enormous sums are lavished to meet the exigen- cies or to facilitate the enjoyments of the people.* The money raised by taxation maj be better employed, but it is not saved. In general, democracy gives largely to the com- nmnity, and very sparingly to those who govern it. The reverse is tlie case in the aristocratic countries, where the money of the state is expended to the profit of the persons who are at the head of affairs. unn lUVO to 7-2 14 S(l(» •-•DO 00 Dlll- ciso icrs ici- nn- .lUX r. DIFFICULTY OF DISTINGUISHING THE CAUSES WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO THE EC0N03IY OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. We are liable to frequent errors in the research of those facts which exercise a serious influence upon tiie fate of mankind, since nothing is more difficult than to appreciate their real value. One peoj)le is naturally inconsistent and enthusiastic ; another is sober and calculating ; and these charaetcristics originate in their j)hysieal constitution, or in remote causes with which we are unaetjuainted. There are nations which are fond of parudn and the bustle of festivity, and which do not regret the costly gaieties of an hour. Others, on the contrary, are attaeheii to more retiring pleasures, and seem almost ashamed of appearing to be pleased. In some countries the highest value is vset upon the l)eauty of public edifices ; in others the productions of art are treated with indillerence, and everything which is unproduc- tive is looked down upon with contempt. In some renown, in olliers money, is the ruling passion. Independently of the laws, all these causes concur to ex(M'. * Soe the AnnTJCiin i)n(iu;t'ts for tlio cost of iiuliiionf riti/.ens iiiid ura- tnilo'ts instrncdon. In ls.il, ."i( i,( m lo/. were spi-iit in tlio stiito of New York for tin* niiiinliMumct' of tlio poor; ,\\n\ at KmsI 'ioOjOiii)/. wito (Icvolcd to urutnilous inslrnction. (Williainx's N'cw ^■(l|•li Aiinii.il Uc- fjistcr, ls:t-,>, |)|). -jo.'i, '.'1.').) Tlif sliito of .\r\v York contniiuMl only 1, ',100,11110 inlialiit'.ints in the year is.'to; wiiicli is not more than douhlo the aininnit of poinilation in tlu- dcpaitinuut du Nord in France, / ^: :»il ^ I 11 f I i 220 GOVERNMENT OF THE cise a very powei'ful influence upon the conduct of the finances of the state. If the Americans never spend the money of tlie people in galas, it is not only because the imposition of taxes is under the control of the people, but because the people takes no delight in public rejoicings. If they repudiate all ornament from their architecture, and set no store on any but the more practical and homely advantages, it is not only because they live under democratic institutions, but because they are a commercial nation. The habits of private life are continued in public ; and we ought carefully to distinguish that economy which depends upon their institutions, from that which is the natural result of their manners and customs. WHETHER THE EXPENDITURE OF THE UNITED STATES CAN BE COMPARED TO THAT OF FRANCE. Two Points to be established in order to estimate the Extent of the public Charges, viz. : the national Wealth, and the Rate of Taxation. The Wealth and the Charges of France not accurately known,— Why the Wealth and Charges of the Union cannot be accurately known. Researches of the Author with a View to discover the Amount of Taxation in Pennsylvania.— General Symptoms which may serve to indicate the Amount of the public Charges in a given Nation. — Result of this Investigation for the Union. Many attempts have recently been made in France to compare the public expenditure of that country with tiie expenditure of the United States ; all these attempts have, liowever, been unattended by success ; and a k\v words will suffice to show that th(!y could not liave had a satisfactory result. In order to estimate the amount of the public charges of a people, two preliminaries are indispen.sable ; it is necessary, in the first place, to know tiie wcaltii of that people ; and in tlie second, to learn what portion of that wcaltli is devoted to the expenditure of the state. To show the amount of taxation without showing the resources which are destined to meet the demand, is to undertake a futile laltor ; for it is not the exjjenditure, but the relation of the expenditure to the revenue, which it is desirable to know. The same rate of taxation which may easily be supported by a wealthy contributor, will reduce a poor one to extreme misery. The wealth of nations is composed of several distinct elements, of which population is the first, real property the second, and personal |)roperty the third. The first of tliese three elements may be discovered without difliculty. :.J DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 221 Among civilized nations it is easy to obtain an accurate census of the inhabitants; but the two others cannot be determined with so much facility. It is difficult to take an exact account of all the lands in a country which are under cultivation, with their natural or their acquired value ; and it is still more impossible to p' "Tiate the entire personal property wliich is at the '- "^po^. ^ the nation, and w '< 1. ludes the strictest analys.o ' y the .. ersity and number o. shapes under which it may occur. And, indeed, we find that the most ancient civilized nations of Europe, including even those in which the administration is most central, have not succeeded, as yet, in determining the exact condition of their wealth. In America the attempt has never been made ; for how would such an investigation be possible in a country where society has not yet settled into habits of regularity and tran- quillity ; where the national government is not assisted by a multitude of agents whose exertions it can command, and direct to one sole end j and where statistics are not studied, because no one is able to collect the necessary documents, or can find time to peruse them ? Thus the primary elements of the calculations which have been made in France, cannot be obtained in the Union ; the relative wealth of the two countries is unknown : the property of the former is not accu- rately determined, and no means exist of computing that of the latter. I consent, therefore, for the sake of the discussion, to aban- don this necessary term of the comparison, and I confine my- self to a computation of the actual amount of taxation, with- out investigating the relation which subsists between the taxation and the revenue. But the reader will perceive that my task has not been facilitated by the limits which I here lay down for my researches. It cannot bo doubted that the central administration of France, assisted by all the public officers who are at its dis- posal, might determine with exactitude the amount of the direct and indirect taxes levied upon the citizens. But this investigation, which no private individual can undertake, has not hitherto been completed by the French government, or, at least, its results have not been made public. We are ac- quainted with the sum total of tlio state ; we know the amount of the departmental expenditure ; but the expenses of the conununul divisions have not been computed, and the amount of the public expenses of France is uidviiown. If we now turn to America, we siiall perceive that the diffi. culttes are multiplied and enhanced. Tiie Union publishes '^ ;'*M :.^l m :^'M I''t m 'jj' th' f f 222 GOVERNMENT OF THE an oxact return of the amount of its expenditure ; the budgets of the fbur-and-twenty states furnish similar returns of their revenues ; but the expenses incident to the atTairs of the coun- ties and the townships are unknown.* The authority of tlie federal government cannot oblige the provincial governments to throw any light upon this point ; and even if these governments were inclined to afford their simultaneous co-operation, it may be doubted whether they possess the means of procuring a satisfactory answer. Inde- pendently of the natural difficulties of the task, the political organization of the country would act as a hindrance to the success of the!.- efforts. The county and town magistrates are not appointed by the authorities of the state, and they are not subjected to their control. It is therefore very allow- al)le to suppose, that if the state was desirous of obtaining the returns which we require, its designs would be counteracted by the neglect of those subordinate officers whom it would be obliged to enjploy.'j" It is, in point of fact, useless to inquire * The Americans, as we have seen, have four separate budgets; the Union, the states, the counties, and the townships, having each seve- riilly their own. During my stay in America I made every endeavor to discover tiie amount of the public ex|)enditure in the townships and counties of the principal states of tiie Union, and I readily obtained the budget of the larger townsliips, but I found it quite impossible to |)ro- cure that of the smaller ones. I iiossess, however, some documents relating to county ex|)enses, which, altiiough incomplete, are still curi- ous. 1 have to thank Mr. Richards, mayor of Philadelphia, for the budgets of thirteen of the counties of Pennsylvania, viz. ; Lebanon, Centre, Franklin, Fayette, Montgomery, Lu/erne, Daui)liin, IJutler, AUi'Lrany, Columbia, Northampton, Northumberland, and Philadelphia, for tlie year IS'iO. 'I'heir jiopulatiou at that time consisted of I'J.T.'JO? iidiabitants. On looking at tlie map of Pennsylvania, it will be .seen that these thirteen counties are scattered in every direction, and so generidly aflectL'd by tiie causes whicii usually influence the condition uf a country, that tiiey may easily be supposed to furnish a correct average of the financial state ot' the counties of Pennsylvania in gene- ral ; and tiius, .upon reckoning tiiat the expenses of these counties amounted in the year l>5'ii» to about 7vi,.'J3i)/., or nearly ii». lor each iiiiialiitant, and calculating that each of tliein contributed in the same Veiu' al)out lil.v. -Jf/. toward the Union, and about 3.s. to tiie state of Peniisvlvania, it appears tiiat they each contr'liuted as their share of all the public expenses (i-xcept those of the townships), the sum of lij.v. .ill. 'I'his calculation is doubly incomplete, as it ap|)lies only to a single year and to one ])art of tiie p'.iblic ciiarges; but it lias at least tiie merit of not being conjectural. t 'I'hose who have attem|)tpd to draw a comparison between the ex- penses of France and America, have at once perceived that no such comparison could be drawn between the total expenditures of tlie two countries; but they have on(leavf)re(i to contrast detached portions of this exjienditure. It may readily be; siiown that this second .system is not at all less defective tiian llie lirst. J I its ri- -r, lia, (17 ■oil so ion rect 10- ioS ■M-h lino of <.»■ of o il it ■X- icli \VL) of 'in DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. oog what tlie Americans might do to forward this inquiry, since h is certain tliat they have hitherto done nothing at all. There •Joes not exist a single individual at the present day, in Ame- rica or in Europe, who can inform us what each citizen of the Union annually contributes to the public charges of the nation.* If I attempt to compare the French budsfot with the b\i(l<;ot of the Union, it must be remembered that tne latter embraces muoh fewer Dbjects than the central (government of the former country, and that iho expenditure must consequently be much smaller. If 1 contrast the »ud;i;ets of the departments to those of the states whicli constitute tlie Union, it must be observed, that as the power and control exorcised by the states is much £;reatcr than that which is exercised by tlie depart- ments, tlieir expenditure is also more considerable. As for the budi^ets of tlie counties, nothiii"; of the kind occurs in the Froncli system of tinance ; and it is,ay;ain, doubtful wliether the correspondiui; expenses should be referred to the budget of the state or to those of the muni- "i|)al divisions. Municipal expenses exist in both countries, but they are not always analogous. In America the townships dischariie a variety of oliices which are reserved in France to the departments or the state. It may, moreover, be asked, what is to be understood by the municipal ex- penses of America. The ornanization of the municipal bodies or town- ships (lidbrs in the several states: Are we to be guided by what oc<,'urs in New P^nglaiid or in Georgia, in Pennsylvania or the state of Illinois ? A kind of analogy may very readily l)e perceived b(>tween certain budgets in the two countries : but as the elements of wliicii they are com|)osod always difler more or less, no fair comparison can be insti- tuted between them. * Even if we knew the exact pecuniary contributions of every French and American citizen to tlie cotlers of the state, wo siiould only come at a portion of the trutii. Governments not only doinand sup- ])lies of money, but they call for personal services, which may be looUt'd upon as eipiivalent to a given sum. Wlioii a state raises an army, be- side the pay of tiie troops wiiich is furnished by the entire nation, each soldier must give up his time, the value of which depends on the use he might make of it if he were not in the service. The same remark applies to the militia : the citizen wlio is in the militia devotes a cer- tain portion of valuable time to the maintenance of the public peace, and he dot^s in reality surreiidor to the state those earnimrs which he is prevented from gaining. IMany other instances might l>o cited in addition to these. The governments of France and America both levy taxes of this kind, which weigh upon the citizens; but who can esti- mate with accuracy their relative amount in the two countries.'' 'i'his, however, is not the last of the ditllculties which prevent us from eoinparing the exponditure of the Union with that of I'ranco. Tile {•'roncli government contracts certain obligations wl.ich do not exist in America, and vice vi rm. The l'"reiich government pays the clergy; in America, the voluntary principle prevails. In .Aiuorica, there is a IolmI provision for the poor ; in France tlu'y are abandoned to the charity of the public. The French public otlicors are paid by a fixed salary : in America they are allowed certain peri|uisites. In France, contributions in kind take place on very few roads; in An.e- rica upon almost all the thoroughfares : in the former country the u-^ I \r.:\ i*l •h .t'.'i .J A- 224 GOVERNMENT OF THE MiX u i : *| li!' Hence we must conclude, that it is no less difficult to com- pare the social expenditure, than it is to estimate the relative wealth of France and of America. I will even add, that it would be dangerous to attempt this comparison ; for when statistics are not founded upon computations which are strictly accurate, they mislead instead of guiding aright. The mi'H is easily imposed upon by the false affectation of exactitude, which prevails even in the mis-statements of the science, and adopts with confidence the errors which are apparelled in the forms of mathematical truth. We abandon, therefore, our numerical investigation, with the hope of meeting with data of another kind. In the ab- sence of positive documents, we may form an opinion as to the proportion which the taxation of a people bears to its real prosperity, by observing whether its external appearance is flourishing ; whether, after having discharged the calls of the state, the poor man retains the means of subsistence, and the rich the means of enjoyment ; and whether both classes arf. contented with their position, seeking however to meliorate it by perpetual exertions, so that industry is never in want of capital, nor capital unemployed by industry. The observer wlio draws his inferences from these signs will, undoubtedly, be led to the conclusion, that the American of the United States contributes a much smaller portion of his income to the state than the citizen of France. Nor, indeed, can the result be otherwise. A portion of the French debt is the consequence of two suc- cessive invasions ; and the Union has no similar calamity to fear. A nation placed upon the continent of Europe is obliged to maintain a large standing army ; the isolated posi- tion of the Union enables it to have only 6,000 soldiers. The French have a fleet of 300 sail ; the Americans have 52 vessels.* How, then, can the inhabitant of the Union be called upon to contribute as largely as the inhaljitant of France ? No parallel can be drawn between the finances of two countries so dilTerently situated. It is by examining what actually takes place in the Union, and not by comparing the Union with France, that we may roads are free to all travellers : in the latter turnpikes abound. All those differences in manner in which contributions are levied in the two countries, enhance the difficulty ofcoinparini; their expenditure ; for tliere are certain expenses wliicli tlie citizens would not be sub- jected to, or which would iit any rate be nuich less considerable, it' the state did no: fake upon itsidf to act in tlie name of the public. * See tlie details in tlic budi^et of tiie Prjcriean governinent is really econo- mical. On eastinif my eyes over the ditlerent republics which form the confedfration, 1 perceive; that their govcrmiients lack perseverance in their undertakings, and that they exercise no steady control over the men whom they employ. Whence I naturally infer, that tliey must often spend the money of the people to no jjurpose, or consume more of it than is really necessary to their undertakuigs. Great efforts are made, in accordance with the democratic origin of society, to satisfy the exigencies of the lower orders, to open the career of j)ower to their endeavors, and to diifuse knowledge and comfort among them. The poor are maintained, immense sums are annually devoted to public instruction, all services whatso- ever are remunerated, and the most subordinate agents arc liberally paid. If this kind of government appears to me to be useful and rational, I am nevertheless constrained to admit that it is expensive. Wherevor the poor direct public affairs and dispose of the national resources, it appears certain, that as they pi'ofit by the expend'.ture of the state, they are apt to augment that ex- penditure. 1 conclude therefore, without having recourse to inaccurate computations, and without hazarding a comparison which niiglit prove incorrect, tha* the democratic government of the Americans is not a chea]) government, as is sometimes as- serted ; and I have no hesitation in predicting, that if the peo- ple of the United States is ever involved in serious difficulties, its taxation \ ill speedily be increased to the late of that which prevails in the greater part of the aristocracies and the mo- narchies of Europe. 4:'ii CORRUPTION AND VICES OF THE RULERS IN A DEMOCRACY, AND CONSEQUENT EFFECTS UPON PUBLIC MORALITY. Dn, |ay Ul the \c ; Jib- |ho In Aristocracies Rnlors soinotinies endeavor to corrupt thp People.— In Democracies KiiK'i's (Ve iiieiitly show theirselvi^s to be corrupt. — In ttie t'ortner tbeir Vices arc directly ])rejiidicial to the Morality oftlie People. — In the latter their indirect Influence is still more per- nicious. A DISTINCTION nuist be made, when the aristocratic and the democratic principles mutually inveigh against each other, as tending to facilitate corruption. In aristocratic govern- ments the individuals wiio are placed at the head of atltiirs 15 \i'. ^m ■I i' I !'r ii.''i t'ii ii^'s jr r '' ! ill ■i iiji 1 .if '■m !■: 'i !.S 1 ■ i' j ''■ ■■' 'lu i, !l 226 GOVERNMENT OF THE are rich men, who are solely desirous of power. In democra- cies statesmen are poor, and they have their fortunes to make. The consequence is, that in aristocratic states the rulers are rarely accessible to corruption, and have very little craving for money ; while the reverse is the case in democratic nations. But in aristocracies, as those who are desirous of arriving at the head of affairs are possessed of considerable wealth, and as the number of persons by whose assistance they may rise is comparatively small, the government is, if I may use the expression, put up to a sort of auction. In democracies, Oil the contrary, those who are covetous of power are very seldom wealthy, and the number of citizens who confer that power is extremely great. Perhaps in democracies the num- ber of men who might be bought is by no means smaller, but buyers are rarely to be met with ; and, besides, it would be necessary to buy so many persons at once, that the attempt is rendered nugatory. Many of the men who have been in the administration in France during the last forty years, have been accused of making their fortunes at the expense of the state or of 'ts allies ; a reproach which was rarely addressed to the public characters of the ancient monarchy. But in France the practice of bribing electors is almost unknown, while it is no- toriously and publicly carried on in England. In the United States I never heard a man accused of spending his wealth in corrupting the populace ; but I have often heard the probity of public officers questioned ; still more frequently have I heard their success attributed to low intrijiues and immoral practices. If, then, the men who conduct the government of an aristo- cracy sometimes endeavor to corrupt the people, the heads of a democracy arc themselves corrupt. In the former case the morality of the people is directly assailed ; in the latter, an indirect influence is exercised upon the people, which is still mora to 1)0 dreaded. As the rulers of democratic nations are almost always ex- posed to the suspicion of dishonorable conduct, they in some measure lend the authority of the government to the base practices of which they are accused. They thus afford an example which must prove discouraging to the struggles of virtuous independence, and must foster the secret calcula- tions of a vicious ambition. If it be asserted that evil pas- sions are displayed in all ranks of society ; that the^- ascend the throne by hereditary riglit ; and that despicable charac- T I in is ns ■'A m an of la- as- nd ic- DEMOCEACY IN AMERICA. 227 ters are to be met with at the head of aristocratic nations as well as in the sphere of a democracy ; this objection has but little weight in my estimation. The corruption of men who have casually risen to power has a coarse and vulgar infec- tion in it, which renders it contagious to the multitude. On the contrary, there is- a kind of aristocratic refinement, and an air of grandeur, in the depravity of the great, which frequently prevents it from spreading abroad. The people can never penetrate the perplexing labyrinth of court intrigue, and it will always h' ve difficulty in detect- ing the turpitude which lurks under elegant manne/s, refined tastes, and graceful language. But to pillage ti>e public purse, and to vend the favors of the state, are arts which the meanest villain may comprehend, and hope to practise ui his turn. In reality it is far less prejudicial to be a witness i . ihe immorality of the great, than to that immoralit' which leads to greatness. In a democracy, private citizens seo a man of their own rank in life, who rises from that obb^sure position, and who becomes possessed of riches and of power in a few years : the spectacle excites their surprise and their envy : and they are led to inquire how the person who was yester- day their equal, is to-day their ruler. To attribute his rise to his talents or his virtues is unpleasant ; for il. is tacitly to acknowledge that they are themselves less virtuous and less talented than he was. They are therefore led (and not un- frequently their conjecture is a correct one) to impute his success mainly to some of his defects ; and an odious mix- ture is thus formed of the ideas of turpitude and power, un- worthiness and success, utility and -^'shonor. EFFORTS OF WHICH A Ei MOCRACY IS CAPABLE. The Union has only had one sti iigijle hitherto for its Existence. — En- thusiasm at the Commenceincnt of the War. — Indiirerence toward its Close. — Difficulty of estahlishinsx a military Conscription or impress- ment of Seamen in America. — Why a democratic People is less ca- pable of sustained Effort than another. I HERE warn the reader that I speak of a government which implicitly follows the real desires of the people, and not of a government which simply commands in its name. Nothing is so irrcsi.stible as a tyrannical power commanding in the name of the pcoole, because, while it exercises that moral f:'\i ■L-n il . ii^' i : Ti!Hi (H '.1 1 ' i: ■;! 1 ! ( l' 't !l - 228 GOVERNMENT OF THE influence which belongs to tlie decisions of the majority, it acts at the same time with the promptitude and the tenacity of a single man. It is difficult to say what degree of exertion a democratic government may be capable of making, at a crisis in the his- tory of the nation. But no great democratic republic has hitherto c;^isted in the world. To style the oligarchy which ruled over France in 1793, by that name, would bo to otTer an insult to the republican form of government. The United States afford the first example of the kind. The American Union has now subsisted for half a century, in the course of which time its existence has only once been attacked, namely, during the war of independence. At the commencement of that long war, various occurrences took place which betokened an extraordinary zeal for the service of the country.* But as the contest was prolonged, symp- toms of private egotism began to show themselves. No money was poured into the public treasury ; few recruits could be raised to join the army ; the people wished to aecjuire inde- pendence, but was very ill disposed to undergo the privations by which alone it could be obtained. " Tax laws," says Hamilton in the Federalist (No. 12), " have in vain been multiplied ; new methods to enforce the colkution have in vain been tried ; the public expectation has been uniformly disappointed ; and the treasuries of the states have remained empty. The popular system of admim'st ration inherent in the nature of popular government, coinciding with the real scarcity of money incident to a languid and mutilated state of trade, has hitherto defeated every experiment lor extensive collections, and has at length taught the dillerent legislatures the folly of attempting them." The United States have not had any serious war to carry on sine(> that period. In order, therei^)re, to appreciate the sacrifices whiih deniix lutic nations may impose nj)on flu'm- selves, we must wait until the American people is oi^liged to put half its entire income at the disposal of th(^ government, as was done by the I'iUglish ; f»r until it sends f()rth a twen- tietli part of its population to the lii'ld of battle, as was done by Franco. In America the use of conscription is unknown, and men * One of tlie moHt siiiKular of these occnrronccs was tlio resolution which IIh' ArnpriciiiiH tonk of Ifinpornrily iiljiindoiiimj; tlic use of tea. Those will) know lli;it men nsuiiUy <'lin^ more to their hiit-ils than to tlu'ir lile, will (innlit'.ess .uliniro tills great and obscure sacriiice which was made hy u wl.ole jKoplc. u It men ntion ■ tea. in to hid) DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 229 are induced to enlist by bounties. The notions and habits of the people of the United States are so opposed to compul- sory enlistments, that I do not imagine that it can ever be sanctioned by the laws. What is termed the conscription in France is assuredly the heaviest tax upon the population of that country ; yet how could a great continental war be car- ried on without it ? The Americans have not adopted the British impressment of seamen, and they have nothing which corresponds to the French system of maritime conscription ; the navy, as well as the merchant service, is supplied by voluntary engagement. But it is not easy to conceive how a people can sustain a great maritime war, without having re- course to one or the other of these two systems. Indeed, the Union, which has fought with some honor upon tlie seas, has never possessed a very numerous fleet, and the equipment of the small number of American vessels has always been ex- cessively expensive. [Tho remark tliat " in America the use of conscription is unknown, and men arc iiuliiccd to enlist by bounties," is not exactly correct. Durinj; the lust war with Great Britain, the state of New York, in Oc- tober, 181 1 (see the laws of that session, p. 1')), passed an act to raise troops for the defence of tlie state, in whicii tiie whole body of the militia were directed to be classed, and each class to furnish one sol- dier, so as to make up the whole number of l'i,iti)ii directed to bo raised. In case of the refusal of a class to furnish a man, one was to be detached from them by ballot, and was compeili'd to procure a sub- stitute or serve personally. The intervention of peace rendered i)ro- ceediii^s under the act uiniecessary, and we have not, therefore, the light of experience to form an opinion whether such a plan of raising a military force is practicable, t)ther states passed similar laws. The system ot classiiii; was borrowed from the practice of the revolution. — Anirrican KUifor.] I have heard American statesmen confess that the Union will have great dilliculty in Jnaiiitiiining its rank on the seas, without adopting the sy.stem of impressment or of maritime eoPsiTiptioM ; l»ut the dilliculty is to induce the peo|>l('. wiiieh exercises the supreme autliority, to submit to imprejisinent or any con)pul,sory .system. It is inconf(>stuble, that in times of danger a frrr people displays iiir more energy than one which is not .so. Hut I incline to believ(>, that this is mor(> es|)('cially the ease in those free nations in whieii the df-moeratie element prepon- derates. Deniocruey appears to me to be much Itettrr adapt- ed li)r the peaceful conduct of society, or l!)r an occasional ellort of remarkaliie vigor, than tlw the hardy and prolonged endurance of the storms wiiii^li beset the |inlitical existence f.», ^'.n :i m mi I m 'If ll in'; i ,'i i^ t -I I I t 231) GOVERNMENT OF THE of nations. The reason is very evident ; it is enthusiasm which prompts men to expose themselves to dangers and privations ; but they will not support them long without re- flection There is more calculation, even in the impulses of bravery, than is generally attributed to them ; and al though the first efforts are suggested by passion, perseverance is maintained by a distinct regard of tiic purpose in view. A portion of what we value is exposed, in order to save the remainder. But it is this distinct perception of the future, founded upon a sound judgment and an enlightened experience, which is most frequently wanting in democracies. The populace is more apt to feel than to reason ; and if its present sufferings are great, it i^ to be feared that the still greater sulferings at- tendant upon defeat will be foi'gotten. Another cause tends to render the efforts of a democratic government less persevering than tliose of an aristocracy. Not only are the lower classes less awakened than the higher orders to the good or evil chances of the future, but they are liable to suffer far more acutely from present pr'vations. The noble exposes his life, indeed, but tlie ciiance of glury is equal to the chance of harm. If he sacrifices a large por- tion of his income to the state, he deprives himself for a time of the pleasure of aflluence ; but to llie pcxM" man death is embellished by no pomp or renown ; and the imposts which are irksome to the rich are fatal to him. This relative impotence of (U'lnocrutic republics is, per- haps, the greatest obstacle to the Utundatinn of a republic of this kind in Europe. In order that such a state should sub. riist in one country of the Old World, it would be necessary that similar institutions should be introiliiecd info all tlieotlu r nations. I am of opinion that a democratic government tends in the end to increase the real strength of society ; but if can never com lie, upon a single point and at a given time, so nuieh power as an aristocracy or a monarchy. If a democratic coimtry remained during a wliole e<>nfMry subject to a re- publican government, it woidd probably at flie end of fluit period i)e more populous imd more prosperous than the neigh- iiorlng despotic states. Hiif it would liave incurred the risk of being con(|U(M-ed nnieh ofteiier than fliey wouM in that lapse of years. DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. 231 SELF-CONTROL OF THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. The American People acquiesces slowly, or frequently does not acqui- esce in what is heneficiul to its Interests. — The laults of the Ameri- can Democracy are for the most part reparable. The difficulty which a democracy has in conquori ig the pas- sions, and in subduing tlie exigencies of the moment, with a view to the future, is conspicuous in the must trivial occur- rences in tiie United States. Tlie people which is surround, cd by flatterers, has great difficulty in surmounting its incli- nations ; and whenever it is solicited to undergo a privation or any kind of inconvenience, even to attain an end which is sanctioned by its own rational conviction, it almost always refuses to comply at first. Tlie deference of the Americans to the laws has been very justly applauded ; but it must bo added, that in America the legislation is made by the people and Lv the people. Conse(]uently, in the United States, the law favors those classes whieli are most interested in evading it elsewhere. It may therefore he supposed that an offensive law, w iiich should not be acknowledged to ho. one of innne- dite utility, would either not be enacted or would not be obeyed. In America there is no law against fraudulent bankrupt- cies ; not because they are few, but iu'cause there are a great mnnber of bankruptcies. The driad of being prosecuted as a bankrupt acts with more intensity upon the mind of the majority of the people, than the fear of being involved in losses or ruin by the failure of other parties ; and a sort of guilty tolerance is extended by the publie conscii'nce, to an olll'iice wliich every one eoudemns in his individual capacity. in the new states of tiie southwest, the citizens gtiierally take justice into their own hands, and munlers are of very I're- quent occurrence. 'I'his arises from the rude manners and the ignoi'aiiee of tlie iidiubitants of those deserts, who do not perciive the utility of investing the law with adetpuite li)ree, and will) prefer duels to prosecutions. Sume oni' observed to me one day. in IMidadelpliiii, that almost all crimes in America are caused by the abuse of in- toxicaling li(|Uors, which the lower classes can procure in great abundance from their excessive ( lioipiiess. — •' liow comes it." snid I, "that you do not put a dul\ upun briiiidy ?" — "Our legislators,'" rejoinctl my iiiloiinuiil. •• hii\e t'rese unfi)rtunate beings from i\ie\itable des- truction. They alone are insensible to the (>xpedient ; they ft-el the wo wliich year aAer year heaps upon their iieads, but tiiey will perisii 1o a man without acci^pling the remedy. It would be necessary to employ force to induce them to siii)mit to tl'e protection and (lie constniint of civilisation. 'I'lie incessant revolutions which have convulsed tiieSoiith \merican provinces t'ov the last (juarter of a century iiave ifti*; r=:- DEMOCRACY IN AMER:.CA. 233 frequently been adverted to with astonishment, and expecta- tions liavc been expressed that those nations would speedily return to their natural state. But can it be affirmed that the turmoil of revolution is not actually the most natural state of the South American Spaniards at the present time ? In that country society is plunged into difticulties from which all its efforts are insufficient to rescue it. The inhabitants of that fair portion of the western hemisphere seem obstinately bent on pursuing the work of inward havoc. If they fall into a momentary repose from the effects of exhaustion, that repose prepares tliem for a fresh state of phrensy. When I consider their condition, which alternates between misery and crime, I should be inclined to believe that despotism itself would be a benefit to thein, if it were possil)le that the words despotism and benefit could ever be united in my mind. CONDTTCT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS BY THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. Direction f;ivcn to the foreiyfii Policy of tlie TTnitc^l States by Wiish- ingtou and JeHiTson. — Almost nil the delects inherent in deniocriitic Institutions are brought to liy;lit in the Conduct ot foreign AH'airs. — Their advantages are less perceptible. We have seen that the federal C(institution intrusts the per- manent direclioii of the external interests of tiie nation to the president and tlie senate ;* which tends in some dcorco to de- tach the general foreign policy of the Union from the control of the peo])le. It cannot therefore be asserted, with truth, that the external affairs of state are conducted by the demo- craey. Tlie policy of America owes its rise to A\'ashingtuM, and after him to JcHlMson, who established those principles which it observes at the present day. Washington said, in the ad- mirable letter which he addressed to his fellow-citizens, and which may be looked upon as his political bequest to the country : — " The great rule of condtict for us in regard to foreign na- tions is, extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little ;W///r, l)y and with tlie a(h ice and CMiisciit of tlie senate, to make treaties, provich'd two-thirds of the smators |ireseiit concur." 'I'he r»'a(ler is reuiiiided that the senators are returiie(l tor a term of six years, nd that they are chosen by the legislature of each state. I ^f I" 4' |iill ft- ! { ) .1 , i! 1 1 i: Li 4 234 GOVERNMENT OF THE nave already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. " Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence, she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicisfr inopportune. The means of democracy are therefore more imperfect than those of aristo- cracy, and the measures which it unwittingly adopts are fre- quently opposed to its own cause ; but the object it has in '■'iew is more useful. Let us now imagine a commuinty so organized by nature, o" by its constitution, that it can support the transitory action of bad laws, and it can await, without destruction, the general tendency of the legislation : we shall then be able to conceive that a democratic government, notwithstanding its defects, will be most fitted to conduce to the prosperity of this euin- munity. Tiiis is precisely what b;is occurred in tlie United States ; and I repeat, what I hav(> ix'fore remarked, tiiat the great advantage of the Americans consists in their being able to commit faults whieii they may afterward repair. An analogous observation may be made respecting public '■!• ;i u : gcMieral and constant influence of the government is beneficial, although the individuals who conduct it are frequently unskilful and .sometimes contemptible. There is, indeed, a secret tendency in democratic institutions to rend^'r the exertions of the citizens subservient to the prosperity of the comnumity, notwithstand- ing their private vices and mistakes; while in aristocratic institutions there is a secret propensity, which, notwithstanding the talents and the virtues of tlK)se who conduct the govern- ment, I'ads them to contribute to the evils which o|)pr('ss their fellow-creatures. In aristocratic governments public men may frequently do injuries which they do not intend ; and in democratic states they produce advantages whicii they never thought of PI'DLIC SriKIT l.\ THE U.MTED STATES. Patriotism nf Instinct. — P;itrintism of Rcdcrtion. — 'I'licir (liircrcnt C'liiinictcrislics. — Niitions oin^lit to strive to iiniuirc tlic scroiid wlu'U tlu' lirst li;is disiijipiMrcd. — lilHirts ol' tlic Ann'rii'iiiis to iu'i|iiiro it. — Interest ol' the Indiviilnul inlinuitely connocted witli tlint of tlu; ('ouMtry. TitEHK is one so'rt of patriotic nttaenment w hich prineipallv arises from tliat instinctive, disinterested, inid inidefniuble feeling which connects the alleciiMiis ot' man with his birth- place. This natural timdness is united to a tiiste lor ancient customs, and to a rcveiN nee liir iincesiral tradilions of the past ; tliose who clierish it lo\c their eonntiy as the\ lnvctlie mansion of their liitliers. Tliev eniov th.' tiau(|iiillit\ which GOVEIiNMEiNT OF THE DEMOCRACY. 243 it affords them ; they cling to the peacpful habits which thoy have contracted within its bosom ; tlicy are attached to the romini-'cences whicli it awakens, and they are even pleased by the state of obedience in which tiiey are placed. This patriotism is sometimes stimulated by religious enthusiasm, and then it is capable of making the most prodigious efforts. It is in itsi.'lf a kind of religion ; it does not reason, but it acts from tlie impulse of faith and of sentiment. By some nations the monarch has been regarded as a personification of the country ; and the fervor of patriotism being converted into the fervor of loyalty, tiiey took a sympathetic pride in his coiKjuests, and gloried in his power. At on(! time, under tlie ancient monarchy, the French felt a sort of satisfaction in tiic sense of tlieir dependence upon the arbitrary pleasure of their king, and they were wont to say witli pride? : " We arc the subjects of tlie most powerful king in the world." But, like all instinctive passions, this kind of patriotism is more apt to prompt transient exertion tiian to su|)ply tlie motives of continuous endeavor. It may save the state in critical circumstances, but it will not unfrequently allow the nation to decline in tiie midst of peace. While the manners of a people are simple, and its faith unsiiaken, wh'le society is steachly based upon traditi(»iial institutions, whose legitimacy has never been contested, this iijstinctive patriotism is wont to endure. liut tliere is another species of attachment to a country wliieii is more rational than the one we iuive been describing. It is pcrluips less generous and less ardent, but it is more fruitful and more lasting ; it is coeval w itii the spread of knowlrdgo, it is imrtured i>y tiie laws, it grows by the exercise of civil rights, and in the end, it is confmnded with the per- sonal interest of tlie citi/eii. Anumeompreln lids the inllileiico M liieli the |)ros|)erity of his country has upon his own welfare ; he is awiire tliat the laws authorize him to iMiiitribiite his iissistanee to that prosperity, and he labors to I'mmote it as a portion of his interest in the first place, and as a portion of his right in the second. IJut epoelus sometimes occur, in the course of the (wisteiiee el' a nation, at which the ancient customs of a iieople are chaMi^cil. public moralitv destroved. religions lielirt disturbed, 1111 1 the spell of tradition broken, w bile the d illusion of know- !.'i|ni' is \it iiii|)ertr(t, aiw' the civil rights of the <(iiiiiiniiiity nre ill seciirrd. or coiifuii'd within vers narrow limits. The eoimtrv then iissimirs ii dim iiiul diihious -luipf in the e\cs of the citi/.i'iis ; tliev no Idpncr Ik l|old it in the soil ■I., I 'I I l\ I 'i-' I '! « 244 ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM THE wliich thoy inhabit, fiir that soil is to tlicm a dull inanimate clod ; nor in the usages of their foroftithcrs, wliich thoy have boon taught to look upon as a debasing yoke ; nor in religion, for of that thoy doubt ; nor in the laws, wliicii do not originate in their own authority ; nor in the legislator, whom they fear and despise. The country is lost to their senses, thoy can neither discover it under its o\vn, nor under borrowed featun^s, and they intrench themselves within the dull precincts of a narrow egotism. Thoy are emancipated from prejudice, without having acknowledged the empire of reason ; they are animated neither by the instinctive patriotism of monarchical subjects, nor by the thinking patriotism of republican citi- zens ; but thoy have stopped half-way l)etw(^en the two, in the rnidst of confusion and of distress. In this predicament, to retreat is impossible ; for a people cannot restore' the vivacity of its earlier times, any more than a man can return to the innocence and the bloom oi'cliiidiiood : such things may be regretted, but they caiuiot be renewed. The only thing, then, which remains to be done, is to pro- ceed, and to accelerate the union of private with ))ublic inter- ests, since the period of disinterested patriotism is gone by (i»r ever. I am certainly very far from averring, that, in order to ob- tain this result, the exercise of politii-al rights should i)e innnediately granted to all the members of the comnuinity. But I maintain that the most powerful, and perhaj)s the only means of interesting men in the wellim' of their coimfiy, which we still possess, is to make flioiii parlakcrs in the gov- ermnent. At the present tijno civic /cai seems to me to be inseparable from till' exercise of politic al rights; and I liold that the minibor of citizens will lie llnmd to augment or de- crease in Rurope in proportion as those rights are extended. In the United States, the iidiabitants were thrown but as yesterday U|ioii the soil which they imu occupy, and they brought neither customs nor traditions with them tin re ; tliev meet each other flir the lirst time with no previous acijuaint- anee ; in short, the instinctive love of llicir touiitr\ can scarei ly exist in their minds ; but every one takes as yealous an interest in the alliiirs of his township, his country, and of the whole state, as if they were his own. because e\ef\ one, in his sphere, takes an active part in the government of society. The lower orders in the Ignited States are alive to the per- ception of tlii' iiiduciice exeicised by the general prospi litv upon their own wdliire ; and simple as this observation it*, it tl GOVERNMENT OF THE DEMOCRACY 245 is one which is but too rarely made by the people. But in America the pt^ople regard this prosperity as the result of its own exertions; the citizen looks upon the fortune of the pub- lic as his private interest, and he co-operates in its success, not so niueii i'roui a sense of pride or of duty, as from what [ shall venture to term cupidity. It is uimecessary to study the institutions and the history of tile Amcrieans in order to discover the truth of this remark, for their muniu-rs render it sulliciently evident. As the American participates in all that is done in his country, he tliinks liims(;lf obliifcd to defend whatever may be censured ; f )r it is not only his country which is attack(>d upon these occasions, i)ut it iN himself. The consecjuonce is that his national j)ride resorts to a thousand artifices, and to all the petty tricks t)f individual vanity. Nothinu; is more i'mi)arrassin Americans. A stranger may be well incliticd to praise many of tlie institu- tions of their countrv, but he begs permission to blame some ofriie peculiarities which he oi)serves — a permission which is however inexorably refused. America is therefore a free country, in wliicji, lest anyboily siiould be hurt by your re- marks, you are not allowed to sp(^ak freely of pi'ivate indi- viduals or of the state ; ^if the citizens or of tlie authorities; of ])ublic or of privat(> undeitakiii'.'s oi", in short, of anytje'ng at all, except it be of the climatt; an''; the soil ; and even tiien Americans w ill be found ready to dcit ii' either the one or tiie other, as if they had been coi'.i'iv'^d ! s Mie i. liabitants of the country. In our times, option nnist be mi.''.' between tlu; patriotism of all and the government of a ^'>'\v ; for tiie forv ? and activity which the Hrst confers, are li ;•"(.. iieii.d)le vvith tlie guaran- tees of trancjuillity which the second furnishes. NOTION OF RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES. No irrcit* Pt'oplo witliout ;i Notion of Riiiliti. — How t' i' Notion of !liu,li»« ' ,ui l»i' rsuadi'd iliat the only means which W(> possess at the ])resent time of inculcating tlie nuiion of rights, and of rendering it, as it were, palpable In tlie senses, is to invest all the members of the community with the jieaceful exercise of certain rights: this is very clearly seen in children, who are men without the strength and the experience of manhood. When a cliild begins to move in the midst of tlie objects which surround him, he is iiistiiictively led to turn everything which he can lay his hands upon to his own purpose; he lias no notion of the property of otlicrs ; liut as he gradually learns the value of things, and begins to perceive thai he may in his turn be de|)rived of his |)ossessions. he i)eco:nes more circumspect, and he observes those rights in others which he wishes to have res|)ectcd in himself. The |>rinciple which the child derives from the possession of his tnys, is taught to the man by the objects which he may call his own. In America those complaints against pidpcrty in grm ral, which are so frerpient in I*juro|»e, are never heard, because in Amer- ica there are no paupers; and as I'very one has pro|»erty of his own to defend, every one recognizes the principle upon which he holds it. The same thing occurs in the political world. In America the lowest cla.-^ses have eniKcived a \ei'\ high notion oi' p.o- litical rights, because they exercise those rights; and they I'efi'cin I'roiii attacking those of otiier people, in order t( en- sure tlu'ir own iVom attack. \\'i'ile in J'.urope the , ame classes sometimes recalcitrate even jo l Uie su|)reine pow- er, tlie American siddiiits without a murmur to the authority of the |)eitiest iiiiigislrafe. This liuth is exemplified by the most trivial details of na- tional peculiarities. In France very lew pleasures aiv; e\cliisi\('ly reserved lor tl!(> higher classes : the pooi- hit udmitled w hcreviM' the rieh are received ; and tliev coii- ' i'i G0VKRN3IENT OF THE DE3I0CUACY. 247 sequently behave with propriety, and respect \vhatever con- tributes to the enjoyments in which tliey tbenisclves partici- pate. In England, where wealtli has a monopoly of anmse- ment as well as of power, complaints are made that whenever the poor hap|)en to sti'al into the enclosures wliieh are re- servcnl for tlie pleasures of the rich, th"y commit acts of wanton mischii^f : can this l)e wondered at, since care lias been taken that they should have Uiuliin;; to iose ? The government of thc! democracy brings tlu; notion of jjolitical rights to the level of the humblest (dtizens, just as the dissemination of wealth brings the notion of property within tlic reach of all the mendjers of the conununity ; and I confess that, to my nund, this is one of its greatest advan- tages, f do not assert that it is easy to teacii men to exorcise political rights; jjut 1 maintain liiat when it is possii)le, the edects which result from it are higlily important : and I add tiiat if there ever was a time at which such an attempt ought to be made, that t'uvif is our own. It is clear that the inllu- ence of religious beli»'f is shaken, and that the notion of di- vine rigiits is declinift;2 ; it is ivident that puhlic morality is vitiated, and the notion of moral rights is iilso disajjpearing : tiies<( are uenera! svmptMms M' tin' suhstilulion of urirument liir O.I ~ faith, and of calculalion llir tin impidscs oi' sentiment. W. in the niiilst of this general disrupti-'U, you do not succeed in connecting the notion of r'glits uiin that of personal interest, whicii is the only imnmtablc pi>mt in the iunnan heart, what meaiis will you have of governing th(> world except ity fear? When I am told thai >uur the laws are weak and the populace is wild, since passions are excited and the au- thority (jf virtue is paraly/ed, no measures nnist he taken to increase the rights of the democracy ; 1 reply tiiat it is tor these very reasons that some measures of the kind n)ust Iw. taken ; and I am |iersiuider ol'tlic demoeracVi but they iuive, if I m;; • use the expression, extended its dond- nions. It cainiMi be douliled that the moment at which ■ oMtical ^ ! " in''!' ■' I i ^|1' i ■■!'M".3 r i ^• 248 ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM THE rights are granted to a people that liad hefore been without them, hi u very critical, though it be a very necessary one. A child may kill before he is awai'e of tiie value of life ; and he may deprive another person of his proj)erty before lie is aware that his own may be taken away from him. The lower orders, when first they are invested with political rights, stand in relation to those rights, in the same position as a child d(jes to the whole of nature, and the celebrated adage may then be applied to them, Homo, puer rohuslus. Tiiis truth may even be perceived in America. Tlie states in which the citizens have enjoyed their rights longest are those in which they make the best use of them. it cannot be repeated too often that nothing is more fertile in prodigies than the art of being free ; but tlu re is nothing more arduous than the apprenticeship of libtM'ty. Such is not the CiTse with despotic institutions; despotism often pio- misos to liUike amends lor a thousand previous ills ; it supports the riglit, it protects the oppressed, and it maintains j)ublio order, '['he nation is lulled by the temporary prosperity which accrues to it, until it is ro ised to a sense of its own misery. Liberty, on the contrary, is generally established in the midst of agitation, it is perfected by civil discord, and its benefits cannot be appreciated until it is already old. RESrECT FOR THE LAW IN THE UNITED STATES. Respoct of tlu! Aiiicricaiis for tlie Law. — Piireiital AfTection which they (Mitfrtiiiii for it. — Personal Inttn'cst of cvory one to increase tlie Authority of Hie Law. It is not always feasible to oons'ult the whole people, either directly or indirectly, in the fi)rmation of the law; but it cannot 1; ■ 'ciii : that .vIiod such a measure is possible, the autliority 4' tlie law is verv •lUich aiH,:;uented. This po,T :iar origin, 'Jiicli impairs tho exf-cllence aiid the wisdom of legislation, eontrii)u1(\s prodigiously to i)ien>ase its power. There is an anuizing strenglh in the c.vprcs.sieu of lht> dctcr- minution of i wiiolr people; and when it deehires itself, iho imagination of thos(> who are nio.st inclined to contest it, is (/verawed by its authority. 'I'lie truth of llii." fact is v(My Well known by jiarties; and they consetiuently sliive to iNiikc out a majority whenever thcs can. If tliey have imt the nreiifer mimlier ol' voters on their side, they assert thnt the trill' iiiiijoritv ahstiiined from votiny ; and if thi v are 1 1 GOVERNMENT OF THE DEMOCKACY. 249 foiled even tlicre, thoy have recourse to :he body of those persons who had no votes to give. In the United States, except slaves, servants, and paupers in the receipt of relief from tlie townships, there is no class of persons wlio do not exercise the elective franchise, and who do not contribute indirectly to make the laws. Those who design to u,ttack the laws must consequently eitiier modify the opinion of the nation or tramj)le upon its decision. A second reason, which is still more weighty, may be fartiier adduced : in the United States every one is personally interested in enforcing the oi)e(lience of the whole community to the law ; ibr as the minority may sh(jrtly rally the majority to its principlfs, it is interested in professing that respect iin' the decrees of the legislator, which it may soon have occasion to claim for its own. now(>ver irksome an enactment may be, tiie citizen of the United States complies with it, not only because it is the work of the majority, but because it originates in his own autbority ; and he regards it as a contract to whiclj he is himself a party. In the United States, then, that numerous and turbulent multitude does not exist, whicii always looks upon the law as its natural enemy, and accordingly surveys it whh fear and with ''islation of thiMr countrv. and that they are attaciied to it by a kind of parental atli'i'tion. [ am wrong, however, in saying all classes; ibr as in AnuM'ica the European scale of autiiority is inveited, tbe v.ealtby are there placed in a ])osition analogous to that of tbe poor in tbi'Old World, ;u\(\ it is tlie opulent classes wbicli frecjuently look upon tlie law witii susj)ieion. I have alri'ady observed tiial tlie advantage of demccracy is not, as lias l)eeu sometinu\s asserteii, tliat it protects the interests of tbe w liole comnumity, but simply that it protects those of tin- majority. In tbe United Stat(>s. where the poor rule, tbe rich have alwavs some reason to dread tbe abuses of their power. Tbis nntiiral anxietv of the I'ieii may producer a sullen dissatisfac- tion, but society is not disturbed by it; tor tb;' same reason wliieb iH(bices tbe rich to witbboM their confident- in tbe leoisIativ( autbority, makes them obey its mandacs ; their wi altb, w Inch prevents tbem from making the law, prevents ibeni from witbstaniling it. Among civili/ed nations revolts arc rarely excited "xcept by sncb persons as liave iiotliing to lose bv them ; and it' tbe laws ot' a democracy are not always Wortbv of respect, at least thev ahva\s obtain it ; ibr Ibosu I Is '' L If f1 i -jf .'•J I 250 ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM THE wlio usually infringe the Laws liavo no excuse for not com- plying uitii the enactments they have themselves made, and by wiiich they are themselves benelited, wliile the citizens whose interests might ije promoteil by the infraction of tliem, arc induced, by tiieir character and their station, to sui)mit to the decisions of the legislature, wliatever they may be. Beside which, tiie people in America obeys tlie law not only because it emanates from the j)opular autiiority, but because that autiiority may modify it in any points wjiich may prove vexatory ; a law is ol)served because it is a self-imposed evil in the first place, and au evil of transient duration in the second. ACTIVITY WIIICH PERVADES ALL THE BRANCHES OF THE BODY rOLlTIC IN THE UNITED STATES J INFLUENCE AVHICH IT EX- ERCISES UPON SOCIETY. More (litlicult to conri'ivi- the polititMl Activitv wliich jji'i-vikU's the United Stiites than tlie l"r(M'iloiu mul Ivniility which reij;ii hi'i-e. — The u;feiit activity wliich perpi'tiially aiiit.ites the U'tcishitivo licidies is only an l''iiisiicle to the ficnriMl .\cti\ily. — Ditlienli lor an Ameri- can to confine hiniself to his own Hiisiiu'ss. — Political Aiiitation extends to all social intt'i'coin-se. — Coniniercial Activity of the Ame- ricans partly attrii)ntahle to this cause — Indirect Advantages which Society ilerivus iVoin a deinociatic (iovernnient. On passing from a counlry in which free institutions are established to one whi-re they do not exist, the traveller is struck by the change ; in the former all is busth> and acti\ ity, in the latter everything is calm and motioidess. In the one, melioration and progress are the general to|iies of in(|uiry ; in the other, it sc'(>ms as if the eommimity only aspired to iepos(^ in the enjoyment of the ailvantages which it has ae(|iiir('d, Nevei'theless, llie eoimtry which exerts itself so strennoiisly to promote its welliin> is generally more wealthy and nioi'e prosperous than that w hieli appears to be so contented witii its lot ; anil wiien we (•oiiij)are them together, we can scarcely conceive how so man\ new wants are daily felt in the firmer, while so i'rw seem to occur in the latter. If this remark is applicable to those i"r(>(> coimtries in which monarchical and aristocratic inslitutions subsist, it is still mnre striking with regard to deinoeratie rcpnblics. In ilicse states it is not only u portion of the iienple which is busied with the melioraliou of it.s social ciinditioji, but the wliolo GOVERNMENT OF TJIK DEiMOCRACV. 251 community is ongajjod in tho tusk ; and it is not the exigen- cies and tlie convenience of a single class for wliieli a pro- vision is to be made, but tho exigencies and the convenience of all ranks of life. It is not impossible to conceive tlie surpassing liberty which the Americans enjoy ; some idea may likewise be formed of the extreme equality which sui)sists among them ; but the political activity which pervades the Uniteil Stati s must bo seen in order tu be understood. No sooner do you set foot upon the American soil than you are stuimed by a kind of tumult ; a confused clamor is heard on every side ; and a thousand simultaneous vt)ices demand the innnediate satisfac- tion of their social wants. Everything is in motion around you ; here, the people of one ([uarter of a town are met to decide upon the building of a church ; there, the election of a re])resentative is going on ; a little further, the delegates of a district arc posting to tlie town in order to consult upon some loeal improvements; or, in another place, the laborers of a village ([uit their ploughs to deliberate nj)on the project of a road or a public school. .Meetings are called tor the solo purpose of declaring their disapprobation of the line of con- duct pursued by the government ; while in other assemblies the citizens salute the authorities of the day as the fathers of their country. Societies are firmed, which regard druidc- enni^ss as the priiicii)al cause of the evils under which the state labors, and which solenmly bind themselves to give a constant exam|)le of temperance.* The great political agitation ol" the American legislative bo(li(>s, which is the oidy kind of excitement that attracts the attention of f()reign countries, is u mere episode or a sort of continuation of that universal moNcmenf wbieh originates in the lowest classes of ihe [leople and extends successivelv to all the ranks of society. It is impossible to spend more ell()rts in the i)ursuit of enjoyment. The cares of political life engross a most prominent place in tlie occu|)ation oi' a citizen in the United States; and almost the only pleasure of which an American liasanv idea, is to take a part in the government, and to discuss the ])art lie has taken. This leermg perxades the most trilling habits of life ; even the women li'etjuently attend public meetings, and listen to |)oliticul harangues as a recreation after their * At 111!' tiiiu' (if my stay- in \\\v I'liiti'd Stairs tlic tcinpciMiicc soci- I'tii'S aircaily ronsisfcd nliiidii' tliaii 270,0110 niciiilx'rs ; and their efli-ct had lici'u to diminish tlu" coiisumiilion of I'crmeiUi'd liiinors by 000,000 guiloiis pi-r iiiinum in tliu state oi' Pennsylvania iilone. BilBl'lll „ Ml' t ^■:¥. ^ if. i i > . t i ! , j 1 : ■■ ,? ^ ! < I'l^ ' 252 ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM THE household labors. Debating clubs arc to :i certain extent a substitute for theatrical entertainments : an American can- not converse, but he can discuss ; and when he attem|)ts to talk he falls into a dissertation. lie speaks to you as if he were addressing a meeting ; and if he should warm in the course of the discussion, he will infalliblv >ay " gentlemen," to the person with whom he is conversing. In some countries the inhabitants display a certain repug- nance to avail themselves of the political privileges with which the law invests them ; it would seem that they set too high a value upon their time to spend it on the interests of the comnmnity ; and they prefer to withdraw within the exact limits of a wholesome egotism, marked out by four sunk fences and a quickset hedge. J>ut if an American wert^ con- demned to conJine his activity to liis own affairs, he would be robbed of one half of his existence ; lie would feel an immense void in tlu? life which he is accustomed to lead, and his wretchedness would be unbearable.* I am persuaded that if ever a despotic government is established in America, it will fmd it more difiicult to surmount the habits which free institutions have engendered, than to conquer the attachment of the citizens to freedom. This ceaseless agitat'cn which democratic government has introduced into the political world, influences all social inter- course. I am not sure that upon the whole this is not the greatest advantage of democracy ; and I am much less in- clined to applaud it for what it does, thou for what it causes to be done. It is incontestable that the people frequently conducts pub- lic business very ill ; but it is impossible that the lower orders should take a part in public business without extending the circle of their ideas, and without quitting the ordinary routine of their mental uc(|uiremeiits. The humblest individual who is called uj)on to eo-operate in tlie government of society, ac(|uires a certain degree of self-respect ; and as he possesses authority, he can command tln^ services of minds much more eidightened thfu! his own. lie is canvassed by a multitude of applicants, who seek to deceive him in a thousand different ways, but who instruct him by their deceit. He takes a part in political undertakings which did not origirrate in his own conception, but which give him a taste lor undertakings of * The s;imo roinark was madn at Rotno under the first Cesars. Mnii- tesiiuieu sumcwliere alludes tt> tlie exeessive desijondeney of certiiiu Rnmaii citizens wlio, alter tlie exciti'inent of politieal lil'e, wore all at once lluiig back into the stagnation of j)rivate life. i GOVERNMENT OF THE DEJIOCRACY. 253 the kind. New molioratioiis av« daily pointed out in tlie property whicli he holds in common with others, and this gives liirn the desire of improving that j)roperty wiiieh is more pe- culiarly his own. lie is perhaps neither happier nor better than those who came before him, but lie is better informed and more active. I have no doubt that the democratic insti- tutions of the United States, joincMl to the physical constitution of the country, are the cause (ii'>t the direct, as is so often asserted, but the indiiect can f the prodigious commer- cial activity of the inhabitants. not engendered by the laws, but the people learns how . promote it by the experi- ence derived from legislation. When the opponents of democracy assert that a single individual performs the duties which he undertakes much better than the government of the comnnmity, it appears to me that they are perfectly right. The government of an in- dividual, supposing an equality of instruction on either side, is more consistent, more persevering, and more accurate than that of a multitude, and it is nmch better (lualified judiciously to discriminate the characters of the men it employs. If any deny what I advance, they have ciM-tainly never seen a demo- cratic government, or have formed their opinion upon very partial evidence. It is true that even when local circum- stances and the disposition of the people allow democratic in- stitutions to subsist, they never display a regular and method- ical system of government. Democratic liberty is far from accomplishing all the projects it undertakes, with the skill of an adroit despotism. It fre(iuently ai)andons them Ijeforethey have borne their fruits, or risks them when the consequences may prove dangerous ; but in the end it produces more than any absolute government, and if it do fewer things well, it does a great number of things. Under its sway, the transac- tions of the [)ublic administration are not nearly so important as what is done by private exertion. Democracy does not confer the most skilful kind of government upon the people, l)Ut it produces that which the most skilful governments are frequently unable to awaken, namely, an all-pervading and restless activity, a superabundant force, and an energy which is inseparable from if, and which may, under favoraiile cir- cumstances, beget the most amazing benefits. These are the true advantages of democracy. In the present age, when tlK> destinies of Christendom seem to he in suspense, some hasten to assail democracy as its foe while it is yet in its early growth ; and others are ready with their vows of adoration lor this new duty which is springing 1% I ^''■f . <^^ ^ 6^ r/. ^0 6\ 254 ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM THE DEMOCRACY. ;'n)4 k ' forth from chaos : but both parties are very imperfectly ac qiiaintcd with the object of their iiatred or of their desires ; they strike in the darli, and distribute their blows by mere chance. We must first understand what the purport of society and the aim of government are held to be. If it be your inten- tion to confer a certain elevation upon the human mind, and to teach it to refiard the thinj^s of tliis world witii generous feelings ; to inspire men with a scorn of mere temporal ad- vantage ; to give birth to living convictions, and to keep alive the spirit of honorable devotediiess ; if you hold it to be a good thing to refine the habits, to embellish the manners, to cultivate die arts of a nation, and to promote the love of poetry, of beauty, and of renown ; if you wouki constitute a people not unfitted to act with power upon all otiier nations ; nor unprepared for those high enterprises, which, whatever be the result of its etlbrts, will leave a name for ever famoua in time — if you believe such to be the principal object of so- ciety, you must avoid the government of democracy, which would be a very uncertain guide to the end you have in view. But if you hold it to be expedient to divert the moral and intellectual activity of man to the production of comfort, and to the acquirement of the necessaries of life ; if a clear un- derstanding be more profitaltle to men than genius ; if your object be not to stimulate the virtues of heroism, but toereato lm!)its of peace; if you had ratlier behold vices than crimes, and are content to meet with fewer noble deeds, provided orteiices 1)0 diminished in the same proportion ; if, instead of living in tiie midst of a l)rilliaiit state of society, you are con- tented to have prosperity around you ; if, in short, you are of opinion that the principal ()i)ject of a government is not to conli'r the greatest p()ssii)le sliare of power and of glory upon the l)o(lv of the nation, but to ensure tlie jireatest dejiree of enjoyment, and the least degree of misery, to eacii of the in- diviihials wiio compose it — if such be your desires, you can have no surer means of satist\ iiiu tbeiii tiian by e(Mializinjr the condition of men, and establisliiiig democratic institutions. Iliit if the time be past at wliich such a ciioice was possi- ble, and if sonic superhuman power impel us toward one or the other of tliese two goveriiUHMits without consulting our wisiics. let us at least endeavor to make the liest of that which is allotted to us : and b t us so iii(|uire into its good and its evil pro|)eMsities as to be able to luster the former, and re- press the latter to the utmost. un- your illU'S, Dvidod '11(1 of con- aro of not, to le 111- Ctlll izin-,' ltK)llS. KKSsi- 11' or i( Its 1 ro- POWER OF THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 255 CHAPTER XV. UNLIMITED POWER OF THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. Natiiriil Strength of tbe Majority in Democracies. — Most of the Ame- ricMii Constitutions have increased this Strength by artificial Means. — Mow tiiis has been done. — Ph'dged Delegates. — Moral Power of tiie Majority. — Opinions as to its Infallibility. — Respect for its liiglits, how iiugnieiited in the United States. The very cssonce of democratic government consists in the absolute .sovereignty of tlie majority : for there is nothing in dcmocratio states which is capaith' of resisting it. Most of the American con.stitutions have .sought to increase this na- tural strengtii nf the majority hy artificial means.* Till' legislature i.-. of all political institutions, the one which is most easily swav'cd hy the wishes of the majority. The Americans determined that the meinhers of the legislature should he elected hy the people immediately, and for a very brief term, in order to subject them not only to the general convictions, but even to the daily passions of their constitu- ents. Tlu^ members of both houses are taken from tiie same class in society, and are nominated in the same' manner ; so that the modifications of the legislative bodies are almost as rapid and quit(! as irresistible as those of a single assembly. It is to a legislature thus constituted, that almost all the au- thority of the government has been intrusted. Hut while the law increased the strengtii of those authori- ties which of themselves were strong, it enfeebled more and more those which wi-re naturally weak. It deprived the re- pri'sentatives of the executive of all stability and independ- ence ; and by subjecting them completely to the ca])rices of the legislature, it roi)l)ed them completely of the .slender in- fhienc<' which the nature of a democratic gf)Vernment mi old monarcihy. held it for a maxim (which is still a fundamental ]»rinciple of the Knglish consti- tution), that tlie king eoiild d(» no wrong; and if he did wroiig, tile blame was imputed to his advisers. This notion was highly favorabh- to habits of obedience ; and it enabled the suitject to complain of the law, without ceasing to love and honor th(> lawgiv(?r. The Americans entertain the same opinion with respect to the majority. The moral powfr of the majority is f()unded upon yet another priMei|)le. v.hich is. that the interests of the many arc to be preli-rrcd to those of the few. It will readily ho THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 257 perceived that the respect here proffssed for the rights of the majority must naturally increase or diminish according to the state of parties. When a nation is divided into several irreconcilable factions, the privilege of the majority is often overlooked, because it is intolerable to comply with its demands If there existed in America a class of citizens whom the legislating majority sought to deprive of exclusive i)rivileges, which they had possessed ibr ages, and to bring down from an elevated station to the level of the ranks of the multitude, it is probable that the minority would be less ready to comply with its laws. But as the LJuited States were colonized by men holding an equal rank among themselves, there is as yet no natural or permanent source of dissension between the interests of its diirerent inliabitants. There are ccrtsffli connnunities in which the persons who constitute the minority can never hope to draw over the ma- jority to their side, because they nuist then give up the very point which is at issue between tliem. Thus, an aristocracy can never become a majority while it retains its exclusive privileges, and it cannot cede its privileges without ceasing to be an aristocracy. In the United States, political questions cannot be taken up in so general and absolute a manner ; and all parties are willing to recognize the rights of the majority, because they all hope to turn those rights to their own advantage at some future time. The majorit}" ther-^'fore in that country exer- cises a prodigious actual authority, and a moral influence which is scarcely less preponderant ; no obstacles exist which can impede, or so much as retard its progress, or which can iiiduce it to heed the C()m|)Uiints of those whom it crushes upon its path. This state of things is fatal in itself and dan- gerous for the future. HOW THE UNLIMITED POWER OF THE MAJORITY INCREASED, IN AMERICA, THE INSTABILITY OF LEGISLATION AND THE AD- MINISTRATION INHERENT IN DEMOCRACY. The Aini'ricaiis inrroiiHotlie inufiibility ol' tlio Laws which is inhorpiit in DcnuuTiu-y by cliiintciiif; tho Lcu;ishitnro every Year, and by vest- ing it with unbmiiKled Autliority. — 'I'lie same Efl'eef is produced upon tlie Adininistratinii. — In Atneriea soeial Melioration is eon- dueted more energetieallv, but less perseveringly than in Europe. I HAVE already spoken of the natural defects of domocratio institutions, and they all of them increase in the exact i7 ']m «,?" Its' •. :V m * t i ¥ 1 p p.] .0 I » ' 1 258 CONSKQUEN'CES OF UNLIIMiTED POWER OF :i'j « (I ^i; I I I i: ■' III iiS) : ■■', I if!'! ratio of tlie power of the majority. To begin with the most evident of them all ; the inutal)ility of the laws is an evil inherent in democratic government, because it is natural to democracies to raise men to power in very rapid succession. But this evil is more or less sensible in proportion to the authority and the means of action which the legislature pos- sesses. In America the authority exercised by the legislative bodies is supreme ; nothing prevents them from accomplishing their wishes with celerity, and with irresistible power, while they are supplied by new representatives every year. That is to say, the circumstances which contribute most powerfully to democratic instability, and which admit of the free applica- tion of caprice to every object in the state, are here in full operation. In conformity with this priiiCTjile, America is, at the present day, the country in the world where laws last tlie shortest time. Almost all the American constitutions have been amended within the course of thirty years : tliere is, therefore, not a single American state which has not modified the principles of its legislation in that lapse of time. As for the laws themselves, a single glance upon the archives of the ditlerent states of the Union suffices to convince one, that in America the activity of the legislator never slackens. Not that the American democracy is naturally less stable than any other, but that it is allowed to follow its capricious propensities in the formation of the laws.* The omnipotence of the majority and the rapid as well as absolute manner in which its decisions are executed in the United States, have not only the eflect of rendering the law unstable, but they exercise the same influence upon the exe- cution of the law and the conduct of the public administra- tion. As the majority is tlie nnly power which it is import- ant to court, all its projects are taken up with the greatest ardor; but no sooner is its attention distracted, than all this ardor ceases ; while in the free states of Europe, the admin- istration is at once independent and secure, so that the pro- * Tlic Ic^islativo acts promnli^iitod by llio state of Massachusetts alone, ivom tlie year ]7m) to tlie prcsi'iit tiiiu', already fill three stout volmnes : and it ninst not he forifoiici tiiat the cidlectinn to wiiieh 1 allude was |)uhliHhed in l^'J.'l, when many old laws wiiicli had fallen into disuse were oiiiitti'd. 'I'ln- state of Ma.ssaehnsetts, whirh is not more populous tlian a department of Franee, may he considered as the most stahle, the most consistent, and the most sagacious in its under- hikings of the wiiolo Union. tliis iiiiii- pro- THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 259 jects of the legislature are put into execution, although its immediate attention may be directed to other objects. In America certain meliorations are undertaken with much more zeal and activity than elsewhere ; in Europe the same ends are promoted by much less social etlort, more continuous- ly applied. Some years ago several pious individuals undertook to me- liorate the condition of the prisons. The public was excited by the statements which they put forward, and the regenera- tion of criminals became a very popular undertaking. New prisons were built ; and, for the first time, the idea of reform- ing as well as of punishing the delinquent, formed a part of prison discipline. But this happy alteration, in which the public had taken so hearty an interest, and which the exef- tions of the citizens had irresistibly accelerated, could not be completed in a moment. While the new penitentiaries were being erected (and it was the pleasure of the majority they should be terminated with all possible celerity), the old pri- sons existed, which still contained a great number of offend- ers. These jails became more unwiiolesome and more cor- rupt in proportion as the new establishments were beautified and improved, forming a contrast which may readily be un- derstood. The majority was so eagerly employed in found- ing the new prisons, that those which already existed were forgotten ; and as the general attention was diverted to a novel object, the care which had hitherto been bestowed upon the others ceased. The salutary regulations of discipline were first relaxed, and afterward broken ; so that in the im- mediate neighborhood of a prison which bore witness to the mild and enlightened spirit of our time, dungeons might be met with, which reminded the visitor of the barbarity of the middle ages. TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY. How the Princi|)le of the Sovereiifnty of the People is to bo under- stood — Impossibility of eonreivintc a mixed (Jovernment. — The sov- ereign Power must centre somewhere. — Preeiintions to be taken to control its Action. — These Precautions have not been taken in the United States. — Conseiinenccs. I HOLD it to be an impious and an execrable maxim that, poli- tically speaking, a people has a right to do whatsoever it pleases ; and yet I have asserted that all authority originates SfH- I < ■ 260 CONSEliUENCES OF UNLIMITED POWER OF iii in the will of the majority. Am I, then, in contradiction with myself? A general law — which bears the name of justice — has been made and sanctioned, not only by a majority of this or that people, but by a majority of mankind. The rights of every people are consequently confined within the limits of what is just. A nation may be considered in the light of a jury which is empowered to represent society at large, and to apply the great and general law of justice. Ought such a jury, which represents society, to have more power than the society in which the laws it applies originate ? When I refuse to obey an unjust law, I do not contest the right which the majority has of commanding, but I simply appeal from the sovereignty of the people to the sovereignty of mankind. It has been asserted that a people can never entirely outstep the boundaries of justice and of reason in those affairs which are more peculiarly its own ; and that consequently full power may fearlessly be given to the ma- jority by which it is represented. But this language is that of a slave. A majority taken collectively may be regarded as a being whose opinions, and most frequently whose interests, are opposed to those of another being, which is styled a minor- ity. If it be admitted that a man, possessing absolute power, may misuse that power by wronging his adversaries, why should a majority not be liable to the same reproach ? Men arc not apt to change their characters by agglomeration ; nor does their patience in the presence of obstacles increase with the consciousness of their strength.* And for these reasons I can never willingly invest any number of my fellow. crea- tures with that unlimited authority which I should refuse to any one of them. I do not think it is possible to combine seveial principles in the same government, so as at the same time to maintain freedom, and really to oppose them to one another. The form of government which is usually termed mircdhas always appeared to me to be a mere chimera. Accurately speaking, there is no such thing as a mixed government (with the meaning usually given to that word), because in all commu- nities some one principle of pction may be discovered, which * No one will assort that a people cannot forcibly wronjif another people : but parties may he looked upon as lessor nations within a greater one, and they are aliens to cacii other : if therefore it be ad- mitted that a nation can act tyrannically toward another nation, it can- not bo denied that a party may do the same toward another party. «> in tain The ays the ■mu- ther in a ad- can- THE MAJORITY IM THE UNITED STATES. 261 preponderates over the others. England in the last century, which has been more especially cited as an example of this form of government, was in point of fact an essentially aris- tocratic state, although it comprised very powerful elements of democracy : for the laws and customs of the country were such, tliat the aristocracy could not but preponderate in the end, and subject the direction of public atfairs to its own will. The error arose from too much attention being paid to the actual struggle which was going on between the nobles and the people, without considering the probable issue of the con- test, which was in reality the important point. When a community really has a mixed government, that is to say, when it is equally divided between two adverse principles, it must either pass through a revolution, or fall into complete dissolution. I am therefore of opinion that some one social power must always be made to predominate over the others ; but I think that liberty is endangered when this power is checked by no obstacles which may retard its course, and force it to mode- rate its own vehemence. Unlimited power is in itself a bad and dangerous thing ; human beings are not competent to exercise it with discretion ; and God alone can be omnipotent, because his wisdom and his justice are always equal to his power. But no power upon earth is so worthy of honor for itself, or of reverential obedience to the rights which it represents, that I would con- sent to admit its uncontrolled and all-predominate authority. When I see that the right and the means of absolute com- mand are conferred on a people or upon a king, upon an aristocracy or a democracy, a monarchy or a republic T recognize the germ of tyranny, and I journey onward to a land of more hopeful institutions. In my opinion the main evil of the present democratic "•.- stitutions of the United States does not arise, as is often asserted in Europe, from their weakness, but from their over- powering strength ; and I am not so much alarmed at the excessive liberty which roigns in that country, as at the very inadequate securities which exist against tyranny. When an individual or a party is wronged in the United States, to whom can he apply for redress ? If to public opinion, public opinion constitutes the majority ; if to the le- gislature, it represents the majority, and implicitly obeys its instructions : if to the executive powi-r. it is appointed by the majority and is a passive tool in its hands ; the public troons consist of the majority under arms; the jury is the majority lb h I V M o(;-) CONSEQUENCES OF UNLLVITED POWER OF 11:1 f^ invested with the right of hearing judicial cases ; and in cer- tain states even tlie judges are elected by the majority. However iniquitous or absurd the evil of which you complain may be, you must submit to it as well as you can.* If, on the other hand, a legislative power could be so con- stituted as to represent the majority without necessarily being the slave of its passions; an executive, so as to retain a certain degree of uncontrolled authority ; and a judiciary, so as to remain independent of the two other powers ; a govern- ment would be formed which would still be democratic, with- out incurring any risk of tyrannical abuse. I do not say that tyrannical abuses frequently occur in America at the present day ; but I maintain that no sure barrier is established against them, and that the causes which * A striking instance of the excesses which may be occasioned by the despotism of the majority occurred at Baltimore in the year lSl-2. At tliat time the war was very popular in Baltimore. A journal which had taken tlie other side of the question excited the indignation of the inhabitants by its opposition. The populace assembled, broke tlie j)rinting-presse8, and attacked the houses of the newspaper editors. The militia was called out, but no one obeyed the call ; and the only means of saving the poor wretches who were tlireatened by tlie phrensy of tlie mob, was to throw them into jirison as common malefactors. But even this precaution was inetlectual; the mob collected again during the night ; tiie magistrates again made a vain attempt to call out tlie militia; the prison was forced, one of the newspaper editors was killed upon the spot, and the others were left for dead : the guilty parties were acquitted by the jury when they were brought to trial. I said one day to an inhabitant of Pennsylvania : " Be so good as to explain to me how it happens, that in a state founded by (}uakers, and celebrated for its toleration, freed blacks are not allowed to exercise civil rights. They pay the taxes: is it not fair that they should have a vote " " You insult us," replied my informant, " if you imagine that our legislators could have committed so gross an act of injustice and intole- rance." " Wiiat, tlien, the blacks possess the right of voting in this country ?" " Without the smallest doubt." " How comes it then, that at the polling-booth this morning 1 did not perceive a single negro in the whole meeting?" " 'i'his is not the fault of the law ; the negroes liave the undisputed right of voting ; but they voluntarily abstain from making their appear- ance." " A very pretty piece of modesty on their parts," rejoined I. " Why, the truth is, that tiiey are not disinclined to vote, but they are afraid of being maltreated; in this country the law is sometimes unable to maintain its authority without the support of the majority. But in this case the majority entertains very strong prejudices against the blacks, and the magistrates are unable to protect them in the exer- cise of their legal privileges." " Wiiat, then, the majority claims the right not only of making the laws, but of breaking the laws it has made ?" B THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 263 mitigate the government are to be found in the circumstances and the manners of the country more than its laws. EFFECTS OF THE UNLIMITED POWER OF THE MAJORITY UPON THE ARBITRARY AUTHORITY OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC OFFICERS. Liberty left by the American Laws to public Officers within a certain Sphere. — Their Power. A DISTINCTION must be drawn between tyranny and arbitrary power. Tyranny may be exercised by means of the law, and in that case it is not arbitrary ; arbitrary power may be exercised for the good of the community at large, in which case it is not tyrannical. Tyranny usually employs arbitrary means, but, if necessary, it can rule without them. In the United States the unbounded power of the majority, which is favorable to the legal despotism of the legislature, is likew'ise favorable to the arbitrary authority of the magistrates. The jnajority has an entire control over the law when it is made and when it is executed ; and as it possesses an equal authority over those who are in power, and the community at large, it con.sidert; public otHcers as its passive agents, and readily confides the task of serving its designs to their vigi- lance. The details of their oflice and the privileges which they are to enjoy are rarely defined beforehand ; but the majority treats them as a master does his servants, when they are always at work in his sight, and he has the power of directing or reprimanding them at every instant. In general the American fuiictionaries are far more inde- pendent than the French civil otlicers, within the sphere which is prescribed to them. Sometimes, even, they are allowed by the popular authority to exceed those bounds ; and as they are protected by the opinion, and backed by the co- operation of the majority, they venture upon such manifesta- tions of their power us astonish a European. By this means habits are formed in the heart of a free country which may some day prove fatal to its lil)erties. 264 CONSEQUENCES OF UNLIMITED POWER OF '■;il I'jj- roWEK EXERCISED BY THE MAJORITY IN AMERICA UPON OPINION. In America, when the Majority has once irrevocably decided a Question, all Discussion ceases. — Reason of this. — Moral Power exercised by the Majority upon Opinion. — Democratic Ropul)lics have deprived Despotism of its physical Instruments — Their Despotism sways tho Minds of Men. It is in the examination of the display of public opinion in tho United States, that we clearly perceive how far tlie power of the majority surpas.ses all the powers with which we are acquainted in Europe. Intellectual principles exercise an influence which is so invisible and often so inappreciable, that they baffle the toils of oppression. At the present time the mo.st absolute monarchs in Europe are unable to prevent certain notions, which are opposed to their authority, from circulating in secret throughout their dominions, and even in their courts. Such is not the case in America : so lonfj as the majority is still undecided, discussion is carried on ; but as soon as its decision is irrevocably pronounced, a submissive silence is observed ; and the friends, as well as the opponents of the measure, unite in assenting to its propriety. The reason of this is perfectly clear : no monarch is so absolute as to combine all the powers of society in his own hands, and to conquer all opposition, with the energy of a majority, which is invested with the right of making and of executing tlie laws. The authority of a king is purely physical, and it controls the actions of the subject without subduing his private will ; but the majority possesses a power which is physical and mo- ral at the same time ; it acts upon the will as well as upon the actions of men, and it represses not only all contest, but all controversy. I know no country in which there is so little true indepen- dence of mind and freedom of discussion as in America. In any constitutional state in Europe every sort of religious and political theory may be advocated and propagated abroad ; for there is no country in Europe so subdued by any single authority, as not to contain citizens who are ready to protect tlie man who raises his voice in the cause of truth, from the consequences of his hardihood. If he is unfortunate enough to live under an absolute government, the people is upon his side ; if he inhabits a free country, he may find a shelter be- hind the authority of the throne, if he require one. The aristocratic |)art of society su])ports him in .some countries, and the deniocracy in others. IJut in a nation where denm- THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 265 le ct rh he cratic institutions exist, organized like those of the United States, there is but one sole authority, one single clement of strength and success, with nothing beyond it. In Atnerica, the majority raises very formidable barriers to the liberty of opinion : within these barriers an author may write whatever he pleases, but he will repent it if he ever step beyond them. Not that he is exposed to the terrors of an au- to-da-fe, but he is tormented by the slights and persecutions of daily obloquy. His political career is closed for ever, since he has offended the only authority which is able to promote his success. Every sort of compensation, even that of cele- brity, is refused to him. Before he published his opinions, he imagined that he held them in common with many others ; but no sooner has he declared them openly, than he is loudly censured by his overbearing opponents, while those who think, without having the courage to speak, like him, aban- don him in silence. He yields at length, oppressed by the daily efforts he has been making, and he subsides into silence as if he was tormented by remorse for having spoken the truth. Fetters and headsmen were the coarse instruments which tyranny formerly employed ; but the civilisation of our age has refined the arts of despotism, which seemed however to have been sufficiently perfected before. The excesses of monar- chical power had devised a variety of political means of op. pression ; the democratic reprblics of the present day have rendered it as entirely an affair of the mind, as that will which it is intended to coerce. Under the absolute sway of an individual despot, the body was attacked in order to subdue the soul ; and the soul escaped the blows which were directed against it, and rose superior to the attempt ; but such is not the course adopted by tyranny in democratic republics ; there the body is left free, and the soul is enslaved. The sovereign can no longer say, " You shall think as I do on pain of death ;" but he says, " You are free to think differently from me, and to retain your life, your property, and all that you possess ; but if such be your determination, you are henceforth an alien among your people. You may retain your civil rights, but they will be useless to you, for you will never be chosen by your fellow-citizens, if you solicit their suffrages ; and they will affect to scorn you, if you solicit their esteem. You will remain among men, but you will be deprived of tb.e rights of mankind. Your fellow-creatures will shun you like an Impure being ; and those who are most persuaded of your in- nocence will abandon you too, lest they should be shunned in J- 260 CONSEQUENCES OF UNLIMITED POWER OF 'I i iij '!? ' •! •' : their turn. Go in peace! I liave given you your life, but it is an existence incomparably worse than death." Absolute monarchies have thrown an odium upon despot- ism ; let us beware lest democratic republics should restore oppression, and should render it less odious and less degrading in the eyes of the many, by making it still more onerous to the few. Works have been published in the proudest nations of the Old World, expressly intended to censure the vices and deride the follies of the time ; Labruyere inhabited the palace of Louis XIV. when he composed his chapter upon tlie Great, and Moliere criticised tiie courtiers in the very pieces which were acted before the court. But the ruling power in the United States is not to be made game of; the smallest reproach irritates its senwibility, and the slightest joke which has any foundation in truth, renders it indignant ; from the style of its language to the more solid virtues of its character, every- tliing must '>(' made the subject of encomium. No writer, what- ever be his eminence, can escape from this tribute of adula- tion to his fellow. citizens. The majority lives in the perpe- tual exercise of self-applause ; and there are certain truths which the Americans can only learn from strangers or from ex|)erience. If great writers have not at present existed in America, the reason is very simply given in these facts ; there can be no literary genius without freedimi of opinion, and freedom of opinion does not exist in America. The inquisition has never been able to prevent a vast number of anti-religious books from circulating in Spain. The empire of the majority succeeds much better in the United States, since it actuallv removi's the wish of publishing them. Unbelievers are to be met \\ith in America, but, to say the truth, there is no public organ of infidelity . Attempts have been made by some govern- meiits to protect the morality of nations by prohil)iting licen- tious books. In the United States no one is puuislKMl for this so-t of works, but no one is induced to write them ; not be- ca ise all tiie eiti/.ens are immaculate in tlieir maimers, but because the majoritv of the comnmnitv is decent and or- derly. (n these cases the advantages derived from the exercise of this power are un(]uestlonal)le ; and I am simply ilis- cussing the nature of tlie ]H)wer itself. Tliis irresistible au- thority is a constant fact, and its benelicent exercise is an ac- cidental occurrence. THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 267 EFFECTS OF THE TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY UPON THE NA- TIONAL CHARACTER IN THE AMERICANS. Effects of the Tyranny of tlie Majority more sensiMy felt liitlierto in the Manners than in the Conduct of Society. — Tiiey clieck tlie de- velopment of leadini? Ciiaracters. — Democratic Republics, organized like tlie United States, bring tlie Practice of courting favor within the reach of the many.— Proofs of this Spirit in tlie United States.— Why there is more Patriotism in the People than in those who go- vern in its name. The tendencies which I have just alluded to are as yet very slightly perceptible in political society ; but they alreaily be- gin to exercise an unfavorable influence upon the national character of the Americans. I am inclinefl to attribute the paucity of distinguished political characters to the ever- increasing activity of the despotism of the majority in the United States. When the American revolution broke out, they anise in great immljers ; for public opinion then served, not to tyran- nize over, but to direct the exertions of'individuals. Those cele- brated men took a full part in tiie general agitation of mind conmion at that period, and they attained a higii degree of personal fame, which was reflected back upon the nation, but which was by no means l^orrowed from it. In ab.solute governments, the great nobles who are nearest to the throne flatter the passions of the sovereign, and vo- luntarily truckle to his caprices. lUit the mass of the nation does not degrade itself by servitude ; it often submits from weakness, from habit, or from ignorance, and .sometimes from loyalty. Some nations have been known to sacrifice their own desires to those of the sovereign witii pleasure and with pride ; thus exhibiting a sort of independence in the very act of submi.-.sion. These iieojiles are miserable, but they are not degradi'd. There is a great difference iietwccn doing w hat one does not approve, and feigning to approve what one does ; the one is the necessary case of a weak per.son, the other be- fits the temper of a lae(piey. In free countries, where every one is more or less called ujion to give his opinions in the affairs of state ; in democra- tic republics, where public life is ince.s.suntly commingled with domestic affairs, w here the sovereign autiiority is aceessilili' on every side, and where its atttMition can ahnost always be at- tracted by vociferation, more personsaretobemet with whu spe- culate upon its fiiibles, and live at tiie cost of its passions, than 268 i H \ :'? i ! I CONSEQUENCES OF UNLIMITED POWER OF in absolute monarchies. Not because men are naturally worse in these states than elsewhere, but the temptation is stronffer, and of easier access at the same time. Tiie re- sult is a far more extensive debasement of the characters }(f citizens. Democratic republics extend the practice of currying fa- vor with the many, an:l they introduce it into a great number of classes at once : this is one of the most serious reproaches that can be addressed to them. In democratic states organ- ized on the principles of the American republics, this is more especially the ease, wlunv the authority of the majority is so absolute and so irresistible, that a man must give up Ins rights as a citizen, and almost abjure his quality as a human being, if he intends trnuilaries ; with men who deplore the defects of the laws, the mutability and the ignorance^ of democaey ; who even go so far as to observe the evil tendencies whieh impair the national cliaractM', and to jioint out such remedies as it might be possible to ap|)ly ; but no one is there to hear these thiuiis besides yourself, anriil)al)ly n'lvv (leeasion to liiore. As stated in the pretaee t'> this edition, the ('(iitor does nut eon- reive himself called upon to ilisiMiss the speenlative opinions of tho author, and supposes ho will best discharge his duty by conlhiing his THE MAJORITY IN TitE UNITED STATES. 269 observations to what he deems errors of fact or law. But in reference to this particuhir subject, it seems due to the author to remar'v, that he visited the United States at a particuhir time, when a su"cessful poli- tical chieftain had succeeded in establishin'x his party in power, as it seemed, firmly and i)ermanently ; when tlie preponderance of tliat party was immense, and when there seemed little prospect of any change. He may have met with men, who sank under the astonisii- ing popularity of General Jaciison, who despaired of the republic, and who therefore shrank from the expression of their opinions. It must be confessed, liowever, tiiat the author is obnoxious to the charge which has been made, of the want of perspicuity and distinctness in this part of his work, He does not mean that tlie press was silent, for he has himself not only noticed, but furnished proof of the great free- dom, not to say licentiousness, with wliich it assailed the character of the president, and the measures of his administration. He does not mean to represent the opponents of the dominant party as having tlirown down their weapons of warfare, for iiis l)ook siiows throughout liis knowledge of the existence of an active and able party, constantly o|)posing and harassing the administration. Hut, after a careful perusal of tlie chapters on this subject, the editor is inclined to the ojiinion, that M. De Toc.nt jiarty, or majority. .\\u\ he had seen this system extended to the very lowest officers of the government, and applied by the electors in their choice of all otlicers oi' all descriptions; and this he deemed persecution — tyranny — despotism, IJut he surely is mistaken in rejiresenting the effect of tliis system of terror as sliding all complaint, silencing all op- position, and inducing " enemies and friends to yoke themselves alike to the triumphiint cjir of the majority," He mistook a temporary state of parties for a|iernianent and ci, Unary result, and he was carried away by the immense majority tliatti n supported the administration, to the belief of a universal ac(|U'esceiice, Without intending here to speak of the merits or demerits of those who represented tliat ninjority, it is proper to remark, that llie great change which has taken place since till' period when the author wrote, in the political condition of the very piTsdus who he supposed then wielded the terrors ot' dislVancliiseinent ag;iinst their opponents, in itself furnishes a full and complete deinon- stratiiin of the error of his ojiinions respecting the "true indi'pendence of )nins, und it is a vii'tn(> wliicli niuy lie Uiund unidiiif the jH'dple, but ncvt'V aiHon| uh- lics are more {"eMtriili/i'ir grasp in the latter. Many observers who have noticed the anarchy of domestic states, have imag- ine(l that the government of those states was natMralI\ weak and impotent. The truth is. that when once hostilities aro begun between parties, tjjc government lo.scs its control over :il 272 CONSEQUENCES OF UNLIMITED POWER OF society. But I do not think that a democratic power is natu- rally without resources : say ratlier, that it is almost always by tiie abuse of its force, and the misemploymcnt of its re- sources, that a democratic government fails. Anarchy is almost always produced by its tyranny o* its mistakes, but not by its want of strength. It is important not toconfound stability ^•ith force, or the great- ness of a thing with its duration. In democratic republics, the power which directs* society is rot stable ; for it often changes hands and assumes a new direction. But whichever way it turns, its force is almost irresistible. The govern- ments of the American republics appear to me to be as much centralized as those of the absolute monarchies of Europe, and more energetic than they are. I do not, therefore, ima- gine that they will perish from weakness. f If ever the free institutions of America are destroyed, that event may be attributed to the unlimited authority of the ma- jority, which may at some future time urge the minorities to desperation, and oblige them to have recourse to physical force. Anarchy will then be the result, but it will have been brought about by despotism. Mr. Hamilton expresses the same opinion in the Federalist, No. 51. '• It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against tiie injustice of the other part. Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been, and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. In a society, under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oj)press the weaker, anarchy may as truly be said to reign as in a state of nature, where the weaker in- dividual is not secured against the violence of the stronger : and as in the latter state even the stronger individuals are prompted by the uncertainty of their condition to submit to a govermnent which may protect the weak as well as them- selvf>s. s«i in the former state will the more powerful factions be gradually induced by a like motive to wish for a govern- ment which will protect all parties, the weaker as well as the more powerful. It can be little doubted, that if the state of * Tills power may bo contrcd in an assonihly, in wliicli case il: will be sfrnnff witliout beiiijt stable ; or it may be eciitred in an individual, in wliicji case it will be less strony:, liut more st;ilile. t I presume Ibat it is scarcely necessary to remind tlie reador here, ns well lis tlironi;liont the remainder of tins cliapler, that I am speak- iniT not of tbe federal trovtrnment, but of the several ^ajvernments of each statu which the majority controls at its pleasure. THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 273 Rhode Island was separated from the confederacy and left to itself, the insecurity of rights under the popular form of gov- ernment within such narrow limits, would be d; splayed by such reiterated oppression of the factious majorities, that some power altogether independent of the people would soon be called for by the voice of the very factions whose misrule had proved the necessity of it," Jefferson has also expressed himself in a letter to Madi- son :* " The executive power in our government is uo! the only, perhaps not even the principal object of my solicitude. The tyranny of the legislature is really the danger most to be feared, and will continue to be so for many years to come. The tyranny of the executive power will come in its turn, but at a more distant period." I am glad to cite the opinion of Jefferson upon this subject rather than that of another, because I consider him to be the most powerful advocate democracy has ever 'icnt forth. CHAPTER XVI. CAUSES WHICH MITIGATE THE TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITf IN THE UNITED STATES. 4BSENCE OF CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION. The national Majority does not pretend to condvict all Business,— la obliged to employ the town and county Magistrates to execute its supreme Decisions. I HAVic already pointed out the distinction which is to be made between a centralized government and a centralized admin- istration. The former exists in America, but the latter is nearly unknown there. If the directing power of the American communities had both these instruments of government at its disposal, and united the habit of executing its own commands to the right of commanding; if, after having established the general principles of govennnent, it descended to the details of public business ; and if, having regulated tiie great interests of the country, it would penetrate into the privacy of indi- • mth March, 17Sy 18 ! 1 1 H'l A mA W ijtj im ^■:™ III' , .: IVl .'jlKll 41! 274 CAUSES WHICH MITIGATE THE TYRANNY OF r-i vidual interest, freedom would soon be banished from the New World. But in the United States the majority, which so frequently displays the tastes and the propensities of a despot, is still destitute of the more perfect instruments of tyranny. In the American republics the activity of the central goveriHuent has never as yet been extended beyond a limited number of objects sufliciently prominent to call forth its attention. The secondary affairs of society have never been regulated by its authority ; and nothing has hitherto betrayed its desire of interfering in them. The majority is become more and more absolute, but it has not increased the prcroga- tives of the central govenmient ; those great prerogatives have been confined to a eertain sphere ; and although the despotism of the majority may be galling upon one point, it cannot be said to extend to all. However the predominant party of the nation may be carried away by its passions ; however ardent it may be in the pursuit of its projects, it cannot oblige all the citizens to comply with its desire in the same manner, and at the same time, throughout the country. When the central government which represents that majority has issued a decree, it must intrust the execution of its will to agents, over whom it frequently has no control, and whom it cannot perpetually direct. The townships, municipal bodies, and counties, may therefore be looked upon as concealed breakwaters, which check or part the tide of popular excite- ment. If an oppressive law were passed, the liberties of the people would still be protected by the means by which that law would be put in execution : the majority cannot descend to the details, and (as I will venture to style them) the puerilities of administrative tyranny. Nor does the people entertain that full consciousness of its authority, which would promj)t it to interfere in these matters ; it knows the extent of its natural powers, but it is '. lacquainted with the increased resources which the art of governirient might furnish. This point deserves attention ; for if a democratic republic, similar to that of the United States, were ever founded in a country when* the power of a single individual had previously subsisted, and the elll'cts of a centralized administration had sunk deep into the hal)its and tiie laws of tiie people, I do not hesitate to assert, that in that country a more insulleruble despotism would {)revail than any which now exists in tlie absolute monarchies of I^airope ; or indeed than any which could bo found on this side the confines of Asia. THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 275 THE PROFESSION OF THE LAW IN THE UNITED STATES SERVES TO COUNTERPOISE THE DEMOCliACY. Utility of discriminating the natural Propensities of the Members of the legal Profession — These Men called upon to act a prominent Part in future Society. — In what Manner the peculiar Pursuits of Lawyers live an aristocratic turn to their Ideas. — Accidental Causes which may check this Tendency. — Ease with which the Aristocracy coalesces with legal Men. — Use of Lawyers to a Despot. — The Pro fession of the Law constitutv^s t\\i only aristocratic Element wiih which the natural Elemcits of Democracy will combine. — Peculiar Causes which tend to give an aristocratic turn of Mind to the English and Americai Lawyer. — The Aristocracy of America is on the Bench and at the B-.r. — Influence of Lawyers upon American Society. — Their peculiar magisterial Habits affect the Legislature, the Admin- istration, and even the People. In visiting the Americans and in studying their laws, we per- ceive that the authority they have intrusted to members of the legal profession, and the influence which these individuals exerci.se in the government, is the most powerful existing security against the excesses of democracy. This effect seems to me to result from a general cause which it is useful to investigate, since it may produce analogous consequences elsewhere. The members of the legal profession have taken an im- portant part in all the vicissitudes of political society in Europe during the last five hundred years. At one time tliey have been the instruments of those who are invested with political authority, and at another they have succeeded in converting political authorities into their instrument. In the middle ages they atiorded a powerful support to the crown ; and since that period they have exerted themselves to the utmost to limit the royal prerogative. In England they have contracted a close alliance with the aristocracy ; in France they have proved to bn the most dangerous enemies of that class. It is my object to inquire whether, under all these circumstances, the members of the legal profession have been swayed by sudden and momentary impulses ; or whether they have been impelled by principles which are iiiherent in their pursuits, and which will always recur in history. I am incited to this investigation by reflecting that this particular class of men will most likely play a prominent part in that order of things to which the events of our time are giving birth. Men who have more especially devoted themselves to legal pursuits, derive from those occupations certain habits of order, 'I "1 270 CAUSES WHICH MITIGATE THE TYRANNY OF a taste for formalities, and a kind of instinctive regard for the regular connexion of ideas, which naturally render them very- hostile to the revolutionary spirit and the unreflecting passions of the multitude. The special information which lawyers derive from their studies, ensures them a separate station in society : and they constitute a sort of privileged body in the scale of intelligence. This notion of their superiority perpetually recurs to them in the practice of their profession : they are the masters of a science which is necessary, but which is not very generally known : they serve as arbiters between the citizens ; and the habit of directing the blind passions of parties in litigation to their purpose, inspires them with a certain contempt for the judgment of the multitude. To this it may be added, that they naturally constitute a body ; not by any previous under- standing, or by any agreement which directs them to a com- mon end ; but the analogy of their studies and the uniformity of their proceedings connect their minds together, as much as a common interest would combine their endeavors. A portion of the tastes and of the habits of the aristocracy may consequently be discovered in the c'- racters of men in the profession of the law. They pa- jipate in the same instinctive love of order and of formalities ; and they enter- tain the same repugnance to the actions of the multitude, and the same secret contempt of the government of the people. I do not mean to say that the natural propensities of lawyers are sufficiently strong to sway them irresistibly ; for they, like most other men, are governed by their private interests and the advantages of the moment. In a state of society in which the members of the legal profession are prevented from holding that rank in the politi- cal world which they enjoy in private life, we may rest assured that they will be the foremost agents of revolution. But it must then be inquired whether the cause which induces them to innovate and to destroy is accidental, or whether it belongs to some lasting purpose which they entertain. It is true that lawyers mainly contributed to the overthrow of the French monarchy in 1789 ; but it remains to be seen whether they acted thus because they had studied the laws, or because they were prohibited from co-operating in the work of legis- lation. Five hundred years ago the English nobles headed the people, and spoke in its name ; at the present time, the aris- tocracy supports the throne, and defends the royal j)reroga- tive. But aristocracy has, notwithstanding this, its peculiar i:^jr —\ THE MAJORITY IN THE I TITED STATES. 277 instincts and propensities. We must be careful not to con- founrl isolated members of a body with the body itself. In all free governments, of whatsoever form they may be, mem- bars of the legal profession may be found at the head of all parties. The same remark is also applicable to the aristo- cracy ; for almost all the democratic convulsions which have agitated the world have been directed by nobles. A privileged body can never satisfy the ambition of all its members ; it has always more talents and more passions than it can find places to content and to employ ; so that a con- siderable number of individuals are usually to be met with, who are inclined to attack those very privileges, which they find it impossible to turn to their own account. I do not, then, assert that all the members of the legal pro- fession are at all times the friends of order and the opponents of innovation, but merely that most of them usually are so. In a community in which lawyers are allowed to occupy, without ojjposition, that high station which naturally belongs to them, tiieir general spirit will be eminently conservative and anti-democratic. When an aristocracy excludes the leaders of that profession from its ranks, it excites enemies which are the more formidable to its security as they are in- dependent of the nobility by their industrious pursuits ; and they feel themselves to be its equal in point of intelligence, although they enjoy less opulence and less power. But whenever an aristocracy consents to impart some of its privi- leges to these same individuals, the two classes coalesce very readily, and assume, as it were, the consistency of a single order of family interests. I am, in like manner, inclined to believe that a monarch will always be able to convert legal practitioners into the most serviceable instruments of his authority. There is a far greater atfinity between this class of individuals and the executive power, than there is between them and the people ; just as there is a greater natural affinity between tlie nobles and monarch, than between the nobles and the people, although the higher orders of society have occasionally resisttd the prerogative of the crown in concert with the lower classes. Lawyers are attached to public order beyond every other consideration, and the best security of public order is author- ity. It must not be forgotten, that if they prize the free in- stitutions of tlieir country nuich, they nevertheless value the legality of those institutions far more ; tiiey are less afraid of tyranny than of arbitrary power ; and provided that the legis- m 'Kit i: :f « U'i 27S CAUSKS WHICH MITIGATK THE TYRANNY OF latiiro lakos upon itsoH'to doprivo men of tlieir iiidepcndciicp, thry arc not dissatislii'd. («) I am tlicrcloro convinefd that tlio prineo wlio, in proscnco of an cncrroacliinfT di'mocracy, should (Michnivor to impair tlie judicial autiiority in his dominions, and to (Hminish tlio politi- cal inllu(nic(! of lawyers, would commit a j^rcat mistake. Me would let slip the suhstance of authority to j^rasp at the shadow, lie would act more wisely in introducinmsi'lves bound by any jirecedents, or by any decisions of their predt'c<'ssors or of tlie appeUate tril»nnals. Tliey respect such decisions as tiie opinions of distinguished men, and tiiey pay no hii;her regard to tiieir own previous adjudications of any case. It is not easy to perceive how the law can acipiire any stability under sncii a sys- tem, or how any individual can ascertain his ri^dits, witliout a lawsuit. This note slmuld not bo concluded witliout a sin:;le remark upon what tiie author calls an implicit deference lo the opinions of our forefatliei-s, and abneiration of our ow^n opinions. The common law consists of princii)lfs founded on the common sense of mankind, and adapted to tiie circumstances of man in civilized society. When these principles are once settled by competent authority, or rather dei'ltirvd by sncli authority, they are supposed to express the common sense and the common justii*V' of the community; and it reipiires but a moderate share of inodrsty for any one entertainiui; a diflerent view of tliem, to consider that tin; disinf(>rf-ited and intelliy;ent judites who have declared them, are more likely to l)e rijjiil than he is. Perfection, even in fiie law, lie does not consider attaiiiai)le iiy human beiny:s,aud the gre.itt'st ai)pro\iiiiation to it is all he expects or di'sires. Mesides, there are very few (Mscs of positive and abstract rule, where it is of any conse- quence which, of any two or more modilication; of it, siiould be adojit- cd. The Ltreat point is, that there should be a rule by which conduct may be re:;\dated. Thus, wIu'IIkm' in mercantile transiictions notice of a default by a principal shall lie u;iveM to an endorser, or a ;i\iarantor, and when and how such notice shall be !;i\('n, ari' not so important in tlu'tnselves. as it is that there should be some rule to which mer- chants may adapt themselves and their transactions. Str.tntes cannot or at least do not, prescribe the ruh'S in a lartre majority of cases, if then they are not drawn from the .lecisien ol'courts. they will not ex- ist, and men will he wliollv at a loss for a y;nide in the most ini|ioilant transactions of business. Ht'iiCi- llii" ililei'i'nce paid to leijal decisions. Hut this is not implicit, as liie iiuthor supposes The course of rea- sonin;^ b\ whicli the courts havi' couk! to their i-onclnsions, is often assailed b_s the advocate and shown to be fallacious, and the instances are not untie. pient of courts disreuardin^ prior decisions and over- ruliny; tlu'm when not t'liriy deducibli- iVom sound reason. Aitain, the principles of the common law are (levilile, and adapt themselves lo changes in society, und a well-known maxim in our.sys- i1!f: THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 281 tern, that when the reason of tlie law ceases, the law itself ceases, hua overthrown many an anti(iHate(l rule. Within tiiesc limits, it is con- ceived that tiiere is ran^'c enougli for the exercise of all tiie reason of the advocate and the judge, witiiout unsettling everything and dejjriv- ing the conduct of human afl'airs of all guidance from human autlior- jty ; — and the talent of our lawyers and courts finds suflicient exercise in applying the principles of one case to facts of anotiier. — American Editor.'] The station wliich lawyers occupy in England and Ameri- ca exercises no less an influence upon their habits and their opinions. The English aristocracy, which has taken care to attract to its spliere whatever is at all analogous to itself, lias conferred a high degree of importance and of autiiority upon the members of the legal profession. In Englisii society lawyers do not occupy the first raidt, but they are contentcci with the station assigned to them ; they constitute, as it were, the younger branch of the English aristocracy, and they are attached to their elder bi'others, although they do not enjoy all their privileges. The English lawyers consequently minsle the tastes and the; ideas of the aristocratic circles in which they move, with the aristocratic interest ot their pro- fession. And indeed the lawyer-like character which I am endea- voring to depict, is most distinctly to be met with in England : there laws are esteemed not so much because they are good, as because they are old ; and if it l)e necessary to modify them in any resjject, or to adapt fiiem to the chang<'s uiiieh time operates in society, recourse is had to the most iiicnn- ceivable contrivances in order to uphold the traditiniuiry fabric, and to maintain that nothing has bci ii done wiiich does not scpiare with tiie intentions, and complde the labors, of fl)rmer o;enerations. Tlui verv individuals wIkj conduct these elianges disclaim all intention of innnvation, and they had ratiier resort to aljsunl rxpedicnts than plead guilty nf so great a crime. Tiiis spirit more especially appertains \n the English lawyers; they seem inditll'rent to the real meaning of what they treat, and th(>y direct all their attentidU to the letter, seeming inclined to infringe the rules of common sense and (»f humanity, rather than to swerve one tittle iVom the law. 'i'he binglish legislation may be compared \n tin- stock of an old trei', upon wliicli lawyers have engrafted the most various shoots, with the liope, that, although their fruits may ditll'r. tlieir foliage at least will be confounded witli the ven- eral)le 1rmd< wliich supports them all. In America there are no nobles or literary nu n. and the people is apt to mistrust the wealthy ; lawyers consecpiently ._..] ; i H 282 CAUSES WHICH MITIGATE THE TYRANNV OF \^M ■1 Ir form the liighest political class, and the most cultivated circle of society. They have theretbro nothing to gain by innova- tion, which adds a conservative interest to their natural taste for public order. If I were asked where I place the Ameri- can aristocracy, I should reply without hesitation, that it is not composed of the rich, who are united together by no com- mon tie, but that it occupies the judicial Ijench and the i)ar. The more we reflect upon all that occurs in the United States, the more shall we be persuaded that the lawyers, as a body, form the most powerful, if not the only counterpoise to the democratic element. In that country we perceive how eminently the legal profession is qualiiied by its powers, and even by its defects, to neutralize the vices which are in- herent in popular government, ^\'^hcn tlie American people is intoxicated by passion, or carried away by the impetuosity of its ideas, it is checked and stopped by the almost invisible ' influence of its legal eounsellors,Vho secretly oppose their aristocratic propensities to its democratic instincts, their su- perstitious attachment to what is antique to its love of novel- ty, tiieir narrow views to its immense designs, and their ha- bitual procrastination to its ardent impatience. Tlie courts of justice are the most visil)lo organs by which the legal profession is enabled to control the democracy. The judge is a lawyer, who, indepi'udcntly of the taste for regu- larity and order which he has contracted in the study of legislation, derives an additional love of stability from his own inalienable functions. His legal attainments have al- ready raised him to a distinguished rank among his ti-llow- citizens ; his political power eom|)letes the distinction of his station, and gives him the inclinations natural to j)rivil('ged classes. Armed with the power of declaring the laws to be uncon- stitutional,* the American magistrate perpetually interfi'rcs in political atlliirs. He cannot force tiic people to make laws, but at least he can oblige it not to disoliey its own enactments, or to act inconsistently with its own principles. I am awure that a secret tendency to diminish tiie judicial power exists in the United States ; and by m(tst of the constitutions of the several states, tlie government can, upon the demand of the two liouses of the legislature, remove the judges from their station. By some other constitutions the members (tf the tribimalsare elected, and they are even subjiH'led to frc(|ueMl * Sec rliiiptcr vi., p. 91, on tlic iii(lici;il jKJwer in the United Stitos. THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 283 re-elections. I venture to predict tiiat these innovations will sooner or later be attended with fatal consequences ; and that it will be found out at sonic future period, that the at- tack which is made upon tlie judicial power has affected the denioci'atic republic itself. It must not, however, be supposed that the legal spirit of which I have been speaking has been confined in the United States to the courts of justice ; it extends far beyond them. As the lawyers constitute the only enlightened class which the people does not mistrust, they are naturally called upon to occupy most of the public stations. They fill the legislative assemblies, and ihey conduct the administration ; tiiey con- sequently exercise a powerful influence upon the formation of tlie law, and ui)on its execution. The lawyers are, how. ever, obliged to yield to the current of public opinion, which is too strong for them to resist it ; but it is easy to find indi- cations of what their conduct would be, if they were free to act as they chose. Tiie Americans who have made such copious innovations in their political legislation, have intro- duced very sparing alterations in their civil laws, and that with great dilHculty, althougii those laws are frequently re- pugnant to their social condition. The reason of this is, that in matters of civil law the majority is obliged to defer to the authority of the legal profession, and that the American law- yers are disinclined to innovate when they are left to their own choice. It is curious for a Frenchman, accustomed to a very dif- ferent state of things, to hear the perpetual complaints which are made in the United States, against the stationary propen- sities of legal men, and their prejuilices in favor of existing institutions. The influence of the legal habits which are common in America extends beyond the limits I have just pointed out. Scarcely any qu(>stion aiises in the United States which does not become, sooner or later, a sul)ject of judicial deijate ; hence all parties are obliged to borrow the ideas, and even the language, usual in judicial proceedings, in their (hiily controversies. As most ))ublic men are, or have been, legal j)raclltioners, they introduce the customs and technicalities of their profession into the alliiirs of the country. The jury extends this habitude to all classes. The language of the law tinis becomes, in some measure, a vulgar tmigue ; the spirit of the law, which is produced in the schools and courts of justice, gradually penetrates beyond their walls into the bosom of soeietv, \\here it (U'scelids to the lowest classes, so i ; ) -1 1? ''k vr'. »! -\^ «• Sc^^^V' f ■■111 H i: i ^ 284 CATTSES WHICH MITIGATE THE TYRANNY OF that the whole people contracts the habits and the tastes of the magistrate. The lawyers of the United States form a party which is but little feared and scarcely perce.'ved, wliich has no badge p>.culiar to itself, which adapts itself with great flexibility to the exigencies of the time, and accommodates itself to all the movements of the social body: but this party extends over the whole community, and it penetrates into all classes of society ; it acts upon the country imperceptibly, but it finally fashions it to suit its purposes. TRIAL BY JURY IN THE TTNITED STATES CONSIDERED AS A POLITICAL INSTITUTION. ■na II,. ri; Trial by Jury, which is one of the Instruments of tho Sovereignty of the Peojjle, deserves to be compared witli tlie other Laws which establish that sovereii,aity, — Composition of tlie Jury in the United States. — Effect of Trial by Jury upon tlie national Character, — It educates the People. — It tends to estalilish the Authority of the Ma- f;istrates, and to extend a knowledge of Law among tac People. Since I have been led by my subject to recur to the adminis- tration of justice in the United States, I will not pass over •his point without adverting to the institution of the jury. Trial by jury may be considered in two separate p')ints ^f view: as a judicial, and as a liolitical institution. If it en- tered into my present purpose to inquire how far trial by jury (more especially in civil eases) contributes to ensure the best administration of justice, I admit that its utility might be contested. As the jury was first introduced at a time when society was in an uneivili/ed state, and when courts of jus- tice were merely called uj)on to decide on the evidence of facts, it is not an easy task to adai)t it to the wants of a highly civilized conununity, wluMi the mutual relations of men are nmltiplied to a surprising extent, and have a.ssumed the enlightened and intellectual character of the age.* * The investigation of trial by jury as a judicial institution, nnd tbe appreciation ofitseflects in the United Slates, together with the iid- vant.igcs the .Americans have derived from it, wotdd sntlice to form a bof)k, and a book ui)on a very useful and curious subject. The state of Louisiana wotdd in jiarticular atHu'd the curious phenomenon of a Frencdi and Ktiirlisb legislation, as will as a l''rench and Knglisli popidation, which are generally combining with each other. See the '« DiiTesIc (les Lois (le la Louisiaiie," in two volumes ; and the " Tr.iito sur les Keglen dcs Actions civiles," printed in French and English at New Orleans in la'M. THE MAJORITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 280 My present object is to consider the jury as a political in- stitution ; and any other course would divert me from my subject. Of trial by jury, considered as a judicial institution. I shall here say but very few words. When the English adopted trial by jury they were a semi-barbarous people ; they are become, in course of time, one of the most enlightened nations of the earth ; and their attachment to this institution seems to have increased with their increasing cultivation. They soon spread beyond their insular boundaries to every corner of the habitable globe ; some have ibrmed colonies, others independent states ; tlie mother-country has maintained its monarchical constitution ; many of its offspring have founded powerful republics ; but wherever the English have been, they have boasted of the privilege of trial by jury.* They have established it, or hastened to re-establish it, in all their settlements. A judicial institution which obtains the suffrages of a great people for so long a series of ages, which is zealously renewed at every epoch of civilisation, in all the climate.^ of the earth, and under every form of human government, cannot be contrary to the spirit of justice.^ • All the English and American jurists are unanimous upon this head. Mr. Story, judge of the suprcnio court oi" the United States, speaks, in his treatise on t\w lederal constitution, of the advantages of trial by jury in civil cases: " Tlio inostimal)le privilege of a trial by jury in civil cases — a privilege scarcely inferior to that in criminal cases, which is coimted by all persons to l)e essential to political and civil liberty" (Story, book iii., ch. xxxviii.) t If it were our province; to j)oint out tiie utility of the jury as a judicial institution in this place, much niiiiht be said, and the follow- ing arguments might be l)rought forward among others: — i?y introducing tlie jury into the business of tiie courts, you are ena- bled to diminish the number of judges ; which is a very great advan- tage. Wlien judges are very numerous, di'atli is perpetually thinning the ranks of the judicial functionaries, and laying places vacant for new comers. The ambition of tlie magistrates is therefore continually ex- cited, and they are naturally made dependant upon die will of tlie ma- jority, or tiie individual who tills up vacant ajipointineiits : the ollicers o;' tiie courts tiien rise like tiie olhcers of an army. 'I'liis state of tilings ,s (Mitirely contrary to tlie sound administration ot justice, and tt) tlie in- tentions of tlie legislator, 'i'iie oHice of a judge is nuide inalieiial)le in order that he may remain independent ; but of wiiat advantage is it tliat lii> independence is protecttti, if iie be templed to saerilice it of liisi own accord .' Wlien judges are very numerous, miiiiy of lliein must necessarily be incapable of performing tiieir important duties; for a great magistrate is a man of no common powers: and I am inclined to believe that a iialf enlightened tribunal is the worst of all instruments for obtaininu tiiose ohji'cts wliieh it is the purpose of courts of justice to accomplish. I''or my own part, I iiad lallier submit the decision of a case to ignorant jurors directed by a skilful judge, than to judges, a i; .tt, ^X 280 CAUSES WHICH MITIGATE THE TYRANNY OF '==1 'fif I turn, however, from tliis part of the subject. To look upon the jury as a mere judicial institution, is to confine our attention to a very narrow view of it ; l!ir, however great its, influence may be upon the decisions of tlie law-courts, that influence is very subordinate to the powerful effects which it produces on the destinies of the community at large. The jury is above all a political institution, and it iimst be regarded in this light in order to be duly appreciated. By the jury, I mean a certain number of citizens chosen indiscriminately, and invested with a temporary right of judg- ing. Trial by jury, as applied to the repression of crime, appears to me to introduce an eminently republican element into the government, upon the following grounds : — The institution of the jury may bo aristocratic or demo- cratic, according to the class of society from which the jurors ■ are selected ; but it always preserves its republican charac- ter, inasmuch as it places the real direction of society in the hands of the governed, or of a [)ortion of the governed, instead of leaving it under the authority of the government. Force is never more than a transient element of success ; and after force comes tlie notion of right. A government which should only be able to crush its enemies upon a field of battle, would very soon be destroyed. The true sanction of political laws is to be found in penal legislation, and if that sanction be wanting, the law will sooner or later lose its cogency. He who punishes infractions of the law is therefore the real mas- ter of society. Now, tlie institution of the jury raises the people itself, or at least a class of citizcms, to the bench of ju- dicial authority. The institution of the jury consequently invests the people, or that class of citizens, with the direction of society.* .: )H majority of whom are imperfectly acquainted with jurisprudence and with the laws. [I venture to remind the reader, lest this note should appear some- wluit redundant to an Kniflish ('ye,tlr.it the jiu-y is an institution which has only heen naturalized in i'"rance within tlio present century ; that it is even now exclusively applied to those criminal causes which come hcforc the coiu'ts of assi/c, or to the |irosccutions ol' tlu' jnihlic press; and that tlie iudi:;es and couiiselloi's nf the nnnierons local trihunals of l''ranci — fonniivj; a hody of many thousand judicial functionaries — try all civil causes, appeals from criminal causes, and minor olK'iiccs, without the jury. — Translator s A'otr.l * Ati important remark must however Ix; made. Trial by jury ''.)cs uni|uestional)ly invest the |)eople with a tteiieral control over the actioii.-* of citizens, hut it does not fiu'uish means of exercisinij; this control in all cases, or with an ahsolute autiiority. When an absolute monarch has the right of trying olfences by his representatives, the fate of the 1: Mi THE .MAJOIllTY IN THE UXITED STATES. 'J -37 In England tlic jury is returned from the aristocratic [lor- tion oftliu nation,* the aristocracy makes the laws, applii's tiie la\v.'\ and punishes all infractions of the laws ; everything is established upon a consistent footing, and England may with truth be said to constitute an aristocratic republic. In the United States the same system is applied to the whole people. Every American citizen is qualified to be an elector, a juror, and is eligible to otHce.f The system of the jury, as it is imderstood in America, appears to me to be as direct and as extreme a consequence of the sovereignty of the people, as universal sutiraue. Tiiese institutions are two instruments of equal power, which contribute to the supremacy of the majority. All tiie sovereigns who have chosen to govern by their own authority, and to direct society instead of obc} ing its direction, have destroyed or enfeebled the institution of the jury. The monarchs of the house of Tudor sent to prison jurors who refused to convict, and Napoleon caused them to be returned bv his agents. However clear most of these truths may seem to be, they do not command universal assent, and in France, at least, the institution of trial by jury is still very imperfectly understood. If the question arise as to the proper qualification of jurors, it is confined to a discussion of the intelligence and knowledge of the citizens who may be returned, as if the jury was merely a judicial institution. This appears to me to be the least part of the subject. The jury is pre-eminently a politi- cal institution ; it nmst be regarded as one form of the sove- reignty of the people ; when that sovereignty is re[)U(iiated, it nmst be rejected ; or it nmst be adapted to the lu .•. s by prisoner is, as it wcro, dtH-icU-d l)eforchan(1. But even it' the pcojilo were predisposed to eonvict, tlio composition and tlie non-responsihility oftlu; jury would still aHiiv:) some clianci t'avoralilo to the i)rotection of innocence. * [In I'rance, the qualification of the jurors is the same as tiie elec- toral (lualilication, namely, tlie payment of :200 francs per aniuim in direct taxes: lliey are clioseii hy lot. In F'nj^land they arc returned hy theslierill; the (pialitications t)f jurors were raised to 10/. j)er annum in Kiiuhnid, and (1/. in Wales, of freehold land or copyhold, hy tlie statute \V. and M., e. 'J I : leaseiiolders for a tune determinahle upon life or lives, of tlie clear yearly value of vJO/. per annum over and ahovo the rent reserved, are ([ualified to serve on juries; and jurors in the courts of Westminster and city of London must lie householders, and ])ossessed of real and personal (-states of tlie value of l()i7. The quali- fications, however, preserihed in dilK'rent statutes, vary ac!cordiiig to tlie ohject for which the jury is impannelled. .See I31ackstone's Com- mentaries, h. iii., c. •,'.'(. — Translator''s jYote.l t See Appendix Q. ,,.,;:■. ; I m ' -I '■ lit I'? I 2S8 CAUSES WHICH MITIGATE THE TYRANNY OF which that sovoroignty is established. The jury is that poi tioii of the nation to which the execution of" the laws is intrusted, as the houses of parliament constitute that part of the nation which makes the laws ; and in order that society may be governed with consistency and uniformity, the list of citizens qualified to serve onjuries must increase and diminish with the list of electors. This I hold to be the point of view most worthy of the attention of the legislator ; and all that remains is merely accessary. I am so entirely convinced that the jury is pre-eminently a political institution, that I still consider it in this light when it is a})plied in civil causes. Laws are always unstable unless they are founded upon the manners of a nation : manners are the only durable and resisting power in a people. When the jury is reserved for criminal offences, the people only sees its occasional action in certain particular cases ; the ordinary course of life goes on without its interference, and it is con- sidered as an instrument, but not as the only instrument, of obtaining justice. This is true a fortiori when the jury is only appli(!d to certain criminal causes. When, on the contrary, the influence of the jury is extend- ed to civil causes, its application is constantly palpable ; it affects all the interests of the community ; every one co-ope- rates in its work : it thus penetrates into all the usages of life, it fashions the human mind to its peculiar forms, and is gradu- ally associated with the idea of justice itself. The institution of the jury, if confined to criminal causes, is always in danger ; but when once it is introduced into civil proceedings, it defies the aggressions of time and of man. If it had been as easy to remove the jury from the manners as from the laws of England, it would have perislied under Henry VIII. and Elizabeth ; and the civil jury did in reality, at that period, save the liberties of the country. In whatever manner the jury be applied, it cannot fail to exercise a power- ful influence upon the national character ; but this influence is prodigiously increased when it is introduced into civil causes. The jury, and more especially the civil jury, serves to communicate the spirit of the judges to the minds of all the citizens ; and this spirit, with the habits which attend it, is the soundest preparation for free institutions. It imbues all classes with a respect for the thing judged, and with the no- tion of right. If these two elements be removed, the love of independence is reduced to a nui" destructive passion. It teaches men to practise equity ; every man learns to judge his neighijor as he would himself be judged : and this is es{)e- THE MAJORITY IN THE UNI r ED STATES. 28» eially true of the jury in civil causes ; for, while the number of persons who have reason to apprehend a criminal prosecu- tion is small, every one is liable to have a civil action brought against him. The jury teaches every man not to recoil be- fore the responsibility of his own actions, and impresses him with that manly confidence without which political virtue cannot exist. It invests each citizen with a kind of magis- tracy ; it makes them all feel the duties which they are bound to discharge toward society ; and the part which they take in the government. By obliging men to turn their attention to affairs which are not exclusively their own, it rubs off that individual egotism which is the rust of society. The jury contributes most powerfully to form the judg- ment, and to increase the natural intelligence of a people ; and this is, in my opinion, its greatest advantage. It may be regarded as a gratuitous public school tvor open, in which every juror learns to exercise his rights, enters into daily communication with the most learned and enlightened mem- bers of the upper classes, and becomes practically acquainted with the laws of his country, which are brought within the reach of his capacity by the efforts of the bar, the advice of the judge, and even by the passions of the parties. I think that the practical intelligence and political good sense of the Americans are mainly attributable to tiie long use which they have made of the jury in civil causes. I do not know whether the jury is useful to those who are in litigation ; but I am certain it is highly beneficial to those who decide the litigation : and I look upon it as one of the most efficacious means for the education of the people, which society can employ. What I have hitherto said, applies to all nations ; but the remark I am now about to make, is peculiar to the Americans and to democratic peoples. I have already observed that in democracies the members of the legal profession, and the ma- gistrates, constitute the only aristocratic body which can check the irregularities of the people. This aristocracy is invested with no physical power ; but it exercises its conservative in- fluence upon the minds of men : and the most abundant source of its authority is the institution of the civil jury. In criminal causes, when society is armed against a single indi- vidual, the jury is apt to look upon the judge as the passive instrument of social power, and to mistrust his advice. Moreover, criminal causes are entirely founded upon the evi- dence of facts which commoti sr-nso can readily appreciate ; upon this ground tiic jnilgo and the jury are equal. Such, 1 J> i . iiiii ♦ -Ml ■m 3t' I'', iii iijr ' 200 CAUSES WHICH MITIGATK TilK TViiA.N.SY Oi' however, is not the case in civil causes ; then the judge a.yt' pears as a disinterested arbiter between the conflicting pas. sions of the parties. The jurors look up to him with confi- dence, and listen to him with respect, for in this instance their intelligence is completely under the control of his learni-ng. It is the judge who sums up the various arguments with which their memory has been wearied out, and who guides them through the devious course of the proceedings; he points their attention to the exact question of fact, which they arc called upon to solve, and he puts the answer to tiie ques- tion of law into their mouths. His influence upon their ver. diet is almost unlimited. If I am called upon to explain why I am but little moved by the arguments derived from the ignorance of jurors in civil causes, I reply, that in these proceedings, whenever the ques- tion to be solved is not a mere question of fact, the jury ho.s only the semblance of a judicial body. The jury sanctions the decisions of the judge ; they, by the authority of society which they represent, and he, by that of reason and of law.* In England and in America the judges exercise an influ- ence upon criminal trials which the French judges have ne- ver possessed. The reason of this dilfercnce may easily be discovered ; the English and American magistrates establish their authority in civil causes, and only transfer it afterward to tribunals of another kind, where that autlic i'y was not ac- quired. In some cases (and they are frequently the most im- portant ones), the American judges have tlie right of deciding causes alone. f Upon these occasions they are, accidentally, placed in the position which the French judges habitually occupy : but they are still surrounded by the reminiscence of the jury, and their judgment has almost as much authority as the voice of the community at large, represented by that institution. Their influence extends i)eyond the limits of the courts; in the recreations of private life, as well as in tiie turmoil of public business, abroad and in the legislative as- semblies, the American judge is constantly surrounded by men who are accustomed to regard his intelligence as supe- rior to their own ; and after having exercised his power in the decision of causes, he continues to influence the habits of thought, and the character of the individuals who took a part in his judgment. * See Appendix R. t The federal judges decide upon their own authority almost all the questions most important to the country. THE MAJORITV IX THE UMTED STATK, 291 111 of irt [The remark in the text, that " in some cases, and tlicy are frecjuent- ly the most important ones, the American judjies have the riij;ht of de- ciding causes alone," and the author's note, that " the federal judges de- cide, upon their own authority, almost all the questions most import- ant to the country," seem to recjuire explanation in consequence of their connexion with the context in which the author is speaking of the trial by jury. They seem to imply tiiat tlierc are some cases which ought to be tried by jury, tiiut are decided by tlie judges. It is believed that the learned author, although a distinguished advocate in France, never thoroughly compreliended the gi-and divisions of our complicated system of law, in civil cases. First, is the distinction between cases in equity and those in which the rules of the common law govern. — Those in ecjuity are always decided by the judge or judges, who may, however, send (juestions of fact to be tried in the common law courts by a jury. But as a general rule this is entirely in the discretion of the equity judge. Second, in cases at common law, there are ques- tions of fact and (juestions of law : — the former are invariably tried by a jury, the latter, whether presented in the course of a jury trial, or by pleading, in which the facts are admitted, are always decided by the judges. Third, cases of admiralty jurisdiction, and proceedings m rewiof an analogous nature, are decided by the judges without the intervention of a jury. The cases in this last class fall within the peculiar jurisdic- tion of the federal courts, and, with this exception, the federal judges do not decide U|)on their own authority any (juestions, which, if pre- sented in the state courts, would not also bo (lecided by the judges of those courts. The supreme court of the United States, from the na- ture of its institution as almost wholly an appellant court, is called on to decide merely (juestions of law, and in no case can that court decide a question of fact, unless it arises in suits peculiar to eijuity or admi- ralty jurisdiction. Indeed the author's original note is more correct than the translation. It is as follows : " Les juges federaux tranchent presque toujours seuls les questions (jui touchent de plus pres au gou- vernement du pays." And it is very true that the supreme court of the United States, in particular, decides those questions which most nearly affect the government of tiie country, because those are the very ques- tions which arise upon the constitutionality of the laws of congress and of the several states, the final and conclusive determination of which is vested in that tribunal. — American Editor.} The jury, then, which seems to restrict the rights of magis- tracy, does in reality consolidate its power ; and in no coun- try are the judges so powerful as there where the people par- takes their privileges. It is more especially by means of the jury in civil causes that the American magistrates imbue all classes of society with the spirit of their profession. Thus the jury, which is the most energetic means of making the people rule, is also the most efficacious means of teaching it to rule well. II I 'I: 4,: 4 ;l .til 292 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINT.UN CHAPTER XVII. PAINCIPAI. CAUSES WHICH TEND TO MAINTAIN THE DEMOCRA- TIC 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 have been voluntarily passed by, or only hinted at, as I was borne along by my subject. Others I have been unable to discuss ; and those on which I have dwelt most, are, as it were, buried in the details of the former part of this work. I think, therefore, that before I proceed to speak of the future, I cannot do better than collect within a small com- pass the reasons which best explain the present. In this retrospective chapter I shall be succinct ; for I shall take care to remind the reader very summarily of what he already knows ; and I shall only select the most prominent of those facts which I have not yet pointed out. All the causes which contribute to the maintenance of the democratic republic in the United States are reducible to three heads : I. The peculiar and accidental situation in which Provi- dence has placed the Americans. II. The laws. III. The manners and customs of the people. Hi i-o ACCIDENTAL OR PROVIDENTIAL CAUSES WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO THE MAIIsTENANCE OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN THE UNITED STATES. The Union has no Neighbors.— No Metropolis.— The Americans have had the Chances of Birth in their favor. — America an empty coun- try.— How this circumstance contributes powerfully to the Mainte- nance of the democratic Republic in America. — How the American Wilds are Peopled. — Avidity of the Ana^lo- Americans in taking Pos- session of the Solitudes of the Ncv World. — Influence of physical Prosperity upon the political Opinions of the Americans. A THOUSAND circumstances, independent of the will of man, concur to facilitate the maintenance of a doiiiDcratic republic •i1._TT-"i_lC1... CI C.l !• •• 1 1% ill the United States. Somoot't'' il'driti-s luv hiVT. THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. 203 the others may easily be pointod out ; but I shall contine myself to the most prominent aiuung them. The Americans have no neighbors, and consequently they have no great wars, or financial crises, or inroads, or con- quests to dread ; they require neitlier great taxes, nor great armies, nor great generals ; and they have nothing to fea.* from a scourge which is more formidable to republics than all these evils combined, namely, military glory. It is im- possible to deny the inconceivable influence which military glory exercises upon the spirit of a nation. General Jack- son, whom the Americans have twice elected to be the head of their government, is a man of violent temper and mediocre talents ; no one circumstance in the whole course of his ca- reer ever proved that he is qualified to govern a free people ; and indeed the majority of the enlightened classes of the Union has always been opposed to him. But he was raised to the presidency, and has been maintained in that lofty sta- tion, solely by the recollection of a victory which he gained, twenty years ago, under the walls of New Orleans ; a victory which was, however, a very ordinary achievement, and which could only be remembered in a country where battles are rare. Now the people who are thus carried away by the illusions of glory, are unquestionably the most cold and cal- culating, the most unmilitary (il I may use the expression), and the most prosaic of all the peoples of the earth. America has no great capital city,* whose influence is di- • The United States have no metropolis ; but they already contain several very large cities. Philadelphia reckoned 101,000 inhabitants, and New York 202,000, in the year 1830. The lower orders which in- habit these cities constitute a rabble even more formidable than the populace of European towns. They consi.^t of freed blacks in the first place, who are condemned by the laws and by public opinion, to an hereditary state of misery and degradation. They also contain a mul- titude of Europeans who have been driven to the shores of the New World by their misfortunes or their misconduct; and these men inocu- late the United States with all our vices, without bringing with them any of those interests which counteract their baneful influence. As inhabitants of a country where they have no civil rights, they are roidy to turn all the passions which agitate the community to their own ad- vantage ; thus, within the last few months serious riots have broken out in Philadelphia and in New York. Disturbances of this kind are unknown in the rest of the country, which is nowise alarmed by tlieni, because the population of the cities-- Inis hitherto exercised neither power nor influence over the rural districts. Nevertheless, I look upon the size of certain American cities, and especially on the nature of their population, as a real danger which ihreatens the future security of tlie democratic republics of the New World: and I venture to predict that they will psrinh ''rom this cir- ■",'H 4:^ n I m 1 294 CAUSES TKNDhNG TO MAINTAIN rcctly or iiidircclly felt ovor the whole (>xtt'nt of tlio country, which I 111 lid to 1)0 one of tho first causes of tl»e iiiaintenanco of republican institutions in tiu; United States. In cities, men cannot be [)ivvente(l from coneerfin. The gifts of fortune are promised in the west, and to the west thoy bend their course. No e\vu\ can be compared with this continuous removal '-1 J THK uEr.rocicATic kkiTki-ic. 297 of the human race, except pcrlmps those irruptions which preceded the fall of the Roman Empire. Then, as well as now, generations of men were impelled forward in the same direction to meet and struggle on the same spot ; but the de- signs of Providence were not the same ; then, every new comer was the harbinger of destruction and of death ; now, every adventurer brings with him the elements of prosperity and of life. The future still cnceals from us the ulterior consequences of this emigr ition )f the American toward the west; but we can hardly a|', ri i-nd its more immediate re- sults. As a portion of the inluibitants annually leave the states in which they were born, the population of these states increases very slowly, although they have long been esta- blished : thus in Connecticut, which only contains 59 inhabit- ants to the square mile, the population has not been increased by more than one quarter in forty years, while that of I'^ng- land has been augmented by one tiiird in the lajjse of the same period. The European emigrant always lands, there- f()re, in a country which is but half full, and where hands arc in request : he becomes a workman in easy circumstan- cis ; his son iroes to seek his fortune in unpeopled regions, and lie becom s a rich landowner. The former amasses the capital which tii<^ latter invests, and the stranger as well as tlic native is Uit;i('(jiiainted with want. The laws ol" the United States are extremely favorable to tlie division of property ; but a cause which is more powerful tiian the laws jncvents property from being divided to excess.* This is very pcreeptiljle in the states which are beginning to be thickly peopled ; Massachusetts is the most populous part of th(> Union, but it contains only 80 inhabitants to the square mile, which is much less than in France, where 102 are re(;koned to the same extent of country. IJut in Massachu- setts estates are very rarely divided ; the eldest son takes tlie land, and the others go to seek their fortune in the desert. The law has abolished the right of primogeniture, but cir- cumstances have concurred to re-establish it under a fl)rm of which none can complain, and by which no just rights are impaired. A single fact will sufljcc to show the prodigious number of individuals who leave New England, in this innnner, to set- tle themselves in the wilds. \Vv. were assured in 18!^), that thirty-si \ of the members of congress were bora in the little * In Now Enirliind the osfntcs nrc exceedingly small, but they are Turely subjocted to l'artli> ■ diviKJon, 1 . ,4 ":■: m i ■"ll i I k! I' 298 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN state of Connecticut. The population of Connecticut, winch consiitutcs only one forty-third part of that of the United States, thus furnished one-eighth of the whole body of rep- resentatives. The state of Connecticut, however, only sends five delegates to congress ; and the thirty-one others sit for the new western states. If those thirty-one individuals had remained in Connecticut, it is probable that instead of becoming rich landowners they would have remained humble laborers, that they would have lived in obscurity without being able to rise into public life, and that, far from becoming useful members of the legislature, they might have been unruly citizens. These reflections do not escape the observation of the Ame- ricans any more than of ourselves. " It cannot be doubted," says Chancellor Kent in his Treatise on American Law, " that the division of landed estates must produce great evils when it is carried to such excess that each parcel of land is insufficient to support a family ; but these disadvantages have never been felt in the United States, and many genera- tions must elapse before they can bj f'lt. The extent of our inhabited territory, the abundance of adjacent land, and tlie continual stream of emigration flowing from the shores of the Atlantic toward the interior of the country, sutHce as yet, and will long suffice, to prevent the parerlling out of estates." It is difficult to describe the rapacity with which the Ame- rican rushes forward to secure ti»e immense booty which for- tune proffers to him. In the pursuit he fearh^ssly braves the arrow of the Indian and the distempers of the forest ; he is unimpressed by the silence of the woods ; the approach of beasts of prey does not disturb him ; for he is goaded on- ward l)y a passion more intense than the love of life. ' Be- f()re him lies a boundless continent, and he urges onward as if time pressed, and he was afraid of finding no room for his exertions. I have spoken of the emigration from the old(>r states, but how shall I describe that which takes place from the more recent ones I Fifty years hav(^ scarcelv elapscul since that of Ohio was founded ; the greater part of its inhabitants were not l)orn witiiin its confines ; its capital has only been built thirty years, and its territory is still covered by an immense extent of uncultivated fields ; neve'-- thcless, tlie populati'in of Ohio is already pnxM'eding west- wanl, and most of the S' ttlcrs who descend to the fertil(> sa- vannahs of Illinois arc citizens of Ohio. Thi'se men left their first country to iiiiprove tlieir condition ; they (|uit their resting-pla(!c to .11 'ii'i;- i; slill iii c'e ; lorluue awuiis them THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. 299 everywhere, but happiness they cannot attain. The desire of prosperity has become an ardent and restless passion in their minds, which grows by what it gains. They early broke the ties wliich bound them to their natal earth, and they have contracted no fresh ones on tlieir way. Emigra- tion was at first necessary to them as a means of subsistence ; and it soon becomes a sort of game of chance, whicii tliey pursue for tlie emotions it excites, as much as for the gain it procures. Sometimes the progress of man is so rapid that the desert reappears behind him. Tlie woods stoop to give him a pas- sage, and spring up again when lie has passed. It is not uncommon in crossing the new states of the west to meet with deserted dwellings in the midst of the wilds ; the travel- ler frequently discovers tlie vestiges of a log-house in the most solitary retreats, which boar witness to the power, and no less to tlie inconstancy of man. In these abandoned lields, and over those ruins of a day, tiio primeval forest soon scat- ters a fresh vegetation ; the beasts resume the haunts whicii were once their own ; and nature covers the traces of man's path with branches and witli iiowers, whicii obliterate his evanescent track. I remember that in crossing one of the woodland districti which still cover the state of New York, I reached the shore of a lake, whicii was embosomed with forests coeval with the world. A small island, covered with woods, whose thick foliage concealed its banks, rose from the centre of the waters. Upon the shores of the lake no object attested the presence of man, except a column of smok(> which might bo seen on the horizon rising from the tops of the trees to the clouds, and seeming to hang from iicaven rather than to be mounting to the sky. An Indian shallop was hauled up on the siiiid, which tempfcMl me to visit the islet that had at first attracted my attention, and in a few minutes I set foot upon its hanks. The whole island tlmned one of those d( li- cious solitudes of the New World, whicii almost lead civilized man to regret the haunts of the savage. A luxuriant veg(>. tation bore witness to the incomparable fruilfulness of llio soil. The deep silence, whicii is common to the wilds of Nort'a America, was only broken by the hoarse cooing of tlin wooi-pigeon and the tapjjing f)f the woodpecker upnn the bark of trees. I was (lir from su|/]iosing tint this sj.'ot had ever been inhabited , s > e mipl.tely dil nature s"eiii to bt left to her own eiipiics ; itiit when j i', aelied the e 'Ulreof th" isle I lliought thai 1 disco\( red s > ne t.'U'.'t s of man. I iIumi pro- m y., ' h h^ in ! m .t m m Vi ■in ii 300 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN ::^rTr-| .: J ceeded to examine the surrounding objects witli care, and I soon perceived that an European had undoubtedly been led to seek a refuge in tiiis retreat. Yet what changes had taken place in the scene of his labors ! The logs which he had hastily hewn to build himself a shed had sprouted afresh ; the very props were intertwined with living verdure, and his cabin was transformed into a bower In the midst of these shrubs a few stones were to be seen, blackened with fire and sprink- led with thin ashes ; here the hearth had no doubt been, and the chimney in falling had covered it with rubbish. I stood for sometiir.o in silent admiration of the exuberance of nature and the littleness of man ; and when 1 was obliged to leave that enchanting solitude, I excici'med with melancholy, " Are ruins, then, already here ?" In Europe we are wont to look upon a restless disposition, an unbounded desire of riches, and an excessive love of inde- pendence, as propensities very formidable to society. Yet these are the very elements which ensure a long and peace- ful duration to the republics of America. Without these un quiet passions the population would collect in certain spots, and would soon be subject to wants like those of the Old World, which it is difficult to satisfy ; for such is ihe present good fortune of the New World, ♦hat the vices of its inhabit, ants are scarcely less favorable t j society than their virtues. These circumstances exercise a great influence on the esti- mation in which human actions are held in the two hemi. spheres. The Americans frequently term what we should call cupidity a laudable industry ; and they blame as faint-heart- edness what we consider to be the virtue of moderate de- sires. In France simple tastes, orderly manners, domestic afTec- tions, and the attachment which men feel to the place of their birth, are looked upon as great guarantees of the tranquillity and happiness of the state. But in America nothing seems to be more prejudicial to society than these virtues. The French Canadians, who have faithfully preserved the tradi- tions of their pristine manners, are already emi)arrasscd for room upon their small territory ; and this little community, which has so recently begun to exist, will shortly ho a prey to the calamities incident to old nations. In Canada the most enlightened, patriotic, and humane inhabitants, make extraor- dinary eflbrts to render the people dissatisfied with those sin» pie enjoyments which still content it. There the seductions of wealth are vaunted w ilh iis nuicii ■/.' ul, as the charms of an honest but limited inc:)ine intiicOiJ World; and niore THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. 301 exertions are made to excite the passions of tne citizens there than to calm them elsewhere. If we listen to the eulogies, we shall hear that nothin^ is more praiseworthy than to ex- change the pure and homely pleasures which even the poor man tastes in his own country, for the dull delights of pros- perity under a foreign sky ; to leave the patrimonial hearth, and the turf beneath which his forefathers sleep ; in short, to abandon the living and the dead in quest of fortune. At the present time America presents a field for human effort, far more extensive than any sum of labor which can be applied to work it. In America, too much knowledge can- not be diffused ; for all knowledge, while it may serve him who possesses it, turns also to the advantage of those who are without it. New wants are not to be feared, since they can be satisfied without difficulty ; the growth of human passions need not be dreaded, since all passions may find an easy and a legitimate object : nor can men be put in possession of too much freedom, since they are scarcely ever tempted to mis- use their liberties. The American republics of the present day are like com- panies of adventurers, formed to explore in common the waste lands of the New World, and busied in a flourishing trade. The passions which agitate the Americans most deeply, are not their political, but their commercial passions ; or, to speak more correctly, they introduce the habits they contract in business into their political life. They love order, without which affairs do not prosper; and they set an especial value upon a regular conduct, which is the foundation of a solid business; they prefer the good sense whi>.h amasses large fortunes, to that enterprising spirit which frequently dissipates them ; general ideas alarm their minds, which are accustom, ed to positive calculat'ons ; and they hold practice in more honor than theory. It is in America that one learns to understand the influ- ence which physical prosperity exercises over political actions, and even over opinions which ought to acknowledge no sway but that of reason ; and it is more especially among strangers that this truth is perceptible. Most of the European emi- grants to the New World carry w ith them that wild love of independence and of change, which our calamities are apt to engender. I sometimes met with Europeans, in the United States, who had been obliged to leave their own country on account of iheir political opinions. They all astonished mo by the language tliey held ; but one of tliem surprised nin more than all the rest. As I was crossini; one of the most r. ■. 302 CAUSKS TENDING TO MAINTAIN f t h remote districts of Pennsylvania, 1 was I)eniook has been to make Known the laws of the United States; if this purpose has boon accom- plished, the reader is already enabled to judge for himself which are the laws that really tend to maintain the (hmiocratic republic, and which endanger its existence. If I have not succeeded in explaining this in the whole course of my work, I cannot hope to do so witliin the limits of a single chapter. It is not my intention to retrace the path I have already pur- sued ; and a very few lines will suffice to recapitulate what I have previously explained. Three circumstances seem to me to contribute most pow- erfully to the maintenance of the democratic republic in the United States. The first is that federal form of government which the Americans have adopted, and \\hich enables the Union to combine the power of a great empire with the security of a small state ; — The second consists in those municipal institutions which limit the despotism of the majority, and at the same time im- part a taste for freedom, and a know ledge of the art of being free, to the people ; — The third is to be met a\ ith in the constitution of the ju- dicial power. I have shown in what manner the courts of justice serve to repress the excesses of democracy ; and how they check and direct the impulses of the majority, without stopping its activity. I ■ :^:-m INFLUENCE OF MANNERS UPON THE MAINTENANCE OF THE DEMGCRATIO REPUBLIC IN THE UNITED STATES. I' « I HAVE previously remarked that the manners of the people may be considered as one of the general causes to which the maintenance of a democratic republic in the United States is attributable. I hero use the word iiKinncrs\ with the mean- ing which the ancients attached to the word niorci ; for I ap- ply it not only to maimers, in their j)roper sense of what con- IM 304 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN stitutos the character of social intercourse, but I extend it to the various notions and opinions current among men, and to the mass of those ideas which constitute their character of mind. I comprise, therefore, under this term the whole moral and intellectual condition of a people. My intention is not to draw a picture of American manners, but simply to point out such features of them as are favorable to the maintenance of political institutions. RELIGION CONSIDERED AS A POLITICAL INSTITUTION, WHICH POWERFULLY CONTRIBUTES TO THE MAINTENANCE OF THE DEMOCKATIC REPUBLIC AMONG THE AMERICANS. North America peopled by Men who professed a democratic and re- pii!)li(Mn Christianity. — Arrival of the Catholics. — For what Reason the Catholics form the most democratic and the most republican Class at the present Time. Every religion is to be found in juxtaposition to a political opinion, which is connected with it by affinity. If the hu- man mind be left to follow its own bent, it will regulate the temporal and spiritual institutions of society upon one uni- form principle ; and man will endeavor, if I may use the expression, to liarmonize the state in which he lives upon earth, with the .state he believes to await him in heaven. The greatest part of British America was peopled by men who, after having .shaken off the authority of the pope, ac- knowledged nootiier religious supremacy : they brought with them into the New World a form of Christianity, which I cannot better describe, than by styling it a democratic and republican religion. This sect contributed powerfully to the establishment of a democracy and a republic ; and from the earliest settlement of the emigrants, politics and religion con- tracted an alliance which has never been dissolved. About fifty years ago Ireland began to pour a catholic population into the United States ; on the other hand, the catholics of America made proselytes, and at the present moment more than a million of Christians, professing the truths of the church of Rome, are to be met with in the Union. These catholics are faithful to the observances of their religion ; they are fervent and zealous in the support and belief of their doctrines. Ncvertholo.ss they constitute the most republican and the mo.st democratic class of citizens which exists in the United States ; and although this fact TIIK DEMOCRATIC lilUUUMC. 305 may surprise the observe ; ?,t first, the cause by which it is occasioned may easily be diseovi red upon reflection. I think that the catholic religion has erroneously been looked upon as the natural enemy of democracy. Among the various sects of Ciiristians, Catholicism seems to ine, on the contrary, to be one of those which are most favorable to the equality of conditions. In the catholic church, the re- ligious community is composed of only two elements; the priest and the people. The priest alone rises above the rank of his flock, and all below him art^ equal. On doctrinal points the catholic faith places all human capacities upon the same level ; it subjects the wise and the ignorant, the man of genius and the vulgar crowd, to the details of the same creed ; it imposes the same observances upon the rich and needy, it inflicts the same austerities upon the sirong and the weak, ir listens to no compromises with mortal man, but reducing all tlu; human race to the same standard, it confounds all the distinctions of society at the foot of the same altar, even as they are confounded in the sight of God. If Catholicism predisposes the faithful to obedience, it certainly does not prepare them for inequality ; but the contrary may be said of protestantism, which generally tends to make men independent, more than to render them equal. Catholicism is like an absolute monarchy ; if the sovereign be removed, all the other classes of society are more equal than they are in republics. It has not unfrequently occurred that the catholic priest has left the service of the altar to mix with the governing powers of society, and to make his place among the civil gradations of men. This religious in- fluence has sometimes been used to secure the interests of that political state of things to which he belonged. At other times catholics have taken the side of aristocracy from a spirit of religion. But no sooner is the priesthood entirely separated from the government, as is the ease in the United States, than it is found that no class of men are more naturally disposed than the catliolics to transfuse the doctrine of the equality of cjn- ditions into the political world. If, then, the catholic citizens of the United States are not {()rcibly led by the nature of their tenets to adopt democratic and republican principles, at least they are not necessarily opposed to them ; and their social position, as well as their limited number, obliges them to adopt these opinions. Most of the catholics are poor, and they have no chance of taking a part in the irovernment un 20 im f'ifn ' ^y^ \^iM ■'^ ■Am U n ■I 4 :i 300 CAUSES TENDING TO .■MAINTAIN loss it be open to all the citizens. They eonstitiito a minori- ty, and all rights must he respocti.(l in order to ensure to tiieni the free exercise of tiieir own privileifes. These two causes induce them, unconsciously, to adopt political doctrines winch they would perhaps support with less zeal if they were rich and preponderant. The catholic clergy of the United States has never at- tempted to oppose this political tendency ; but it seeks rather to justify its results. The priests in America have divided the intellectual world into two parts: in the one they place tlie doctrines of revealed religion, which command their assent; in the other they leave those truths, which they believe to have been freely left open to the researches of political ;n. quiry. Thus tiie catholics of the United States are at the same time the most fa'thful believers and tlie most zealous citizens. It may be asserted that in the United States no religious doctrine displays the slightest hostility to democratic and re- publican institutions. The clergy of all the different sects holds the same language ; their oj)inions are consonant to the laws, and the human intellect flows onward in one sole current. I happened to be staying in one of the largest towns in the Union, when I was invited to attend a public meeting which had been called for the purpose of assisting the Poles, and of sending them supplies of arms and money. I found two or three thousand persons collected in a vast hall whicii had been prepared to receive them. In a short time a priest in his ecclesiastical robes advanced to the front of the hustings: the spectators rose, and stood uncovered, while he spoke in the f()llowing terms : — " Almighty God ! the God of armies ! Thou who didst strengthen the hearts and guide the arms of our fathers when they were fighting for the sacred rights of national ind(^pend- ence ; thou who didst make them triumph over a hateful op- pression, and hast granted to our people the benefits of liberty and peace ; turn, O Lord, a favorable eye upon the other hemisphere ; pitifully look down upon that heroic nation which is even now struggling as we did in the former time, and for the same rights which we defended with our blood. Thou, who didst create man in the likeness of tiie sainn image, let no tyranny mar thy work, and establish inequality upon the earth. Almighty God ! do thou watch over tho destiny of the Poles, and render them worthy to be free. May thy wisdom direct th"ir councils, and may thy strength THE DEMOCRATIC UEPUBLIC. ;w7 sustain their arms ! Shed forth thy terror over their ene. niies ; scatter the powers which take counsel ajraiiist them ; and vouchsafe tliat the injustice which the worlu has heheld for fifty years, l)e not consummated in our time. O Lord, who lioldest alike the hearts of nations and of men in thy powerful hand, raise up allies to the sacred cause of right ; arouse the French nation from the apathy in which its rulers retain it, that it go forth again to fight for the liberties of the world. " Lord, turn not thou thy face from us, and grant that we may always be the most religious as well as the freest people of the earth. Almighty God, hear our supplications this day. Save the Poles, we beseech thee, in the name of thy well- beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who died upon ;he cross for the salvation of men. Am.en." The whole meeting responded " Amen !" with devotion. INDIRECT INFLUENCE OF RELIGIOUS OPINIONS UPON POLITICAL SOCIETY IN THE UNITED STATES. Christian Morality common to all Sects. — Influence of Religion upon the Manners of the Americans. — Respect for the marriage Tie. — In what manner Religion confines the Imagination of the Americans within certain Limits, and chec lis the Passion of Innovation. — Opinion of the Americans on tiie political Utility of Religion. — Their Exer- tions to extend and secure its Predominance. I HAVE just shown what the direct influence of religion upon politics is in the United States ; but its indirect influence appears to me to be still more considerable, and it never instructs the Americans more fully in the art of being free than when it says nothing of freedom. The sects which e.xist in the United States are innumerable. They all differ in respect to the worship which is due from man to his Creator ; but they all agree in respect to the duties which are due from man to man. Each sect adores the Deity in its own peculiar manner ; but all the sects preach the same moral law in the name of God. If it be of the slightest importance to man, as an individual, that his religion should be true, the case of society is not the same. Society has no future life to hope for or to fear ; and provided the citizens profess a religion, the peculiar tenets of that religion are of very little importance to its interests. Moreover, almost all the sects of the United States are comprised within m im w m ■ Hi frl I'l 11 » 309 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN the great unity of Christianity, and Christian morality is every- where the same. It may be believed without unfairness, that a certain number of Americans pursue a peculiar form of worship, from habit more than from conviction. In the United States the sovereign authority is religious, and consequently hypo- crisy must be common ; but there is no country in the whole world in which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America ; and there can be no greater proof of its utility, and of its conformity to human nature, than that its influence is most powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth. I have remarked that the members of the American clergy in general, without even excepting those who do not admit religious liberty, are all in favor of civil freedom ; but they do not support any particular political system. They keep aloof from parties, and from public affairs- In the United States religion exercises but little influence upon the laws, and upon the details of public opinion ; but it directs the manners of the community, and by regulating domestic life, it regulates the state. I do not question that the great austerity of manners which is observable in the United States, arises, in the first instance, from religious faith. Religion is often unable to restrain man from the numberless temptations of fortune ; nor can it check that passion for gain which every incident of his life contri- butes to arouse ; but its influence over the mind of women is supreme, and women arc the protectors of morals. There is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is so much respected as in America, or where conjugal happiness is more highly or worthily appreciated. In Europe almost all the disturbances of society arise from the irregu- larities of domestic life. To despise the natural bonds un(\ legitimate pleasures of home, is to contract a taste for excesses, a restlessness oi' heart, and the evil of fluctuating desires. Agitatcnl l)y the tumuliuous passions wliieh frequently distiiri) his d\V(>lling, the European is galled by the obedii'Mee which tile legislative^ powers of the state exact. Uul when the American rt'tins from the turmoil of jiublic life to tlie bosom of his family, he iinds in it the image ui' order and of peace. There his pleasures are simple and natural, his joys are innocent and calm ; and as he finds that an orderly life is the surest path to happiness, he accustoms himself without ilifliculty to moderate his opinions as well as his tastes. While the European endeavors to forget his domestic troubles H'S. urb \vr U'll tli(^ of ovs m out trs. )k's 1-= THE DEMOCKATIC REPUBLIC. 309 by agitating society, the American derives from his own home that love of order, which he afterward carries with him into public atTairs. In the United States the influence of religion is not confined to the manners, but it extends to the intelligence of the people. Among the Anglo-Americans, there are some who protbss the doctrines of Christianity from a sincere belief in them, and others who do the same because they are afraid to be suspected of unbelief. Christianity, therefore, reigns without any obstacle, by universal consent ; the consequence is, as I have before observed, that every principle of the moral world is fixed and iletcrminate, although the political world is abandoned to the debates and the experiments of men. Thus the human mind is never left to wander across a boundless field ; and, whatever may be its pretensions, it is checked from time to time by barriers which it cannot surmount. Before it can perpetrate iimovation, certain primal and immu- table princij)les are laid down, and the boldest conceptions of human device are subjected to certain forms which retard and stop their completion. The imagination of the Americans, even in its greatest flights, is circumspect* and undecided ; its impulses are checked, and its works unfinished. These habits of restraint recur in political society, and are singularly favorable both to the tranquillity of the people and the (lural)ility of the insti- tutions it has established. Nature and circumstances concur- red to make the inhabitants of the United States bold men, as is sufficiently attested by the (Miterprising spirit with which they seek K)r fi^rtune. If the minds of the Americans were free from all trammels, they would very shortly become the most daring innovators and the most implacable disj)utaiits in the world. But the revolutionists of America are obliged to profess an ostensii)le respect for Christian morality and equity, which do(>s not easily permit them to violate the laws tiiat oppose their designs ; nor would they find it easy to surmount the scruples of their ])artisaiis, even if they were able to g( t over their own. Hitherto no one, in the United States, bus dared to advance the maxim, that everything is perm)ssil)Ic witii a view to the interests of society ; an impious adage, which seems to have been invented in an age ol' freedom, to shelter all the t) rants of fulnre ages. Thus while the law permits the Americans to do w hat they please, religion jire- vents them from conceiving, and t()rbi(ls them to commit, what is rash and unjust. lleligion in America takes no direct part in tiie govern- t i 1 'ill •ii •ip I' I I ^1 310 CAL'SES TKND1.\G TO MAINTAIN mcnt of society, but it must nevortliploss be regarded as the foremost of the political Institutions of that country ; lor if it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of free institutions. Indeed, it is in this same point of view that the inhabitants of the United States themselves look upon reli- gious belief I do not know whether all the Americans have a sincere faith in their religion ; for who can search the human heart ? but I am certain that they hold it to be indis- pensable to the maijitenance of republican institutions. This opinion is not peculiar to a class of citizens or to a party, but it belongs to the whole nation, and to every rank of s^ociety. In the United States, if a j)olitical character attacks a sect, this may not prevent even the partisans of that very sect, from supporting him ; but if he attacks all the sects together, every one abandons him, and he remains alon(\ While I was in America, a witness, who happened to bo called at the assizes (jf the county of Chester (state of New York), declared that he did not bi'lieve in the existence of God (jr in the immortality of the soul. The judge refused to admit his evidence, on the ground that the witness had destroyed beforehand all the confulenee of the court in what he was about to say.* The newspapers related the fact with- out any farther conunent. • The New York Spertator of Auirnst 2M, I'^H, relates tlie (act in the Inllowinsr terms : " The court ot'coininoii pleas of Chester ronnty (New Vork), a few days since rejected a witness who dechired hisdis- helief ill tlic existence of God. 'I'lie |)re.si(hnL; jiulire reinarUi'd, that lio liad not before Ix'en aware tliat tliiTc was a man livini; wlio did not believe in the existence of God ; that tliis belief constituted tlie sanction of all testimony in a court of justice; and that lu^ knew of no cause in a Christian coiuitry, where a witness iiad been ])erinitted Ui testify witiioul such bi'lief. [The instance ^rjviMi by the author, of a person offered as a witness ria\ injf been rejected on the frround that lie did not believe in the existence of a (iovholl> incompetent to testify, is establisiu'd for the protection of per- sonal rijjhts, and not to compel the adoption of any systetn of reliu'ioim belief It came witli all our fundamt ntal principles irom Knirlandasa part of the common law whicli the colonists brouiiht with them. It IS supposed to pri'vail in e\ery coinitry in Christendom, whaleNcr nniy be the t'orm of its government ; and the nidy doubt that arises lespect- ini{ its existence in i-'rance, is created by our author's apparent sin prise at fuiding such u rule in America— .//Hr//V«// Hdilor.] THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. 311 The Americans combine tlie notions of Clirlstianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the otlier ; and with them this conviction does not spring from that barren tradi- tionary faith which seems to vegetate in the soul rather than to live. I i)ave known of societies formed by the Americans to send out ministers of the gospel into the new western states, to fliund schools and churches there, lest religion should be suf- fered to die away in those remote settlements, and the rising states be less fitted to enjoy free institutions than the people from which they emanatpd. I met with wealthy New Eng- laiiders who abandoned the country in which they were born, in order to lay the foundations of Christianity and of freedom on the banks of the Missouri or in the prairies of Illinois. Thus religious zeal is per|)etnally stimulated in the United (States by the duties of patriutism. These men do not act from an exclusive consideration of the promises of a future IMi' eternity is only one motive of their devotion to the Ca. . nd if you converse wilh these missionaries of Chris- tit •■■■ ..satioii, you will l)e surprised to find how much value they set upon the goods of tliis world, and that you meet with a politician where you expected to liiid a priest. They will tell you that '* all the American republics are collectively involved with each other ; if the repul)lics of the west were to fall into anarchy, or to be mastered by a desjjot, the repub- lican institutions which now flourish upon the shores of the Atlantic ocean would be in great peril. It is therefore our interest that the new stat<'s should be religious, in order to maintain our liberties."' Such are the opinions of the Americans ; and if any hold that the religious spirit which I admire is the very thing huost amiss ill America, and that the only element wanting to Mie freedom and happiness of the human race is to believe i:v some blind cosmogony, or to assi'rt with Cal)anis the secre- tion of thought by the brain, I can only reply, that ♦hose wiio hold this language have never betMi in America, and that they liiivi- never seen a religious or a free natit)n. When th'-y return from their e.\|iedit"ion, we shall lii'ar what they have to say . There are persons in France wlio look upon republican institutions as a temporary means of power, of wealth and dislinefion ; men w ho are the coniloltnri of liberty, and who fight for their own advantage, whatever i)e the colors they Wear : it is not to these tiiat 1 adilress mvself. IJut there arc i ^ >\i. \% ,,(,(! uv.ii » '■■A i:'f, "■' (i ,( 312 CAUSES TENCIXG TO MAINTAIN otliors who look forward to the ropublican form of govern- ment as a tranquil and lastin religious aspect of the country was the first tiling that struck my attention ; and the longer I stayeil there, tiie mon^ did I perceive the great political eonsi'ipn iiccs resulting from tliis state ot" things, to which I was unaccustomed. In I'' ranee 1 had almost al- ways seen the s|)irit of nligion and tlie spirit of freedom pur- suing courses diametrieuUy opposed to each otiier ; l)Ut in THE DEJIOCKATIC REPUBLIC. 313 America I found that they were intimately united, and that tlioy reigned in common over the same country. My desire to discover the causes of this phenomenon increased from day to day. In order to satisfy it, I questioned the members of all the different sects ; and I more especially sought the society of the clergy, who are the depositaries of the ditferent persuasions, and who are more especially interested in their duration. As a member of the Roman catholic church I was iiiore particularly brought into contact with several of its priests, with whom I became intimately acquainted. To each of these men I expressed my astonishment and I explained my doubts : 1 found that they ditlered upon matters of detail alone ; and that they mainly attributed the peaceable do- minion of religion in their country, to the separation of church and state. I (lo not hesitate to afKrm that during my stay in America, I did not meet with a single individual, of tiie clergy or of the laity, who was not of tiie same opinion upon this point. This led me to examine more attentively than I had hith- erto done, the station which the American clergy occupy in political society. I learned with surprise that they fill no public appointments ;* not one of them is to be met with in the administration, and they are not even represented in the legislative assemblies. In several statesf the law excludes them from political life ; public opinion in all. And when I came to inquire into the prevailing spirit of the clergy, I found that most of its members seemed to retire of their own ac- cord from the exercise of power, and that they made it the pride of their profession to abstain from politics. I heard them inveigh against ambition and deceit, under whatever political opinions these vices might chance to lurk ; but I learned from tiieir discourses that men are not guilty in tiie eye of God for any opinions concerning political govern- ment, which they may profess with sincerity, any more than * Unless this term be applied to tin- fnnetions wliich iniuiy of tliein lUl ill tlie scliools. Ahnost all I'duoatioii is intrusted to tiu; clerj;). t See the constitution of New York, art. 7, § 1 : — " And whereas, the ministers of tlie jjospel are, hy tlieir profession, dedicated to the service of (Jod and tiie care of souls, and oufiht not to ))(■ diverted from the ^reat duties of tiieii functions ; tiierefore no min- ister of the gospel, or priest of any denomination wiiatsoever, shall, at any time hereafter, under any pretence or description whatever, he eli:;il)le to, or capable of holding; any civil or military otliee or place within this state.' See also tile constitutions of North Carolina, art. ■')!. Virfiinia. Soutii Carolina, art. 1, § 'i't. Kentucky, art. 'J, § 'Jti. Tennessee, art S, § 1. Louisiana, art. 'J, § 2i. ■ 'hi i= U' f* L I!' 314 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN they are for their mistakes in building a house or in drivi- <; a furrow. I perceived that these ministers of the gospel es- chewed all parties, with the anxiety attendant upon personal interest. These facts convinced me that what I had been told was true ; and it then became my object to investigate their causes, and to inquire how it happened that the real au- thority of religion was increased by a state of things which diminished its apparent force : these causes did not long cs- caj)e my researches. The short space of ;!n\( scoi. years can never content the imagination of man ; nor can the imperfect joys of this world satisfy his heart. Man alone, of all created beings, displays a natural contempt of existence, and yet a boundless desire to exist ; he scorns life, but he dreads annihilation. These dillerent feelings incessantly urge his soul to the contem- plation of a future state, and religion directs his nmsings thither. Religion, then, is simply another form of hope ; and it is no less natural to the human heart than hope itself. Men cannot abandon their religious faith without a kind of aberration of intellect, and a sort of violent distortion of their true natures ; but they are invincibly brought back to more pious sentiments ; for unbelief is an accident, and faith is the oidy permanent state of mankind. If we only consider reli- gious institutions in a purely human point of view, they may be said to derive an inexhaustible element of strength from man himself, since they belong to one of the constituent prin- ciples of human nature. I am aware that at certain times religion may strengthen this iiiduence, which originates in itself, by the artilicial j)uwer of the laws, and by the support of those temjjoral institutions which direct society. Religions, intimately united to the gov- ernments of the earth, have been known to exercise a sove- reign authority derived from the twofold source of terror and of faith ; but when a religion contracts an alliance of tliis nature, I do not hesitate to alVirm that it commits the same error, as a man who should sacrifice his future to his present welfare ; and in obtaining a power to wliieh it has no claim, it risks that authority which is rightfully its own. When a religion founds its empire upon the desire of immortality which lives in every human heart, it may aspire to universal dominion : but when it connects itself with a government, it must necessarily adopt maxims which are only applicable to certain nations. Thus, in forming an alliance with a politi- cal power, religion augments its authority ovi-r a few, and forfeits the hope of n.'igiiing over all. cs. IIS no •lit 111, a tv THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. 315 As long as a religion rests upon tlioso sentiments which are the consolation of all aflliction, it may attract the alFections of mankind. But if it be mixed up with the bitter passions of the world, it may be constrained to defend allies whom its interests, and not the principle of love, have given to it ; or to repel as antagonists men who are still attached to its own spirit, however opposed they may be to the powers tn wliich it is allied. Tli<" 'mrch cannot share the temporal power of the stat*^ illi "--eing the object of ,_ . • tion of that animosity wl..u.. tlio lu.. r excites. The political powers which seem to be most firmly estab- lished have frequently no better guarantee for their duration, than the opinions of a generation, the interests of the time, or the life of an individual. A law may modify the social con. dition which seems to be most fixed and determinate ; and with the social condition everything else must change. The powers of society are more or less fugitive, like the years which we spend upon the earth ; they succeed each other with rapidity like tlie lleeting cares of life ; and no govei'n- niejit has ever yet been lounded upon an invariable disposi- tion of the human heart, or upon an imperishable interest. As long as religion is sustained by those feelings, propen- sities, and passions, which are found to occur under the same forms at all the ditl'erent periods of history, it may defy tiie etlbrts of time ; or at least it can only be destroyed by another religion. But when religion clings to the interests of the world, it becomes almost as fragile a thing as the powers of the earth. It is tlie only one of them all which can hope i' immortality; but if it be connected with their ephemeral au- thority, it shares their fortunes, and may fall with those tran- sient passions which supported them for a day. The alliance which religion contracts with political powers nmst needs be onerous to itself; since it does not require their assistance to live, and by giving them its assistance it may be exposed to decay. The danger which I have just pointed out always exists, hut it is not always equally visible. In some ages govern- ments seem to U^ imperishable, in others the existence of fioeiety appears to be more precarious than the life of man. Some eonstitutions |)lunge the citi'/.ens into a lethargic som- nolence, and others rouse them to feverish excitement. When government appears to be so strong, and laws so stal)le, men do not j)crceive the duiigers which may accrue from a union of church and state. When govi'rnments display so much inconstancy, the danger is self-evident, but it is no longer Vi 816 CAUSES TENDINu TC MAINTAIN possible to avoid it ; to be effectual, measures must be taken to discover its approach. In proportion as a nation assumes a democratic condition of society, and as communities display democratic propensi- ties, it becomes more and more dangerous to connect religion with political institutions ; for the time is coming when au- thority will be bandied from hand to hand, when political theories will succeed each other, and when men, laws and constitutions, will disappear or be modified from day to day, and this not for a season only, but unceasingly. Agitation and mutability are inherent in the nature of democratic re- publics, just as stagnation and inertness are the law of abso- lute monarchies. If the Americans, who change the head of the governmcni once in four years, who elect new legislators every two years, and renew the provincial officers every twelvemonth ; if the Americans, who have abandoned the political world to the attempts of innovators, had not placed religion beyond their reach, where could it abide in the ebb and flow of human opinions ? where would that respect which belongs to it bo paid, amid the struggles of faction ? and what would become of its immortality in the midst of perpetual decay ? The American clergy were the first to perceive this truth, and to act in conformity with it. They saw tiiat they must renounce their religious influence, if they were to strive for political power ; and they chose to give up the support of the state, ratlier than to share in its vicissitudes. In America, religion is perhaps less powerful than it has been at certain periods in the history of certain peoples ; but its influence is more lasting. It restricts itself to its own re- sources, but of those none can deprive it : its circle is limited to certain principles, but those principles are entirely its own, and under its undisputed control. On every side in Europe we hear voices complaining of the absence of religious faith, and inquiring the means of restoring to religion some renmant of its pristine authority. It seems to mo that we must first attentively consider what ought to be the natural state of men with regard to religion, at the present time ; and when we know what we have to hope and to fear, we may discern the end to which our eflbrts ought to be directed. The two great dangers which threaten the existence of re- ligions are schism and indifference. In ages of fervent devotion, men sometimes abandon their religion, but they only shake it off in order to adopt another. Their faith changes THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. 317 the objects to which it is directed, but it suffers no decline. The old religion, then, excites enthusiastic attachment or bit- ter enmity in either party ; some leave it with anger, others cling to it with increased devotedncss, and although persua- sions differ, irreligion is unknown. Such, however, is not the case when a religious belief is secretly undermined by doctrines which may be termed negative, since they deny the truth of one religion without affirming that of any other. Prodigious revolutions then take place in the human mind, without the apparent co-operation of the passions of man, and almost without his knowledge. Men lose the object of their fondest hopes, as if through forgetfulness. They are carried away by an imperceptible current which they have not the courage to stem, but which they follow with regret, since it bears them from a faith they love, to a scepticism that plunges them into despair. In ages which answer to this description, men desert their religious opinions from lukewarmncss rather than from dis- like ; they do not reject them, but the sentiments by which they were once fostered disappear. But if the unbeliever does not admit religion to be true, he still considers it useful. Regarding religious institutions in a human point of view, he acknowledges their influence upon manners and legislation. He admits that they may serve to make men live in peace with one another and to prepare them gently for the hour of death. He regrets the faith which he has lost ; and as he is deprived of a treasure which he has learned to estimate at its full value, he scruples to take it from those who still pos- sess it. On the other hand, those who continue to believe, are not afraid openly to avow their faith. They look upon those who do not share their persuasion as more worthy of pity than of opposition ; and they are aware, that to acquire the esteem of the unbelieving, they are not obliged to follow their example. They are hostile to no one in the world ; and as they do not consider the society* in which they live as an arena in which religion is bound to face its thousand deadly foes, they love their contemporaries, while they condemn their weaknesses, and lament their errors. As those who do notbelieve, conceal their incredulity ; and as those who believe, display their faith, public opinion pro- nounces itself in favor of religion : love, support, and honor, are bestowed upon it, and it is only by searching the human soul, that we can detect the wounds which it has received. The mass of mankind, who are never without the feeling of \i 1 318 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN religion, do not perceive anything at variance with the esta- blished faith. The instinctive desire of a future life brings the crowd about the altar, and opens the hearts of men to the precepts and consolations of religion. But this picture is not applicable to us ; for there are men among us who have ceased to believe in Christianity, withou< adopting any other religion ; others who are in the perplexi- ties of doubt, and who alnady alfeet not to believe ; and others, again, who are afraid to avow that Christian faiti which they still cherish in secret. Amid these lukewarm partisans and ardent antagonists, a small number of believers exist, who are ready to brave all obstacles, and to scorn all dangers in defence of tlieir faith. They have done violence to human weakness, in order to rise superior to public ojjinion. Excited by the ellbrt they have made, they scarcely know where to stop ; and as they know that the first use which the French made of independ- cnce, was to attack religion, they look upon their contempo- raries with dread, and they recoil in alarm from the liberty which their fellow-citizens are seeking to obtain. As unbe- lief appears to them to be a novelty, they comprise all that is new in one indiscriminate animosity. They are at war with their age and country, and they look upon every opinion which is put forth there as the necessary enemy of the faith. Such is not the natural state of men with regard to religion at the present day ; and some extraordinary or incidental cause must be at work in France, to prevent the human mind from following its original propensities, and to drive it beyond the limits at which it ought naturally to stop. I am intimately convinced that this (>xtraordinary and inci- dental cause is the close connexion of politics and religion. The unbelievers of Europe attack the Christians as their po- litical opponents, rather than as their religious adversaries; they hate the Christian religion as the opinion of a party, much more than as an error of belief; and they reject the clergy less because they are the representatives of the Divin- ity, than because they are the allies of authority. In Europe, Christianity has been intimately united to the powers of the eartii. Those powers are now in decay, and it is, as it were, buried under their ruins. The living body of religion has been bound down to the dead corpse of superan- nuated polity ; cut the bondswhich restrain it, and that which is alive will rise once more. I know not what could restore the Christian church of Europe to the energy of its earlier days ; that power belongs to God alone ; but it may be the Ill- lie TIIK DICMOCllATIC KEl'CISLIC. :m9 efTcct of human policy to leave the faith in all tlic full exer- cise of the strength which it still retains. HOW THE INSTRUCTION, THE HABITS, AND THE PRACTICAL EX- PERIENCE OF THE AMERICANS PROBIOTE THE SUCCESS OF THEIR DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS. IVIiiit is to bo uiHk'i'stoodby tlic instnicfion of the American Pooplo. — 'I'lie Iminaii Mind is more snperficiully instructed in the United States tlian in Europe. — No one completely uninstructe(i. — Reiison of this Rapidity with whicii Opinions are diffused even in tlie uneuUivatea States of the West. — Practical Experience more serviceable to the Americans than Book-learning. I HAVE but little to add to what I have already said, concern- ing the influence which the instruction and the habits of the Americans exerei.se upon the maintenance of their ])olitical institutions. America has hithe/to produced very kw writers of distinc- tion ; it possesses no great historians, and not a single eminent poet. Tiie irhabitaiits of that country look upon what are properly styled literary pursuits witli a kind of disapproba- tion ; and there are towns of very second rate importance in Europe, in which more literary works are annually publish- ed, than in the twenty-four state;; of the Union put together. The spirit of tho Americans is averse to genera! ideas ; and it docs not seek tiicoretical discoverie.s. iN'either politics nor manufactures direct them to these occupations ; and although new laws are perpeti.ally enacted in the United State:^, no preat writers have hitherto inquired into the principles of their lefrislation. The Americans have lawvers and commenta- (ors, but no juri.sts ; and they furnish examples rather than lessons to the world. The same observation applies to the mechanical arts. In America, the inventions of Europe arc adopted with sagacity; they are perfected, and adapted with admirable skill to the wants of the country. Manufactures exist, but the science of manufacture is not cultivated ; and they have good workmen, but very few inventors. Fulton was obliged to proiler his services to foreign nations for a long time before he was able to devote them to his own country. [The remark that in .-Vmerica " there are very good workmen but very few inventors," will excite sur|)riso in this country. The invent- ive character of Fulton he seems to a(hnit, but W(.uld apparently de- prive us of the credit of his nann;, by tlie remark that he was obliged to proll'er his services to foreign nations for a long time. He might .'1 ■ '5' I ■in t] 1 ^.M Iii i i 1 ' i'f m ' 1 ' 1 1 S 1^ \ I; H i If ■ 320 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN have added, tliiit tliose proffers were disrejjardcd and neglect- ed, and that it \v;i.s finally in his own country that he found the aid necessary to put in execution his great project. If there be jiatronago extended by the citizens of the United States to any one tiling in prelereiu'e to another, it is to the results of inventive genius. Surely Franklin, Rittcnhouse, and Perkins, have been heard of by our autiior; and lie must have heard sometiiing of that wonderful inven- tion, the cotton-gin of Whitney, and of the machines for making cards to comb wool. Tlie original machines of Fulton for the application of steam have been constantly improving, so that there is scarcely a ves- tige of them remaining. But to sum up the whole in one word, can it be |)ossible tliat our autiior did not visit the patent office at Washing- ton .' Whatever may be said of the utility of nine-tenths of the in- ventions of which the doscrijjtioiis and models are there deposited, no one wlio has ever seen that depository, or who has read a description of its contents, can doubt that they furnish the most incontestible evi- dence of extraordinary inventive genius — a genius that has excited the astonishment of other European travellers. — American Editor.} The observer who is desirous of forming an opinion on the state of instruction annong the Anglo-Americans, must con- sider tiie same object from two different points of view. If lie only singles out the learned, he will be astonished to find how rare they are ; but if he counts the ignorant, the Ame- rican people will appear to be the most enlightened commu- nity in the world. The whole population, as I observed in another place, is situated between these two extremes. In New England, every citizen receives the elementary notions of liuman knowledge ; he is moreover taught the doc- trines and tiie evidences of his religion, the history of his country, and the leading features of its constitution. In the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts, it is extremely rare to find a man imperfectly acquainted with all these things, and a person wholly ignorant of them is a sort of pheno- menon. When I compare the Greek and Roman republics with these American states ; the manuscript libraries of the for- mer, and their rude population, with the innumerable journals and the enlightened people of the latter ; when I remember all the attempts which are made to judge the modern repub- lics by the assistance of those of antiquity, and to infer what will happen in our time from what took place two thousand years ago, I am tempted to burn my books, in order to apply none but novel ideas to so novel a condition of society. What I have said of New England must not, however, be applied indiscriminately to the whole Union : as we advance towards the west or the south, the instruction of the people diminishes. In the states which are adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico, a certain number of individuals may be found, as in n THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. 321 our own countries, who arc devoid of the rudiments of in- struction. But there is not a single district in the United States sunk in complote ignorance ; and for a very simple reason; tlie peoples of Europe started from the darkness of a barbarous condition to advance toward the light of civilisa- tion ; th(Mr progress has been unequal ; some of them have improved apace, while others have loitered in their course, and some have stopped, and are still sleeping upon the way. Such has not been the case in the United States. The Anglo-Americans settled in a state of civilisation, upon that territory which their descendants occupy ; they had not to begin to learn, and it was sufficient not to forget. Now the children of these same Americans are the persons who, year by year, transport their dwellings into the wilds : and with their dwellings their acquired information and their esteem for knowledge. Education has taught them the utility of in- struction, and has enabled them to transmit that instruction to their posterity. In the United States society has no infancy, but it is born in man's estate. The Americans never use the word " peasant," becaui e they have no idea of the peculiar class which that term do- notes ; the ignorance of more remote ages, the simplicity of rural life, and the rusticity of the villager, have not been preserved among them ; and they are alike unacquainted with the virtues, the vices, the coarse habits, and the simple graces of an early stage of civilisation. At the extreme borders of the confederate states, upon the confines of society and of the wilderness, a population of bold adventurers have taken up their abode, who pierce the solitudes of the Ameri- can woods, and seek a country there, in order to escape that poverty which awaited them in their native provinces. As soon as the pioneer arrives upon the spot whinb is to serve him for a retreat, he fells a few trees and builri=' a 'og-house. Nothing can olFer a more miserable aspect than tiiese isolated dwellings. The traveller who approaches one of them to- ward night-fall, sees the flicker of the hearth-fiame through the chinks in the walls ; and at night, if the wind rises, he hears the roof of boughs shake to and fro in the midst of the great forest trees. Who would not suppose that this poor hut is the asylum of rudenes'^ and ignorance ? Yet no sort of comparison can be drawn between the pioneer and the dwelling which shelters him. Everything about him is prim- itive and unformed, but he is himself the result of the labor and the experience of eighteen centuries. He wears the dress, and he speaks the language of cities ; he is acquainted 21 'M 4m ■}' 322 CAUSES TENDING TO MANTAIN with tlio past, curious of the futiiro, and ready mr arjrunient upnu tlie present ; lii^ is, in short, a hiffjily civilized hein^r, who consents, for a time, to iniuihit tho back-woods, and who penetrates into tlie wihis of a New World with the Bible, an axe, ai\d a fde of newspapers. It is dillicult to imagine the incredible rapidity with wliieh public opinion circulates in the midst of these deserts.* I do not think that so much intellectual intercourse takes place in the mo. t enlightened and populous districts of France. f It eaiuiot be doubted that in tli" United States, tho instruction of tli(^ people |)o\verfully contrilmtes to the su])port of a demo, cratic republic ; and such nuist always be the case, I l)elieve, where instruction, which awakens tlu> understanding, is not sej)arat.'d from moral education which amends the heart. Hut I by no means exaggerate this beni^fit, and I am still farther I'rom thinking, as so many people do think in IOuro])e, that men can be instantaneously made citi/ens by teaching them to read and write. True inf()rmation is mainly derived from experience, and if the AnuM'ieans had not been gradually accustoiiKMl to govern themselves, their book-learning would not assist them much at the present day. I have lived a great deal with the jteoplo in the United States, and I caimot expn^ss liow much 1 admire their expe- riencc and their good sense. An American should never be allowed to s|)eak of Europe ; f()rhewill th(>n j)rol)ably display a vast deal of presumption and very foolish pride. lie wiil * I travelled alonu; a poition of tlie frontier of the United State*) in a sort r)f eart wliieli was termed tlu; mail. We jjasned, day and ninht, witl) y:reat rapidity alony; roance of the citizens in puhlic affairs is too rare an occurrence for it to he anticipated hefbrehand. Upon casting a glance over society in the two hemispheres, these diflerences are indicated even hy its external aspect. In Europe, we frequently introduce the ideas and the hahits of privato life into pul)lic alfairs ; and as we pass at once from the domestic circle to the government of the state, we may frequently he heard to discuss the great interests of society in the same manner in which we converse with our friends. The Americans, on the other hand, transfuse the hal)its of puhlic life into their manners in private ; and in their country the jury is introluced into the games of school- boys, and parliamentary foriri3 are observed in the order of a feast. 1/ I-'. 'm ' g WM' 1 II t ' "')' PM f. i|! ^' i . ^'M k&i < H i :>! 324 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN THE LAWS CONTRIBUTE MORE TO THE MAINTENANCE OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC IN THE UNITED STATES THAN THE PHY- SICAL 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 subsist t)nly among the Anglo-Americans. — Tlie Spaniards of South America, equally favored by piiysical Causes as the Anglo-Americans, unable to maintain a democratic Republic. — Mexico, whicli has adopted the Constitution of tiie United States, in the same Predicament. — The Anglo-Americans of the West less able to maintain it than those of the East — Reason of these diflerent Results. I HAVE remarked that tlic maintenance of democratic institu- tions in the United States is attributable to the circumstances, the laws, and tiie manners of that country.* Most Europe- ans are only acquainted with the first of these tliree causes, and they are apt to give it a preponderating injpor.ance whicli it does not really possess. It is true that the Anglo-Americans settled in the New World in a state of social eiiuality ; the low-born and the noble were not to be found among them; and profLSsioiial prejudices were always as entirely unknown as the prejudices of birth. Thus, as the condition of society was democratic, the empire of democracy was establisiu'd wjtliout (iilliiulty. But this circuinstance is by no means peculiar to th(> United States; almost all the transatlantic colonies were founded by men equal among themselves, or who became so by iniiabit- ing them. In no one part of tlie New World iiave Europe- ans been able to create an ari.stoeracy. Ntvertiieless demo- cratic institutions prosper nowhere but in liie liiitt'd States. Tl>e American Union has no enemies to contend with : ii stands in the wilds like an island in the oei an. But the Spaniards of South America were no less isolated by nature ; yet their position has not relieved tlieni from the eliargr of standing ami s. Tlu'y make war upon eueli ('tlur win n they have nu foreign enemies to oppose ; and the Anglo- American deiiioeraev is the oidv one whicli has hitherto been able to maintain itself in peace. The territory of the Union presents a boundless field to human activity, and inexhaustible materials for industry ami * I remind the render of the general signification whicli I give to llie Word tniDimrs, namely, the moral and intellectual characteristics of •ocidl mail taker. cuUectivel). THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 325 labor. The passion of wealth takes tlie place of ambition, and the warmth of faction is mitigated by a sense of prosper- ity. But in what portion of the globe shall we meet with more fertile plains, with mightier rivers, or with more unex- plored and inexhaustible riches, than in South America ? Nevertheless South America has been unable to maintain democratic institutions. If the welfare of nations depended on their being placed in a remote position, with an unbounded s|)ace of habitable territory before them, the Spaniards of South America would have no reason to complain of their fate. And although they might enjoy less prosperity than the inhabitants of the United States, their lot might still be such as to excite the envy of some nations in Europe. There are, however, no nations upon the lace of the earth more misera- ble than those of South America. Thus, not only are physical causes inadequate to produce results analogous to those which occur in North America, but they are unable to raise the population of South America above the level of European states, where they act in a con- trary direction. Physical causes do not therefore affect the destiny of nations so much as has been supposed. I have met with men in New England who were on the point of leaving a country, where tlu^y might have remained in easy circumstances, to go to seek their fortunes in the wilds. Not far from that district I found a French popula- tion in Canada, which was closely crowded on a narrow ter- ritory, although the same wilds were at hand ; and while the emigrant from the United States purchased an extensive estate with tlie earnings of a short term of labor, the Cana- dian paid us much for land as he would have done in France. Nature offers the solitudes of the New World to Europeans ; but they are not always acquainted with the means of turning her gifts to account. Other peoples of America have the same physical conditions of prosperity as the Anglo-Ameri- cans, but without their laws and their maimers; and these peoples are wn idled. The laws and manners of the Anglo- Amrricans are theietore that cause of their greatness which is tlie object of my inquiry. I am iiir from supposing that the American laws are pro- einineiitly good in thrmselvcs ; 1 do not hold them to bt> aj)- pliculile to all democratic peoples ; and several of them seem lo me to be ilaiigerous, even in the United States. Neverthe- less, it eaniiot be denied that tin' Anieriean legislation, taken collectivelv. is extnuiely well adapted to ihe genius of the people and the natun* of the conntry \\hi
  • arguments which are derived from the nature of the count ly and the difference of legislation, are here all set aside. Kc course must be had to some other cause ; and w hat other cause can there be exce])t the manners of tlie people ? It is in the eastern states that the Anglo-Americans liiivc been longest accustomed to the government of democracy, ami that they iiave adopted the habits and conceived the notions most favorable to its maintenance. Democracy has gradually penetrated into their customs, their opinions, and the forms of social intercourse ; it is to be found in all the details of daily life e(]ually as in the laws. In the eastern siates the instruc- tion and practical education of the people have been most THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. 327 perfected, and religion has been most thoroughly amalga- mated with liberty. Now these habits, opinions, customs, and convictions, are precisely the constituent elements of that which I have denominated manners. In the western stati'S, on tlic contrary, a portion of the same advantages is still wanting. Many of the Americans of the west were born in the woods, and they mix the ideas and the customs of savage life with the civilisation of their parents. Their passions are more intense ; their religious morality less authoritative ; and their convictions are less secure. The inhabitants exercise no sort of control over their fellow-citizens, for they are scarcely acquainted with each other. The nations of the west disi)lay, to a certain ex- tent, the inexperience and the rude habits of a people in its infancy ; for although they are composed of old elements, their assemblage is of recent date. The manners of the Americans of the United States are, then, tlie real cause wiiich renders that people the only one of the American nations that is abU^ to support a democratic government; and it is the inlluence of manners which pro- duces the ditlerent degrees of order and of prosj)erity, that may be distinguished in the several Anghj-American de- moeracies. Thus the eiU^ct which the geographical position of a country may have ujjon tlie duration of democratic in- stitutions is exaggerated in Europe. Too much importance is attributed to legislation, too little to manners. These three great causes serve, no doubt, to regulate and direct the American democracy; but if tb(>v were to be classed in tlieir proper order, 1 should say that the physical circum- stances are less efUeient than tlie laws, and the laws very subordinate to the manners of the people. I am convinced that the most advantageous situation and the best possible laws cannot maintain a constitution in spite of the manners of a country: while the latter may turn the most unfa vor- al)le |)ositions and tiie worst laws to some advantage. The importance of manners is a common truth to whicli study and experience incessantly direct our attention. It may be regarded as a central point in the range of human obsirva- tioii, and the connnon termiiuition of all in(|uiry. So .se- riously do I insist upon tliis head, that if I liav(^ hitherto failed in making the n^ader fei'l the important inlUieiiee which 1 attribute to tliepractieal experience, the luiiiits, the opinions. in short, to the manners of the Americans, upon the main- tenance of their institutions, I have failed in the principal ob- ject of my work. n ■il;,:-!' hi .f;| ."< J 828 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN WHETHER LAWS AND MANNERS ARE SUFFICIENT TO MAIN- TAIN DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS IN ciHER COUNTRIES BESIDE AMERICA. The Anglo-Americans, if transported into Europe, would be obli<^ed to modify tlicir Laws. — Distinction to be made between democratic Institutions and American Institutions. — Democratic Laws may be conceived better than, or at least diflereiit from, those which the American Democracy has adopted. — The Example of America only proves that it is possible to regulate Democracy by the assistance of Manners and Legislation. I HAVE asserted that the success of donocratic institutions in the United States is more intimately connected with tlie laws themselves, and the manners of the people, than with the nature of the country. But does it follow that the same causes would of themselves produce the same results, if thoy were put into operation elsewhere ; and if the country is no adequate substitute for laws and manners, can laws and man- ners in their turn prove a substitute for a country ? It will readily be understood that tlie necessary elements of a reply to this question are wanting : other peoples are to be found in the New World beside the Anglo-Americans, and as the.sc peoples are affected by the same physical circun)stanees as the latter, they may fairly be com|)ar(^d together. But there are no nations out of America which have adopted the .same laws and manners, being destitute of the physical advantages peculiar to the Anglo-Americans. No standard of compari- son therefore exists, and we can only hazard an ojiinion upon this subject. It appears to me in the first place, that a careful distinc- tion must be made between the institutions of the United States and democratic institutions in general. When I re- flect upon the state of Europe, its mighty nations, its popu- lous cities, its formidable armies, and the complex nature of Its politics, I cannot siippo.se that even the Anglo-Americans, if tliey were transported to our hemisphere, w itii flieir itiea.s, their religion, and thoir manners, could exist without con- siderably altering their laws. But a democratic nation may be imagined, organizetl ditU'rently from the American ])eopU>. It is not impossii)l(' to conceive a government p ally esta- blished upon the will f)f the majority ; but in wiiich tlie ma- jority, r«^pressing its natural propensity to equality, should consent, witl\ a view to the order and the stability of the state, to invest a family or an individual with all fiie prerogatives THE DEMOCRATIC KEPUBLIC. 829 of the executive. A democratic society might exist, in w hicli the forces of tiie nation would be more centralized than they arc in tiie United States ; the people would exercise a less direct and less irresistible influence upon public affairs, and yet every citizen, invested with certain rights, would partici- pate, within his sphere, in the conduct of the government. The observations I made among the Anglo-Americans induce me to believe that democratic institutions of this kind, pru- dently introduced into society, so as gradually to mix with the habits and to be infused with the or>' nons of the people, might subsist in other countries beside America. If tiie laws of the United States were the only imaginable democra- tic laws, or the most perfect which it is possible to conceive, I should admit that the success of those institutions alibrds no proof of the success of democratic institutions in general, in a country less favored by natural circumstances. But as the laws of America ajjpear to me to be flefective in several respects, and as I can readily imagine others of the same general nature, the peculiar advantages of that country do not prove that democratic institutions cannot succeed in a nation less favored by circumstances, if ruled by better laws. If human nature were different in America from what it is elsewhere ; or if the social condition of the Americans engendered habits and opinions among them different from those which originate in the same social condition in the Old World, the American democracies would afford »io means of predicting what may occur in other democracies. If the Americans displayed (he same propensities as all other de- mocratic nations, and if their legislators had relied upon the nature of the country and the favor of oircmnstances to re- strain those propensities within due limits, the prosperity of the United States would be exclusively attributable to physi- cal causes, and it would atlbrd no encouragement to a people inclined to imitate their example, without sharing their na- tural advantages. But neither of these suppositions is borne out by facts. In America the same passions are to be met with as in I'iUrope ; some originating in hinnan nature, others in the de- mocratic condition of society. Thus in the United States I found that restlessness of heart which is natural to men, when all ranks are nearly ecpial and the chances df eleva- tion are the same to all. I ibund the democratic feeling of envy (>xpressed under a thousand diirercnt f()rms. I re- marked that the people frefpiently displayed, in the conduct of afTairs, a consummate mixture of ignorance and presuni])- ,.f :'■■:■ 4 i ! III % 11 I) r r 330 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN tion , and I inferred tliat, in America, men are liable to the same failings and the same absurdities as among ourselves. But upon examining the state of society more attentively, I speedily discovered that the Americans had made great arid successful efforts to counteract these imperfections of human nature, and to correct the natural defects of democracy. Their divers munici})al laws appeared to me to be a means of restraining the ambition of the citizens within a narrow sphere, and of turning those same passions, which might have worked havoc in the state, to the good of tl' *ownsliip or the parish. The American legislators have su .ceded to a certain extent in opposing the notion of rights, to the feel- ings of envy ; the permanence of the religious world, to the continual shifting of politics ; the experience of the people, to its theoretical ignorance ; and its practical knowledge of business, to the impatience of its desires. The Americans, then, have not relied upon the nature of their country, to counterpoise those dangers which originate in their constitution and in their political laws. To evils which are common to all democratic peoples, they have ap- plied remedies which none but themselves had ever thought of before ; and although they were the first to make the ex- periment, they have succeeded in it. The manners and laws of the Americans are not the only ones which may suit a democratic people ; but the Ameri- cans have shown that it would be wrong to despair of regu- lating democracy by the aid of manners and of laws. If other nations should borrow this general and pregnant idia from the Americans, without however intending to imitate them in the peculiar application which they have made of it ; if they should attempt to fit themselves for that social condi- tion, which it seems to be the will of Providence to imjjose upon the generations of this age, and so to escape from the despotism of the anarchy which threatens them ; what rea- son is there to suppose that their etibrts would not be crowned with success ? The organization and the establishment of democracy in Christendom, is the great political problem of the time. Tiie Americans, unquestionably, have not resolved this problem, but they furnish useful data to those who un, dertake the task. THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 3.31 )()S0 the rca- iK'd of of vcd UIU IMPORTANCE OF WHAT PRECEDES WITH T-ESPECT TO THE STATE OF EUROPE. It may readily be discovered with what intention I undertooic the foregoing inquiries. The question here discussed is inte- resting not only to the United States, but to the whole world ; it concerns, not a nation, but all mankind. If tliose nations whose social condition is democratic could only remain free as long as they are inhabitants of the wilds, we could not but despair of the future destiny of the human race : for demo- cracy is rapidly acquiring a more extended sway, and the wilds are gradually peopled with men. If it were true that laws and manners are insufficient to maintain democratic in- stitutions, what refuge would remain open to the nations except the despotism of a single individual ? I am aware that there are many worthy persons at the present time who are not alarmed at this latter alternative, and who are so tired of liberty as to be glad of repose, far from those storms by which it is attended. But these individuals are ill ac- quainted with the haven to which they are bound. They are so deluded by their recollections, as to judge the tendency of absolute power by what it was formerly, and not what it might become at the present time. If absolute power were re-established among the demo- cratic nations of Europe, I am persuaded that it would assume a new form, and appear under features unknown to our fore- fathers. There was a time in Europe, when the laws and the consent of the people had invested princes with almost unlimited authority ; but they scarcely ever availed them- selves of it. I do not speak of the prerogatives of the nobility, of the authority of supreme courts of justice, of corporations and their chartered rights, or of provincial privileges, which served to break the blows of the sovereign authority, and to maintain a spirit of resistance in the nation. Independently of these political institutions — which, however opposed they might be to personal liberty, served to keep alive the love of freedom in the mind of the public, and which may be esteemed to have been useful in this respect — the manners and opi- nions of the nation confined the royal authority within barriers which were not less powerful, although they were less con- spicuous. Religion, the affections of the people, the benevo- lence of the prince, the sense of honor, family pride, pnsvin- cial prejudices, custom, and public opinion, limited the power of kings, and restrained their authority witliin an invisible ' r ;irti I] \-i 332 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN circle. The constitution of nations was despotic at that time, but their manners were free. Princes had tlie right, but they liad neither the means nor the desire, of doing whatever tiiey pleased. But what now remains of those barriers which formerly arrested the aggressions of tyranny ? Since religion has lost its oinpire over the souls of men, the most prominent boun- dary which divided good from evil is overthrown : the very elements of the moral world are indeterminate ; the princes and the peoples of the earth are guided by chance, and none can define tlie natural limits of despotism and the bounds of license. Long revolutions have for ever destroyed the re- spect which surrounded the rulers of the state ; and since they have been relieved from tlip burden of public esteem, princes may henceforward surrender themselves without fear to the seductions of arbitrary power. When kings find that the hearts of their subjects are turned toward them, they are clement, because they are conscious of their strength ; and they are chary of the affection of their people, because the affection of their people is the bulwark of the throne. A mutual interchange of good will then takes olace between the prince and the people, which resembles tiie gracious intercourse of domestic society. The subjects may murmur at the sovereign's decree, but they are grieved to displease him ; and the sovereign chastises his subjects with the light hand of parental affection. But v.hen once the spell of royalty is broken in the tumult of revolution ; when successive monarchs have occupied the throne, and alternately displayed to the people the weakness of right, and the harshness of power, the sovereign is no Ion- ger regarded by any as the father of the state, and he is feared by all as its master. If he be weak, he is despised ; if he be strong, he is detested. He is himself full of ani- mosity and alarm ; he finds that he is a stranger in his own country, and he treats his subjects like conquered enemies. When the provinces and the towns formed so many dif- ferent nations in the midst of their common country, each of them had a will of its own, which was opposed to the general spirit of subjection ; but now that all the parts of the same empire, after having lost their immunhies, their customs, their prejudices, their traditions, and their names, are sub- jected and accustomed to the same laws, it is not more ditli- cult to oppress them collectively, than it was formerly to op- press them singly. While the nobles enjoyed their power, and indeed long THE DEMOCRATIC REPrBLIC. 3:33 after that power was lost, the honor of aristocracy conferrod an extraordinary degree of force upon their personal opposi- tion. They atforded instances of men who, notwithstanding their weakness, still entertained a high opinion of their per- sonal value, and dared to cope single-handed with the etibrts of the public authority. But at the present day, when all ranks are more and more confounded, when the individual disappears in the throng, and is easily lost in the midst of a common obscurity, when the honor of monai liy has almost lost its empire without being succeeded by public virtue, and when nothing can enable man to rise above himself, who shall say at what point the exigencies of power and servility of weakness will stop ? As long as family feeling was kept alive, the antagonist of oppression was never alone ; he looked about him, and found his clients, his hereditary friends, and his kinsfolk. If this support was wanting, he was sustained by his ancestors and animated by his posterity. But when patrimonial estates are divided, and when a few years suffice to confound the dis- tinctions of a race, where can family feeling be found ? What force can there be in the customs of a country which has changed, and is still perpetually changing its aspect ; in which every act of tyrarmy has a precedent, and every crime an example ; in which there is nothing so old that its anti- quity can save it from destruction, and nothing so unparal- leled that its novelty can prevent it from being done ? What resistance can be offered by manners of so pliant a make, that' they have already often yielded ? What strength can even public opinion have retained, when no twenty per- sons are connected by a common tie ; when not a man, nor a family, nor chartered corporation, nor class, nor free insti- tution, has the power of representing Mint opinion ; and when every citizen — being equally weak, equally poor, and equally dependant — has only his personal impotence to oppose to the orjianized force of the government ? The annals of France furnish nothing analogous to the con- dition in which that country might then be thrown. But it may more aptly be assimilated to the times of old, and to those hideous eras of Roman oppression, when the manners of the people were corrupted, their traditions obliterated, their habits destroyed, their opinions shaken, and freedom, expelled from the laws, could find no refuge in the land ; when noth- ing protected the citizens, and the citizens no longer protected themselves ; when human nature was the sport of man, and princes wearied out the clemency of Heaven before they ex- m ■\* ■ ''"II It 334 CAUSES TENDING TO MAINTAIN haustt'd the patience of their subjects. Those who liope to revive the monarchy of Henry IV. or of Louis XIV., appear to nie to be atllicted with mental blindness ; and when I con- sider the present condition of several European nations — a condition to which all the others tend — I am led to believe that they will soon be left with no other alternative than democratic liberty, or the tyranny of tiie Cesars. And, indeed, it is deserving of consideration, whether men are to be entirely emancipated, or entirely enslaved ; whether their rights are to be made equal, or wholly taken away from them. If the rulers of society were reduced either gradu- ally to raise the crowd to tiieir own level, or to sink the citi- zens below that of humanity, would not the doubts of many be resolved, the consciences of many be healed, and the community be prepared to make great sacrifices with little diiliculty ? In that case, the gradual growth of democratic manners and institutions should be regarded, not as thu best, but as the only means of preserving freedom ; and without liking the government of democracy, it might be adopted as the most applicable and the fairest remedy for the present ills of society. It is difficult to associate a people in the work of govern, ment ; but it is still more difficult to supply it with experience, and to inspire it witii the feelings which it requires in order to govern well. I grant that the caprices of democracy are perpetual ; its instruments are rude, its laws imperfect. But if it were true that soon no just medium would exist between the empire of democracy and the dominion of a single arm, should we not rather incline toward the former, than submit voluntarily to the latter ? And if complete equality be our fate, is it not better to be levelled by free institutions than l)y despotic power ? Tiiose who, after having read this book, should imagine that my intention in writing it has been to propose the laws and manners of the Anglo-Americans for the imitation of all de- mocratic peoples, would commit z very great mistake ; they nmst have paid more attention to the form than to the sub- stance of my ideas. My aim has been to show, by the ex- ample of America, that laws, and especially manners, may exist, which will allow a democratic people to remain free. But I am very far from thinking that we ought to follow the example of the American democracy, and copy the means which it has employed to attain its ends ; for I am well aware of the influence which the nature of a country and its poli- tical precedents exercise upon a constitution ; and I should THE DEMOCRATIC KKrUBLlC. a;5") regard it as a great misfortune fonnaiikind, if liberty were to exist, all over the world, under the same forms. But I am of opinion that if we do not succeed in gradu- ally introducing democratic institutions into France, and if we despair uf imparting to the citizens those ideas and senti- ments which first prepare them tor freedom, and af"terward allow them to enjoy it, tliere will be no independence at all, eitlier tor the middling classes or the nobility, for the poor or for the rich, but an equal tyranny over all ; and I foresee that if the peaceable empire of the majority be not founded among us in time, we shall sooner or later arrive at the un- limited authority of a single despot. CHAPTER XVIII. THE PRESENT AND PROBABLE FUTURE CONDITION OF THE THREE RACES WHICH INHABIT THE TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES. The principal part of the task which I had imposed upon my- self is now performed : I have shown, as far as I was able, the laws and manners of the American democracy. Here 1 might stop ; but the reader would perhaps feel that I had not satisfied his expectations. The absolute supremacy of democracy is not all that we meet with in America ; the inhabitants of the New World may be considered from more than one point of view. la the course of this work, my subject has oflen led m<^ to speak of the Indians and the negroes ; but I have never been able to stop in order to show what places these two races occupy, in the midst of the democratic people whom I was engaged in describing. I have mentioned in what spirit, and accord- ing to what laws, the Anglo-American Union was formed ; but I could only glance at the dangers which menace that confederation, while it was equally impossible for me to give a detailed account of its chances of duration, independently of its laws and manners. When speaking of the United re- publican States, I hazarded no conjectures upon the perma- nence of republican forms in the New World ; and when making frequent allusion to the commercial activity which If (!■.: r,' !'::M|li I i 336 PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF reigns in the Union, I was unable to inquire into the future condition of the Americans as a commercial people. These topics are collaterally connected with my subject, without forming a part of it ; they are American, without be- ing democratic ; and to portray democracy has been my prin- cipal aim. It was therefore necessary to postpone these ques- tions, wliich I now take up as the proper termination of my work. The territory now occupied or claimed by the American Union, spreads from the shores of the Atlantic to those of the Pacific ocean. On the east and west its limits are those of the continent itself. On the south it advances nearly to the tropic, and it extends upward to the icy regions of the north.* The human beings who are scattered over this space do not form, as in Europe, so many branches of the same stock. Three races naturally distinct, and I might almost say hostile to each other, are discoverable among them at the first glance. Almost insurmountable barriers had been raised between them by education and by law, as well as by their origin and outward characteristics ; but fortune has brought them toge- ther on the same soil, where, although they are »nixed, tliey do not amalgamate, and each race fulfill its destiny apart. Among these widely ditl'ering families of men, the first which attracts attention, the superior in intelligence, in power, and in enjoyment, is the wliite or European, the man pre-eminent; and in subordinate grades, the negro and the Indian. These two unhaj))iy races have nothing in connnon ; neither birth, nor features, nor language, nor habits. Their only reseni- blniice lies in their misfortunes. Both of them occupy an inferior rank in the country they inhabit ; both sufier from tyranny ; and if their wrongs are not the same, they originate at any rate with tiie same authors. If wc reasoned from what passes in the world, we should almost say that the European is to the other races of man- kind, what man is to the lower animals; — he makes them subservient to his use ; and when he cannot subdue, he des. troys tiic'u. Oppression has at one stroke deprived the des- cendants of the Africans of almost all the privileges of hu- manity. The negro of the United States has lost all remem- brance of his country ; the language which his forefathers spoke is never heard around him ; he abjured their religion and forgot their customs when lie ceased to belong to Africa, without acquiring any claim to I'luropean jirivileges. ]{iit he remains half-way between the two comnmnities j sold by tiu^ • Son the map. THE THREE nACES INHABITIXG THE U. S. 3:)7 liould man- tllClll • (los- o (los- t' 1)11- iiK'in- iitliors klVica, Ui\ lir )V tlu^ one, repulsed by the other ; finding not a spot in the universe to call by tlie name of country, except tiie faint image of a liome which the shelter of his niastur's roof affords. The negro has no family ; woman is merely the temporary companion of ids pleasures, and his children are upon an equality with himself from the moment of their birth. Am I to call it a proof of God's mercy, or a visitation of his wrath, that man in certain states appears to be insensible to his extreme wretchedness, and almost affects with a depraved taste the cause of his misfortunes? The negro, who is plunged in this abyss of evils, scarcely feels his own calami- tous situation. Violence made him a slave, and the habit of servitude g'ves him the thoughts and desires of a slave; he admires his tyrants more than lie hates them, and finds his joy and his pride in the servile imitation of those who oppress jiim : his understandiim is dcjiraded to the level of his soul. The negro enters ui)()n slavery as soon as he is born ; nay, 111- ma^ have lieen purchased in the womb, and have begun his slavery bcliire he began his existence. Equally devoid of wants and of eiijoyiiH'iit, and useless to himself, he learns, with his first notions of existence, that he is the property of anoflier who has an interest in preserving his life, and that the care of it does not devolve upon himself; even the power of thought appears to him a useless gift of Providence, and he (juietly enjoys the privileges of his debasement. If he becomes free, independence is often felt by him to be a hei.vier burden than slavnry ; for having learned, in the course of his life, to submit to everytiiiiig except reason, lie is too much uiiaciii'aiiited with her dictates to obey them. A thousand new desires beset him, and lie is destitute of the knowledge and energy necessary to resist them : these are mastirs whieh it is necessary to contend with, and he has leariie(l only to subuiil and obey. In short, he sinks to such a de|)tli of wi'et(!hrdness, that while servitude brutalizes, liberty dfstroys him. Oppression has been no less fatal to the Indian tlian to the negro rae(\ but its ellects are dilli'reiit. Hef!)re the arrival of the white men in the New World, the inhabitants of N(/rfh Ani'-riea lived (piii'tly in their woods, endtiriiig the vieissi- tudes, and |)raetising the virtues and vices common to savage natioMs. Till" I'liiro]) -ans. having dispersed tht> Imlian tribes and driven tln'ii, nito the deserts, condemned them to a wander- ing li*'e i'ldl of inexpressible snirerings. Savage nations are onl\ eontroUed by opinion and by custom. When ili(> North Anieriean Indians had lost their Lb: .J i f 5 '/■ 338 PRESliNT AND FUTIJKK COXUITION OF seiitiment of attachiiicnt to tlioir country ; when their families W(^re dispersed, their traditions obscured, and the ciiain of their recoUections broken ; when all their liai)its were changed, and their wants increased beyond measure, European tyranny rendered them more disorderly and less civilized tiian tiiey were before. The moral and physical condition of these IrilK's continually grew worse, and tiicy became more barba- rous as they became more wretched. Nevertheless the Europeans have not been able to metamorphose the character of tlie Indians ; and though they have had power to destroy them, they have never been able to make them submit to the rules of civilized society. The lot of the negro is placed on the extreme limit of ser- vitude, while that of the Indian lies on the utmost verge of lii)erty ; and slavery does not produce more fatal elUets upon the first, than independence upon tiie second. The negro has lost all property in his own person, and he cannot dispose of his ( xistence without committing a sort of fraud: but tiie savag(> is his own master as soon as he is abl(> to act ; parental autiiority is scarcely known to him ; he has never bent his will to that of any of his kind, or learned the dill'ereneo between vnluntary obedience and a shameful subjection ; and the very name of law is unknown to him. To l)e iree, with him, signifn s toesea|)e from all the shackles of society. As he delights in tliis barbarous independence, and would rather |)erish than sacrifice the least j)art of it, civilisation has little jiower over him. Th" negro mak(\s a thousand fruitless efforts to insinuate himself among men who repulse him; he coni()rnis to the taste of his oppressoi's, adopts their opim'ons, and hn|)es by imitating them to flirm a part of their community. I lining been told from inlimey that hi-; race is naturally inferior to that of the whites, he assents to the projiosition. and is ashamed of his own nature. In each of his fixtures lie discovers a trace of slavery, nnd. if it were in his power, he would will- iiigly rid himself of ever\tbitig lliat makes him wliiit he is. The Indian, on tlie e,iii(rar\ . has his imagination inflated with the pretende(l nobilit\ of his oi'igin. and lives and dies in the midst (d' tin se dreiinis ot' |>ride. I"'ar from desiring to conflirm his habits to ours, he loves his savai:<' lilt' as the dis- tinguishing mark of his ra<'e. nnd be repels every ar. A sort of l)arbarous luxury set nlftlK! costume of the Indian ; rings of metal were hanging from her nostrils and ears ; her hair, which was adorned with glass beads, fell loosi'ly upon her shoulders ; and I saw that she was not )narrietl, for she still W(jre the necklace of shells which the ill liistory. For inorc tlinii two linmlrfd yours the wnndorint; friht^ of Nortli America ii;ivi' luidiliiily iiilcrciiiirsc with tliculrtt's.iiiKl they liiivc iicvor derived iVoin them either a cnstdin or an idea, '/et the iMirope- aii!4 have exercised ;i |Hi\verl'Ml inlliii'iicc^ over the k .vi.-os : lliey liavo made them more licentious, lint not more Eur('|)eiin. i. the summer of l^^.'ll, I liappencd to l)e l)eyond Lalan au'iin; he was serviuLf in ii 'lie eveni.itf ot'tlie battle rit' • * *, {', came and sal hims(dt(l"Wn hy tho I'l-e of iiiir liivduac. I asked him wli.it had heeii his fortune that y suddenly opetiini: Ilie hli'ast >n' l.ift coat, saviii'i. ' ^ on must nut hetr.iv int — see In re I' And I ac(ni')y nehidil," sai l)een expelled, their wants were few. Their arms were of their own manufacture, their only drink was tlie water of the l)i'()ok. and their clothes consisted of the skin of animiils. whose ilisli furnished them witii food. The Euro|)rans introduced among the savages of North America firearms, ardent spirit.-, and iron : they taught them to evehange for nianutkcturec. stiifls tiie rough garments whicli liad previously satisfied their untutored simplicity. Having acquired new tastes, witliout the arts by whicli thi-y could be gratified, the Iii(haiis were ohlii:ed to have recourse to the wurkmaiisliip of the whites ; but in return for their productions, the savage had notin'iig to otler except the rich furs which still altounded in hi.s wix)ds. Hence the chase became necessary, not merely to provide lor his subsistence, but in order to priH-me the onlv "bjects of barter which lie could *urnish to Europe. f WMiile the wants of the natives * 111 (lie iliirlccn (irijiinal states, tlu-ro arc only ti,".J7.'t Indians re- nuiiiiiiiy;. (Si-c Legislative Docuinonts, "JOth oongress, .\". 117, f Mi's-^rs. Clarlvo and Cass, in their report to eotiijress, the Itli Feb- rnary, l^:l'K p. "-''t, expressed llieniscdves tlnis : " The time when (Ikj lnrted, and whei. they have advanced about fifteen or twenty leagues from tli(> extreme frontiers of the whites, they begin to build habitations for civilized beings '• Amoiiu: tlio iiortliwostcrii Imliiins piirtiiMil.irly, (lie liil)or ot'sii|)|ily- ins< ;i family with I'ood is cxct'ssivt'. I);iy iil'icr (l;iy is spout by (lie liuiittT widiout success, and during this indTval his (iiinily must sub- sist upon b.irk or routs, or pensh. Want and misery arc around (hcin and amonir them. Many die every winter t'rom actual starvation." 'file Indians will not live as Europeans live: and yet tluw can nei- ther subsist without them, nor ex;ictly at'(er the lasliion of tlii'ir lathers. This is demonstrated by a tact whiidi I likewise nive upon oliiciiii au- thority. Soini' Indians ot' a (libe on the banks ot' L;ike Superior had kdled a F.uropean ; the ,\ineriean government interdicted all tiallic with the tribe to which the guilty parties belonged, until they were delivered up to justice. 'I'his measure had the desired etleet. * " l''ive years 1:0," sii . ' Voln-'-y in his 'i"abh forced emigrations. They are under- taken by a people already exiiausted and j-ediieed ; and the countries to which the neu-eomers l)etii,ke themselves are it:hal)ited by other ti'bes which receive them with ji'aloiis ])ostilitv. Hunger is in the rear war awaits them, and misery besi'ts them on all sidi's. fn the hope of esca])ing from such a host of eiUMines, tlx'y separate, and ea(di indi- vidual endeavors to procure the means of supporting his ex- istence in scditude and secn-sy, living in the immensity of * -'The IncUims," .says M.ssrs. ('liirlral)l(!. The gratification of his immediate wants and desires is tlu! ruling passion of an Indian : the expectation of future advantages seldom produces much cdect. The experience of th(^ past is lost, and the prospects of tiie future disregarded. It would be utterly hopeless to demand a cession of land unless the means were at hand of gr.itily- ing their immediate wants; and when their condition and circum- stances are fairly considered, it ouglit not to surprise us that tiiey are so anxious to relieve themselves." t On the J'.ith of May, is.'io, Mr. Edward Everett atlirmed hefont the house of representatives, that tlie Americans had already acipiired by frtfiti/, to tlie east and west of the Mississippi, ■2''>i),i)in\,inM) of acres. In ]M)S, the Osages gave up .lS,niMl,( (10 acres for an annual payment of 1,01)1) dollars. In ISIS, the (.iua|)a\ys yielded up !i',),Onii,(inu acres for 1,1100 dollars. They reserved for tliemselves a territory of l,(ii)0,(jii(j acres for a hunting-ground. A solemn oath was taken that it should be respected : but before long it w,is invaded like the rest. Mr. Hell, in his " Heport of the Committee on Indian Atlliirs," Feb- ruary 'i'lth, ISliO, has these words: "To pay an Indian tribe what their ancient hunting-grounds are wortli to them, after the game is lied or destroyed, as a mode of aj)[)ropriuting wild lands claimed by In- ?<-;r j''»r.vll! 346 PIIESENT AXD Kl i'll! c').\ur:'!.i.\ ()!■• These are great evils, and it must be added tliat they ap- pear to me to be irremcdial)le. I believe that the Indian nations of North America are doomed to perish : and that whenever the Europeans shall be established on the shores of the Pacific ocean, that race of men will be no more.* The Indians had only the two alternatives of war or civilisation; in other words, they must either have destroyed the Europe, ans or become their equals. At the first settlement of the colonies they might have found it possible, l)y uniting their foi'ces, to deliver themselves from the small bodies of strangers who landed on their conti- nent. f They several times attempted to do it, and were on the point of succeeding ; but the disproportion of their resources, at the present day, when compared with those of the whites, is too great to allow such an entei'prise to bo thought of. Neverthelesri, there do arise from time to time among tlie Indians men of penetration, who foresee the final destiny which awaits the native population, and who exert themselves to unite all the tribes in common hostility to tlie Europeans ; but their efforts arc unavailing. TJiose trilies which are in the neigld)orhood of the whites are too nmcli weakened to offer an effectual resistance ; while the others, giving way to that childish carelessness of tlie morrow which characterizes savage life, wait for the near approach of dan- dians, has been fotmd more coiive.iicnt, and certainly it is more a ,iing of the hunter varies with that of the animals he pursues. Several attempts have been mado to difFuse knowledge among the Indians, without controlling their wandering pro- pensities ; by the Jesuits in Canada, and by the puritans in New England ;* but none of these endeavors were crowned bv anv lastinir success. Civilisation began in the cabin, but it soon retired to expire in the woods ; the great error of these legislators of tiie Indians was their not understanding, that in order to succeed in civilizing a people, it is first necessary to fix it ; which cannot be done without inducing it to cultivate the soil : the Indians ought in the first place to have been ac- customed to agriculture. But not only are they destitute of this indispensable preliminary to civilisation, they would even have great difficulty in acquiring it. Men who have once abandoned tliemselves to the restless and adventurous life of the hunter, feel an insurmountable disgust for the constant and regular labor which tillage requires. We see this proved in the bosom of oi;r own society ; but it is far more visible among peoples whose partiality for the chase is a part of their natural character. Independently of this general difficulty, there is another, which applies peculiarly to the Indians ; they consider labor not jnerely as an evil, but as a disgrace ; so that their pride prevents them from becoming civilized, as much as their indolence. f * See the " Histoire dc la Novivelle France," by Charlevoix, and the work entitled " Letlres Ediliantes." t " In all the tribes," says Volney, in his " Tableau des EtatsUnis," p. I'i^J, " there still exists a generation of old warriors, who cannot forbear, when they see their countrymen usini; the hoe, from exclaim- ini; airainst the (U'i:r;>(l;\tion of ancient manners, and assertim; tliat the savages owi! their decline to thest^ innovations : adding, tluit they have only to retiun to Iheir primitive luibits, in order to recover their powei and their udorv " 'iM w Ji i 1 ^'.-i'V '.111' ^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) m # .^ >% // < % ^4 .*■ ^>^ . <^ 7. 1.0 1.1 li.25 1*5 ■WUt. m U 11.6 0% ^ y >> niotographic Sciences Corporation v ^ « ■1>^ <^ 4s O^ 4^U 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WIISTH.N.Y. USIO (716) •7i-4S03 ^:^' ^ m 348 PRESENT AND I' DITION OF There is no Indian so wretclu'tl a;; not to retain, under his hut of bark, a lofty idea of his personal worth ; he considers tlie cares of industry and labor as degrading occupations , he compares the husbandman to the ox which traces the furrow ; and even in our most ingenious handicraft, he can see nothing but the labor of slaves. Not that he is devoid of admiration for the power and intellectual greatness of the whites ; but although the result of our efforts surprises him, he contemns the means by which we obtain it ; and while he acknowledges our ascendency, he still believes in his superiority. War and hunting are the only pursuits which appear to him worthy to be the occupations of a man.' The Indian, in the dreary solitude of his woods, cherishes the same ideas, the same opinions, as the noble of the middle ages in his castle, and he only requires to become a conqueror to complete the resem- blance ; thus, however strange it may seem, it is in the forests of the New World, and not among the Europeans who people its coasts, that the ancient prejudices of Europe are still in existence. More than once, in the course of this work, I have endea- vored to explain the prodigious influence which the social condition appears to exercise upon the laws and the manners of men ; and I beg to add a few words on the same subject. When 1 perceive the resemblance which exist ^ between the political institutions of our ancestors, the Germans, and of the wandering tribes of North America : between the customs described by Tacitus, and those of which I have som(>tini(s been a witness, I cannot help thinking that the same cause hus brought about the same results in both hemispheres ; and that in th(> midst of the apparent diversity of human ailairs, a certain number of primary facts may be discovered, from wliich all the others are derived. In what we usually call the German institutions, then, I am inclined oidy to j)erceive * The following (losrription oocnrH in an otlicial docutnont : " Until a vouiifi nism lias hccn cngiiurd svilli an cni'iny, and lias pirfoiun'il some acts of valor, ho fjains no coMsidcration, but is ronardcd Moarl> n." a woman. In their fjroat war-dances all t!ie warriors in succession strike t lie post, as it is called, and recount (lieir pxploits. On these occasions (lieir auditory consists of the kinsmen, friemls.and comrades of the narrator. The profound imprt'ssion whicii his discom-se pro- duces on them is manifested hy the silent attention it reci'ives, and hy the loud shouts whicii liail its terinitiation. Tl)e yntmic man who finds liimself at such a meeting without anvthinif to recount, is very un- happy ; and instances have sometimes occurred of younjj warriors whose passions had been thus intlame(l, (piittiiifj the war-dance snu- denly, and itoiny; ot!'alon(> to seek lor trophies wliicli tliey mi^iit exhi- bit, and adventures whicii they mii^lit be idlowed to relate. THE THREE RAJES INHABITING THE U. S. 349 barbarian habits ; and the opinions of savages, in what we style feudal principles. However strongly the vices and prejudices of the North American Indians may be opposed to their becoming agricul- tural and civilized, necessity sometimes obliges them to it. Several of the southern nations, and among them the Cherokees and the Creeks,* were surrounded by Europeans, who had landed on the shores of the Atlantic, and who, either descend, ing the Ohio or proceeding up the Mississippi, arrived simul- taneously upon their borders. These tribes have not been driven from place to place, like their northern brethren ; but they have been gradually enclosed within narrow limits, like the game within the thicket before the huntsmen plunge into the interior. The Indians, who were thus placed between civilisation and death, found themselves obliged to live by ignominious labor like the whites. They took to agriculture, and without entirely forsaking their old habits or manners, sacrificed only as much as was necessary to their existence. The Cherokees went further ; they created a written lan- guage ; established x permanent form of government ; and as everything proceeds rapidly in the New World, before they had all of them clothes, they set up a newspaper.f The growth of European habits has hocn remarkably ac- celerated among these Indians by the mixed race which has sprung up.lj: Deriving intelligence from the father's side, without entirely losing the savage customs of the mother, the half-blood forms the natural link between civilisation and * Those nations are now swallowed up in the states of Georf^ia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. There were formerly in the south four great nations (remnants of which still exist), the Choctaws, the Chickasaws, the Creeks, and the Cherokees. The remnants of these four nations amounted, in 1S30, to about 75,000 individuals. It is computed that there are now remaining in the territory occupied or claimed by the Anglo-American Union ai)out .'ioo.ooo Indians. (See proceedings of the Indian board in the city of New York.) The otlicial documents sunplied to congress make the number amount to ;)iy,130. Tlie reader wlio is curious to know the names and numerical strength of all the tribes whidi inhabit the Anglo-American territory, should consult the documents I refer to. (Legislative Documents, 'Jbth con- gress, No. 117, pp. 'JO-IO.').) t I brought back with me to France, one or two copies of this singular publication. X See in the report of the committee on Indian afHiirs, ','lst C(mgress, No. '2'21, p. 'J.'?, the reasons for the multiplication of Indians of mixed blood among the Clitrokees. Tlic principal cause dates frmn the war of independence. Many Anglo-Americans of (Jeorgia, h.iving taken tlie side of Kngland, were obligeil to retreat among the Indians, where they married. I lt% i 350 I'RESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF barbarism. Wherever this race has multiplied, the savage state has become modified, and a great change has taken place in the manners of the people.* The success of the Cherokees proves that the Indians arc capable of civilisation, but it does not prove that they will succeed in it. The difficulty which the Indians find in sub- mitting to civilisation proceeds from the influence of a general cause, which it is almost impossible for them to escape. An attentive survey of history demonstrates that, in general, bar- barous nations have raised themselves to civilisation by de- gree&, and by their own etllirts. Whenever they derived knowledge from a foreign people, they stood toward it in the I'elation of conquerors, not of a concjuered nation. When the conciuered nation is enlightened, and the conquerors are half savage, as in the case of the invasion of Rome by the north- ern nations, or that of China by the Moguls, the power which victory bestows upon the barbarian is sufficient to keep up his importance among civilized men, and permit him to rank as their equal, until he becomes tlieir rival : the one has might on his side, the other has intelligence ; the former ad- mires the knowledge and the arts of the conquered, the latter envies the power of the conquerors. The barbarians at length admit civilized man into their palaces, and he in turn opens his schools to the barbarians. But when the side on * Unhappily the mixed race has boon less numerous and less influential in Nortli America tlian in any otlier country. The American continent was peopled by two fj;reat nations of Europe, tlie French and the Eng- lish. The former were not slow in connecting tliotnselves with tlie daughters of the natives; but there was an unforfiuiate atlinity between the Indian character and tlieir own : instead offiivinij tlie tastes and habits of civilized life to the savay;es, the French too often grew pas- sionately fond of the state of wild freedom they found them in. They became the most dangerous of the inhabitants of the desert, and won the friendship of the Indian by exaggerating his vices and iiis virtues. M. de Senonville, the governor of Canada, wrote thus to Louis XIV., in ItjS') : " It has long been believed that in order to civilize the savages we ought to draw them nearer to us, but there is every reason to sup- pose we have lieen mistaken. Those which have been brought into contact with us have not become FriMicli, and the I"'rench who have lived among them are changed info savau'es, affecting to live and dress like them." (History of New l''rance, by Charlevoix, vol. ii., p, .'(10). The Englishman, on the contrary, continuing obstinately attached to the customs and tlu! most insignificant habits of his Inrefathers, his re- mained in the midst of the American solitudes just what he was' in the bosom of European cities ; he would not allow of any coinmnnica- tion with savages whom he despised, and avoided with can; the iiiiioti of his race with theirs, Thus, while the French exercised no .salutary influence over the Indians, the English have always remained alien from them. THE THREE HAi^KS IXHABITING THE U. S. ;},"ii which the pliysical force lies, also possesses an inteP'^ctual preponderance, tiie conquered party seldom becomes civilized ; it retreats, or is destroyed. It may therefore be said, in a general way, that savages go forth in arms to seek know. led«;e, but that they do not receive it when it comes to tiiem. If the Indian tribes which now inhabit the heart of the con- tinent could summon up energy enough to attempt to civilize tlieniselves, they might possibly succeed. Superior already to the barbarous nations which surround them, they would gradually gain strength and experience ; and w hen the Eu- ropeans should appear upon their borders, they would be in a state, if not to maintain their independence, at least to as- sert their right to the soil, and to incorporate themselves with the conquerors. But it is the misfortune of Indians to be brought into contact witli a civilized people, which is also (it may be owned) the most avui'ieiuiis nation on the globe, while they are still semi-barbarian: to lind despots in their instructers, and to receive knowledge from the hand of op- press-on. Living in the fivedom oi" the woods, the North American Indian was destitute, but lie had no feeling of in- fcriority toward any one ; as soon, however, as he desires to penetrate into the social scale of tlie whites, he takes the low- est rank in society, for he enters ignorant and poor within the pale of science and wealtli. After having led a life of agita- tion, beset with evils and dangers, but at the same time tilled with proud emotions,* he is obliged to submit to a wearisome, * There is in the adventumus life of tlio hunter a certain irresistible cliarm wliich seizes the heart ol' man, ami carries him away in s|(ite of reason and experience. Tliis is |iLuiily shown by the memoirs of Tanner. Tanner is a European who wrs carried away at the age of ^ix liy the Indians, and lias remained tliirty years with them in the wo.ids. Nothinji can be conceived tnore appalling tlian tlie miseries whicli he describes. He tells us of tribes without a chief, families without a nation to call their own, men in a state of isolation, wrecks of powerful tribes wandering; at random amid the ice and snow and desolate solitudes of Canada, riunijer and cold pursue them ; every d;iy thi'ir life is in jeopardy. Amoni; these men manners have lost tlu'ir empire, traditions are without power, 'i'hey become more and niDre s.ivaite. Tanner shared in all these miseries; he was aware of his European origin ; he was not kej)t away from the whiti's by force ; oil tile contrary, lie came every year to traile with them, cnlered their dwellinufs, and saw their ei'ijoymiMitS ; he knew that wlu'uever he chose to return to civili/ed life, lie was perfectly able to do so — and he rc- ni. lined thirty years in tin? deserts. When he came to civili/ed socie- ty, he declared that the rude existence which he dt'scribed had a secret charm for him which he was unalile to deliiie: he retiiriu'd to it aiiaiii and a^ain : at leiitrth he abandoned it with poi'iiiant rei^rel ; and when he was at leiifrth tixed aiiioiii;' the whites, several of his children refused to share his tramiuil and easy situation. I saw Tanner myself 1=.^ m m i^2 352 PUESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF obscure, and degraded state, and to gain the bread wliich ncurishes him by hard and ignoble labor ; such are in his eyes the only results of which civilisation can boast: and even this much he is not sure to obtain. When the Indians undertake to imitate their European neighbors, and to till the earth like the settlers, they are im- mediately exposed to a very formidable competition. The white man is skilled in the craft of agriculture ; the Indian is a rough beginner in an art with which he is unacquainted. Tlie former reaps abundant crops without difhculty, the latter meets with a thousand obstacles in raising the fruits of the earth. The European is placed among a population whose wants he knows and partakes. The savage is isolated in the midst of a hostile people, with whose manners, language and laws, he is imperfectly acquainted, but without whose assistance he cannot live. He can only procure the materials of comfort by bartering his commodities against the goods of the European, for the assistance of his countrymen is wholly in- sufficient to supply his wants. When the Indian wishes to sell the produce of his labor, he cannot always meet with a purchaser, while the European readily finds a market ; and the former can only produce at a considerable cost, that which the latter vends at a very low rate. Thus the Indian has no sooner escaped those evils to which barbarous nations are exposed, than he is subjected to the still greater miseries of civilized communities; and he finds it scarcely less diffi. cult to live in the midst of our abundance, than in the depth of his own wilderness. He has not yet lost the habits of his erratic life ; the tradi- tions of his fathers and his passion for the chase are still alive within him. The wild enjoyments which formerly animated him in the woods painfully excite his troubled imagination ; and his former privations appear to be less keen, his former perils less appalling. He contrasts the independence which ho possessed among his equals with the servile position which he occupies in civilized society. On the other hand, the soli- tudes which were so long his free home are still at hand ; a fow hours' march will b;'ing him back to them once more. The whites oiler him a sum, which seems to him to be con- siderable, for the ground which he has begun to clear. This money of the Europeans may possibly furnish iiim with the at the lower end of L.iko Sviixn-ior ; lie scetned to he riioro like a savage than a civilized beinsr. His book is written without either taste or or- der ; but he nives, even unconsciously, a lively picture of tiie prejudices, the passions, vices, and, above all, of the destitution in which he lived. jpth tradi- alive lated ition ; jrmer hich which soli- id ; a more, con- This 1 the (ir or- idices, lived. THE THREE RACES INHABITING THE U. S. :3."3 ■cneans of a happy and peaceful subsistence in remote regions ; and he quits the plougli, resunios his native arms, and returns to tiie wilderness for ever,* Tiie condition of tlie Creeks and Cherokees, to which I have already alluded, sufficiently corroborates the truth of tliis deplorable picture. The Indians, in the little which they have done, have un- questionably displayed as much natural genius as the peoples of Europe in their inost important designs; but nations as well as men require time to learn, whatever may be their in- tellifTcnce and their zeal. While the savages were engaged in the work of civilisation, tiie Europeans continued to sur- round them on every side, and to confine them within nar- rower limits ; the two races gradually met, and they are now in immediate juxtaposition to each other. The Indian is already superior to his barbarous parent, but he is still very far below his white neighbor. With their resources and ac- quired knowledge, the Europeans soon appropriated to them- * The destructive influence of hijjhly civilized nations upon others which are less so, has been iwernplified by the Europeans themselves. About a century au;() the French founded the town of Vincennes upon the Wabash, in the middle of the desert ; and they lived there in great plenty, until the arrival of the American settlers, who first ruined the previous inhabitants by their competition, and afterward purchased their lands at a very low rate. At the time when M. do Volney, from whom I borrow these details, passed through Vincennes, tiie number of the Frencii was reduced to a hundred individuals, most of v^'hom were about to jiass over to Louisiana or to Canada. These French settlers were worthy people, but idle and uninstructed : they had con- tracted many of the habits of the savages. Tiie Americans, who were perhaps their inferiors in a moral point of view, were immeasurably sujierior to them in intelligence: tliey wore industrious, well-informed, rich, and accustomed to govern tlieir own community. I myself saw in Canada, wiicre the intellectual diU'erence between the two races is less striking, tiiat tlie English are tiio masters of com- merce and manufacture in tiie Canadian country, tliat tiiey spread on all sides, and conline tlie Frencli witiiin limits wliich scarcely suHice to contain tiiem. In liiie manner, in Louisiana, almost all activity in commerce and manufacture centres in the hands of the Anglo-Ameri- cans. Hut the case of Texas is still more strile conceived. 23 •■ -'«. m 111 'ra 354 PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF selves most of the advantages which tho natives miglit liavc derived from the possession of tiie soil : they have settled in the country, they have purchased land at a very low rate or have occupied it by force, and the Indians have been ruined by a competition which they had not the means of resisting. They were isolated in their own country, and their race only constituted a colony of troublesome aliens in the midst of a numerous and domineering people.* Wasliington said in one of his messages to congress, " We are more enlightened and jwwerful than the Indian nations, we are therefore bound in honor to treat them with kindness and even with generosity." But this virtuous and high- minded policy has not been followed. The rapacity of the settlers is usually backed by the tyranny of the government. Although the Cherokees and tlio Creeks are established upon the territory which they inhabited before the settlement of the Europeans, and although the Americans have frequently treated with them as with foreign nations, the surroundini; states have not consented to acknowledge them as an inde- pendent people, and attempts have been made to subjcc< these children of tho woods to Anglo-American magistrates, laws, and customs. f Destitution had driven these unfortu- * See in the legislative documents (21st congress, No. 89), instances of excesses of every kind committed by the whites upon the territory of the Indians, either in taking possession of a part of their lands, un til compelled to retire by the trooj)s of congress, or carrying off tlieii cattle, burning their houses, cutting down thtir corn, and doing vio- lence to their persons. It appears, nevertheless, from all these documents, that the claims of the natives are constantly protected by the government from the abuse of force. The Union has a representative agent continually employed to reside among the Indians; and the report of the Chcroiccc agent, wliich is among tiie documents 1 have referred to, is almost always fa- vorable to the Indians. " Tiio intrusion of whites," he says, " upon the lands of the Cherokees would cause ruin to the poor, iielpless, and inoti'ensive inliabitants." And he fartiier remarks upon the attempt of the state of Georgia to establish a division line tor tlie purpose of limit- ing tiie l)oundaries of the Clierokees, that the line drawn iiaving been made by tiie wiiites, and entirely upon exparte evidence of their seve- ral rights, was of no validity whatever. t In IS'i'J the state of Alaliama divided the Creek territory into counties, and subjected tiie Indian population to the power of Euro- pean magistrates. In iN.'iUtho state of Mississippi assimilated the Choctawsand Chick- asaws to the white population, and declared tliat any of them that should take tlie title of cliief would be puiiisiied by a fine of 1,()(J!') dollars and a year's imprisonment. Wiien these laws were enforced upon thi: tMioctaws who inhabited tiint district, tlie trilx/s asseinliled, their chief communicated to them tlie intentions of the whites, and THE THREE RACES INHABITING THE U. S. 355 nate Indians to civilisation, and oppression now drives them back to tlieir former condition ; many of theni abandon the soil which they had begun to clear, and return to their savage course of life. If we consider the tyrannical measures which have been adopted by the legislatures of the southern states, the con- duct of their governors, and the decrees of their courts of justice, we shall be convinced that the entire expulsion of the Indians is the final result to which the efforts of their policy are directed. The Americans of that part of the Union look with jealousy upon the aborigines,* they are aware that these tribes have not yet lost the traditions of savage life, and before civilisation has permanently fixed them to the soil, it is in- tended to force them to recede by reducing them to despair. The Creeks and Cherokees, oppressed by the several states, have appealed to the central government, which is by no means insensible to their misfortunes, and is sincerely desir- ous of saving the remnant of the natives, and of maintaining them in the free possession of that territory which the Union is pledged to respect. f But the several states oppose so for- midable a resistance to the execution of this design, that the government is obliged to consent to the extirpation of a few barbarous tribes in order not to endanger the safety of the American Union. But the federal government, which is not able to protect the Indians, would fain mitigate the hardships of their lot ; and, with this intention, proposals have been made to transport them into more remote regions at the public cost- Between the 33d and 37th degrees of north latitude, a vast tract of country lies, which has taken the name of Arkoi.^..:)=, from the principal river that waters its extent. It is bounu 'd on the one side by the confines of Mexico, on the other by .le Mississippi. Numberless streams cross it in every direction; the climate is mild, and the soil productive, but it is only in- read to them some of the laws to which it was intended that they should submit ; and they unanimously declared that it was better at once to retreat a'j;ain into the w.lds. * The Georfjians, who are sc much annoyed by the proximity of the Indians, inhabit a territory which does not at present contain more than seven inhabitants to the s [uare mile. In France there are one hundred and sixty-two inhabitants to the same extent of country. t In 18 IS coniiross appointed commissioners to visit tlie Arkansas territory accompanied l)y a deputation of Croeivs, Chortaws, and Ciiickasiws. This expedition was commanded by Messrs. Kennerly, M'Coy, Wash Hood, and John Ikdl. See tiie different reports of the commissioners, and their journal, in the documents of conjjress, No. 97, house of represontatives. '''IP '•<» ■^' .^,.,. **.'■ I a56 PliKSENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF gov. habited by a few wandering hordes of savages. The eminent of the Union wishes to transport the broken remnants of the indigenous population of the south, to the portion of this country which is nearest to Mexico, and at a great dis- tance from the American settlements. We were assured, toward the end of the year 1831, that 10,000 Indians had already gone to the shores of the Arkan- sas ; and fresh detachments were constantly following them ; but congress has been unable to excite a unanimous determi- nation in those whom it is disposed to protect. Some, indeed, are willing to quit the seat of oppression, but the most en- lightened members of the community refuse to abandon their recent dwellings and the springing crops ; they are of opinion that the work of civilisation, once interrupted, will never be resumed ; they fear that those domestic habits which have been so recently contracted, may be irrecoverably lost in the midst of a country which is still barbarous, and where nothing is prepared for the subsistence of an agricultural people ; they know that their entrance into those wilds will be opposed by inimical hordes, and that they have lost the energy of bar- barians, without acquiring the resources of civilisation to re- sist their attacks. Moreover the Indians readily discover that the settlement which is proposed to them is merely a tempo- rary expedient. Who can assure them that they will at length be allowed to dwell in peace in their new retreat ? The United States pledge themselves to the observance of the obligation ; but the territory which they at present occupy was formerly secured to them by the most solemn oaths of Anglo-American faith.* The American government does not indeed rob them of their lands, but it allows perpetual incur- sions to be made on them. In a few years the same white population which now flocks around them, will track them to the solitudes of the Arkansas ; they will then be exposed to the same evils without the same remedies ; and as the limits * The fifth article of the treaty made with the Creeks in August, 1790, is in tlie following words: " The United States solemnly guar- anty to the Creek nation all their land within the limits of the Uni ed States." The seventh article of the treaty concluded in 1791 with the Chero kees says : " The United States solemnly guaranty to the Cherokee nation all their lands not hereby ceded." The followinj; article declar- ed that if any citizen of the United States or other settler not of the Indian race, should establish himself upon the territory of the Chero- kees, the United States would withdraw their protection from that in- dividual, and give him up to be punished as the Cherokee nation should think fit. Ti' THE THREE RACES INHABITING THE U. S. a^T that IChero lerokee ieclar- lof the yhero- Biat in- Isliould of the earth will at last fail them, their only refuge is the grave. The Union treats the Indians with less cupidity and rigor than the policy of the several states, but the two governments are alike destitute of good faith. The states extend what they are pleased to term the benefits of their laws to the In- dians, with a belief that the tribes will recede rather than submit ; and the central government, which promises a per- manent refuge to these unhappy beings, is well aware of its inability to secure it to them.* Thus the tyranny of the states obliges the savages to re- tire, the Union, by its promises and resources, facilitates their retreat ; and these measures tend to precisely the same end.f " By the will of our Father in heaven, the governor of the whole world," said the Cherokees in their petition to con- gress,^ " the red man of America has become small, and the white man great and renowned. When the ancestors of the people of these United States first came to the shores of America, they found the red man strong : though he was ignorant and savage, yet he received them kindly, and gave them dry land to rest their weary feet. They met in peace, and shook hands in token of friendship. Whatever the white man wanted and asked of the Indian, the latter willingly * This does not prevent them from promisinjif in the most solemn manner to do so. See the letter of the president addressed to the Creek Indians, 23d March, 1829. (" Proceedin!j;s of the Indian Board, in the City of New York," p. 5.) " Beyond the great river Mis- sissippi, where a part of your nation has gone, your father has pro- vided a country hirge enough for all of you, and he advises you to re- move to it. There your white brothers will not trouble you ; they will have no claim to the land, and you can live upon it, you and all your children, as long as the grass grows or the water runs, in peace and plenty. It will be yours for ever." The secretary of war, in a letter written to the Cherokees, April 18th, 1829 (see the same work, page G), declares to them that tliey cannot expect to retain possession of the land, at the time occupied by them, but gives them the most positive assurance of uninterrupted peace if they would remove beyond the Mississippi : as if the power which could not grant them protection then, would be able to afford it them hereafter ! t To obtain a correct idea of the policy pursued by the several states and the Union with respect to the Indians, it is necessary to consult, 1st, " The laws of the colonial and state governments relating to the Indian inhabitants." (.See the legislative documents, 21st con- gress. No. 319.) 2d, "The laws of the Union on the same subject, and especially that of March 20th, lSi)2." See Story's Laws of the United States.) 3d, " The report of Mr. Cass, secretary of war, re- lative to Indian afiairs, November 2yth, 1S23. X December ISth, 1829 "4* % 35S PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF gave. At that time the Indian was tlic lord, and vne white man the suppliant. But now the scene lias chang-id. Tlie strength of the red man has become weakness. As his neighbors increased in numbers, his power became less and less, and now, of the many and powerful tribes who once covered the United States, only a few are to be seen — a few whom a sweeping pestilence had left. The northern tribes, who were once so numerous and powerful, are now nearly extinct. Thus it has happened to tlie red man of America. Shall we, who are remnants, share the same fate ? " The land on which we stand we have received as an in heritance from our fathers who possessed it from time imme morial, as a gift from our common Father in heaven. They bequeathed it to us as their children, and we have sacredly kept it, as containing their remains. This right of iniierlt- ance we have never ceded, nor ever forfeited. Permit us to ask what better right can the people have to a country than the right of inheritance and immemorial peaceable posses. sion ? We know it is said of late by the state of Georgia and by the executive of the United States, that we have for. feited this right ; but we think it is said gratuitously. At what time have we made the forfeit ? What great crime have we committed, whereby we must for ever be divested of our country and rights ? Was it when we were hostile to the United States, and took part with the king of Great Britain, during the struggle for independence ? If so, why was not this forfeiture declared in the first treaty which followed that war ? Why was not such an article as the following in- serted in the treaty : ' The United States give peace to the Cherokees, but for the part they took in the last war, declare them to be but tenants at will, to be removed when the con- venience of the states, within whose chartered limits they live, shall require it V That was the proper time to assume such a possession. But it was not thought of, nor would our forefathers have agreed to any treaty, whose tendency wass to deprive them of their rights and their country." Such is the language of the Indians : their assertions are true, their forebodings inevitable. From whichever side we consider the destinies of the aborigines of North America, their calamities appear to be irremediable : if they continue barbarous, they are forced to retire : if they attempt to civil- ize their manners, the contact of a more civilized community subjects them to oppression and destitution. They perish if they continue to wander from waste to waste, and if they attempt to settle, they still must perish ; the assistance of Eu- THE THREE RACES INHABITING THE U. ar)9 ropeans is necessary to instruct them, but tlie appi'oacli of Europeans corrupts and repels them into savage life ; they refuse to change their habits as long as their solitudes are their own, and it is too late to change them when they are constrained to submit. The Spaniards pursued the Indians with blood-hounds, like wild beasts ; they sacked the New World with no more tem- per or compassion than a city taken by storm : but destruc- tion must cease, and phrensy be stayed ; the remnant of the Indian population, which had escaped the massacre, mixed with its conquerors and adopted in the end their religion and their manners.* The conduct of the Americans of the United States toward the aborigines is characterized, on the other hand, by a singular attachment to the formalities of law. Provided that the Indians retain their barbarous con- dition, the Americans take no part in their affairs : they treat thom as independent nations, and do not possess themselves of their hunting grounds without a treaty of purchase; and if an Indian nation happens to be so encroached upon as to be unable to subsist upon its territory, they afford it brotherly assistance in transporting it to a grave sufticiently remote from the land of its fathers. The Spaniards were unable to exterminate the Indian race by those unparalleled atrocities which brand them with in- delible shame, nor did they even succeed in wholly depriving it of Its rights ; but the Americans of the United States have accomplished this twofold purpose with ^inu'iilur felicity ; tranquilly, legally, philanthropically, without shedding blood, and without violating a single great principle of morality in the eyes of the world. f It is impossible to destroy men with more respect for the laws of humanity. * The honor of this result is, however, by no means due to the Spaniards. If the Indian tribes had not been tillers of the ground at the time of the arrival of the Europeans, they would unquestionably have been destroyed in South as well as in North America. t See among other documents, the report made by Mr. Bell in the name of the committee on Indian ail'airs, Feb. 2 1th, IS.'iO, in which it is most logically established and most learnedly jiroved, that " the fundamental principle, that the Indians had no rigiit by virtue of their amnent possession either of will or sovereignty, has never been aban- doned either expressly or by implication." In perusing tliis report, which is evidently drawn up by an able hand, one is astonished at the facility with which the author gets rid of all arguments founded upon reason and natural riglit, which he designates as abstract and theoretical principles. Tlie more I con- template the difl'erence between civilized and uncivilized man with regard to the princii)les of justice, tlie more I observe tliat tlie former contests the justice of those rights, which the latter simply violates. ». 4 860 ^ » PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF SITUATION OF THE IJLACK POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES, % AND DANGERS WITH WHICH ITS PRESENCE THKEATENS TlfE WHITES. Why it is iiioro diflfiouU to abolish Slavt-ry, and tit cliiice all Vostif^^cs of it ainoni? tlic Mddoriis, than it was ainonff tho Ancients.— In the United States tiie prejudices of tho Whites af,'ainst llie Hlacks secni to increasi' in Proporlion as Slavery is abolished. — Situation of tho Negroes in (he Northern and Southern States. — Why th(> Americans aholisli Slavery. — Servitude, wliieh debases the Slave, impoverishes tlu! Master. — Contrast between t!ui loft and the ri^lit Hank of tho Oiiio. — To wliat attributable.— Tiie black Race, as well as Slavery, recedes toward the South. — Kxplanation of this fact. — Ditliculties attendant upon the .Abolition of Slavery in the South. — Daiifiers to oome. — (leneral Anxiety. — Foundation of a black Colony in Africa. — Why tiie Americans of the South increase tiie Hardships of Slavery, while they are distressed at its Continuance. The Indians will perish in tho same isolated condition in wliieh they have lived ; hut the destiny of the n(>groes is in some measure interwoven with that of tho ]se two races are attached to each other without iiiti'rminiflint: : and they are alik(> unahle entirely to separate or to combine. The most fbrmidahle of all the ills which threaten the future, existence of tiie United States, arises from the presence of a black population upon its territory ; and in confemplatinj^ the causes ot tlie present embarrassments or of tlie future dan- diilieult of cure. It is important to make an accurate distinetiini bifweeii slavery it.self, and its consequiiices. The immediate evils ;;= J THE THREE KACES INUAlilTliNLr THE U. S. 361 whicli aiv produced by slavery were very nearly the same in antiquity as they are among tlu; moderns ; but the conse- (juences of" tlieso evils were dillerent. The slave, among the ancients, belongcnl to the same race as his master, and he was often the superior of th(! two in education* and instruction. Freedom was the only distinction between th(;m ; and when freedom was conferred, they were easily confounded together. The ancients, then, had a very simple means of avoiding slavery and its evil conse(|U(!nces, which was that of enfran- chisement ; and they succeeded as soon as tiicy ado|)ted this nieasure generally. Not but, in ancient states, the vestiges of servitude subsisted for some time after servitude! was abol- lihed. There is a natural prejudice whicli prompts men to despise wliomso(!ver has been their inferior, long after hv has become their equal ; and the real inequiilify which is pro- duced by fortune or by law, is always succeeded hy an ima- ginary inecpiality which is implanted in th(! manners of the people. Nevertlieless, this secondary consccjuence of slavery was limited to a certain term among the ancients ; for the freedman bon; so entire a resiMublance to those born free, that it soon became impossible to distinguish him from among them. The greatest difliculty in anti(piity was that of altering the law ; among the moderns it is of altering tiie mamKU's ; and, as far as wi; are concerned, the real ohstacles begin where those of the ancients left oil". This arises from thir circum- stance that, among tlu> mo(l(>rns, the abstract and transient fact of slavery is fatally united to the |)hysical and permanent fact of color. The tradition of slave^ry dishonors the race, and the peculiarity of the rac(( perpetuates the tradition of slavery. No African has ever voluntarily emigrated to the shores of the New World ; whence it must Im^ inferred, that all the blacks who are now to be f()un(l in that hemisphere are either slaves or freedmen. Thus the negro transmits the eternal mark of his ignominy to all his descendants ; and although the law may abolish slavery, God alone can obliter- ate the traces of its existence. The modern slave differs from his master not only in his condition, but in his origin. You may set the negm fiee, but you cannot make him otherwise than an alien to th<' I'iiiropean. Nor is this all ; we scarcely acknowledge the couMnon fea- * It is well known lliat scvcritl of tlic most distinguished authors of antiiiuify, iind iitnoiij^ thi'in yKsop iitid 'fcrciicc, wcn^ orlr.id hccn shives. Slaves wi-ri- nut idsv;iys t'akcii t'runi hitrharoiis nations, and Ihecliances of war rediiced hij^dii}' rivili/cd men to scrvitudu. 4 fi #4 rr r 'tN ( ! 362 PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF :f ) tures of mankind in this child of debasement whom slavery has brought among us. His physiognomy is to our eyes hide . ous, his understanding weak, his tastes low ; and we are al- most inclined to look upon him as a being intermediate be- tween man and the brutes.* The moderns, then, after they have abolished slavery, have three prejudices to contend against, which arc less easy to attack, and far less easy to conquer, than the mere fact of servitude : the prejudice of the master, the prejudice of the race, and the prejudice of color. It is difficult for us, who have had the good fortune to be born among men like ourselves by nature, and equal to our- selves by law, to conceive the irreconcilaljle ditferences which separate the negro from the European in America. But we may derive some faint notion of them from analogy. France Mas formerly a country in wliich numerous distinctions of rank existed, that had been created by the legislation. No- thing can be more fictitious than a purely legal inferiority ; nothing more contrary to the instinct of mankind than these permanent divisions which had been establisiicd between beings evidently similar. Nevertheless these divisions sub- sistetl for ages ; they still subsist in many places ; and on all sides they have left imaginary vestiges, winch time alone can crtlice. If it be so difficult to root out an inequality which solelv orijji nates in the law, how are those distinctions to be destroyed which seem to be founded upontlieinnnutable laws of nature herself? When I remember the extreme difficulty with which aristocratic bodies, of whatever nature they may be, are connningled with the mass of the people ; and the ex- ceeding care which they take to preserve the ideal boundaries of their caste inviolate, I despair of seeing an aristocracy (Fis- a])p('ai' which is founded upon visible and indelible signs. Those who hope that the Europeans will ever mix with the negroes, appear to me to delude themselves ; and I am not led to any such conclusion by my own reason, or by the evi- dence of facts. Hitherto. wJKM'ever the whites nave been the most power- ful, they have maintained the blacks in a sulionlinate or a servile position ; wnerever the negroes have been strongest, they liuve destroyed the whites ; such has been the only ♦ To induce the whites to nlmmlon the opinion they h»ve ronceived of tlic inonil and intcllocfnal inrcrinvity oftlicir Ibrincr slaves, tin- nc- |<;rnes must chunge; hul us long us this opinion subsists, to cliangu is impossible. THE THREE RACES INHABITING THE U. S. 363 course of events which has ever taken place between the two races. I see that in a certain portion of the territory of the United Stales at the present day, the legal barrier which separated the two races is tending to fall away, but not that which ex- ists in the manners of the country ; slavery recedes, but the prejudice to which it has given birth remains stationary. VVhosoever has inhabited the United States, must have per- ceived, that in those })arts of the Union in which the negroes are no longer slaves, they have in nowise drawn nearer to the whites. On the contrary, the prejudice of the race appears to be stronger in the states which have abolished slavery, *han in those where it still exists ; and nowhere is it so intole- rant as in those states where servitude has never been known. It is true, that in the north of the Union, marriages may be legally contracted between negroes and whites, but j)ublic opinion would stigmatize a man who should connect himself with a negress as infamous, and it would be difficult to meet with a single instance of such a union. The electoral fran- chise has been conferred upon the negroes in almost all the States in winch slavery has been abolished ; but if they come forward to vote, their lives are in danger. If oppressed, they may bring an action at law, but they will find none but whites among their judges ; and although they may legally serve as jurors, prejudice repulses them from that otKce. The same schools do not receive the child of the black and of the Euro- pean. In the theatres, gold cannot procure a seat for the si-r- vile race beside their former masters ; in the hospitals they He apart ; and although they arc allowed to invoke the sauif Divinity as the whites, it must be at a different altar, and ii their own churches, with their own clergy. The gates of heaven are not closed agai st these unhappy beings ; but their inferiority is continued to llie very confines of the other world. When tlie negro is defunct, his bones are cast aside, and the distinction of condition prevails even in the equality of death. The negro is fre(^ i)ut lie can share neither the rights, nor the pleasure, nor the labor, nor the afllietions, nor the tomb of him whose equal he has been declared to be ; and he caimot meet him upon fair terms in life or in death. In the south, where slavery still exista, the negroes are less carefully kept apart ; they sometimes siiare the lal)or and the recreations of the whites ; the wliites consent to intermix with tiiem to a certain extent, and although the legislation treats tiiem more harshly, the habits uf the people are more ^ l{. si A r ;■ • If ,i i:. m wm '^mwl'fl^H J^illi ■•!'?! ^Hlffl I^ll ,^kH I^HM Il^flffl! n iH^ffill' :ii||iH^l HH U^Hh S'WmIB ' iJ^B^^H mM fTwUMM h' ■" (InlflHt Si 3pi a64 Pr.ESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF '\ tolerant and compassionate. In the south the master is not afraid to raise liis slave to his own standing, because he knows that he can in a moment reduce him to the dust at pleasure. In the north, the white no longer distinctly per- ceives the barrier which separates him from the degraded race, and he shuns the negro with the more pertinacity, because he fears lest they should be some day confounded together. Among the Americans of the south, nature sometimes re- asserts her rights, and restores a transient equality between the blacks and the whites ; but in the north, pride restrains the most imperious ol' human passions. The American of the northern states would perhaps allow the negress to share his licentious pleasures, if the laws of his country did not declare that she may aspire to be the legitimate partner of his bed ; but he recoils with horror from her who might become his wife. Thus it is, in the United States, that the prejudice which repels the negroes seems to increase in proportion as they are emancipated, and inequality is sanctioned by the manners while it is effaced from the laws of the country. But if the relative position of the two races which inhabit the United States, is such as I have described, it may be asked why the Americans have abolished slavery in the north of the Union, why they maintain it in the south, and why they aggravate its hardships there ? The answer is easily given. It is not for the good of the negroes, but for that of the whites, that mea- sures are taken to abolish slavery in the United States. The first negroes were imported into Virginia about the year lO'ii.* In America, therefore, as well as in the rest of the globe, slavery originated in the south. Thence it spread from one settlement to another ; but the number of slaves diminished toward the northern states, and the negro population was always very limited in New England. f * See Beverley's History of Viru;inin. See iilso in Jefferson's Memoirs some curious details concerning the introduction of ne;?roes into Virginia, and the first act which proliilnted the importation of them in 1778. t The number of slaves was less considerable in the north, but the advantaj^es resulting from shivery were not more contested tiiere than in tl>e south. In 1710, the leitislature of tiie state of New York declared that the direct importation of slaves ought to be cncoiu'agi'd as much as possible, and sinugtriing severely pnnislied, in order not to disconr;ige the fair trader. (Kent's Commentaries, vol. ii., p 'Jmi ) Curious researches, by Belknap, upon stivery in New England, are to be found in llie Historical Collections of Massacliusetts, vol. iv., p. VJ3. It appears that negroes were introduced there in 1U3U, but that thu .v#^ THE THREE RACES INHABITING THE U. S. 365 A cenl.ury had scarcely elapsed since the foundation of the rolonles, when the attention of the planters was struck by the extraordinary fact, that the provinces which were comparatively destitute of slaves, increased in population, in wealth, and in prosperity, more rapidly than those which contained the greatest number of negroes. In the former, however, the inhabitants were obliged to cultivate the soil themselves, or by hired laborers ; in the latter, they were furnished with hands for which they paid no wages ; yet, although labor and expense were on the one side, and ease with economy on the other, the former were in possession of the most advantageous system. This consequence seemed to be the more difficult to explain, since the settlers, who all belonged to the same European race, had the same habits, the same civilisation, the same laws, and their shades of difference were extremely slight. Time, however, continued to advance ; and the Anglo- Americans, spreading beyond the coasts of the Atlantic ocean, penetrated farther and farther into the solitudes of the west ; they met with a new soil and an unwonted climate ; the obstacles which opposed them were of the most various character ; their races intermingled, the inhabitants of the south went up toward the north, those of the north descended to the south ; but in the midst of all these causes, the same result recurred at every step ; and in general, the colonies in which there wore no slaves became more populous and more rich than those in which slavery flourished. The more pro- gress was made, the more was it shown that slavery, which is so cruel to the slave, is prejudicial to the master. But this truth was most satisfactorily demonstrated when civilisation reached the banks of the Ohio. The stream which the Indians had distinguished by the name of Ohio, or Beautiful river, waters one of the most magnificent valleys which have ever been made the abode of man. Undulating lands extend upon both sliores of the Ohio, whose soil aflords inexhaustible treasures to the laborer ; on eitlier bank the air is wholesome and the climate mild ; and each of them forms tiie extreme frontier of a vast state : that which follows the numerous windings of the Ohio upon the left is called Kentucky ; that upon the right bears the name of the river. These two states only differ in a single respect ; Kentucky lou'islutioii and innmiiTM of the pooplo were (ipposod to slavery from the first ; si'o also, in the same work, tlie maimer in whicii public opinion, and arterwurd the laws, finally i)Ut an end to slavery. 'ii 1 366 PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF lias admitted slavery, but the state of Ohio has prohibited the existence of slaves within its borders.* Thus the traveller who floats down the current of the Ohio, to the spot where that river falls into the Mississippi, may be said to sail between liberty and servitude ; and a transient inspection of the surrounding objects will convince him which of the two is most favorable to mankind. Upon the left bank of the stream the population is rare ; from time to time one descries a troop of slaves loitering in the half-desert fields ; the primeval forest recurs at every turn ; society seems to be asleep, man to be idle, and nature alone otFors a scene of activity and of life. From the right bank, on the contrary, a confused hum is lieard, which proclaims tiie presence of industry ; the fields are covered with abundant harvests ; the elegance of the dwellings announces tiie taste and activity of the laborer ; and man appears to be in the enjoyment of that wealth and con- tentment which are the reward of labor. f The state of Kentucky was founded in 1775, the state of Ohio only twelve years later; but twelve years are more in America than half a century in Europe, and, at the present day, the population of Oliio exceeds that of Kentucky by 250,- 000 souls. I These opposite consequences of slavery and freedom may readily be understood ; and they suffice to explain many of the differences which we remark between the civilisation of antiquity and that of our own time. Ujion the loft bank of the Ohio labor is confounded with the idea of slavery, upon the right bank it is identified with that of prosperity and improvement ; on the one side it is degraded, on the other it is honored ; on the former territory no white laborers can be found, for they would be afraid of assimilating themselves to the negroes ; on the latter no one is idle, for the white population extends its activity and its intelligence to every kind of employment. Thus the men * Not only is slavery proliibited in Ohio, but no free negroes are allowed to enter tlie territory of that state, or to hold property in it See the statutes of Ohio. t The activity of Oliio is not confined to individuals, but the un-.ler- takinixs of tlie state are surprisini^ly ^'reat : a eanal has been established between L'lke ICrie and the Ohio, by means of which the valley of tiie Mississippi ronimunicates with tlie river of the north, and tiie Euro- pean commodities witli arrive at New York, may be forwarded by water to New Orleans across five liundred leagues of continent. X Tlie exact numbers given by the census of 1S30 were: Kentucky, 6S8,8 14 ; Ohio, \)^il,(>l'J. ' [lu ISIU tiie census gave, Kentucky 770,828 ; Ohn 1,519,167.] SI w so t THE THREE RACES INHABITING THE U. S. 3(J7 litv.ler- llislu'd lof tlie iKuro- 1 water lucky, whose task it is to cultivate the rich soil of Kentucky are ignorant and lukewarm ; while those who are active and enlightened either do nothing, or pass over into the state of Ohio, where they may work without dishonor. It is true that in Kentucky the planters are not ohliged to pay wages to the slaves whom they employ ; but they derive small profits from their labor, while the wages paid to free workmen would be returned with interest in the value of their services. The free workman is paid, l)ut he does hiii work quicker than the slave ; and rapidity of execution is one of the great elements of economy. The wiiite sells his services, but they are only purchased at the times at which they may be useful ; the black can claim no remuneration for his toil, but the expense of his maintenance is perpetual ; he must be supported in his old age as well as in the j)rimc of man- hood, in his profitless infancy as well as in the productive j'ears of youth. Payment must equally be made in order to obtain the services of either class of men ; the free workman receives his wages in money ; the slave hi education, in food, in care, and in clothing. The money which a master spends in the maintenance of his slaves, goes gradually and in detail, so that it is scarcely perceived ; the salary of *ho free workman is paid in a round sum, which appears only to enrich the individual who receives it ; but in the end the slave has cost more than the free servant, and his labor is less productive.* i The influence of slavery extends still farther ; it affects the character of the master, and imparts a peculiar tendency to his ideas and his tastes. Upon both banks of the Ohio, the character of the inhabitants is enterprising and energetic ; but this vigor is very differently exercised in the two states. * Independently of these causes which, wherever free workmen abound, render their labor more productive and more economical than that of slaves, another cause may be pointed out which is peculiar to tlie United States : the suiiar-canc has hitherto l)een cultivated with success only upon the banks of the Mississippi, near tiie mouth of that river in tlie fj;"l' of Mexico. In Louisiana the cultivation of the suiiar- cane is cxceodinudy hicriitive ; nowhere does a laborer earn so much by his work : and, as there is always a certain relation i)etwoen the cost of production and the value of the produce, tiie price of slaves is very hinh in Louisiana. Hut Louisiana is one of the confederate states, and slaves may tie carried thither iVoin all parts of the Union ; the price fliven for slaves in New Orleans consequently raises the value of slaves in all the other markets. The consequence of this is, that in the countries wiiere the land is less productive, the cost of slave labor is still very considerable, which gives an additional advantage to the com- petition of free labor. M U '1 mm hi m f» ilUI' #J vi-jKK 1 p. ■ 9r# uK 3H8 PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF II The white inhabitant of Ohio, who is obliged to subsist by hia own exertions, regards temporal prosperity as the principal aim of his existence ; and as the country which he occupies presents inexhaustible resources to his industry, and ever- varying lures to his activity, his acquisitive ardor surpasses the ordinary limits of human cupidity : he is tormented by the desire of wealth, and he boldly enters upon every path which fortune opens to him ; he becomes a sailor, pioneer, an artisan, or a laborer, with the same indifference, and he supports, with equal constancy, the fatigues and the dangers incidental to these various professions ; the resources of his intelligence are astonishing, and his avidity in the pursuit of gain amounts to a species of heroism. But the Kentuckian scorns not only labor, but all the un- dertakings which labor promotes ; as he lives in an idle independence, his tastes are those of an idle man ; money loses a portion of its value in his eyes ; he covets wealth much less than pleasure and excitement; and the energy which his neighbor devotes to gain, turns with him to a passion- ate love of field sports and military exercises ; he delights in violent bodily exertion, he is familiar with the use of arms, and is accustomed from a very early age to expose his life in single combat. Thus slavery not only prevents the whites from becoming opulent, but even from desiring to become so. As the same causes have been continually producing ©p. posite effects for the last two centuries in the British colonies of Nortli America, they have established a very striking dif- ference between the commercial capacity of the inhabitants of the south and that of the north. At the present day, it is only the northern states which are in possession of shipping, manufactures, railroads, and canals. This difference is per- ceptible not only in comparing the north with the south, but in comparing the sever" ^. southern states. Almost all the individuals who carry on commercial operations, or who en- deavor to turn slave-labor to account in the most southern districts of the Union, have emigrated from the north. The natives of the northern states are constantly spreading over that portion of the American territory, where they have less to fear from competition ; they discover resources there, which escaped the notice of the inhabitants ; and, as they comply with a system which they do not approve, they suc- ceed in turning it to better advantage than those who first founded, and who still maintain it. Wore I inclined to continue this parallel, I could easily prove that almost all the differences, which may be remarked ">■ THE THREE RACES INHABITING THE U. S. 369 between the characters of the Americans in the southern and in the northern states, iiave originated in slavery ; but this would divert me from my subject, and my present intention is not to point out all the consequences of servitude, but those effects which it has produced upon the prosperity of the countries which have admitted it. The influence of slavery upon tlie production of wealth must have been very imperfectly known in antiquity, as sla- very then obtained throughout the civilized world, and the nations which were unacquainted with it were barbarous. And indeed Christianity only abolished slavery by advocating the claims of the slave ; at the present time it may be at- tacked in the name of the master ; and, upon this point, inte- rest is reconciled with morality. As these truths became apparent in the United States, sla- very receded before the progress of experience. Servitude had begun in the south, and had thence spread toward the north ; but it now retires again. Freedom, which started from the north, now descends uninterruptedly toward the south. Among the great states, Pennsylvania now consti- tutes the extieme limit of slavery to the north ; but even within those limits the slave-system is shaken ; Maryland, which is immediately below Pennsylvania, is preparing for its abolition ; and Virginia, which comes next to Maryland, is already discussing its utility and its dangers.* No great change takes place in human institutions, with- out involving among its causes the law of inheritance. When the law of primogeniture obtained in the south, each family was represented by a wealthy individual, who was neither compelled nor induced to labor ; and he was surrounded, as by parasitic plants, by the other members of his family, who were then excluded by law from sharing the common inhe- •itance, and who led the same kind of life as himself. The very same thing then occurred in all the families of the south that still happens in the wealthy families of some coun- tries in Europe, namely, that the younger sons remain in the * A peculiar reason contributes to detach the two last-mentioned states from tlie cause of slavery. The former \vealth of this part of the Union was principally derived" from the cultivation of tobacco This cultivation is specially carried on by slaves ; but within the last few years the market-price of tol)acco has diminished, while the value of "the slaves remains the same. Thus tiic ratio b 370 PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF I same state of idleness as tlieir older brother, without being as rich as he is. This identical result seems to be produced in Europe and in America by wholly analogous causes. In the south of the United States, the whole race of whites formed an aristocratic body, which was headed by a certain jmuiber of privileged individuals, whose wealth was perma- nent, and whose leisure was hereditary. Thesr- leaders of the American nobility kept alive the traditional prejudices of the white race in the body of which they were the representa- tives, and maintained the honor of inactive life. This aris- tocracy contained many who were poor, but none who would work ; its members preferred want to labor ; consequently no competition was set on foot against negro laborers and slaves, and whatever opinion might be entertained as to the utility of their eilbrts, it was indispensable to employ them, since there was no one else to work. No sooner was the law of primogeniture abolished than for- tunes began to diminish, and all the families of the country were simultaneously reduced to a state in which labor be- came necessary to procure the means of subsistence : seve- ral of them have since entirely disa» xrcd ; and all of them learned to look forward to the tii.iC at which it would be necessary for every one to provide for his own wants. Wealthy individuals are still to be met with, but they no longer constitute a compact and hereditary body, nor have they been able to adopt a line of conduct in which they couli persevere, and which they could infuse into all ranks of soci ety. The prejudice which stigmatized labor was in the first place abandoned by common consent ; the number of needy men was increased, and the needy were allowed to gain 3 laborious subsistence without blushing for their exertions. Thus one of the most immediate consequences of the partible qualiiy of estates has been to create a class of free laborers. As so:)n as a competition was set on foot between the free laborer and the slave, the inferiority of the latter became manifest, and slavery was attacked in its fundamental prin- ciples, which is, the interest of the master. As slavery recedes, the black population follows its retro- grade course, and returns with it to those tropical regions from which it originally came. However singular this fact may at first appear to be, it may readily be explained. Al- though the xVinericans abolish the principle of slavery, they do not set their slaves free. To illustrate this remark I will quote the example of the state of New York. In 1788, the state of New York prohibited the sale of slaves within its -f^. •# THE THREE RACES INHABITING THE U. S. limits; which was an indirect nietliod of prohibiting tlie im- portation of blacks. Thenceforward tlie number of negroes could only increase according to the ratio of the natural in- crease of population. But eight years later a more decisive measure was taken, and it was enacted that all children born of slave parents after the 4th of July, 1799, should be free. No increase could then take place, and although slaves still existed, slavery might be said to be abolished. From the time at which a northern state prohibited the importation of slaves, no slaves were brought from the south to be sold in its markets. On the other hand, as the sale of slaves was forbidden in that state, an owner was no longe'- able to get rid of his slaves (who thus became a burdensome possession) otherwise than by transporting him to the south. But when a northern state declared that the son of the slave should be born free, the slave lost a large portion of his mar- ket value, since his posterity was no longer included in the bargain, and the owner had then a strong interest in trans- porting him to the south. Thus the same law prevents the slaves of the south from coming to the northern states, and drives those of the north to the south. The want of free hands is felt in a state in proportion as the number of slaves decreases. But in proportion as labor is performed by free hands, slave-labor becomes less produc- tive ; and the slave is then a useless or an onerous posses- sion, whom it is important to export to those southern states where the same competition is not to be feai'ed. Thus the abolition of slavery does not set the slave free, but it merely transfers him from one master to another, and from the north to the south. The emancipated negroes, and those born after the aboli- tion of slavery, do not, indeed, migrate from the north to the south ; but their situation with regard to the Europeans is not unlike that of the aborigines of America ; they remain half civilized, and deprived of their rights in the midst of a population which is far superior to them in wealth and in knowledge ; where they are exposed to the tyranny of the laws,* and the intolerance of the people. On some accounts they are still more to be pitied than the Indians, since they are haunted by the reminiscence of slavery, and they cannot * The states in which slavery is abolished usually do what they can to render their territory disau'roeable to tlie negroes as a place ol resi- dence ; and as a kind of emulation exists between the different states »n this respect, the unhappy blacks can only choose the least of the vils which beset them. '■\Y)i H % ■;:?'•■ m\ :n'2 rUKSKNT AM) I'DTIHIK (CONDITION t)l' claim possession of a sinj^lc port ion of the soil : niuny of |lit>m prrisli niiscraMy,* and the rest eon^re^ate in tlu' ffreiit towns, where tln'y perll)rn> the ineanesi oljiees, und jeatl a wrelelietl anil preearions existence. lint even if the nunilx'r of neifroes continued to inereaso us rapidly as wjjen they wen^ still in a state of slavery, as the nnniher of whites anjfnients with twofold rapidity sinc(s Jie abolition of slavery, the blacks would soon b(>, as it wen?, lost in tlu> midst of a stran^(< population. A district which is (cultivated by slaves is in jfeneral mor« scantily peopled than a d strict cultivated by fre(( labor: moreover, America is still u now country, and a Htat(( is therefore not half peopled at the time when it abolished slave- ry. No sooner is an end put to slav(>ry, than the want ot' fr(>e labor is felt, and a crowd of enterprising- adventurer.s innnedialcly arrivi> from all parts of the country, who hasten to profit by \\\v fresh resources which are then o|)ened U) industry. Tlu^ .soil is .soon divided anu»nttli>rs takes possession of each trad of coun- try. Hesides whicdi, European cmi<^ration is exclusively directed to the fri'(> slates ; for what would Ik; the (iite of a poor emij^rant who crosses the Atlantic in search of »'aso and hapi>iness, if he wcr(> to land in a country whcr(! labor is stif^mafized as degradinji; ? Thus the white po|)ulation f^rows by its natural increase, and at the .same time by the in)n)cnse influx of emigrants ; while the black population receives no (>mi<,nants, and is upon its decline. Thi> proportion which existed bi-fween the two races is soon invertc^l. Tlu^ nei>;roes ctmstitiite a scanty rem- nant, a poor tribe of vagrants, which is lost in tiie midst of an innnense people in full possession of the land ; and the pre- sence of the blacks is oidy marked by the injustice and the hardships of which they are the unhappy victims. In si'vcM'al of the western states the negro race never made its appearance ; and in all the northern states it is rapidly de- clining. Thus the great question of its future condition is confined within a narrow circle, where it becomes less formi- dable, though not more easy of solution. * There is a very sr<^atdi(Terence betsveon tlio tnorlidily of tlio blacks and of the wliites in tlie states in wliicli slavery is abolislied ; from 18'2() to IS.'il only one out of forty-two individnals of tlie wbite popu- lation died in rhilidelpbia ; I)nt one neijro ont of twenty-one indi- vid\ials of tbe blaek population died in the same spaee of time. The mortality is by no means so i^reat anions tlie m^fjroes who are still •laves. (See Emnierson's Medic.il Statistics, p. 28.) I; ^^* >*•« THE TIIItUH nAr;i.;s INirAIUTINO TIIK U. S. 37.^ Tim mnvo. wi' dcscRiid loWiii'd tlin soutli, the riiorn (liHiculf (Iocs it hccoiiic to al)<)li'^li slavery willi (i(lvuiitu^(t : uiui this arises IVom scvrriil pliysit ;ii causes, vvhicli if is important to point out. The first of these causes is the (climate: it is well kuuwn that in proportion us hJuropeuns upproa(;h the tropics, they sulfcr more from hihor. Many ol' the Am(M'i(tans((ven ass(!rt, that within a certain latitude the exertions which a neuro car inaKf witliout (laii<,'er ar(! fatal to them ;* i)ut I do not think that this o|)inion, which is so favorahh; to the indolence of the inhabitants of southern reirions, is (;onlirmed hy ex|)erience. Tho southern parts of th(! Union are not hotter than the south of Italy and ol" Spain ;f and it may he asked why the; I'juro- j)ean cannot work as well tliere as in the two latter coimtries. If slavery has been aholished in Italy and in Spain without causinjr the destruction of the masters, why should not the sami; tliin;^ take place in the Union? I (umnot helievo that Natiin; has prohibited the ICuropeuns in (icorj^ia and the Flo- ridas, under pain of death, from raisirij^ the means of sub- sistence! from the soil ; but their labor would uii(|U<'stionably bo more irksome and less productive;): to them than the inha- bitants of New ICnjfland, As the free workman thus los(!.s a portion of his superiority over the slave in tlu; st)Uth(!rn states, there are fewer inducements to al)olish slav(;ry. All the |)lants of ICiiropf* jrrow in the northern parts of the Union ; the south has special produ(!tions of its own. It has been observed that slave labor is a very expensive method of cultivatint,' corn. The; farmer of corn-land in a country wluM'e slavery is unknown, habitually n^tains astnall numlxsr of laborers in his scM'vice, and at seed-tinu! and harvest h> hires several additional hands, who only live at his cost for l short period. Hut the aj^riculturist in a slave slate is oblis n«>arest to tlio tropics there is not a single white laborer; the negroes are coiise([uently imieh more numerous in th(> south than in the north. And. as 1 have already observed, this dis|)roporlion increases daily, sinci- the negroes are transferred to one part of tile Union us sotJii as slavery is abolished in the otiu'r. THE TIIUKE RACES INHABITING THE U. S. 375 Thus the black population augments in tlic south, not only by its natural fl'cundity, but by the conipuLsory emigration of the negroes from tiie north ; and the Atrican race has causes o^ increase in the south very analogous to tliose w hieh so pow- e. ully aeceleiate tiie growth of the European race in the north. In the state of Maine there is one negro in three hundred inhabitants; in Massachusetts, one in one hundred; in New York, two in one hundred ; in Peniisylvania, three in the same number ; in Maryland, thirty-tour ; in Virginia, forty-two ; and lastly, in South Carolina, tifty-live per cent.* Such was the proportion of the black j)opulation to the whites in the year 1830. But this [)roportion is perpetually changing, as it con stantly decreases in tlie north and augments in the south. It is evident that the most southern slates of tiie Union can- not abolish slavery without incurring very great dangers, which the north had no reason to apprehend wlieii it emanci- pated its black population. We have already sIkjwu the sys- tem by wliieli tlie northern state's seeure the transition from slavery to freed(tm, by keeping the present generation in chains, and setting tlieir desceiKhints free ; by this means the negroes are gradually introduced into soci{>ty ; and while the nii-n who might abuse their freedom are kept in a state of servitude, those who are emancipated niay leai'u the art of being fri-e bef)re they becon)e their own masti'rs. Hut it '.ouid be dillieult to apply this method in the south. To de- clare that all the negroes i)orn after a certain jjcriod sliall be free, is to introduce the principle and the notion of liixTty into the iicart of slavery ; the blacks, whom the law thus main- tains in a state of slavery from whieh their children are de- livered, are astonished at so unecpial a fate, and iht'ir aston- * Wf find it iisscrli'd in lui AiiicriiMii \V()i-i<, entitled, " Letters on the ('i)loiii/.;iti(iii Society," l)y Mr. Ciirey, l^.'t:!, tluit " I'nr tlie list fdi'ty years the lilaeU race lias increased more rapidly than the wliito race in the stite of Soiitli Carolina; and that if we take the uveraLce |io])iilatioii of the live states of tile south into wliicli slaves were llrst introduced, \i/.., Maryland, \■ir^;ini,^, Soiitli ("andina, Noilli Candina, OiuMieor^ia, w.' shall lind that fioin IT'.Mi |o I ^.Ki, the whiles have aiiiiinenled in the |)roi)ortion of mi to lOii, and the hlacks in thai of 1 [•> lo 100." In the Utiited .States, Is.'fo, the |.o|i iilacks, [liv the cciisns of 1^ 10, the poiiidation of liie twn races was as fol- lows: Slates where slaver> is aludishid, '.•,."i,'ii;,Oi;.'( whites; iTL'^.V* blacks. Slaveslates. |,ii;i,J,l .');( whites ; J,ri>l ,i;^^ hlaidvs ] fij... m-M iHi'f il6 PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF isliiiient is only tlie prelude to their impatience and irritation. Thenceforward slavery loses in their eyes that kind of moral power which it derived from time and hahit ; it is reduced to a mere palpable abuse of force. The northern states had nothing to fear from the contrast, because in them the blacks were few in number, and the white population was very con- siderable. But if this faint dawn of freedom were to show two millions of men their true position, the oppressors would have reason to tremble. After having enfranchised the chil- dren of their slaves, the Europeans of the southern states would very shortly be obliged to extend the same benefit to the whole black population. In the north, as I have already remarked, a two-fold migration ensues upon the abolition of slavery, or even pre- cedes that event when circumstances have rendered it proba- ble ; the slaves quit the country to be transported southward ; and the whiles of the northern states as well as the emigrants from Europe hasten to fill up their place. But these two causes cannot operate in the same manner in the southern states. On the one hand, the mass of slaves is too great Ini any expectation of their ever l)eing removed from the country to be entertained; and on the other hand, the Europeans and the Anglo-Americans of the north are afraid to couk; to inhabit a country, in which labor has not yet been reinstated in its rightful honors. Besides, they very justly look upnu the states in which the proportion of the negrofs equals or exceeds that of the whites, as exposed to very gnat dangers; and they refrain from turning their activity in that dln-ction. Thus the inhabitants if the south W( uld not be able, liko their northern countrymen, to initiate the slaves gradually into a stale of fretnlom, by dbolishing slavery ; tiiey luivi> no means of |)i're(>ptil)ly diminishing tli(> black |)opulution. and they would remain unsupported to repress its excesses. So that in the course of a few years, a great people of free ne- groes would exist in the heart of a white nation of etiual size. The same abuses of power which still maintain slufvi ry, would then be(;oni(^ the source of the most alarming prrils, whi(di tile white population of the south migiit have to aii|)re. bend. At the present time the descendants of the Europeans are the sole owners of the land ; the absolute masters of all lal»nr ; and the only persons who are possessed of wealth, knowledge, and arms. The black is destitute of all these ad- vantages, but he sul)sists without them becnuse he is a slave. If he were ('\'v{\ and obliged to pi'ovide (iir his own sub: istenc(>, Would it i»e i)ossil)le for him to remain u Itliout tliese things Ilth, Ll- Ivc. Ic(>, P" THE THREE RACES INHABITING THE U. S. 377 and to supji ■:-^, life ? Or would not the very instruments of the present superiority of the wiiite, while slavery exists, ex- pose him to a thousand dangers if it were abolished ? As long as the negro remains a slave, he may be kept in a condition not very far removed from that of the brutes ; but, with his liberty, he cannot but acquire a degree of instruc- tion whicii will enable him to appreciate his misfortunes, and to discern a remedy for them. Moreover, there exists a sin- gular principle of relative justice which is very firmly im- planted ill tile human heart. Men are much more forcibly struck by those inequalities which exist within the circles of the same class, than with those which may be remarked be- tween different classes. It is more easy for them to admit slavery, than to allow several millions of citizens to exist under a load of eternal infamy and hereditary wretchedness. In the north, the population of freed negroes feels these hard- ships and resents these indignities ; but its members and its powers are small, while in the south it would be numerous and strong. As soon as it is admitted that the whites and the emanci- pated iilacks are placed upon the same territory in the situa- tion of two alien comnmnities, it will readily be understood that there are but two alternatives for the future ; the negroes and the whites must eitiier wholly part or wholly mingle. I have already expressed the conviction wbich I entertain as to the latter event.* I do not imagine that the uiiiir luid tiie black races will ever live in any country upon an equal footing. But I believe the dillieulty to l)e still greater in thi; United States than elsewhere. An isolated individual may surmount tiie prejudices of religion, of his country, or of Lis race, and if this individual is a king he may etlect surprising ciianges in society ; but a whole people cunnot rise, as it were, above itself. A despot who should subject the Americans and their former slaves to the same yoke, might perhaps sii('('c((l in connningling their races; hut as long as tiie Anifricini democracy remains at the head of allairs, no one will under- take so difllcult a task; and it may be foreseen tiiat tiie freer * Tills opinion is saiiclioiu'il l)y iintliorilics inliiiitdy wci-liticr tluiii anylliinu tlnit 1 ciin hhv ; tlms. lor iiist.iiicc, it is slulctl in ilir Mc inniiN of .Ii'tlt'i'Sdii (iis I'ollcclt'd In M. fonscil). *' Notliini; is inoi'.' clearly written in llu- book ofdcstiny limn flu'einaiiciiKition ol'tlic hhu'ks ; anil It is ('(inally certain lliat the two races will never live in a st.ite nt'e pial froodom under the sanii> ;;overnn)enl, so insurnmnntahle are the harriers which iiiUuro, habit, and opinions, have ostubiished helu ern them " fl-.^i 1 r f 1 1 :8i -IS?. ,1, 378 PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF It the whito population of the United States becomes, the more isolated will it remain.* I have previously observed tliat the mixed race is the true bond of union between the Europeans and the Indians ; just so the nnilattoes arc the true means of transition between the white andtlio negro; so that wherever nmlattof^s abound, the ifiitermixturc of tlie two races is not impossible. In some parts of America the European and the negro races are so crossetl by one another, tliat it is rare to meet with a man who is entirely black or entirely white : when they are ar. rived at tliis point, the two races may really be said to be combined ; or rather to have been absorbed in a third race, whicli is connected with both, without being identical with either. Of all the Europeans the English are those who have mixed least with the negroes. More mulattocs are to be seen in the south of the Union than in the north, but still they are infinitely more scarce than in any other European colony : Mulattoes are by no means numerous in the United States; they have no force peculiar to themselves, and when quarrels originating in differences of color take place, they generally side with the whites, just as the lacqueys of the great in Europe assume the contemptuous airs of nobility to the lower orders. The prid(> of origin, which is natural to the English, is singularly augmented by the personal pride which democratic lii)erty fosters among th(> Americans : tlie white citizen of the United States is proud of ids race, and proud of himself I5iit if the whites and tlie negroes do not intermingle in the north of the Union, how should thi^y mix in the sontii ? Can if be supposid fiir an instant, that an American of the southern states, plai'ed,as he nnist for ever be, between the white niau with all his physical and moral superiority, and the negro, will ever think of preferring the latter I The Americans of the southern states have two powerful passions, whicli w ill always keep iliem aloof; the first is the fear of ix'ing assinii. lated to th(> negroes, their f)rmer slaxcs; and the second, the dread of sinking below the whites, their iniuiiliors. If I Were ealleil u|)on to predict \\ hat \\ill ])i'obalily occur at some future time. I should sav, that the abolition of slavery in the south, will, in the common course of tliinjrs. increase the repugnance of the white population t()r the men of color. * It till' Di'itisli ^\'lst Iiidiii pi inters liul fiovrviii'il lliiinsclvi'S, llii'V WDiilil iis- legislature ; and why should not tlie same result take place in the soutli ? In the nortii, tlie wiiites are deterred from intermin siirroundi'd by an immense black population ; on the continent, the blacdts are placed iietween the ocean and an innumerable jx'ople, which already extends over th(Mii in a dense mass from the icy confines of Canada to the frontiers of Virginia, and from the banks of the Missouri to the shores of the Atlantic. If the white citizens of Nortli America remain united, it cannot be supposed that the negroes will escape the destruction with which they are nieiuu;e(l ; they must be subdued by want or by the sword. IJiit the black jiopulation which is accumu- lating along tiie coast of the gulf of iM(>xico, lias a chance of success, it' the American Union is dissolved when th(> struggle between the two races begins. If the federal tie were i)rokeii, the citizens of the south would be wrong to rely upon any lasting succor from tlieir northern countrvmeii. The latter M'j'i. m Z^ZW^'^ ^ ^^'' 'TTf^'^J'^^ '■''/ ^< ^ * 380 PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF 'til. are well aware that the danger can never reach thein ; and unless they are constrained to inarch to the assistance of the south by a positive obligation, it may be foreseen that the sympathy of color will be insufficient to stinuilate their exertions. Yet, at whatever period the strife may break out, the whites of the south, even if they are abandoned to tiieir own rcsour- ces, will enter the lists with an immense superiority of know- ledge and of the means of warfare : but the blacks will have numerical strength and the energy of despair upon their side ; and these are powerful resources t) men who have taken up arms. The fate of the white population of the southern states will, perhaps, be similar to that of the Moors in Spain. After having occupied the land for centuries, it will perhaps be forced to retire to the country whence its ancestors came, and to abandon to the negroes the possession of a territory, which Providence seems to have more peculiarly destined lor them, since they can subsist and labor in it more easily than the whites. The danger of a conflict between the white and the black inhabitants of the southern states of the Union — a danger which, however remote it may be, is inevitable — perpetually haunts the imagination of the Americans. The inhabitants of the north make it a common topic of conversation, although they have no direct injury to fear from the struggle ; but they vainly endeavor to devise some means of obviating the mis- fortunes which they foresee. In the southern states the sub- ject is not discussed : the planter does not allude to tlie future in conversing with strangers; the citizen does not communi- cate his apprehensions to his friends : he seeks to conceal them from himself: but there is something more alarmiuir in the tacit forebodings of the south, than in the clamorous fears of the northern states. This all-pervading disquietude has given birth to an under- taking which is but little known, but which may have the elFect of changing the fate of a portion of the human race. From apprehension of the dangers which I have just been de- scribing, a certain number of American citizens have formed a society for tiie purpose of exporting to the coast of Guinea, at their own expense, such free negroes as may be willing to escape from the oppression to which they are subif^. i.* • Tills society assumed the name " Tlio Society for the Coloniza- tion (if the Hlacks." See its annual reports ; and more iiarticularly tin; lil'teenfli. See also the paniphlet, to whicii allusion has already hcen made, entitled " Letters on tlie t'oloni/.a|ion Society, and on its Pl'ohable results," hy Mr. Carey, Philadelphia, A|)ril, l^ii'j. --1 r THE THREE RACES INHABITING THE U. S. 381 .r the ! 1 fl 1 on lie- H 1 brniod i H ;i uinou, 1 H ! ing to i I ' loni/.n- ■ ilmuly 1 1 on its ,1 In 1820, the society to wliic.h I allude ibrnied a settlement in Africa, upon the 7tli degree of" nortii latitude, which bears the name of Liberia. The most recent intelligence infbrms us that two thousand five hundred negroes are collected there ; they have introduced the democratic institutions of America into the country of th(>ir forefathers ; and Liberia has a rep- resentative system of government, negro-jurymen, negro- magistrates, and negro-priests ; churches have been built, newspapers established, and, by a singular change in the vicis- situdes of the world, white men are prohibited from sojourn- ing within the settlement.* This is indeed a strange caprice of fortune. Two hundred years have now elapsed since the inhabitants of Europe un- dertook to tear the negro from his family and his home, in order to transport him to the shores of North America ; at the present day, the European settlers arc engaged in sending back the descendants of those very negroes to the continent from which they were originally taken ; and the barbarous Africans have been brought into contact with civilisation in the midst of bondage, and have bLCoine acquainted with free political institutions in slavery. Up to the present time Africa has been closed against the arts and sciences of the whites ; but the inventions of Europe will perhaps penetrate into those regions, now that they are introduced by Africans themselves. The settlement of Liberia is founder* upon a lofty and a most fruitful idea ; but whatever may be its results with regard to the continent of Africa, it can atlord no remedy to the New . World. In twelve years the Colonization society has transported two thousand five hundred negroes to Africa j in the same space of time about seven hundred thousand blacks were born in the United States. If the colon) "f Liberia were so situ- ated as to be able to receive thousands of new inhabitants every year, and if the negroes were in a state to be sent thither with advantage ; if the Union were to supply the soci- ety with annual subsidies,-)* and to transport the negroes to * Tills last regulation was laid down by tlie founders of the settle- ment ; they apprehended that a state of thii\gs ininht arise in Africa, similar to that which exists on the frontiers of the United States, and that if the neiiroes, like the Indians, were hninsiht into collision with a people more cnlighteiied than themselves, they would be destroyed before they could be civilized. t Nor \vo\il(l these be the only dillicnllies attendant upon the under- taking; if tlie Union undertook to buv up Ihe negroes now in Ame- rica, in order to transport tln-m to Africa, tiie price of slaves, increas- ing with their scarcity, would soon becon.e enormous; and the states t *' *•'■ *'' , ^♦^ , % .^82 PRESENT AND FUTURE CONDITION OF Africa in vessels of the state, it would be still unable to counterpoise the natural increase of population among the blacks ; and as it would not remove as many men in a year as are born upon its territory within the same space of time, it would fail in suspending the growth of the evil whicii is daily increasing in the states.* The negro race will never leave those shores of the American continent, to which it was brought by the passions and the vices of Europeans ; and it will not tlisappear from the New World as long as it con- tinues to exist. The inhabitants ;'' iiie United States may retard the calamities which they a,s to tlienisolvi'S. It" tlic 'Jnioii took' p(>s^(^ssioii oCthe sl.ives in the sontlu'rn states hy Torre, or lit a rate deterinined hy law, an insnrinonntahle resistance wmdd arise in that ]iart of tlie country. J5oth alternatives are eipially inipus- sihle. * In is;ii) tlu're were in the r'nited States 2,0U),:i21 slaves and .Till, l.'i'.i hlacks, in all :2,.'!'i'.t,7i'>i'' noi^roes, whicli l"orined about one-litth nt' tile total population of tlio United States at tliat time. [In 1M I there were in the United States •i,lsi;,,'j In slav'>3, and r(S(),-j,'|-_) free hlaclis; in all, •2,S7'i,.'jSo negroes, which t"ornicd about one-sixth of the total population.] THE THKKK RACES Ix\UAlUTIx\G XilE U. S ;5."^3 ova pur- ees. If ly I'lU'ci', wmilil iinpos- VM aiul )iu-lirtli >3, n"(i 1 about negroes, and t(j inteniiingle witli tliem ; or, reimiining ibolatcil from tlu'ii), to keep them in a state of slavery us long as pos- sible. All intermediate! measures seeiri to mo likely to ter- minate, and tliat siiortly, in the most horrible oC civil wars, and perhaps in the extirpation of one or other of the two races. Such is the view which the Americans of the south take of the (juestion, and they act consistently w ith it. As tliev are determined not to mini;l(} with the neitroes, tluiv re- luse to emancipate tliein. Not that thc! iidial)itants of the south regard slavery as necessary to the wealth of the planter ; ibr on this point many of them agree with their northern countrymcMi in freely admitting that slavery is prejudicial to their interests ; but they are convinced that, however prejudicial it may be, they hold their lives upon no other tenure. The instruction which •snow dill'used in the south has convinced the inhabitants that •lavery is injurious to the slave-owner, but it has also shown ■nem, more clearly than beil)re, that no means exist of getting nd of its bad conse(|uences. Ilenci! arises a singular con- '.rast ; the more tlu^ utility of slavery is contested, the more 'irmly is it established in the laws ; and while the princi[)le it' servitude is gradually abolished in the north, that self-same ovinciple gives rise to more and more rigorous consecjuences .n the souMi. The legislation of the southern states, with regard to slaves, presents at the present day such unparalleled atrocities, assuf- (iee to show how radically the laws of humanity have been perverted, and to betray the desperates position of the connnu- fiity in which that legislation has been pronuilgated. Tiio Americans of this portion of the Union liave not, indeed, aug- nu'uted the hardships of slavery ; they hav(% on the contrary, bettered the physical condition oi' the slaves. The only means by which the ancients maintained slavery were fet- ters and death ; tlui Americans of the south of the Union have discovered more intellectual securities for the duration of sheir power. They have employed their despotism and tlifMr violence against the human mind. In antiquity, ])recautions wow. taken to pnn'ent \\\o slave from breaking his chains; at the present day measures are adoj)ted to deprive him even of die desire of frecMlom. The ancienis kept the bodies of their -slaves in bondage, but they placed no restraint upon the mind And no cheek upon eiliieation ; and they acted consistently •vifh tiieir i-stablished principle, since a natural termination of slavery then (\xisted, and one day or other the slave might bo M;t free, and become the e([ual of his master. J3ut the Aine- \'m =1\ 384 PRESENT AM' i ./RE CONDITION OF ricans of the south, wbr )o not admit that tlie negroes can ever be commingled w-t.. thomselves, have forbidden them to be taught to read or to \rrite, under severe penalties ; and as they will not raise thei . to their own level, they sink them as nearly as possible to tnat of the brutes. The hope of lib(>r^y had always been allowed to the slave to cheer the hardsh'ps of his condition. But the Americans of the south are w<.'ll aware that emancipation cannot but be dangerous, when .he freed man can never be assimilated to his former master. To give a man his freedom, and to leave him in wretcluidtiess and ignominy, is notliing less than to pre|)are a future chief for a revolt of the slaves. Moreover, it has long been remarked, that the presence of a free neii;r «f!S Mi til •.II ^■i il 11!^ m-^^ ,i riV'l ■'> ii : , t j 386 DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, WHAT ARE THE CHANCES IN FAVOR OF THE DURATION OP THE AMERICAN UNION, AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. Reasons wliy the preponderatin<; Force lies in the States ratlicr than in the Union — Tlie Union will only last as long as all tlio States choose to bolon{5 to it. — Cannes whicii tend to keep thcin united.— Utility of the Union to resist foreign Enemies, and to prevent the Existence of Foreigners in America. — No natural Harriers between the several States. — No conllicting Interests to divide tliem.— Re- ciprocal Interests of the Nortliern, Soutlicrn, and Western States. — Intellectual ties of Union —Uniformity of Opinions. — Dangers of the Union resulting from tlie different Ciiaracters and the Passions of its Citizens.— Cliaracter of tiic Citizens in the South and in the North. — The rapid growth of the Union one of its greatest Dangers. — Progress of the I'opulation to the Northwest.— Power gravitates in the same Direction. — Passions originating from sudden turns of Fortune. — Whether the e.visting Government of the Union tends to gain strength, or to lose it. — Various signs of its Decrease. — Internal Inprovement.— Waste Lands. — Indians.— The Bank. — The Tariff. — General Jackson. The maintenance of the existing institutions of the several states depends in some measure upon the maintenance of the Union itself. It is therefore important in the first instance to inquire into the probahle fate of the Union. One point may indeed be assumed at once ; if the present confederation were dissolved, it appears to me to be incontestable that tlie states of which it is now composed would not return to their origi- nal isolated condition ; but that several Unions would then be formed in the place of one. It is not my intention to in- quire into the principles upon which these new Unions would probably be established, but merely to show what the causes are which may effect the dismemberment of the existing confederation. With this object I shall be obliged to retrace some of the steps which I have already taken, and to revert to topics whicli I have before discussed. I am aware that the reader may accuse me of repetition, but the importance of the mat- ter which still remains to be treated is my excuse ; I liad rather say too much, than say too little to be thoroughly un- derstood, and I prefer injuring the author to slighting the subject. The legislators who toi-med the constitution of 1789 en- deavored to confer a distinct tiii'l preponderating authority upon the federal power. But they w re confined by the con- ditions of the task which they had undertaken to perform. They were not appointed to constitute the government of a mat- had un- tlie AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 387 single people, but to regulate the association of several states ; and, wliatever their inclinations Miint in its nature, is invested with the right of re- gulating the affairs which relate partly to the general and partly to the local interest, it possesses a preponderating inlluence. Not only are its own rights extensive, but all the rights which it does not possess exist l)y its sutr^'raiice, and it may be ap- prehended that the provincial governments may hv deprived of their natural and necessary prerogatives by its influence. When, on the other hand, the provincial governments are invested with the power of regulating those same affairs of mixed interest, an opposite tendency prevails in society. Ti)e prepon right of regulating all exehisivelv provincial alfairs. Moreover these same states retained the right of de- termining the civil and ])olitical competiMicy of tlie citizens, of regulating the reciprocal relalinns of the members of tlie community, and of dispensing jnstict> ; rights which are of a general nature, but which do not necessarily appertain to the national government. We have shou n that the goverrnnent of the Union is invested with the power of acting in the name of the wliole natif>n, in those cases in which the nation has to appear as a single and undivided power ; as, for instance, in foreign relations, and in olH'ring a connnon resistance to a common enemy : in short, in conducting those alluirs which I have styled exclusively national. ol a tlio lUMlt iimr us to ill to a id) I AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 389 In this division of the rights of sovereignty, the share of the Union seems at first sight to be more considerable than that of the states ; but a more attentive investigation shows it to be less so. The undertakings of the government of the Union are more vast, but their influence is more rarely felt. Those of the provincial government are comparatively small, but they are incessant, and they serve to keep alive the au- thority which they represent. The government of the Union watches the general interests of the country ; but the general interests of a people have a very questionable influence upon individual happiness ; while provincial interests produce a most immediate effect upon the welfare of the inhabitants. The Union secures the independence and the greatness of the nation, which do not immediately atfect private citizens ; but the several states maintain the liberty, regulate the rights, protect the fortune, and secure the life and the whole future prosperity of every citizen. The federal government is very far removed from its sub- jects, while the provincial governments are witliin the reach of them all, and are ready to attend to the smallest appeal. The central government has u[)on its side the passions of a few superior men who aspire to conduct it ; but upon the side of the provincial governments are the interests of all those second-rate individuals who can only hope to obtain power within tlieir own state, and who nevertheless exercise the largest share of authority over the people because they are placed nearest to its level. The Americans have tiierefire much more to hope and to fear from the states than from th<^ Union ; and, in eonf )rmity with the natural tendency of the human mind, thoy are more likely to attach themselves to the f()rmer than to the latter. In this respect their habits and feelings harmonize with their interests. When a compact nation divides its sovereignty, and ailopts a confederate form of government, the traditions, the customs, and the mnmiers of the peoj)le ur(^ for a long time at variance with their legislation ; and the former fend to give a degree of influi-nce to the central government whieii th<> latter forbids. Wiien a number of confederate states unite to f()rm a single nation, tiie same causes operati* in an opposite direction. 1 have no doubt that it" Fraiiec^ were to l)ecome a confl-derato repul)li»; like that of tlK> I'nited States, tlie government would at first display more energy than that of the Union ; and if the Union Were to alter its eniistitiilinii to a monarchy like that of j*'runce, I think that the American government would bea '> I " i\ i.f,xT 390 DURATION OF THE A.MKRICAN UNION, long timo in acquiring the force which now rules tlie latter nation. When tiie national existence of the Anglo-Americans hegan, their provincial 'existence was already of long standing; neci'ssary relations were established between the townships and tlie individual citizens of the same states ; and they were accustomed to consider some objects as connnon to them all, and to conduct other affairs as exclusively relating to their own special interests. The Union is a vast body, which presents no definite object to patriotic feeling. The forms and limits of the state are distinct and circumscribed ; since it represents a certain num- ber of objects which are familiar to the citizens and beloved by all. it is identified witii the very soil, with the right of property and the domestic atlections, with the recollections of the past, the labors of the present, and the hopes of the future. Patriotism, then, whicli is imiuently a mere extension of indi- vidual egotism, is still directed to the state, and is not excited by the Union. Thus the tendency of tlie interests, the habits, and the feelings of the people, is to centre political activity in the states, in preference to the Union. It is easy to estimate the different forces of the two govern- ments, by remarking the manner in which they fulfil their respective functions. Whenever the government of a state has occasion to address an individual, or an assembly of indi- viduals, its language is clear and imperative ; and such is also the tone of tlie federal government in its intercourse witii in- dividuals ; but no sooner has it anything to do with a state, than it begins to parley, to explain its motives, and to justify its conduct, to argue, to advise, and in short, anything but to command. If doubts are raised as to the limits of tiic con- stitutional powers of each ffovernment, the provincial govern- ment j)refers its claims with boldness, and takes prompt and energt'tie steps to support it. In the meanwhile the govern- ment of the Union reasons, it appeals to the interests, to the good sense, to the glory of the nation ; it temporizes, it negotiates, and does not consent to act until it is reduced to the last extremity. At first sight it miifht r(>adily he imngined that it is the provincial government which is armed with the au- thority of the nation, and that congress represents a single state. The federal goverimu'iit is, tlieretl)re, notwithstanding the precautions of those who founded it, naturally so weak, that it more peculiarly requires the free consent of the govrnen to enable it to subsist. It is easy to perceive that its object is to enable the states to realize with iaeility their determinatio!i of rcmuining united ; and. as long iisthis preliminary consideia- I 5 Dvern- tlii'ir I state f iiuli- is also itii in- i stato, ustity but to ' con- )vi'rn- )t and ivrrn- (1 tlio ;rs, it nl to irincd If au- stut(>. If tho 1 hat it en to ■1 t is to ■ OM of ■ (Icra- 1 1 AND WHAT DANGERS THHEATEX IT. 391 tion exists, its authority is great, temporato, and efTectivc. The constitution fits the government to control individuals, and easily to surmount such obstacles as they may be inclined to offer, but it was by no means established with a view to the possible separation of one or more of the states from the Union. If the sovereignty of vhe Union wore to engage in a struggle with that of the states at the pnsent day, its defeat may be confidently predicted ; anil it is i it probable that such a strug- gle would be seriously undi lii n. As often as steady re- sistance is offered to the federal government, it will be found to yield. Experience has hitherto shown that whenever a state has demanded anything with perseverance and resolu- tion, it has invariably succeeded ; and that if a separate go- vernment has distinctly refused to act, it was left to do as it thought fit.* But even if the government of the Union had any strength inherent in itself, the [)hysical situation of the country would render the exercise of that strength very difiieult.f The United States cover an immense territory ; they are separated from each other by great distances ; and the population is dis- seminated over the surface of a country which is still half a wilderness. If the Union were to undertake to enforce tho allegiance of the confederate states by luililary means, it would be in a position very analogous to that of England at the time of the war of independence*. However strong a government may be, it cannot easily escape from the consequences of a principle which it has once admitted as the foundation of its constitution. The Union was fi)rmed by the voluntary agreement of the states; and, in uniting together, they have not forfeited their nation- ality, nor have they been reduced to the condition of one and tiie same people. If one of the states chos(> to withdraw its name from tlie compact, it would he difiicult to dis|)rove its right of doing so ; and the federal government would have no means of maintaining its claims directly, (Mther by force or hy right. In order to enabh^ the federal government easily to conquer the resistance which may be oifered to it by any on(> of its subjects, it would be necessary that one or more of * Sen flip condurt of tlio nortlnTii stiifcs in flic \v;ir of ISli. " Dn- riiii; tli;it Wiir," said Jenbrsoii, in a letter ti. (JiMiiTal L.iliiveftP, " fmir of flic (' Ktorii sfatt's wore only attached to the Union, like so many iiianiin.li>' tiodios to living men." t The prDloiuid peace of the Union afT^irds no pretext for a stalldin^ army; and withoni a Htandiii^ army a ^tovernmeiif is not prepureil to profit hy a favorahle opportmiify to I'uiiijner nsisianco, and take the iovereijj[ii power by surprise ;i I'^'il 392 DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, them slioulJ be especially interestrd in the existence of the Union, as lias frequently been the case in the history of con- federations. If it be supposed that among tho states which are united by the federal tie, there are some which exclusively enjoy the principal advantages of union, or whose prosperity de- pends on the duration of that union, it is unquestionable that they will always be ready to support the central govermiieiit in enforcinjj the obedience of the others. But the goverii- ment would then be exerting a force not derived from itself, but from a principle contrary to its nature. States form con- federations in order to derive equal advantages from their union ; and in the case just alluded to, the federal govern- ment would derive its power from tlie unequal distribution of those benefits among the states. If one of the confederated states have acquired a prepon- derance sufficiently great to enable it to take exclusive pos- session of the central authority, it will consider tlic otiier states as subject provinces, and will cause its own supremacy to be respected under the borrowed name of the sovereignty of the Union. Great things may then be done in the name of the federal government, but in reality that government will have ceased to exist.* In both these cases, the power which acts in the name of the confedi>ration becomes stronger, the more it abandons the natural state and the acknowledij-cd principles of confcnlerations. In America the existing Union is advantageous to all the states, but it is not indispensable to any one of them. Several of them might break the federal tie without compromising tho welfare of tl»e others, although their own prosperity would lie lessened. As the existence and the happiness of none of the states are wholly dependent on the present constitution, they would none of them be disposed to make great personal sac- rifices to maintain it. On the other hand, there is no state which seems, hitherto, to have its ambition much interested in the maintenance of the existing Union. Tliey certainly do not all exercise tlie same influence in the federal councils, but no one of them can hoj)e to domineer over the rest, or to treat them as its inferiors or as its subjects. It appears to me un(|U('stionable, that if any portion of tln^ Union seriously desirecl to separate itself from the other st- tes, • Tims till" provitifc! of Holland in the ri'iiuhlir of tlu) Low roMiilrifs, ■nd till- cmiicror in tlu- (icrriiiiiiic C-oiiffdcrution, liiivo soiiK'tiincs pnl tlicinsi'lvfs in the placo of the I'liion, and have employed the fodt-iid itntiuiiiiy to their ciwu advantage. u the ral 10 )0 tlio y IC- uto ted ilv to ho ■cs, nil r— AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 393 they would not bo able, nor indeed would they attempt, lo prevent it ; and that tlie present Union will only last as long as the states which compose it choose to continue mem- bers of the confederation. If this point be admitted, the ques- tion becomes less difficult ; and our object is not to inquire whether the states of the existing Union are capable of sepa- rating, but whether they will choose to remain united. [The romarks respecting the inability of the federal government to retain within tiie Union any state that may choose "to withdraw its name Iroin the contract," ought not to jjass through an American edi- tion of this work, without the expression of a dissent by the editor from tiie opinion of the author. Tiie laws of the United States must remain in force in a revolted state, until repealed by congress; the customs and postages must be collected ; the courts of the United States must sit, and must decide the ca\ises submitted to them ; as has been very happily explained by the autlior, the courts act upon indi- viduals. If their judgments arc; resisted, tlie executive arm must in- terpose, and if the state authorities aid in the resistance, tlie military power of tlie whole Union must be invoked to overc(mie it. So long as the laws aflecting the citizens of such a state remain, and so long as there remain any oflicors of a general government to enforce them, these results must follow not only tlieoretically but actually. The author probably formed the o|)inions wliicii are the sul)ject of these remarks, at the commencement of tiie controversy with South Carolina respecting the tariff And when they were written and published, he had not learned the result of that controversy, in which tiie supre- macy of the Union and its laws was triumphant. There was doubt- less great reluctance in adopting the necessary measures to collect the customs, and to bring every legal (piestion that could jxissibly arise out of the controversy, before tiie judiciary of tiie United States, but they were finally adopted, and were not the less successful for being the re- sult of deliberation and of necessity. Out of that controversy liave arisen some advantages of a permanent character, ])roduced by tlie le- gislation wiiich it reiiuircd. There were defe(;ts in the laws regulating tlie manner of bringing from the state courts into those of tiie United States, a cause involving tiie constitutionality of acts of congress or of the states, tlirougii wliicli tiie federal antliority nii^ilit be "Vaded. Tliosi> defects were remedied by the legislation ri'ferrt'd to; mil it is now more emphatically and universally true, tlian wlien tlie lutlior wrote, that the acts of tlie general government operate tlirough ;he judiciary, upon individual citizens, and not upon tiie states,— American Editor."] Amonji the various reasons which tend to render the e.xist tng Union useful to the Americans, two principal eaiisos arc peculiarly evident to the observer. Although the Americans are, as it were, alone upon their oontiiient, thoir commerco makes thorn the ii(Mghl)ors of all tlu- nations with which they trade. Notwithstanding llioir appuront isolation, the Ameri- cans reiiuire a certain degree of strength, which they t-aimot 'U*: m *m-i ) i\ 394 DURATION Or" THE AMERICAN UNION, retain otherwise than by remaining united to each other. If the states were to split, they would not only diminish the strength which they are now able to display toward foreign nations, but they would soon create foreign powers upon their own territory. A system of inland custom-houses would then be established ; the valleys would be divided by imaginary boundary lines ; the courses of the rivers would be confined by territorial distinctions; and a multitude of hindrances would prevent the Americans from exploring the whole of that vast continent which Providence has allotted to them for a dominion. At present they have no invasion to fear, and consequently no standing armies to maintain, no taxes to levy. If the Union were dissolved, all these burdensome measures might ere long be required. The Americans are then very powerfully interested in the maintenance of their Union. On the other hand, it is almost impossible to discover any sort of material interest which might at present tempt a portion of the Union to separate from the other states. When we cast our eyes upon the map of the United States, we perceive the chain of the Allegany mountains, running from the northeast to the southwest, and crossing nearly one thousand miles of country ; and we are led to imagine that the design of Providence was to raise, between the valley of the Mississippi and the coasts of the Atlantic ocean, one of those natural barriers which break the mutual intercourse of men, and form the necessary limits of different states. But the average heigiit of the Alleganies does not exceed 2,500 feet ; their greatest elevation is not above 4,000 feet ; their rounded summits, and the spacious valleys which they conceal within their passes, are of easy access from several sides. Beside which, the principal rivers that fall into the Atlantic ocean, the Hudson, the Susquehannah, and the Potomac, take their rise beyond the Alleganies, in an open district, which bor- ders upon the valley of the Mississippi. These streams quit this tract of country,* make their way through the barrier which would seem to turn them westward, and as they wind through the mountains, they open an easy and natural pas- sage to man. No natural barrier exists in the regions which are now in- habited by the Anglo-Aincrieans ; tiie Alleganies are so far from serving as a bou'ndary to separate nations, that they do not even serve as a frontier to the states. New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, comprise them witliin their boi'- • See Darby's View ol'tlie United States, pp Gl. 7'J. in- so Ihcy JOV- AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 395 & I ders, and extend as much to the west as to the east of the line. The territory now occupied by the twenty-four states of the Union, and the three great districts wiiich have not yet acquired the rank of states, although they already contain inhabitants, covers a surflico of 1,002,600 square miles,* which is about equal to five times the extent of France. Within these limits the qualities of the soil, the temperature, ana the produce of ^bf country, are extremely various. The vast extent of territory occupied by the Anglo-American re- publics has given rise to doubts as to the maintenance of the Union. Here a distinction must be made ; contrary inter- ests sometimes arise in the different provinces of a vast em- pire, which often terminate in open dissensions ; and t^e extent of the country is then most prejudicial to the power of the state. But if the inhabitants of these vast regions are not divided by contrary interests, the extent of the teri'itory may be favorable to their prosperity ; for the unity of the government promotes the interchange of the different produc- tions of the soil, and increases their value by facilitating their consumption. It is indeed easy to discover different interests in the differ- ent parts of the Union, but I am unacquainted with any which are hostile to each other. The southern states are al- most exclusively agricultural : the northern states are more peculiarly commercial and manufacturing : the states of the west are at the same time agricultural and manutlicturing. In the south the crops consist of tobacco, of rice, of cotton, and of sugar ; in the north and the west, of wheat and maize : these are ditferent sources of wealth ; bui. union is the means by which these sources are opened to all, and rendered equally advantageous to the several districts. The north, which ships the produce of the Anglo-Americans to all parts of the world, and brings back the produce of the globe to the Union, is evidently interested in maintaining the confederation in its present condition, in order that the num- * Sec Darby's View of the United Si.itcs, p. ■13.'). [In Carey & Lea's Geof^raphy of America, the United States are said to form an area of 2,07 solemnity of a providential event ; it is like a deluge of men rising una- batedly, and daily driven onward by the hand of God. tho Unitod States in l^^.Vi, will bo twi-nty inillioiis : in IS7I, forty- eiy;lit millions; und in ts'.ni, nini-ty-six inillinns. '{"his may still i)u tlu" case «!Vt'n if tlio lands on liu' wcstiTn slope ol' the Itocky monn- tains shonid he t'onnil to In- nnfil for cnlliviilion. The territory which is already oeeupii'd cww cisily eoiitain lliis mnnher of inhahitanls. One hundred millions of nun ssels of the state of Mass;ielins(^tts idone nmounfed to 17,.'l'2'2 tons. (See Lejjislative Dcicnments, 'Jlst roni^ress, '2(1 session, Xo. 1 |(i, p. o(.( ) Thus the state of Miissachusetts has three limes as mneli i-hi|)|)inn as ttie four aliovenientioned stati's. Nevertheless tlie area of the state of Massachusetts is only 7,M.';.'') s |Uare miles, and its population airi(uuits to rtllt.in I inliiibitants ; wliile tlie area of the four other states I have (pioted is 210,1)11(1 spiaie miles, and their population 'l,ti |7.7i>7. Thus the nroa of the state of Massachusetts forms only mie thirtietii part of f -f 4;)! OLKATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, is tlie more rapid increase of population and of wealth with. .1 its borders. The states situate upon tiie shores of the Atlantic ocean are already half-peopled. Most of the land is held by an owner ; and these districts cannot therefore receive so many emigrants as the western states, where a boundless field is still open to their exertions. The valley of the Mississippi is far more fertile than the coast of the Atlantic ocean. This reason, added to all the others, contributes to drive the Euro, peans westward — a fact which may be rigorously demonstrat- cd by figures. It is found that the sum total of the popula- tion of all the United States has about tripled in the course of forty years. But in the recent states adjacent to the Mississippi, the population has increased thirty-one fold within the same space of time.* The relative position of the central federal power is con- tinually displaced. Forty years ago the nmjority of the citizens of the Union was established upon the coast of the Atlantic, in the environs of the spot upon which Washington now stands ; but the great body of the people is now advan- cing inland and to the north, so that in twenty years the majority will unquestionably be on the western side of the Alleganies. If the Union goes on to subsist, the basin of the Mississippi is evidently marked out, by its fertility and its extent, as the future centre of the federal government. In thirty or forty years, that tract of country will have assumed the rank which naturally belongs to it. It is easy to calcu. late that its population, compared to that of the coast of the Atlantic, will be, in round numbers, as 40 to 11. In a few years the states which founded the Union will lose the direction of its policy, and the population of the valleys of the Mississippi will preponderate in the federal assemblies. This constant gravitation of the federal power and influence toward the northwest, is shown every ten years, when a g^'ueral census of the population is made, and the number of Jhn ar<>n of thn I'onr stiitcs ; and its popnlntion is fivo times smaller than tht'irs. (See Diiihv's View of tlu- I'niti'd Stales.) Slavery is Iirejudicial (o tlie eoiniiicrcial prosperity of the soiitli in several dillerent ways; by dirniiii.sliin;f the spirit of enterprise anions the whites, and by nrevcntiiijf tlietn from meeting; with as nninerous a class of sailors as tlicy re(piire. Sailors are generally taken from the lowest ranks of the population. Hut in the southern stales these lowest ranks are composed of slaves, and it is very dillieult to employ them at sea. They are unable to serve as well as a white crew, and ap|)rehensions would always be entertained of their mutinying iu the middle of the ocean, or of their escapinj^ in the foreijrn countries at which they might touch * Darby's view of the United States, p. 414 AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 405 delegates which each state sends to congress is settled afresh.* [n 1790 Virginia had nineteen representatives in congress. This number continued to increase until the year 1813, when L*. reached to twentv-tliree : from that time it began to decrease, and in 1833, Virginia elected only twenty-one representa- tives.f During the same period the state of New York advanced in the contrary direction ; in 1790, it had ten representatives in congress ; in 1813, twenty-seven ; in 1823, thirty-four ; and in 1833, forty. The state of Ohio had only one representative in 1803, and in 1833, it had already nine- teen. It is difficuU to imagine a durable union of a people which is rich and strong, with one which is poor and wpak, and if it were proved ♦hat the strength and wealth of the one are not the causes of the weakness and poverty of the other. But union is still more difficult to maintain at a time at which one party is los'ng strength, and the other is gaining it. This rapid and disproortionate increase of certain states threatens Tf may be seen *.hat in the course of the last ten years (1820-30) j. lation of one district, as for instance, the state of Delaware, J ij .1 ■•) !aso(l in the proportion of 5 per cent. ; while that of another, ia iiie territory of iVichi!:;an, has increased 2.')(t per cent. Thus the population of Virginia has aup;ment('d 13 per cent, and that of the border state of Ohio fil per cent., in the same space of time. The general table of these v^hani^es, which is given in the National Calendar, displays a striking piciure of the unequal fortunes of tlie diflorent states, t It has just l)e('n said that in the course of tlie last term tlie popu- lation of Virginia hus increased 13 per cent. ; and it is necessary to explain how the number of representatives of a state may decrease, when the po|)ulation of that state, far from diminishinir, is actually upon the increase. I take the state of Virginia, to wlticli I iiave already alluded, as riy term of comparison. The numbiT of represen- tatives of Virginia in IS'23 was proportionate to tlic total number of flic representatives of fho Union, and to the relation wliich its population bore to that of the v/hole Union ; in 1833, the number of reprtscntatives of Viririnia was likewise proportionate to the total number cf the -epre- •entatives of the Union, and to the relation wliich its populajon, augmented in thi ijourse of ten years, bore to tlie augmented pnpulatii.n of the Union in thf same §pace of time. The new numbcror Virginian representative? will then be to the old number, on tlie one hand, as the new number of ail the representatives is to tlic old number ; and, on tiie other ham', 'iS the augmentation of the population of Virgini.i is to that of the whole population of the country. Thus, if Ilie increase of the population of the lesser country be to that of the greater in an exact inverse ratio of the proportion h tween tlie new and the old numbers of all the representatives, the number of repres.'nfatives ()f Virginia will remain station iry ; and if tlie increase of the Virginian population be to tli.it of tlie wliole Union in a feebler ratio than the nf;w number of remesentatives of the Union to the old number, the number of the reoresentatives of Virginia must decrease i I, I m ''J}'t^ !i . il'* ■*w 4o:i DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, the independence of the others. New York might, perhaps, succeed with its two millions of inhabitants and hs forty representatives, in dictating to the other states in congress. But even if the more powerful states make no attempt to bear down the lesser ones, the danger still exists ; for there is almost as much in the possibility of the act as in the act itself. The weak generally mistrusts the justice and the reason of the strong. The states which increase less rapidily than the others, look upon those which are more favored by fortune, with envy and suspicion. Hence arise the deep-seated uneasiness and ill-defined agitation which are observable in the south, and which form so striking a contrast to the confi- dence and prosperity which are common to other parts of the Union. I am inclined to think that the hostile measures taken by the southern provinces upon a recent occasion, are attributable to no other cause. Tlie inhabitants of the south- ern states are, of all the Americans, those who are most interested in the maintenance of the Union ; they would assuredly suffer most from being left to themselves; and yet they are the only citizens who threaten to break the tic of confederation. But it is easy to perceive that the south, which has given four presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, to the Union ; which perceives that it is losing its federal influence, and that the number of its representatives in congress is diminishing from year to year, while those of the northern and western states arc increasing; the south, which is peopled with ardent and irascible beings, is becoming more and more irritated and alarmed. The citizens reflect upon their present position and remember their past influence, with the melancholy uneasiuv'ss of men who suspect oppression : if they discover a law of the Union v.hich is not unequivocally favorable to their interests, they protest against it as an abuse of force ; and if their ardent remonstrances are not listened to, they threaten to quit an association which loads them with burdens while it d('i)rives them of their due profits. " The tarilF," said the inhabitants of Carolina in 1832, " enriches the north, and ruins the south ; for if this were not the case, to what can we attribute the continually increasing power and wealth of the north, with its inclement skies and arid soil ; while the souih, which may be styled the garden of America, is rapidly declining."* If the changes which I have described were gradual, so that • .See the roport of its rommittees to the convention, which pro* claimed the nullification of the tariffin South Carolina AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 407 ig; each generation at least miglit have time to disappear with the order of things under which it liad lived, tiie danger would be less ; but tlie progress of society in America is precipitate, and almost revolutionary. The same citizen may have lived to see his state take the lead in the Union, and afterward become powerless in the federal assemblies ; and an Anglo- American republic has been known to grow as rapidly as a man, passing from birth and infancy to maturity in the course of thirty years. It must not be imagined, however, that the states which lose their preponderance, also lose their population or or their riches ; no stop is put to their prosperity, and they even go on to increase more rapidly than any kingdom in Europe.* But they believe themselves to be impoverished because their wealth does not augment as rapidly as that of their neighbors ; and they think that their power is lost, because they suddenly come into collision with a power greater than their own.f Thus they are more imrt in their feelings and their passions, than in their interests. But this is amply suflicient to endanger the maintenance of the Union. If kings and peoples had only had their true interests in view, ever since the beginning of tlie world, the name of war would scarcely be known among mankind. Thus tlie prosperity of the United States is the source of the most serious dangers that threaten tliem, since it tends to create in some of the confederate states that over-excitement which accompanies a rapid increase of fortune ; and to awaken in others those feelings of envy, nustrust, and regret, which usually attend upon the loss of it. The Americans contemplate this extraordinary and hasty progress witii ex- ultation ; but they would be wiser to consider it with sorrow and alarm. The Americans of the United States nuist in- evitably become one of the greatest nations in the world ; l''i liih lay lat )ro« • The population of a country assuredly constitutes the first element of its woiilth. In the ten years (lS2()-'3i)) dnrinj^ which Virginia lost two of its representatives in congress, its pi)|)ulation increased in the pro|iortion of 13-7 percent. ; tliat of Carolina in tlie proportion of 1') p-T cent. ; and tliat of (leor^jia T)!-.') pi-r cent. (See the American Almanac, 1S,')'2, p. 102.) Hnt tlie popnlatiuii of Rnssi.i, whicii increases more rapidly (lian that of any other Kuro|)ean country, only augments in ten years at the rate of !)— ') per cent. ; of France at the rate of 7 per cent. ; and of Europe in ^'eneral at tiie rate of 4-7 per cent. (See Maltehrnn, vol. vi., p. Df).) t it must h(! admitted, however, that the de|)recialion which has taken jdacc in the value of toh.icco, durinj; the last fifty years, huj nolaldy diminished the opulence of the southern planters ; hut this circumstance is as independent of the will ol their nortiiern brethren, u it is of their own ji l!i.ih 408 DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, their offset will cover almost the whole of North America; the continent which they inhabit is their dominion, and it cannot escape them. What urges them to take possession of it so soon ? Riches, power, and renown, cannot fail to be theirs at some future time ; but they rush upon their fortune as if but a moment remained for them to make it their own. I think I have demonstrated, that the existence of the pre- sent confederation depends entirely on the continued assent of all the confederates ; and, starting from this principle, I have inquired into the causes which may induce any of the states to separate from the others. The Union may, however, perish in two different ways : one of the confederate states may choose to retire from the compact, and so forcibly sever the federal tie ; and it is to this supposition that most of the remarks which I have made apply : or the authority of the federal government may be progressively intrenched on by the simultaneous tendency of the united republics to resumo their independence. The central power, successively stripped of all its prerogatives, and reduced to impotence by tacit con- sent, would become incompetent to fulfil its purpose ; and the second Union would perish, like the first, by a sort of senile inaptitude. The gradual weakening of the federal tie, which may finally lead to the dissolution of the Union, is a distinct circumstance, that may produce a variety of minor conse- quences before it operates so violent a change. The confe- deration might still subsist, although its government were reduced to such a degree of inanition as to paralyze the nation, to cause internal anarchy, and to check the general prosperity of the country. After having investigated the causes which may induce the Anglo-Americans to disunite, it is important to inquire whether, if the Union continues to subsist, their government will extend or contract its sphere of action, and whether it will become more energetic or more weak. The Americans are evidently disposed to look upon their future condition with alarm. They perceive that in most of the nations of the world, the exercise of the rights of sove- reignty tends to fall under the control of a few individuals, and they are dismayed by the idea that such will also be the case in their own country. Even the statesmen feel, or affect to feel, these fears ; for, in America, centralization is by no means popular, and there is no surer means of courting the majority, than by inv('iu;liing against the encroachments (il the central power. The Americans do not perceive tliat tl)e countries in which this alarming tendency to centralization I Sv AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 409 exists, are inhabited by a single people ; while the fact of the Union being composed of diiferent confederate communities, is sufficient to baffle all the inferences which might be drawn from analogous circumstances. I confess that I am inclined to consider the fears of a great number of Americans as purely imaginary ; and far from participating in their dread of the consolidation of power in the hands of the Union, I think that the federal government is visibly losing strength. To prove this asse^*' 1 shall not have recourse to any remote occurro*" s, u,. -> circumstances wh >.i' ' have my- self observed, aiiv. which oolong to our own time. An attentive examination of what is going on in the United States, will easily convince us that two opposite tendencies exist in that country, like two distinct currents flowing in con- trary directions in the same channel. The Union has now existed for forty-five years, and in the course of that time a vast number of provincial prejudices, which were at first hos- tile to its power, have died away. The patriotic feeling which attached each of the Americans to his own native state is be- come less exclusive ; and the different parts of the Union have become more intimately connected the better they have become acquainted with each other. The post,* that great instrument of intellectual intercourse, now reaches into the backwoods ; and steamboats have established daily means of communication between the different points of the coast. An inland navigation of unexampled rapidity conveys commodi- tics up and down the rivers of the country .f And to these facilities of nature and art may be addbd those restless crav- ings, that busymindedness, and love of pelf, which are con- stantly urging the American into active life, and bringing him into contact with his fellow-citizens. He crosses the country in every direction ; he visits all the various popula- tions of the land ; and there is not a province in France, in which the natives are so well known to each other as the thir- teen millions of men who cover the territory of the United States. ^'|!- * In 1832, the district of Michigan, which only contains 31,039 in- habitants, and is still an almost unexplored wilderness, i)ossessed 1»1U miles of mail-ro;id3. Tiie territory of Arkansas, wliich is still more uncultivated, was already intersected by 1,'J38 miles of mail-roads (See report of the general post-ollice, 30th November, 1833.) The postage of newspapers alone in the whole Union amoinited to $2')1,1Q6. f In the course often years, from 1S'21 to 1831, 271 steambo;its have been launched upon the rivers which water tlie valley of the Missia- ■ippi alone. In 1829, 2.')9 steamboats existed in the United Staten 'See Legislative Documents, No. 1-lU, p. 27 1.) i ■■ -m 410 DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, But while the Americans intermingle, they grow in resem blance of each other ; the difFerenoes resulting from their climate, their origin, and their institutions diminish ; and they all draw nearer and nearer to tiie common type. Every year, thousands of men leave the north to settle in ditlcrent parts of the Union: they bring with them their faith, their opinions, and their manners ; and as they are more enlighten- ed than the men among whom they are about to dwell, they soon rise to the head ofatfairs, and they adapt society to their own advantage. This continual emigration of the north to the south is peculiarly favorable to the fusion of all the different provincial characters into one national character. The civili- sation of the north appears to be the common standard, to which the whole nation will one day be assimilated. The commercial tiec which unite the confederate states are strengthened by the increasing manufactures of the Ameri- cans ; and the union which began to exist in their opinions, gradually forms a part of their habits : the course of time has swept away the bugbear thoughts which haunted the imagina- tions of the citizens in 1789. The federal power is not be- come oppressive ; it has not destroyed the independence of the states ; it has not subjected the confederates to monarchi- cal institutions ; and the Union has not rendered the lesser states dependant upon the larger ones ; but the confederation has continued to increase in population, in wealth, and in power. I am therefore convinced that the natural obstacles to the continuance of the American Union are not so powerful at the present time as they were in 1789 ; and that the ene- mies of the Union are not so numerous. Nevertheless, a careful examination of the history of the United States for the last forty-five years, will readily con- vince us that the federal power is declining ; nor is it difficult to explain the causes of this phenomenon. When the consti- tution of 1789 was promulgated, the nation was a prey to anarchy ; the Union, which succeeded this confusion, excited much dread and much animosity ; but it was warmly sup- ported because it satisfied an imperious want. Thus, although it was more attacked than it is now, the federal power soon reached the maximum of its authority, as is usually the case with a government which triumphs after having braced its strength by the struggle. At that time the inierpretatioii of the constitution seemed to extend rather than to repress, the federal so^ereignty; and the Union offered, in several respects, the a|)pearanee of a single and undivided people, directed in its foreign and internal policy by a single govern- sUp- ugh i AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 411 ment. But to attain this point; the people had risen, lo a cer- tain extent, above itself. The constitution had not destroyed the distinct sovereignty of the states ; and all communities, of whatever nature they may be, are impelled by a secret propensity to assert their independence. This propensity is still more decided in a country like America, in which every village forms a sort of republic accustomed to conduct its own atUiirs. It therefore cost the states an eflbrt to submit to the federal supremacy ; and all ettbrts, however successful they may be, necessarily subside with the causes in which they originated. As the federal government consolidated its authority, Arne- rica resumed its rank among the nations, peace returned to its frontiers, and public credit was restored ; confusion was succeeded by a fixed state of things which was favorable to the full and free exercise of industrious enterprise. It was this very prosperity which made the Americans forget the cause to which it was attributable ; and when once the dan- gcr was passed, the energy and the patriotism which had enabled them to brave it, disappeared from among them. No sooner were they delivered from the cares which oppressed them, than they easily returned to their ordinary habits, and gave themselves up without resistance to their natural incli- nations. When a powerful government no longer appeared to be necessary, they once more began to think it irksome. The Union encouraged a general prosperity, and the states were not inclined to abandon the Union ; but they desired to render the action of the power which represented that body as light as possible. The general principle of union was adopted, but in every minor detail there was an actual ten- dency to independence. The prineipU^ of confederation was every day more easily admitted and more rarely applied ; so that the federal government brought about its own decline, while it was creating order and peace. As soon as this tendency of public opinion began to be manifested externally, the leaders of parties, who live by the passions of the people, began to work it to their own advan- tage. The position of the federal government then became exceedingly critical. Its enemies were in possession of the popular favor ; and they obtained the right of conducting its policy by pledging themselves to lessen its inlluence. From that time forward, the government of the Union has invaria- bly been obliged to recede, as often as it has attempted to enter the lists with the government of the states. And when- ever an interpretation of the terms of the federal constitution m m\ 412 DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION. has been called for, that interpretation has most frequently been opposed to the Union, and favorable to the states. The constitution invested the federal government with the right of providing for the interests of the nation ; and it has been held that no other authority was so fit to superintend the " internal improvements " which alfected the prosperity of the whole Union ; such, for instance, as the cutting of canals. But the states were alarmed at a power, distinct from their own, which could thus dispose of a portion of their territory, and they were afraid that the central government would, by this means, acquire a formidable extent of patron, age within their own confines, and exercise a degree of influ- ence which they intended to reserve exclusively to their own agents. The democratic party, which has constantly been opposed to the increase of the federal authority, then accused the congress of usurpation, and the chief magistrate of ambi- tion. The central government was intimidated by the oppo- sition ; and it soon acknowledged its error, promising exactly to confine its influence, for the future, within the circle which was prescribed to it. The constitution confers upon the Union the right of treat- ing with foreign nations. The Indian tribes, which border upon the frontiers of the United States, have usually been re- garded in this light. As long as these savages consented to retire before the civilized settlers, the federal right was not contested ; but as soon as an Indian tribe attempted to fix its dwelling upon a given spot, the adjacent states clauned pos- session of the lands and the rights of sovereignty over the natives. The central government soon recognized both these claims ; and after it had concluded treaties with the Indians as independent nations, it gave them up as subjects to the legislative tyranny of the states.* Some of the states which had been founded upon the coast of the Atlantic, extended indefinitely to the west, into wild regions, where no European had ever penetrated. The states whose confines were irrevocably fixed, looked with a jealous eye upon the unbounded regions which the future would enable their neighbors to explore. The latter then agreed, with a view to conciliate the others, and to facilitate the a3t of union, to lay down their own boundaries, and to abandon all the territory which lay beyond those limits to the * See in the legislative documents already quoted in speaking of the Indians, the letter of the President of the United States to the Chero- kees, his correspondence on this subject with his agents, and his mes- ■ages to congress. H he ;s- I AND WHAT DANGERS THREAT£N IT. 413 confederation at large.* Thenceforward the federal govern- ment became the owner of all the uncultivated lands which lie beyond the borders of the thirteen states first confederated. It was invested with the right of parcelling and selling them, and the sums derived from this source were exclusively re- served to the public treasury of the Union, in order to furnish supplies for purchasing tracts of country from the Indians, for opening roads to the remote settlements, and for accelerat- ing the increase of civilisation as much as possible. New states have, however, been formed in the course of time, in the midst of those wilds which were formerly ceded by the inhabitants of the shores of the Atlantic. Congress has gone on to sell, for the profit of the nation at large, the uncultivat- ed lands which those new states contained. But the latter at length asserted that, as they were now fully constituted, they ought to enjoy the exclusive right of converting the pro- duce of these sales to their own use. As their remonstrances became more and more threatening, congress thought fit to deprive the Union of a portion of the privileges which it had hitherto enjoyed ; and at the end of 1832 it passed a law by which the greatest part of the revenue derived from the sale of lands was made over to the new western republics, al- though the lands themselves were not ceded to them.f [The remark of the author, that " whenever an interpretation of the terms of the federal constitution has been called for, that interpretation has most freq.iently been opposed to the Union, and favorable to the states " requires considerable qualifi'^ation. The instances which the author cites, are those o{ legislative interpretaticus, not those made by the judiciary. It may be questioned vshecher any of those cited by him are fair instances oi interpretation. Although the then president and many of his friends doubted or denied the power of congress over many of the subjects '.nentioned by the author, yet the omission to ex- ercise the power thus questioned, did not proceed wholly from doubts of the constitutional authority. It must be remembered that all these questions affected local interests of the states or districts represented in congress, and the author has elsewhere shown the tendency of the local feeling to overcome all regard for the abstract interest of the Union. Hence many members have voted on these questions without reference to the constitutional question, and indeed without entertain- ing any doubt of their power. These instances may afford proof that the federal power is declining, as the author contends, but they do not * The first act of cession was made by the state of New York in 1780; Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, South and North Caroli- na, followed this example at different times, and lastly, the act of ces- sion of Georgia was made as recently as iS02. t It is true that the president refused his assent to this law ; but he completely adopted it in principle. See message of 8th Decem- ber, 1833 |( ; ' 414 DURATION OF THE A3IERICAN UNION, prove any actual interprotation of the constitntion. And so numerous and various are the cir.Mimstaiices to intluence thu decision of a leicish- tive body like the coni;ress of the United States, that the people dc not ret,'ard them as sound and authoritative expositions of the true sense of the constitution, except perhaps in those very few cases, where there has been a constant and uninterrupted practice from the ort;anization of the government. The judiciary is looked to as the only authentic exp'ounder of the constitution, and until a law of con- gress has passed that ordeal, its constitutionality is open to question: of which our history furnishes many examples There are er- rors in some of the instances given by our author, which would materi- ally mislead, if not corrected That in relation to the Indians proceeds upon the assumption that the United States claimed some rights over Indians or the territory occupied by them, inconsistent with the claims of the states. Hut this is a mistake. As to their lands, the United States never pretended to any right in them, except such as was granted by the cessions of tlie stales. Tiie pritici|)le universally acknowledged in the courts of the United States and of the several state.:), i", that by the treaty with Great J5ritain in which the independ- ence of the colonies was acknowledged, the states became severally and individually independent, and as such succeeded to the rights of the crown of England to and over the lands witliin the boundaries of the respective states. The right of the crown in these lands was tlie absolute ownership, subject only to the rights of occupancy by tlie Indians so long as they remained a tribe. This right devolved to each state by the treaty which esta!)lished their independence, and tlie United States have never cpiestioncd it. See 0th Cranch, 87 ; 8th Wheaton, 502, S84 ; 17th .Johnson's Reports, 231. On the other hand, the right of holding treaties with the Indians has universally been conceded to the United States. The right of a state to the lands oc- cupied by the Indians, within the boundaries of such state, does not in the least conflict with the right of holding treaties on national subjects by the United States with those Indians. With respect to Indians re- siding in any territory without the boundaries of any state, or on lands ceded to the United States, the case is different; the United States are in such cases the proprietors of the soil, subject to the Indian right of occupancy, and when that right is extinguished the proprie- torship becomes absolute. It will be seen, then, that in relation to the Indians and their lands, no (juestion could arise respecting the in- terpretation of the constitution. The observation that " as soon as an Indian tribe attempted to fix its dwelling upon a given spot, the adja- cent states claimed ])o.ssession of the lands, and the rights of sovereign- ty over the natives" — is a strange compound of error and of truth. As above remarked, the Indian right of occupancy has ever been re- cognized by the states, with the exception of the case referred to by the author, in which Georgia claimed the right to possess certain lands occupied by the Cherokees. This was anomalous, and grew out of treaties and cessions, the details of which are too numerous and complicated for the limits of a note. Uut in no other cases have the states over claimed the possession of lands occupied by Indians, with- out having previously extinguished their right by purchase. As to the rights of sovereignty over the natives, the principle admit- ted in the United States is that all persons within the territorial limits of a state are and of necessity must be, subject to the jurisdiction of its laws. While the Indian tribes were numerous, distinct, and sepa- rate from the whites, and possessed a government of their own, the '# lit- lits ■lof Ipa- Ithe AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 413 state antliorltios. from considerations of policy, abstained from tlio ex ercise of criminal jurisdiction for otfiMices committed by tlie Indians amony; themselves, although for oflunces ajjainst the wliites they were stibji.cted to the operation of the state laws. But as tliese tribes dirai nished in numbers, as those who remained amom; them became ener- vated by bad habits, and ceased to exercise any effectual government, humanity demanded tiiat the power of the states should be interposed to protect the miserable remnants from the violence and outrai^e of each other. The first recorded instance of interposition in such a case was in 1S"21, when an Indian of the Seneca trifte in tlie state of Now York was tried aiid convicted of murder on a sijuaw of the tribe. The courts declared their comjjetency to take cognizance of such oflences, and the legislature confirmed the declaration by a law. 'Anotiier instance of what tlie author calls interpretation of the constitutisn against the general government, is given by him in the pro])osed act of 1832, which passed both houses of congress, but was vetoed by the president, by which, as he says, " the greatest part of ihc revenue de- rived from the sale of lauds, was made over to the new western repub- lics." But this act was not founded on any doubt of the titli; of tl: tribunal above their authority to decide in the last resort, each of them has a right to judge for himself in relation to the nature, extent, and obligations of the instrument." It is 2t «> » 418 DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, evident that a similar doctrine destroys the very basis of the federal constitution, and brings back all the evils of the old confederation, from which the Americans were supposed to have had a safe deliverance. When South Carolina perceived that Congress turned a deat ear to its remonstrances, it threatened to apply tiie doctrine of nullification to the federal tariff bill. Congress persisted in its former system ; and at length the storm broke out. In the course of 1832 the citizens of South Carolina* named a national [state"! convention, to consult upon the extraordinary measures which they were called upon to take; and on the 24th November of the same year, this convention promulgated a law, under the form of a decree, which annulled the federal law of the tariflj forbade tlie levy of the imposts which that law conmiands, and refused to recognize the appeal which might be made to the federal courts of law.f This decree was only to be put into execution in the ensuing month of February, and it was intimated, that if Congress modified the taritr before that period, South Carolina might be induced to proceed no farther with her menaces ; and a vague desire was afterward expressed of submitting the question to an ex- traordinary assembly of all the confederate states. In the meantime South Carolina armed her militia, and pre- pared for war. But congress, which had slighted its suppliant subjects, listened to their complaints as soon as they were found to have taken up arms.:{: A law was passed, by which * That is to say, the majority nf the people; for the opposite party, called the Union party, always formed a very strong and aclive minor- ity. Carolina may contain about 17,000 electors; 3U,UUi) were in fa- vor of nullification, and 17,0Ui) opi)osL'd to it. t This decree was preceded hy a report of the committee l)y which it was t'ramed, contiuiiini; the explanation of tlie motives and ol)iecf of the law. Tiie foUowinK passai^c occurs in it, p. .'tl : " Wlien tlio riijhis resiTved by the constitution to tlie ditfcrent stati's are drlihcr- ately viol.ited, it is tli(> duty and tin- ri:;ht of tlio^' states to interfere, in order to check the pro:,'res-< <<{' the evil, to resist nsnrpatioii, and to in,iint;iin. within their respective limits, tliosi- pow.'rs and privile^'es which helonir to them as inihpnitlrnf soferriffn .staffs. If they were destitute of this riicht, they would not be sovereiiiii. South Carolina dcclaies t .l sIh; acknowledires no tribunal upon e.irth above her au- thority. .She has indeed entiri>(l into a solemn compact of union with the other states ; but she di tiiands, and will exercise, the ri^ht of pnt- tiiiiT her own construiMior) upon it ; and when this compai-t is violated by her sister states, and by the ifovernment which they havi' created, she is determined to avail liers.'lf of the un(iuestionable rinht of Jndu- ini^ what is the extent of the infraction, and what are the measures best fitted to n told that General Jackson has won sundry battles, that ho is an energetic man, prone by nature and l)y habit to the use of force, covetous of power, and a despot by tasto. All this may perhaps be true ; but the inferciiees which have been drawn from these truths areexeefdiiigly crroiK'ous. It has l)c(•) DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, United States, which is favorable to a centralization of power in the hands of the president and the congress. I hold that a contrary tendency may be distinctly observed. So far is the federal government from acquiring strength, and from threat, ening the sovereignty of the states, ?.3 it grows older, that 1 maintain it to be growing weaker and weaker, and that tlie sovereignty of the Union alone is in danger. Such are the facts which the present time discloses. The future conceals the final result of this tendency, and the events which may chojk, retard, or accelerate, the changes I have described : but I do not affect to be able to remove the veil which hides them from our sight. OF THE REPUBLICAN INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, AND WHAT THEIR CHANCES OF DURATION ARE. The Union is Accidental. — The Republican Institutions have more prospect of Permanence. — A Republic i'or the Present the Natural State of the Anglo-Americans.— Reason of this. — In order to destroy it, all Laws must be changed at the same time, and a great alteration take place in Manners — Difficulties experienced by the Americans in creating an Aristocracy. The dismemberment of the Union, by the introduction of war into the heart of those states which are now confederate, with standing armies, a dictatorship, and a heavy taxation, might eventually compromise the fate of the republican institutions. But we ought not to confound the future prospects of the re- public with those of the Union. The Union is an accident, which will last only so long as circumstances are favorable to its existence ; but a republican form of government seems to me to be the natural state of the Americans ; which nothing but the continued action of hostile causes, always acting in the same direction, could change into a monarchy. The Union exists principally in the law which formed it ; jno revolution, one change in public opinion, might destroy it for ever ; but the republic has a much deeper foundation to rest upon. What is understood by republican government in the United States, is the slow and quiet action of society upon itself. It is a regular state of things really founded upon the enlightened will of the people. It is a conciliatory gov- ernment under which resolutions are allowed time to ripen , and in which they are deliberately discussed, and executed with mature judgment. Tiie republicans in the United States AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 423 set a high value upon morality, respect religious belief, and acknowledge the existence of rights. They profess to think that a people ought to be moral, religious, and temperate, in proportion as it is free. What is called the republic in the United States, is the tranquil rule of the majority, which, after having had time to examine itself, and to give proof of its existence, is the common source of all the powers of the state. But the power of the majority is not of itself unlimit- ed. In the moral world humanity, justice, and reason, enjoy an undisputed supremacy j in the political world vested rights are treated with no less deference. The majority recognizes these two barriers ; and if it now an/ .hen overstep them, it is because, like individuals, it has passions, and like them, it is prone to do what is wrong, while ii discerns what is right. But the demagogues of Europe have made strange dis- coveries. A republic is not, according to them, the rule of the majority, as has hitherto been taught, but the rule of those who are strenuous partisans of the majority. It is not the people who preponderates in this kind of government, but those who best know what is I'ur the good of the people. A happy distinction, which allows men to act in the name of nations without consulting then), and to claim their gratitude wiiile their rights are spurned. A republican government, moreover, is the only one which claiuis the right of doing whatever it chooses, and despising what men have hitherto re- spected, from the highest moral obligations to tJie vulgar rules of common sense, it had been supposed, until our time, that despotism was odious, under whatever form it appeared. But it is a discovery of modern days that there are such things as legitimate tyranny and holy injustice, provided they are exercised in the name of the people. The ideas which the Americans have adopted respecting the republican form of government, render it easy for them to live under it, and ensure its duration. If, in their coun- try, this form bo often practically bad, at least it is theoreti- cally good ; and, in the end, the people always acts in con- formity with it. It was impossible, at the foundation of the states, and it would still be dillicult, to establish a central administration in America. The inbabitants are dispersed over too great a space, and separated by too many natural obstacles, for one man to imdertake to direct tlie details of their existence. America is therefore pre-eminently the country of provincial and municipal government. To this cause, which was plainly ■ ■''■ m ,■ 111 ■. ■ ,. i ilK S*' i u -:;i : 434 1 DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, felt by all the Europeans of the New World, the Anglo. Americans added several others peculiar to themselves. At the time of the settlement of the North American colo- nies, municipal liberty had already penetrated into the laws as Avell as the manners of the English, and the emigrants adopted it, not only as a necessary thing, but as a benefit which they knew how to appreciate. We have already seen the manner in which the colonies were founded : every province, and almost every district, was peopled separately by men who were strangers to each other, or who associated with very different purposes. The English settlers in the United States, therefore, early perceived that / were di- vided into a great number of small and distinct communities which belonged to no common centre ; and that it was need- ful for each of these little communities to take care of its own affairs, since there did not appear to be any central authority which was naturally bound and easily enabled to provide for them. Thus, the nature of the country, the manner in which the British colonies were founded, the habits of the first emi- grants, in short everything, united to promote, in an extra- ordinary degree, municipal and provincial liberties. In the United States, therefore, the mass of the institutions of the country is essentially republican ; and in order per- manently to destroy the laws which form the basis of the re- public, it would be necessary to abolish all the laws at once. At the present day, it would be even more difficult for a party to succeed in founding a monarchy in the United States, than for a set of men to proclaim that France should hencefor- ward be a republic. Royalty would not find a system of legislation prepared for it beforehand ; and a monarchy would then exist, really surrounded by republican institutions. The monarchical principle would likewise have great difficulty in penetrating into the manners of the Americans. In the United States, the sovereignty of the people is not an isolated dnotritio bearing no relation to the prevailing man- ners and ideas of the people : it may, on the contrary, be regarded as the last link of a chain of opmions which binds the whole Anglo-American \vorld. That Providence has given to every human being the degree of reason necessary to direct himself in the affairs which interest him exclusive- ly ; such is the grand maxim upon which civil and political society rests in the United States. Tlie father of a family applies it to his children ; the master to iiis servants ; the township to its officers ; the province to its townships ; the state to the provinces ; the Union to the states ; and wlien il 5;. AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 425 ;1 extended to the nation, it becomes the doctrine of the sove- reignty of the people. Thus, in the United States, the fundamental principle of the republic is the same which governs the greater part of human actions ; republican notions insinuate themselves into all the ideas, opinions, and habits of the Americans, while they are formally recognized by the legislation : and before this legislation can be altered, the whole community must undergo very serious changes. In the United States, "even the religion of most of the citizens is republican, since it submits the truths of the other world to private judgment : as in politics the care of its temporal interests is abandoned to the good sense of the people. Thus every man is allowed freely to take that road which he thinks will lead him to hea- ven ; just as the law permits every citizen to have the right of choosing his government. It is evident that nothing but a long series of events, all having the same tendency, can substitute for this combination of laws, opinions, and manners, a mass of opposite opinions, manners and laws. If republican principles are to perish in America, they can only yield after a laborious social process, often inter- rupted, and as often resumed ; they will have muny apparent revivals, and will not become totally extinct until an entirely new people shall have succeeded to that which now exists. Now, it must be admitted that there is no symptom or pre- sage of the approach of such a revolution. There is nothing more striking to a person newly arrived in the United States, than the kind of tumultuous agitation in which he finds po- litical society. The laws are incessantly changing, and at first sight it seems impossible that a people so variable in its desires should avoid adopting, within a short space of time, a completely new form of government. Such apprehensions are, however, premature ; the instability which affects politi- cal institutions is of two kinds, which ought not to be con- founded : the first, which modifies secondary laws, is not in- compatible with a very settled state of society ; the otlier shakes the very foundations of the constitution, and attacks the fundamental principles of legislation ; this species of instability is always followed by troubles and revolutions, and the nation which suffers under it, is in a state of violent transition. Experience shows that these two kinds of legislative insta- bility have no necessary connexion ; for they have been found united or separate, according to times and circum- F;: n '•.i*l 426 DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, Stances. The first is common in the United States, but not the second : the Americans often change thq^r laws, but the tbundation of tlie constitution is respected. In our days the republican principle rules in America, as the monarchical principle did in France under Louis XIV. The French of that period were not only friends of the mon- archy, but they thought it impossible to put anything in its place ; they received it as we receive the rays of the sun and the return of the seasons. Among them the royal power had neither advocates nor opponents. In like manner does the republican government exist in America, without conten- tion or opposition ; without proofs and arguments, by a tacit agreement, a sort of consensus universalis. It is, however, my opinion, that, by changing their administrative forms as often as they do, the inhabitants of the United Slates compro- mise the future stability of thei*" government. It may be apprehended that men, perpetually thwarted in their designs by the mutability of legislation, will learn to look upon republican institutions as an inconvenient form of society ; the evil resulting from the instability of the second- ary enactments, might then raise a doubt as to the nature of the fundamental principles of the constitution, and indirectly bring about a revolution ; but this epoch is still very remote. [It has been objected by an American review, that our author is mistaken in charging our laws with instability, and in answer to the charge, the permanence of our fundamental political institutions has been contrasted witli the revolutions in France. But the objection proceeds upon a mistake of tlie author's meaning, which at this page is very clearly expressed. He refers to the instability which modifies secondary laws, and not to that which shakes the foundations of the constitution. The distinction is equally sound and philosophic, and those in tlie least ac(iuainted with the history of our legislation, must bear witness to the truth of tiie author's remariis. The frequent re- visions of the statutes of the states rendered necessary by tlie multi- tude, variety, and often the contradiction of the enactments, furnish abundant evidence of this instability. — American Editor.] It may, however, be foreseen, even now, that when the Americans lo.se their republican institutions, they will speed- ily arrive at a despotic government, witiiout a long interval of limited monarchy. Montesquieu remarked, that nothing is more absolute than the authority of a prince who immediately succeeds a republic, since the powers which had fearlessly been intrusted to an elected magistrate are then transffrnd to an hereditary sovereign. This is true in general, but it is more peculiarly applicable to a democratic republic. In the United States, the magistrates are not elected by a particular AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 4m class of citizens, but by the majority of the nation ; they are the immediate representatives of the passions of the multi- tude ; and as they are wiioUy dependent upon its pleasure, they excite neither hatred nor fear : hence, as I have already shown, very little care has been taken to limit their influence, and they are left in possession of a vast deal of arbitrary power. This state of things has engendered habits which would outlive itself; the American magistrate would retain his power, but he would cease to be responsible for the exer- cise of it ; and it is impossible to say what bounds could then be set to tyranny. Some of our European politicians expect to see an aristo- cracy arise in America, and they already predict the exact period at which it will be able to assume the reins of govern- ment. I have previously observed, and I repeat my asser- tion, that the present tendency of American society appears to me to become more and more democratic. Nevertheless, I do not assert that the Americans will not, at some future time, restrict the circle of political rights in their country, or confiscate those rights to the advantage of a single individual ; but I cannot imagine that they will ever bestow the exclusive exercise of them upon a privileged class of citizens, or, in other words, that they will ever found an aristocracy. An aristocratic body in composed of a certain number of citizens, who, without being very far removed from the mass of the people, are, nevertheless, permanently stationed above it : a body which it is easy to touch, and difficult to strike ; with which the people are in daily contact, but with which they can never combine. Nothing can be imagined more contrary to nature and to the secret propensities of tiie human heart, than a subjection of this kind ; and men, who are left to follow their own bent, will always prefer the arbitrary jiower of a king to the regular administration of an aristo- cracy. Aristocratic institutions cannot subsist without laying down the inequality of men as a fundamental principle, as a part and parcel of the legislation, affecting the condition of the human family as much as it atTects that of society ; but these things are so repugnant to natural equity that they can only be extorted from men by constraint. I do not think a single people can be quoted, since human society began to exist, which has, by its o\\ n free will and by its own exertions, created an aristocracy within its own bo- som. All the aristocracies of the middle ages were founded by military conquest : the conqueror was the noble, the van- quished became the serf. Inequality was then imposed by A !■/ 428 DTTBATION OF THE AMERICAN UNIO V, force ; and after it had been introduced into the manners of the country, it maintained its own authority, and was sane- tioned by the legislation. Communities have existed which were aristocratic from their earliest origin, owing to circum- stances anterior to that event, and which became more demo- cratic in each succeeding age. Such was the destiny of the Romans, and of the Barbarians after them. But a people, having taken its rise in civilisation and democracy, which should gradually establish an inequality of conditions until it arrived at inviolable privileges and exclusive castes, would be a novelty in the world ; and nothing intimates that Ame- rica is likely to furnish so singular an example. REFLECTIONS ON THE CAITSES OF THE COMMERCIAL PROSPE- RITY OF THE UNITED STATES. The Americans destined by Nature to be a great maritime Peopio.— Extent of their Coasts. — Depth of their Ports. — Size of their Riv- ers. — The commercial Superiority of the Anglo-Saxons less attribu- table, however, to physical Circumstances than to moral and intellec- tual Causes. — Reason of this Opinion. —Future Destiny of the Anglo- Americans as a commercial Nation. — The Dissolution of the Union would not check the maritime Vigor of the States. — Reason of this — Anglo-Americans will naturally supply the Wants of the inhabit- ants of South America. — They wilLbecome, like the English, the Factors of a great portion of the World. The coast of the United States, from the bay of Fundy to the Sabine river in the gulf of Mexico, is more than two thou- sand miles in extent. These shores form an unbroken line, and they are all subject to the same government. No nation in the world possesses vaster, deeper, or more secure ports for shipping than the Americans. The inhabitants of the United States constitute a great civilized people, which fortune has placed in the midst of an uncultivated country, at a distance of three thousand miles from the central point of civilisation. America consequently stands in daily need of Europettw trade. The Americans will, no doubt, ultimately succeed in producing or manufac- turing at home most of the articles which they require ; but the two continents can never be independent of each other, so numerous are the natural ties which exist between their wants, their ideas, their habits, and their manners. The Union produces peculiar commodities which are now become necessary to us, but which cannot be cultivated, or AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 429 le es tly 3Ut SO eir lor can only be raised at an enormous expense, upon the soil of Europe. The Americans only consume a small portion of this produce, and they are willing to sell us the rest. Europe is therefore the market of America, as America is the market of Europe ; and maritime commerce is no less necessary to enable the inhabitants of the United States to transport their raw materials to the ports of Europe, than it is to enable us to supply them with our manufactured produce. The United States were therefore necessarily reduced to the alternative of increasing the business of other maritime nations to a great extent, if they had themselves declined to enter into commerce, as the Spaniards of Mexico have hitherto done ; or, in the second place, of becoming one of the first trading powers of the globe. The Anglo-Americans have always displayed a very de- cided taste for the sea. The declaration of independence broke the commercial restrictions which united them to Eng- land, and gave a fresh and powerful stimulus to their mari- time genius. Ever since that time, the shipping of the Union has increased in almost the same rapid proportion as the num- ber of its inhabitants. The Americans themselves now trans- port to their own shores nine-tenths of the European produce which they consume.* And they also bring three-quarters of the exports of the New World to the European consumer.f The ships of the United States fill the docks of Havre and of Liverpool ; while the number of English and French vessels which are to be seen at New York is comparatively small. ^ Thus, not only does the American merchant face competi- * The total value of goods imported during the year which ended on the 30th September, 1332, was 101,129,266 dollars. The value of the cargoes of foreign vessels did not amount to 10,731,039 dollars, or about one-tenth of the entire sum. t The value of goods exported during the same year amounted to 87,176,943 dollars ; the value of goods exported by foreign vessels amounted to 21,036,183 dollars, or about one quarter of the whole sum. (Williams's Register, 1833, p. 398.) :j: The tonnage of the vessels which entered all the ports of the Union in the years 1829, 1830, and 1831, amounted to 3,307,719 tons, of which .544,571 tons were foreign vessels ; they stood therefore to the American vessels in a ratio of about 16 to 100. (National Calen- dar, 1833, p. 304.) The tonnage of the English vessels which en- tered the ports of London, Liverpool and Hull, in the years 1820, 1826, and 1831, amounted to 443,800 tons. The foreign vessels which entered the same ports during the same years, amounted to 159,431 tons. The ratio between them was therefore about 36 to 100. (Com- panion to the Almanac, 1834, p. 169.) In the year 1832 the ratio be- tween the foreign and British ships which entered the ports of Great Britain was 29 to 100 430 DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, finti in his o'.vn country, but he even supports that of foreign nations in their own ports with success. This is readily ex- {-l.'iined by the fact that th« vessels of the United States can cross the si as at a cheaper rate tiian any other vessels in the world. A.S long as the mercantile shipping of the United States preserves tiiis superiority, it will not only retain what it has acquired, but it will constantly increase in pros- perity- It is difficult to say for what reason the Americans can trade at a lower rate than other nations ; and one is at first led to attribute this circumstance to the physical or natural advantages which are within their reach ; but this supposition is erroneous. The American vessels cost almost as much to build as our own ;* they are not better built, and they gene- rally last for a shorter time. The pay of the American sailor is more considerable than the pay on board European ships; which is proved by the great number of Europeans who are to be met with in the merchant- vessels of the United States. But I am of opinion that the true cause of their superiority must not be sought for in physical advantages, but that it is wholly attributai)lc to their moral and intellectual qualities. The following comparison will illustrate rsiy meaning. DiH'ing the campaigns of the revolutic m the French intro- duced a now system of tactics into the art of war, wiiich per- plexed the oldest generals, and very nearly destroyed the most ancient monarchies in Europe. They undertook (what had never been i)efore attempted) to make shift without a number of things which had always been held to be indispen- sable in warfare ; they required novel exertions on the part of their troops, which no civilized nations had ever thought of; they achieved great actions in an incrediblv short space of tune : and th(>y risked human life without hesitation, to obtain the object in view. The FriMich had less money and fewer men tlian their enemies ; th(>ir resources W(M'e infinitely inferior ; nev( rthdess they were constantly victorious, until their adversaries chose to imitate their example. The Americans have introdiujed a similar system into their commercial speculations; and they iir is ttiudi IiIi^Ikt, heir I lilt lites lor- iito kirll •ks II ran AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 431 his way, and takes an ohsorvation of tho sun. But the American neglects these precautions and braves these dan- gers. He weighs anchor in the midst of tempestuous gales ; l)v niglit and by day he spreads his sheets to the wind ; he repairs as he goes along such damage as his vessel may have sustained from the storm ; and when he at last approaches tho term of his voyage, he darts onward to the shop- as if he already descried a port. The Americans are ot\en ship- wrecked, but no trader crosses the seas so rapidly. And as they perform the same distance in a shorter time, they can perform it at a cheaper rate. The European touches several times at ditTerent ports in the course of a long voyage ; he loses a good deal of precious time in making the harbor, or in waiting for a flivorai)le wind to leave it ; and he pays daily dues to be allowed to remain there. The American starts from Boston to go to purchase tea in Cliina : he arrives at Canton, stays there a few days and then returns. In less than two years he has sailed as far as the entire circumference of the globe, and he has seen land but once. It is true that during -i voyage of eight or ten months he has drunk brackish water, and lived upon salt meat; that he has i)een in a contimial contest with the sea, with disease, and with the tedium of monotony ; but, upon his return, ho can sell a pound of his tea for a halfpenny less than the English nierchani, and his purpose is necomplished. I cannot better explain my meaning than by saying that the Americans afleel a sort of heroism in their manner of trading. But the European merchant will always fmd it very dillicult to imitate his American competitor, who, in ado|)ting the system which I have just described, follows not only a calculation of his gain, but an impulse of his nature. The iidiabitants of the IJ^nifed States are subject to all the wants and all the desires wiiich result from an advanced stage of civilisation ; but as they are not surrounded by a community admirably adapted, like that of iMirope. to satisfy their wants, they are of^-n obliged to procure flir themselves the various articles wbieli education and lml)it have rendered necessaries. In America it sometimes happens that the same individual tills his field, biiiliU Ms dwelliiii-. (iii;tri\es his tools, makes his shoes, and weaves tiie coarse sfutl" of which his dress is composed. This circtnnstance is |)rejudicial to tlie excellence of the work : but it powerfully contributes to awaken tlie intelligence of the workman. Nothing tends to nir.t"rial;s(> num, and to deprive bis work of ibe fnintest trace if mind, more than extreme division of laitor. In a country W I I ll 432 DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, like America, wliere men devoted to special occupations are rare, a long apprenticeship cannot be required from any one who embraces a profession. The Americans therefore cliange tiicir means of gaining a livelihood very readily ; and they suit their occupations to the exigencies of the moment, in the manner most profitable to themselves. Men are to be met with wlio have successively been barristers, farmers, merchants, ministers of tlie gospel, and piiysicians. If the American be less perfect in each craft than the European, at least there is scarcely any trade with which he is utterly un- acquainted. His capacity is more general, and the circle of his intelligence is enlarged. The inhabitants of the United States are never fettered by the axioms of their profession ; they escape from all the pre- judices of their present station ; they are not more attached to one line of operation tlian to another ; they are not more prone to employ an old method than a new one ; tliey have no rooted habits, and they easily shake oifthe influence which the habits of other nations might exercise upon their minds, from a conviction that their country is unlike any other, and that its situation is witliout a precedent in the world. America is a land of wonders, in which every, thing is in constant motion, and every movement seems an improvement. The idea of novelty is there indissolubly connected with the idea of melioration. No natural boundary seems to be set to the efforts of man ; and what is not yei done is only what he has not yet attenq)ted to do. This perpetual change wliieh goes on in the United States, these fre(|uent vicissitudes uf fortune, accompanied by such u;. foreseen fluctuations in private and in public wealth, serve to keep the minds of the citizens in a perpetual state of fever- ish agitation, which admirably invigorates their exertions, and keeps them in a state of excitement above the ordinary level of mankind. The whole lift' of an American is passed like a game of chance, a revolutionary crisis or a battle. As the same causes are eontimially in optM'ation throughout the country, they ultimately impart an irresistible impulse to the national character. Tlu! Aiiieriean, taken as a chance specimen of his countrymen, must tiien be a man of singular warmth in his desires, enterprising, fond of adventure, and above all ( f innovation. The same bent is manifest in all that he dors; ho introduces it into his political laws, his re- ligious iloctrines, his theories of soeial economy, and liis do- mestic occupations; he bears it with him in the depth of the backwoods, as well as in the business of the city. It is the to I ICO ar III 1(1 all re- do- tlio the ! AND WHAT DANGERS THREATEN IT. 433 same passion, applied to maritime commerce, which makes him the cheapost and the quiclcest trader in the world. As long as the sailors of the United States retain these in- spiriting advantages, and the practical superiority which they derive from them, they will not only continue to supply the wants of the producers and consumers of their own country, but they will tend more and more to become, like the Eng- lish, the factors of all other peoples.* This prediction has already begun to be realized ; we perceive that the Ameri- can traders are introducing themselves as intermediate agents in the conmierce of several European nations •,'\ and America will offer a still wider lield to their enterprise. The great colonics which were founded in South America by the Spaniards and the Portuguese have since become em- pires. Civil war and oppri'ssion now lay waste those exten- sive regions. Population docs not increase, and the thinly- scattered inhabitants are too much absorbed in the cares of self-defence even to attempt any melioration of their condi- tion. Such, however, will not always be the case. EuropL' has succeeded by her own efforts in piercing tlie gloom of the middle ages ; South America has the same Christian laws and Christian manners as we iiave ; she contains all the germs of civilisation which have grown amid the nations of Europe or their otrsets, added to the advantages to be derived from our example ; why then should she always remain un- civilized ? It is clear that the question is simply one of time ; at some future j)eriod, which may bt; more or less remote, the inhabitants of South America will constitute flourishing and enlightened nations. But when the Spaniards and Portuguese v.l'.^)uth America begin to feel the wants common to all civiliz'.' naticns, they will still be unable to satisfy th(is(^ wants fbi lli'inselves ; as the youngest eliildren of eivilisatiun, tli' y must perforce ad- mit the superiority of tlieir elder bretbrt'n. They will be agriculturists long before they suece . i) maniifaetures or commerce, and they will require the aiediution nt' strangers * It must niif 1)0 snpiKwcd ih.it Kiij;lisli vessels arc exrliisivcly ciii- |ilovt'(l in triiiispdiliiiK ton'iijii inodiicc iiitci '.JnlaiKi, nr liiitish |)ro- (iiicc to forcitjn ooiintrifs ; at tlw prcstMit ti.i\ tlii' nicrcliaut ^hi|)piii!j; olKn^lland may bo rof^iii'di'il in ttic liiilii of a vast system nf public roii- veyances ready to serve all the |)i'odiu't'rH of tlie world, and t( open I'oinmnnications between all peoples. Tfus maritime iieniu.s of tho Americans pnaupts tliem to enter into rompetiti"'.i with the EngUsh. t Part of the eomnieree of the Mediterranean is already carried on by Atnoriean vessel!*. 28 1 '1 11 .1 If 434 DURATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION, to exchange their produce beyond seas for those articles for which a demand will begin to be felt. It is unquestionable that the Americans of the north will one day supply the wants of the Americans of the south. Nature has placed them in contiguity ; and has furnished the former witii every means of knowing and appreciating those demands, of establishing a permanent connexion with those states, and of gradually filling their markets. Tlie merchant of the United States could only forfeit these natural advanta- ges if he were very inferior to the merchant of Europe; to whom he is, on tlie contrary, superior in several respects. The Americans of the United States already exercise a very considerable moral influence upon all the people of the New World. They are the source of intelligence, and all the na- tions which inhabit the same continent are alreadv accustom- ed to consider them as riin most enligiitencd, tiie most power- ful, and the most wealthy members of the great American family. All eyes are therefore turned toward the Union ; and the states of which that body is composed are the models which the other conununitii's try to imitate to the best of their power : it is from tlie United States that they borrow their pol'tical principles and their laws. The Americans of the United States stand in precisely the same position with regard to the peoples of South America as their fatliers, the English, occupy with regard tutlie Italians, the Spaniards, the Portuguese, and all those nations of Europe, wliieh reeeive their artiel'\s of daily consumption from Eng- land, because they are less advanced in civilisation and trade. England is at this time the natural emporium of almost all tli(^ nations wiiich are within its reach ; the American Union will pcrforni the same part in the other heniis|)here ; and every cnnununity which is founded, nr which prospers in the New World, is !!)unded and [)rospers to the advantage of the Anglo-Aiii'Tieans. if tlie L nion were to be dissolved, the commerce of the states which now compose it, would undoubtedly be checkeil for a time ; but tiiis consequence would be less ))erceptible than is gen(M"alIy supposed. It is evident thiit whatever may hap|)eii. tlie coiumeri-iiil states will remain united. They are all contiguous to each other ; they have identicuilly the same opinions, interests, and manners, uiid they are iilone conq)e- tent fo llirm a very great ma ritnne power !''\ .11 if the south of the I'nion \vv\'v to become indepeni, nt of the north, it would still re(|iiire the servicr' of those states. I have alrea- dy oliserved that the south is not a connnerciil country, and AND WHAT DANGERS THKE.ATEN IT. 43o nothing intimates that it is likely to hocoino sd. Tlie Ame- ricans of the south of the United Stiitcs will therefore bo obliyed, for a loni; time to come, to have recourse lo strangers to export tiieir produce, and to supply them with the commo- dities which are requisite to satisfy their wants. But the northern states are undoubtedly able to act as their interme- diate agents cheaper than any other merchants. They will therefore retain that employment, for cheapniss is the sove. reign law of commerce. National clainis and national pre judices cannot resist the influence of cheapness. Nothing can be more virulent than the hatred which exists between the Americans of the United States and the Englisli. But, not- withstanding these inimical feelings, the Americans derive the greater part of their manufactured connriodhies from Eng- land, because England supplies them at a cheaper rate than any other nation. Thus the increasing prosperity of America turns, notwithstanding the grudges of the Americans, to the advantage uf British manufactures. Reason shows and experience proves that no coimnercial l)rosperity can be durable if it cannot be united, in case of need, to naval force. This truth is as well understood in the United Slates as it can be anywhere else : the Americans are already able to make their llaii- respected : in a few years they will be able to make it feared. I am convinced that tiie dis- memberment of the Union would not have the etfect of dimin- ishing the naval power of the Ameri( aii.s. but that it would powerfully contriliute to increase it. At the present time the commercial states are connected with others wiiich have not the sa;ne interests, and which freiiuently yield an unwilling consent to the increase of a maritim(> power by whicli they are only indirectly ben»'fited. If, on the contrary, the conmiercial states of the Union forn'od one inde|)endent nal' n. conunerce would become the fI)reniost of their na- tional interests ; they would consequently br willing to make very great sacrifices to protect their shipping, and nothing would prevent them from pursuing their designs upon this point. Nations, as well as men, almost always In trax tlic most prominent features of their future ])o\ver of the globe. They ari' born to rule the vseas, as the Romans were to contjuer the world. •i I i [ t'i i 436 CONCLUSION. CONCLUSION. I iiAVE now nearly reached the close of my inquiry . hitherto, in speaking of the future destiny of the United States, I have endeavored to divide my subject into distinct portions, in order to study each of them with more attention. My present object is to embrace the whole from one single point ; the remarks I shall make will be less detailed, but tbey will be more sure. I shall perceive each object less dis- tinctly, but I shall descry the principal facts with more cer- tainty. A traveller, who has just left the walls of an im- mense city^ climbs the neighboring hill : as he goes fartiier otf, he loses sight of the men whom he has so recently quitted ; their dwellings are confused in a dense mass ; ho can no longer distinguish the public squares, and ho can scarcely trace out the great thoroughfares; but his eye has less cJilfi- culty in following the boundaries of the city, and for the first time he sees the shape o; the vast whole. Such is the future destiny of the British race in North America to my eye ; tlie details of the stupendous picture are overhung with shade, but I conceive a clear idea of the entire subject. Tlie territory now occupied or possessed by the United Staies of America, forms aljout one-twentieth part of the ha- bitable earth. But extensive as these confines are, it must not be supposed tiiat the Anglo-American rane will al- ways remain within them ; indeed, it has already far over- stepped tliem. There was once a time at w'^ich we also might have creat- eil a great French nation :n the American wilds, to counter- balance the influence of the Enji^lish u])on the destinies of the New World. France formerly possessed a territory in North America, scarcely loss extensive than tlie wiiole of Europe. The tiu'ee greatest rivers of \hv,. conti; ent then flowed with'* her '■ aiinions. The Indian tribes which dwelt between tht^ .outli of the St. Lawrence and the- delta of the Mississippi . re unaccustont i<:. any tongU(> hut ours; and all the Eun ,'^an settlements scattered over Miat inniiense region recalled the traditions of our country. Louishurg, Montmorency, Oufjuesne, Saint-Louis, Vine(Mmes, New Or- leans (for such were tiie names tliey bore), are words dear to France and familiar to our ears. But a concourse of circumstances, which it would be tedi- lOr. leur 3di. I CONCLUSION. 437 ous to enumerate,* have deprived us of this magnificent in- heritance. Wherever the French settlers were numerically weak and partially established, they have disappeared ; those who remain are collected on a small extent of country, and are now subject to other laws. The 400,000 French inhabit- ants of Lower Canada constitute, at the present time, the remnant of an old nation lost in the midst of a new people. A foreign population is increasing around them unceasingly, and on all sides, which already penetrates among the ancient masters of the country, predominates in their cities, and cor- rupts their language. This population is identical with that of the United States ; it is therefore with truth that I asserted that the British race is not confined within the frontiers of the Union, since it already extends to the northeast. To the northwest nothing is to be met with but a few in- significant Russian settlements ; but to the southwest, Mexico presents a barrier to the Anglo-Americans. Thus, the Spaniards and the Anglo-Americans are, pruperly speaking, the only two races which divide the possession of the New World. The limits of separation between thom have been settled by a treaty ; but although the conditions of that treaty are exceedingly favorable to the Anglo-Americans, 1 do not doubt that they will shortly infringe this arrangement. Vast provinces, extending beyond tlie Irontiers of tlie Union toward Mexico, are still destitute of inhabitants. The natives of the United States will forestall the rightful occupants of these soli- tary regions. They will take possession of tlie soil, and es- tablish social institutions, so that when the legal owner arrives at length, he will find the wilderness under cultivation, and strauj^ers quietly settled in the midst of his inheritance. Tile lands of the New World belong to the first occupant, and they are the natural reward of the swiftest pioneer. Even tlie eountric's which are already peopled will have some diffi- culty in securing themselves from this invasion, I have already alluded to whp.t i.i taking place in tlie province of Texas. The inhabitants of the United States are p-^rpetually migrating to Texas, where they purchase land ; aiul altiiouuli tliev ennfunn to the laws of the country, ■y lly ^Iv.niding the empire of their own language and their own • Till' fun 111' ist iif tlu'si' cir(Miinst;u»ci"< is, tluit nations which art3 acciisti)nio(l tn froo institutions and munici])iilp;i)vcrnin('nt iiro btv^r able th m any cithers to foniid iirospcrous (■"[(nues. The liabit o! fhinkinf^ ami irovcrninit for onnst-lf is indisponsal)!)' in a nmv conntiv, vx-ljero 8111'ci'ss niH'cssarily ilopemJs, in u t;rcat measuro, upon the individuai exertions of the settlers. If ; I.. I • I ) 438 CONCLUSION. manners. The province of Texas is still part of the Mex . can dominions, but it will soon contain no Mexicans : th« same thing has occurred whenever the Anglo-American have come into contact with populations of a different origi» [The prophetic accuracy of the author, in relation to the prese* actual condition of Texas, exhibits the sound and clear perception wife- which he surveyed our institutions and character. — American Editor. Tt cannot be denied that the British race has acquired a»< amazing preponderance over all the other European races i» the New World ; and that it is very superior to them in civi- lisation, in industry, and in power. As long as it is only sur rounded by desert or thinly-peopled countries, as long as i encounters no dense populations upon its route, through whiclf it cannot work its way, it will assuredly continue to spread. The lines marked out by treaties will not stop it ; but it will everywhere transgress these imaginary barriers. The geographical position of the British race in the New World is peculiarly favorable to its rapid increase. Above its northern frontiers the icy regions of the pole extend ; and a few degrees below its southern confines lies the burning climate of the equator. The Anglo-Americans are therefore placed in the most temperate and habitable zone of the con- tinent. It is generally supposed that the prodigious increase of population in the United States is posterior to their declaration of independence. But this is an error : the population in- creased as rapidly under the colonial system as it does at the present day ; that is to say, it doubled in about twenty-two years. But this proportion, which is now applied to millions, was then applied to tliousands, of inhabitants ; and the same fact which was scarcely noticeable a century ago, is now evi- dent to every observer. The British subjects in Canada, who are dopen-l.-nt on a king, augment and spread almost as rapidly as the British settlers of the United States, who live under -"^ n^publican government. During the war of independence, whieli lasted eight years, the population continued to increase without in- termission in the same ratio. Although powerful Indian na- tions allied with the English existed, at that time, upon the western frontiers, the emigration westward was never check- ed. While the enemy laid waste the shores of the Atlantic, Kentucky, the western parts of Pennsylvania, and the states of Vermont and of Maine were filling with inhabitants. Nor did the unsettled state of the constitution, which succeeded ! i l \ I: CONCLUSION. 439 the war, prevent the increase of the population, or stop its pro- gress across the wilds. Thus, the difference of laws, the various conditions of peace and war, of order and of anarcliy, have exercised no perceptible influence upon the gradual de- velopment of the Anglo-Americans. This may be readily understood : for the fact is, that no causes are sufficiently ge- neral to exercise a simultaneous influence over the whole of so extensive a territory. One portion of the country always offers a sure retreat from the calamities which aftlict another part ; and however great may be the evil, the remedy which is at hand is greater still. It must not, then, be imagined that the impulse of"the Bri- tish race in the New World can be arrested. The dismem- benncnt of the Union, and the hostiliiies which might ensue, the abolition of republican institutions, and the tyrannical government which might succeed it, may retard this impulse, but they cannot prevent it from ultimately fulfilling the des- tinies to which that race is reserved. No power upon earth can close upon the emigrants tliat fertile wilderness which offers resources to all industry and a refuge from all want. Future events, of whatever nature they may be, will not de- prive the Americans of their climate or of their inland seas, of their great rivers or of their exuberant soil. Nor will bad laws, revolutions, and anarchy, be able to obliterate that love of prosperity and that spirit of enterprise which seem to be the distinctive characteristics of their race, or to extinguish that knowledge which guides them on their way. Thus, in the midst of the uncertain future, one event at least is sure. At a period whicli may be said to be near (for we are speaking of the life of a nation), the Anglo-Americans will alone cover the immense space contained between the polar regions and the tropics, extending from the coasts of the Atlantic to the shores of the Pacific ocean. The territory which will probably be occupied by the Anglo-Americans at some future time, may be computed to equal three-quarters of Europe in extent.* The cliniate of the Union is upon the whole preferable to that of Europe, and its natural advanta- ges are not less great ; it is therefore evident that its [)opula- tion will at some future time be proportionate to our own. Europe, divided as it is between so many different nations, and torn as it has been by incessant wars and the barbarous fu m HI * The United States already extend over a territory C(iual to one half of Europe. The area of Europe is 500,(J()iJ square leai^ues, and its populalioa '2U5,U00,U0U of inhabitants. (Maltebrun, liv. 114, vol., vi., p. 4.) 440 CONCLUSION. manners of the Middle Ages, has notwithstanding attained a population of 410 inhabitants to the square league.* What cause can prevent the United States from having as numerous a population in time ? Many ages must elapse before the divers ofi^ets of the British race in America cease to present the same homoge- neous characteristics ; and the time cannot be foreseen at which a permanent inequality of conditions will be establish- ed in the New World. Whatever differences may arise, from peace or from war, from freedom or oppression, from prosperity or want, between the destinies of the ditferent des- cendants of the great Anglo-American family, they will at least preserve an analogous social condition, and they will hold in common the customs and the opinions to which that social condition has given birth. In the Middle Ages, the tie of religion was sufficiently pow- erful to imbue all the different populations of Europe with the same civilisation. The British of the New World have a thousand other reciprocal ties ; and they live at a time when the tendency to equality is general among mankind. The Middle Ages were a period when everything was broken up ; when each people, each province, each city, and each family, had a strong tendency to maintain its distinct individuality. At the present time an opposite tendency seems to prevail, and the nations seem to be advancing to unity. Our means of intoUeetaal intercourse unite the most remote paiis of the earth ; uud it is impossible hv men to remain strangers to each other, or to be ignorant of the events which are taking place in any corner of the globe. The consequence is, that there is less difference, at the present day, between the Eu- ropeans and their descendants in the New Wo: Id, than there was between certain towns in the thirteenth century, which were only separated by a river. If this tendency to assimi- lation brings foreign nations closer to each other, it must a fortiori prevent the descendants of the same people from be- coming aliens to each other. The time will therefore come when one hundred and fifly millions of men will be living in North America,f equal in condition, the progeny of one race, owing their origin to the same cause, and preserving the same civilisation, the same language, the same religion, the same habits, the same man- ners, and imbued with the same opinions, propagated under * See Maltehriin, liv. 110, vol. vi., p. d2. t This would 1)0 a pomilationproiKirtioniite to that of Europe, taken at a mean rate of 410 inhabitants to the sijuare league. CONCLUSION. 441 IS numerous the same forms. The rest is uncertain, but this is certain ; and it is a fact new to the world — a fact fraught with such portentous consequences as to baffle the efforts even of the imagination. There are, at the present time, two great nations in the world, which seem to tend toward the same end, although they started from different points ; I allude to the Russians and the Americans. Both of them have grown up unnoticed ; and while the attention of mankind was directed elsewhere, they have suddenly assumed a most prominent place among the nations ; and the world learned their existence and their greatness at almost the same time All other nations seem to have in limits, and only to be charged with reached their natural laintenance of their power; but these are still in the uct of growth ;* all the others are stopped, or continue to advance with extreme diffi- culty ; these are proceeding with ease and with celerity along a path to which the human eye can assign no term. The American struggles against the natural obstacles which op- pose him ; the adversaries of the Russian are men ; the for- mer combats the wilderness and savage life ; the latter, civi- lisation with all its weapons and its arts ; the conquests of the one are therefore gained by the ploughshare ; those of the other, by the sword. The Anglo-American relies upon per- sonal interest to accomplish his ends, and gives free scope to the unguided exertions and common sense of the citizens ; the Russian centres all the authority of society in a single arm : the principal instrument of the former is freedom ; of the latter, servitude. Their starting-point is different, and their courses are not the same ; yet each of them seems to be marked out by the will of Heaven to sway the destinies of half the globe. * Russia is the country in the Old World in which population in- creases most rapidly in proportion. m mi m ..t... IMAGE EVALUATrON TEST TARGET (MT-S) k A J J Z 1.0 I.I bilM 12.5 2.0 us 11:25 i 1.4 I 1.6 V 0%. "% -^ // rV"l\:> -""^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 4 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WMSTIR.N.Y. MS80 '<^ Z/j c^ APPENDIX ^n^^^^^^^y^^^i^^* APPENDIX A.— Page 17, For information concerning all the countries of the West which have not been visited by Europeans, consult tlie account of two expeditions undertaken at the expense of congress by Major Long. This traveller particularly mentions, on the subject of the great American desert, that a line may be drawn nearly parallel to the 20th degree of longitude* (meridian of Washington), beginning from the Red river and ending at the river Platte. P'rom this imaginary line to the Rocky mountains, which bound the valley of the Mississippi on the west, lie immense plains, which are alnost entirely covered with sand, incapable of cul- tivation, or scattered over with masses of granite. In summer, these plains are quite destitute of water, and nothing is to be seen on them but herds of builaloes and wild horses. Some hordes of Indians are also found there, but in no great number. Major Long was told, that in travelling northward from the river Platte, you find the same desert constantly on the left ; but he was un- able to ascertain the truth of this report. (Long's Expedition, vol. ii., p. 301.) However worthy of confidence may be the narrative of Major Long, it must be remembered that he only passed through the country of wiiich he speaks, without deviating widely from the line which he had traced out for his journey. APPENDIX B.— Page 18. South Amrrica, in the regions between the tropics, produces an in- credible profusion of climbing-plants, of which the Flora of the Antilles alone presents us witli forty diiferent species. Among the most graceful of tiiese shrubs is the passion-flower, wliioh, according to Descourtiz, grows witli such luxuriance in tlie Antilles, as to climb trees by means of tlie tendrils with which it is provided, and form moving bowers of rich ami elegant festoons, deco- rated with blue and purple flowers, and fragrant with perfume. (Vol. i,, 1). ','().')). 'hie inimosn sranilfns (aciicia li grandes gousses) is a creeper of enormous and rapid growth, which climbs from tree to tree, and some- times covers more than half a league. (Vol. iii., p. 'i'il.) iiiiriillnn of WaHhington, ngrcn TIr' 20th ilf'iirrf or loniiiluilc iircnnlinn tn llic iiiiTiillnn of r nuurly with thi; UTth dcKri'i! un thr iiu'rIiMan Dt'CirvvnwIch. 144 APPENDIX. APPENDIX C— Page 20 The languages which are spoken by the Indians of America, from the Pole to Cape Horn, are said to be all lormed upon the same model, and subject to the same grammatical rules ; whence it may fairly be con- cluded that all the Indian nations sprang from the same stock. Each tribe of the American continent speaks a different dialect ; but the number of languages, properly so called, is very small, a fact which tends to prove that the nations of the New World had not a very re- mote origin. Moreover, the languages of America have a great degree of regu- larity ; from which it seems probable that the tribes which employ them had not undergone any great revolutions, or been incorpo- rated, voluntarily, or by constraint, with foreign nations. For it is generally the union of several languages into one which producer grammatical irregularities. It is not long since the American languages, especially those of the north, first attracted the serious attention of philologists, when tlie discovery was made that this idiom of a barbarous people was the pro- duct of a complicated system of ideas and very learned combinations. These languages were found to be very rich, and great pains had been taken at their formation to render them agreeable to the ear. The grammatical system of tlie Americans differs from all others in several points, but especially in the following: — Some nations in Europe, among others the Germans, have the power of combining at pleasure diUbrent expressions, and thus giving a com- plex sense to certain words. The Indians have given a most surprising extension to this power, so as to arrive at the means of connecting a great number of ideas with a single term. This will be easily under- stood with the help of an example (juoted by Mr. Duponceau, in the Memoirs of the Philoso|)hical Society of America. " A Delaware woman, playing witli a cat or a young dog," savs this writer, " is heard to pronounce the word kullgatschis ; which is thus composed; k is the sign of the second person, and signifies 'thou' or • tliy ;' uli is a part of the word wulit, wliich signifies ' beautiful,' ' pretty ;' gat is another fragment of tlie word wichgat, which means ' paw ;' and lastly, schis is a diminutive giving the idea of smallness. Thus ill one word the Indian woman has expressed, • Thy pretty little paw.' " Take another example of the felicity with which the savages of Ame- rica have roinposed their words. A young man of Delaware is called pilape. This word is formed from pi/sif, chaste, innocent; and Icnape, man ; viz., man in his purity and innocence. This facility of combining words is most remarkable in the strange formation of their verbs. The most complex action is often expressed by a single verb, which serves to convey all the shades of an idea by the modification of its construction. Those who may wish to examine more in detail this subject, which I have only glanced at superficially, should read : — 1. The correspondence of Mr. Duponceau and the Rev. Mr. Hec- welder relative to the Indian languages; which is to be found in the first volume of tiic Memoirs of the Philosophical Society of America, published at Philadelphia, 1811», by Abraham Small , vol i., pp 356-401. 2. The grammar of the Delaware ur Lenapo language by Geiberger, use wed by ich jec- Itlie lea, ll'P rer. APPENDIX. 445 and the preface of Mr. Duponceau. All these are in the same collec- tion, vol. iii. 3. An excellent account ol these works, which is at the end of the 5tti volume of the American Encyclopaedia. APPENDIX D.-Page 22. See in Charlevoix, vol i., p. 235, the history of the first war which the French inhabitants of Canada carried on, in 1610, against the Iroquois. The latter, armed with bows and arrows, offered a desperate resistance to the French and their allies. Charlevoix is not a great painter, yet he exhibits clearly enough, in this narrative, the contrast between the European manners and tliose of savages, as well as the different way in which the two races of men understood tlie sense of honor. When the French, says he, seized upon the beaver-skins which covered the Indians wl)o had fallen, the Hurons, their allies, were greatly offended at tliis proceeding ; but without hesitation they set to work in their usual manner, inflicting horrid cruelties upon the pri- soners, and devouring one of those who had been killed, which made the Frenchmen shudder. Tlie barbarians prided themselves upon a scrupulousness whicli tliey were surprised at not finding in our nation; and could not understand that there was less to reprehend in the strip- ping of dead bodies, than in the di'vouring of their flesh like wild beasts. Cliarlevoix, in another place (vol. i., p. 230), thus describes the first torture of which Cliamplain was an eyewitness, and the return of the Hurons into their own village. " Having proceeded about eight leagues," says he, " our allies halt- ed : and having singled out one of their captives, they reproached him with all the cruelties "'hicli he had practised upon the warriors of their nation who had fallen into his hands, and told him that he might expect to be treated in like manner; adding, tliat if he liad any spirit lie would prove it by singing. He inunediately chanted forth his death-song, and tlien his war-song, and all the songs he knew, ' but in a very mournful strain,' says Champlain, who was not then aware that all savage music has a melancholy character. The tortures which suc- ceeded, accomi)anied by all the horrors wliich we shall mention here- after, terrified the Frencli, who made every eflbrt to put a stop to them, but in vain. The following night one of the Hurons having dreamed tliat tliey were pursued, the retreat was changed to a real flight, and tlie savages never stopped until they were out of the reach of danger. The moment tliey perceived the cabins of their own village, they cut tliemselves long sticks, to which tliey fastened the scalps which had fallen to their share, and carried them in triumph. At this sight, the Wdinen swam to the canoes, where they received the bloody scalps froiii the hands of their husbands, and tied them round their necks. The warriors oflered one of these horrible trophies to Champlain ; they also presented him with some bows and arrows— the only spoils of the InKpiois which thev had ventured to seize— entreating him to show them to the king ot France. Cliamplain lived a whole winter quite alone among these barbari- . ans, without being under any alarm for his person or property. i .! 446 APPENDIX. APPENDIX E.— Page 36. Although the puritanical strictness which presided over tt\e estab- lishment of the Eng;lish colonies in America is now much relaxed, re- markable traces of it are still found in their habits and their laws. In 17!fi, at the very time when the anti-Christian republic of France be- txan its ephemeral existence, the legislative body of Massachusetts pro- mul>r, " the observation of the Sunday is an affair of public interest ; inasmuch as it produces a necessary sus- pension of labor, leads men to retlect upon the duties of life and the errors to which human nature is liiil)le. and provides for the public and private worsiiip of God the creator and jiovernor of the universe, and for the performance of such acts of charity as are the ornament and comfort of Christian societies : — " Whereas, irreligious or light-minded persons, forgetting the du- ties which the sabbath imposes, and the benefits which these duties confer on society, are known to profane its sanctity, by following their pleasures or their att'airs ; this way of acting being contrary to their own interest as Christians, and calculated to annoy those who do not follow their example ; being also of great injury to society at large, by spreading a taste for dissipation and dissolute manners ; — " Re it enacted and ordained by the governor, council, and repre- sentatives convened in neneral court of assembly, that all and every person and jiersons shall, on that day, carefully ap))ly themselves to the duties of religion and piety; that no tradesman or laborer shall exercise his ordinary calling, and tliat no game or recreation shall be used on the Lord's day, upon pain of forfeiting ten shillings; — " That no one shall travel on that day, or any part thereof, under pain of forfeiting twenty shillings ; that no vessel shall leave a harbor of the colony; that no person sliall keep outside the meetinghouse during the time of public worship, or profane the time by playing or talking:, on penalty of five shillings. "Public-houses shall not entertain any other than strangers or lodgers, under a penalty of five siiillings for every person found drink- ing or abiding tlierein. " Any person in health who, without suflicient reason, shall omit to worship God in public during three months, shall be condemned to a fine of ten shillings. " Any person guilty of misbehavior in a place of public worship shall 1)0 lined from five to forty shillings. " These laws are to be enforced by tiio tithing-men of each town- ship, who have authority to visit pui)lic-houses on the Sunday. The innkeeper who shall refuse them admittance shall be fined forty shil- lings for such ofTence. " The titiiing-men are to stop travellers, and to require of them their reason for being on the road on Siixlay : any one refusing to answer shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding five pounds sterling. If the reason given by fhe traveller be not deemed by the tithing-men sullicieiit, he may bring the traveller before the justice of the peace of tlie district." (Law of the Sth March, 17'J2 : General Laws of Mnssarhusrtfs, vol. i., p. llo.) On the Utii March, I7',t7, a new law increased the amount of fines, '■ APPENDIX. 447 half of which was to be given to the informer. {Same collection, vol. ii., p. 525.) On the 16th February, ISIO, a new law confirmed these measures {Same collection, vol. ii., p. 405.) Similar enactments exist in tlie laws of the state of New York, re- vised in 1S27 and 1S2S. (See Revised Statutes, part i., chapter 20, p. G75.) In the.se it is declared that no one is allowed on the sabbath to sport, to fish, play at games, or to fre(|uent houses where liquor is sold. No one can travel except in case of necessity. And this is not the only trace wiiicii the religious strictness and austere manners of the first emigrants have left behind them in tlie American laws. In the revised statutes of the state of New York, vol. i., p. 002, is the following clause : — " Whoever shall win or lose in the space of twenty-four hours, by gaming or betting, the sum of twenty-five dollars, shall be found guilty of a misdemeanor, and, u])on conviction, shall be condemned to pay a fine e(iual to at least five times the value of the sum lost or won ; wliich will be paid to f.lie inspector of the poor of tiie townsliip. He that loses twenty-five dollars or more, may bring an acti(»n to recover them ; and if he neglects to do so, the inspector of the jioor may jirosecute the winner, and ol)lige him to pay into tiie poor bo.x both the sum he has gained and tiiree times as much beside." The laws we (juote from are of recent date ; but they are unintelli- gible without going back to the very origin of the colonies. I have no doubt that in our (lays the ])i'nal part of these laws is very rarely ap- plied. Laws preserve tiieir inflexibility long after the manners of a nation have yielded to tiie infiuence of time. It is still true, however, that nothing strikes a foreigner on his arrival in America more forci- bly than the regard to the sabbath. There is one, in particular, of the large American cities, in which all social movements begin to be suspended even on Saturday evening. You traverse its streets at the hour at which you expect men in the middle of life to be engaged in business, and young peoi)le in {)lea- sure; and you meet with solitude an, and ends it witii 1100. The first part of his book contains historical documents, properly so called, relative to the infancy of the colony. The second atlbrds a most curious pic- APPENDIX. 449 lart live |ic- l i ture of the Indians at this remote period. The third conveys very clear ideas concerning the manners, social condition, laws, and politi- cal customs of the Virginians in the author's lifetime. Beverley was a native of Virginia, which occasions him to say at the beginning of his book that he entreats his readers not to exercise their critical severity upon it, since, having been born in th Indies, he does not aspire to purity of language. Notwithstanding this colonial mo- desty, the author shows throughout his book the impatience with which he endures the supremacy of the mother-country. In this work of Beverley are also found numerous traces of that spirit of civil liberty which animated the English colonies of America at the time when he wrote. He also shows the dissensions which existed among them and retarded their independence. Beverley detests his catholic neighbors of Maryland, even more than he hates the English govern- ment: his style is simple, his narrative interesting and apparently trustworthy. I saw in America another work which ought to be consulted, enti- tled. The History of Virginia, by William Stith. This book affords some curious details, but I thought it long and diffuse, The most ancient as well as the best document to be consulted on the history of Carolina is a work in a small quarto, entitled. The His- tory of Carolina, by John Lawson, printed at London in 1718. This work contains, in the first part, a journey of discovery in the west of Carolina ; the account of which, given in the form of a journal, is in general confused and superficial ; but it contains a very striking de- sciiption of the mortality caused among the savages of that time, both by the small-pox and the immoderate use of brandy ; and with a cu- rious picture of the corruption of manners prevalent among them, which was increased by the presence of Europeans. The second part of Lawson's book is taken up with a descri|)tion of the physical con- dition of Carolina, and its productions. In the third part, the author gives an interesting account of the manners, customs, and government of the Indians at that period. There is a good deal of talent and originality in this part of the work. Lawson concludes his history with a copy of the charter granted to the Carolinas in the reign of Charles II. The general tone of this work is light, and often licentious, forming a perfect contrast tc the solemn style of the works published at the same period in New '"ng- land. Lawson's history is extremely scarce in America, and i,-Ui7t be procured in Europe. There is, however, a copy of it in the ro_^ al library at Paris. From the southern extremity of the United States I pass at oj.^c to the northern limit ; as the intermediate space was not peopled till a later period. I must first point out a very curious compilation, entitled. Collection of the Massacnusetts Historical Society, printed for the first time at Boston in 1792, and reprinted in 1806. The collection of which I speak, and which is continued to the present day, contains a gteat number of very valuable documents relating to the history of the dif- ferent states of New England. Among them are letters which have never been published, and authentic pieces which have been buried in provincial archives. The whole work of Gookin concerning the In dians is inserted there. I have mentioned several times, in the chapter to which this note re- lates, the work of Nathaniel Norton, entitled New England's Memo- i-ial ; sufficiently perhaps to prove that it deserves the attention of those 29 ^i i'l i; I 450 APPENDIX. who would be conversant with the history of New England. This book is in 8vo. and was reprinted at Boston in 1S26. The most valuable and important authority which exists upon the history of New England is the work of the Rev. Cotton Mather, en- titled Magnalia Christi Americana, or the Ecclesiastical History of New England, 1620—1698, 2 vols. 8vo, reprinted at Hartford, United States, in 1820.* The author divided his work into seven books. The first presents the history of the events which prepared and brought about the establishment of New England. The second contains the lives of the first governors and chief magistrates who presided over the country. The third is devoted to the lives and labors of the evan- gelical ministers who during the same period had the care of souls. In the fourth the author relates the institution and progress of the Uni- versity of Cambridge (Massachusetts). In the fifth he describes the principles and the discipline of tlie Church of New England. The sixth is taken up in retracing certain facts, which, in the opinion of Mather, prove the merciful interposition of Providence in behalf of the inhabitants of New England. Lastly, in the seventh, the author gives an account of the heresies and the troubles to which the Church of New England was exposed. Cotton Mather was an evangelical minister who was born at Boston, and passed his life there. His nar- ratives are distinguished by the same ardor and religious zeal which led to the foundation of the colonies of New England. Traces of bad taste sometimes occur in his manner of writing; but he interests, be- cause he is full of enthusiasm. He is often intolerant, still oftener credulous, but he never betrays an intention to deceive. Sometimes his book contains fine passages, and true and profound reflections, such as the following : — " Before the arrival of the Puritans," says he (vol. i., chap, iv.), " there were more than a few attempts of the English to people and improve the parts of New England which were to the northward of New Plymouth ; but the design of those attempts being aimed no higher than the advancement of some worldly interests, a constant series of disasters has confounded them, until there was a plantation erected upon the nobler designs of Christianity : and that plantation, though it has had more adversaries than perhaps any one upon earth, yet, having obtained help from God, it continues to this day." Mather occasionally relieves the austerity of his descriptions with images full of tender feeling : after having spoken of an English lady whose religious ardor had brought her to America with her husband, and who soon after sank under the fatigues and privations of exile, he adds, " As for her virtuous husband, Isaac Johnson, He tried To live without her, liked it not, and died."— (Vol. i.) Mather's work gives an admirable picture of the time and country which he describes. In his account of the motives which led the puritans to seek an asylum beyond seas, he says : — " The God of heaven served, as it were, a summons upon the spirits of his people in the English nation, stirring up the spirits of thousands which never saw the faces of each other, with a most unanimous incli- nation to leave the pleasant accommodations of their native country, and go over a terrible ocean, into a more terrible desert, for the pure enjoyment of all his ordinances. It is now reasonable that, before we r * A folio edition of this work was published in London in 170S Itry the Ht9 ids tli- ry. ire fe APPENDIX. 451 pass aay farther, the reasons of this undertaking should be more exactly made known unto posterity, especially unto the posterity of those that were the undertakers, lest they come at length to forget and neglect the true interest of New England. Wherefore I shall now transcribe some of them from a manuscript wherein they were then tendered unto consideration. " General Considerations for the Plantation of JVew England " First, it will be a service unto the church of great consequence, to carry the gospel unto those parts of the world, and raise a bulwark against the kingdom of antichrist, which the Jesuits labor to rear up in all parts of the world. " Secondly, all other churches of Europe have been brought under desolations ; and it may be feared that the like judgments are coming upon us ; and who knows but God hath provided this place to be a refuge for many whom he means to save out of the general destruction ! " Thirdly, the land grows weary of her inhabitants, inasmuch that man, which is the most precious of all creatures, is here more vile and base than the earth he treads upon ; children, neighbors, and friends, especially the poor, are counted the greatest burdens, which, if things were right, would be the chiefest of earthly blessings. " Fourthly, we are grown to that intemperance in all excess of riot, as no mean estate almost will suffice a man to keep sail with his equals, and he that fails in it must live in scorn and contempt ; hence it comes to pass, that all arts and trades are carried in that deceitful manner and unrighteous course, as it is almost impossible for a good upright man to maintain his constant charge and live comfortably in them. " Fifthly, the schools of learning and religion are so corrupted, as (beside the ur.supportable charge of education) most children, even the best, wittiest, and of the fairest hopes, are prevented, corrupted, and utterly overthrown by the multitude of evil examples and licentious behaviors in these seminaries. " Sixthly, the whole earth is the Lord's garden, and he hath given it to the sons of Adam, to be tilled and improved by them : why then should we stand starving here for places of habitation, and in the mean time suffer whole countries, as profitable for the use of man, to lie waste without any improvement ? " Seventhly, what can be a I otter or a nobler work, and more worthy of a Christian, than to erect and support a reformed particular church in its infancy, and unite our forces with such a company of faithful people, as by timely assistance may grow stronger and prosper ; but for want of it, may be put to great hazards, if not be wholly ruined. " Eighthly, if any such as are known to be godly, and live in wealth and prosperity here, shall forsake all this to join with this reformed church, and with it run the hazard of a hard and mean condition, it will be an example of great use, both for the removing of scandal, and to give more life unto the faith of God's people in their prayers for the plantation, and also to encourage others to join the more willingly in It." Farther on, when he declares the principles of the church of New England with respect to morals, Mather inveighs with violence against the custom of drinking healths at table, which he denounces as a pagan and abominable practice. He proscribes with the same rigor all orna- ments for the hair used by the female sex, as well as their custom of having the arms and neck uncovered. i :l 452 APPENDIX. In another part of his work he relates several instances of witchcraft which had alarmed New England. It is plain that the visible action of the devil in the affairs of this world appeared to him an incontesti- ble and evident fact. This work of Cotton Mather displays in many places, the spirit of civil liberty and political independence which characterized the times in which he lived. Their principles respecting government are dis- coverable at every page. Thus, for instance, the inhabitants of Massa- cliusetts, in the year 1630, ten years after the foundation of Plymouth, are found to have devoted 400/. sterling to the establishment of the University of Cambridge. In passing from the general documents relative to the history of New England, to those which describe the several states comprised within its limits, I ought first to notice The History of the Colony of Massachusetts, by Hutchinson, Lieutenant- Governor of the Massachusetts Province, 2 vols., 8vo. The history of Hutchinson, which I have several times quoted in the chapter to which this note relates, commences in the year 162S and ends in 1750. Throughout the work there is a striking air of truth and the greatest simplicity of style ; it is full of minute details. The best history to consult concerning Connecticut is that of Benja- min Trumbull, entitled, A Complete History of Connecticut, Civil and Ecclesiastical, 1630-1'764 ; 2 vols., 8vo., printed in 1818, at New Haven. This history contains a clear and calm account of all the events which happened in Connecticut during the period ^iven in the title. The author drew from the best sources; and his narrative bears the stamp of truth. All that he says of the early days of Con- necticut is extremely curious. See especially the constitution of 1639, vol. i., ch. vi., p. 100 ; and also the penal laws of Connecticut, vol. i., ch. vii., p. 123. The History of New Hampshire, by Jeremy Belknap, is a worK iield in merited estimation. It was printed at Boston in 1792, in 2 vols., 8vo. The third chapter of the first volume is particularly worthy of attention for the valuable details it affords on the political and religious principles of the puritans, on the causes of their emigration, and on their laws. The following curious quotation is given from a sermon delivered in 1663 : "It concerneth New England always to remember that they are a plantation religious, not a plantation of trade. The profession of the purity of doctrine, worship, and discipline, is written on her forehead. Let merchants, and such as are increasing cent, per cent, remember this, that worldly gain was not the end and design of the people of New England, but religion. And if any man among us make religion as twelve, and the world as thirteen, such an one hath not the true spirit of a true New Englishman." The reader of Belknap will find in his work more general ideas, and more strength of thought, than are to be met with in the American historians even to the present day. Among the central states which deserve our attention for their remote origin. New York and Pennsylvania are the foremost. The best history we have of the former is entitled A History of New York, by William Smith, printed in London in 1757. Smith gives us important details of the wars between the French and English m America. Hit is the best account of the famous confederation of the Iroquois. With respect to Pennsylvania, I cannot do better than point out the work of Proud, entitled the History of Pennsylvania, from the original Institution and Settlement of that Province, under the first Proprietor and Governor, William Penn, in 1681, till after the year 1742 ; by >t, |nt APPENDIX. 453 Robert Proud; 2 vols., 8vo., printed at Philadelphia in 1797. This work is deserving of the especial attention of the reader ; it contains a mass of curious documents concerning Penn, the doctrine of the Quakers, and the character, manners, and customs of the first inhabit- ants of Pennsylvania. APPENDIX G.-Page 48 Wk read in Jefferson's Memoirs as follows : — " At the time of the first settlement of the English in Virginia, when land was had for little or nothing, some provident persons having obtained large grants of it, and being desirous of maintaining the splendor of their families, entailed their property upon their descen- dants. The transmission of these estates from generation to generation, to men who bore the same name, had the effect of raising up a distinct class of families, who, possessing by law the privilege of perpetuating their wealth, formed by these means a sort of patrician order, distin- guished by the grandeur and luxury of their establishments From this order it was that the king usually chose his counsellor of state."* In the United States, the principal clauses of the English law respect- ing descent have been universally rejected. The first rule that we follow, says Mr. Kent, touching inheritance, is the following: If a man dies intestate, his property goes to his heirs in a direct line. If he has but one heir or heiress, he or she succeeds to the whole. If there are several heirs of the same degree, they divide the inheritance equally among them, without distinction of sex. This rule was prescribed for the first time in the state of New York by a statute of the 23d of February, 1786. (See Revised Statutes, vol. iii.. Appendix, p. 48.) It ha.s since then been adopted in the revised statutes of the same state. At the present day this law holds good throughout the whole of the United States, with the exception of the sta'vC of Vermont, where the male heir inherits a double portion : Kent's Commentaries, vol. i^., p. 370. Mr. Kent, in the same work, vol. iv., p. 1-22, gives an historical account of American legislation on the subject of entail ; by this we learn that previous to the revolution the colonies followed the English law of entail. Estates tail were abolished in Virginia in 1776, on a motion of Mr. Jefferson. They were suppressed in New York in 1786 ; and have since been abolished in North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Missouri. In Vermont, Indiana, Illinois, South Carolina, and Louisi- ana, entail was never introduced. Those States which thought proper to preserve the English law of entail, modified it in such a way as to deprive it of its most aristocratic tendencies. " Our general principles on the subject of government," says Mr. Kent, " tend to favor the free circulation of property." It cannot fail to strike the French reader who studies the law of inheritance, that on these questions the French legislation is infinitely more democratic even than the American. The American law makes an equal division of the father's property, but only in the case of his will not being known ; " for every man," says the law, " in the state of New York (Revised Statutes, vol. iii., * This pnssage is extracted and translated from M. Conscil's work upon the Life of Jefferson, entitled, " Melanges Pulitiques tt PhilosopMques de Jeffer»an." I lllli ^1 : I \ Hi 454 APPENDIX. Appendix, p. 51), has entire liberty, power, and authority, to disp )se of his property by will, to leave it entire, or divided in favor of any persons he chooses as his heirs, provided he do not leave it to a politi- cal body or any corporation." The French law obliges the testator to divide his property equally, or nearly so, among his heirs. Most of the American republics still admit of entails, under cer tain restrictions ; but the French law prohibits entail in all cases. If the social condition of the Americans is more democratic than that of the French, the laws of the latter are the most democratic of the two. This may be explained more easily than at first appears to be the case. In France, democracy is still occupied in the 'work of destruction ; in America it reigns quietly over the ruins it haa made. APPENDIX H.— Page 55. ■UMMAHT OF THE QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS IN THE UNITED STATES. All the sta^e"* agree in granting the right of voting at the age of twenty-one. in all of them it is necessary to have resided for a cer- tain time in the district where the vote is given. This period varie«, from three months to two years. As to the qualification ; in the state of Massachusetts it is neces sary to have an income of three pounds sterling or a capital of sixty pounds. In Rhode Island a man must possess landed property to the a'onount of 133 dollars. In Connecticut he must have a property which gives an income of seventeen dollars. A year of service in the militia also gi7es the elec- tive privilege. In New Jersey, an elector must have a property of fifty pounds a year. In South Carolina and Maryland, the elector must possess fifty acres of land. In Tennessee, he must possess some property. In the states of Mississippi, Ohio, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, the only necessary (jualificiition for voting is that of paying the taxes ; and in most of the states, to serve in the militia is equivalent to the payment of taxes. In Maine and New Hampshire any man can vote who is not on the pauper list. Lastly, in the states of Missouri, Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, Indi- ana, Kentucky, and Vermont, the conditions of voting have no refer- ence to the pro|)erty of the elector. I believe there is no other state beside that of North Carolina in which difl'erent conditions arc applied to the voting for the senate and the electing the house of representatives. The electors of the former, in this case, shou! i possess in property fifty acres of land; to vote for the latter, notiiing more id required than to pay taxes. ^i APPENDIX. 455 APPENDIX I.— Page 92. The small number of custom-house officers employed in the United States compared with the extent of the coast renders smuggling very easy ; notwithstanding which it is less practised than elsewhere, be- cause everybody endeavors to suppress it. In America there is no police for the prevention of fires, and such accidents are more frequent than in Europe : but in general they are more speedily extinguished, because the surrounding population is prompt in lending assistance. APPENDIX K.— Page 94. It is incorrect to assert that centralization was produced by the French revolution : the revolution brought it to perfection, but did not create it. The mania for centralization and government regulations dates from the time when jurists began to take a share in the government, in the time of Philippe-le-Bel ; ever since which period they have been on the increase. In the year 1775, M. de Maiesherbes, speaking in the namo of the Cour des Aides, said to Louis XIV.* ««*••* Every corporation and every community of citizens retained the right of administering its own utiairs ; a right which not only forms part of the primitive cum-ititution of the kingdom, but has a still higher origin ; for it is the right of nature and of reason. Nev- ertheless, your subjects, sire, have been deprived of it ; and we cannot refrain from saying that in this respect your goveriunent hp.s fallen into puerile extremes. From the tiuie wlieu powerful ministers made it a political principle to prevent the convocation of a national assembly, one conse()uence has succeeded another, until the deliberations of the inhabitants of a village are declared null when they have not been au- thorized by the intendant. Of course, if the community have an ex- pensive undertaking to carry through, it must remain under the control of the sub-delegate of the intendant, and conseciuently follow the plan he proposes, employ his favorite workmen, pay them according to his pleasure ; and it an action at law is deemed necessary, the intendant's permission must be obtained. The cause must be pleaded before this first tribunal, previous to its being carried into a public court; and if the opinion of the intendant is opposed to that of the inhabitants, or if their adversary enjoys his favor, the community is deprived of the Eowor of defending its rigiits. Such are the means, sire, which have ecu exerted to extinguisit the municipal spirit in Franco ; and to Btifie, if possible, the opinions of the citizens. The nation may bo said to lie under an interdict, and to be in wardship under guardians." What could be said more to tiie purpose at the present day, when the revolution has achieved what are called its victories in centrali- zation .' In 178'.), Jelferson wrote from Paris to one of his friends: "There is no country where tlie mania for over-governing has taken deeper root than in France, or been tlie source of greater mischief." Letter to Madison, •J'stii August, I7>)U. Tiie fact is tliat fur several centuries past the central power of France has done everything it could to extend central administration ; it has * See " Mi^moircH (wur srrvir ^ I'lliittdirc du Droit Public du la France eii matMr* d'linpAu," p. U64, printed at UruMeli In 17 <0. 1 456 APPENDIX. -:•• acknowledged no other limits than its own strength. The central power to which the revolution gave birth made more rapid advances than any of its predecessors, because it was stronger and wiser than they had been; Louis XIV. committed the welfare of such communi- ties to the caprice of an intendant ; Napoleon left them to that of the minister. The same principle governed both, though its consequences were more or less remote. APPENDIX L.— Page 97. This immutability of the constitution of France is a necessary conse- quence of the laws of that country. To begin with the most important of all the laws, that which de- cides the order of succession to the throne ; what can be more immu- table in its principle than a political order founded upon the natural succession of father to son ? In 1814 Louis XVIII. had established the perpetual law of hereditary succession in favor of his own family. The individuals who regulated the consequences of the revolution of 1S30 followed his example ; they merely established the perpetuity of the law in favor of another family. In this respect they imitated the Chancellor Maurepas, who, when he erected the new parliament upon the ruins of the old, took care to declare in the same ordinance that the rights of the new magistrates should be as inalienable as those of their predecessors had been. The laws of 1830, like those of 1914, point out no way of changing the constitution ; and it is evident that the ordinary means of legislation are insufficient for this purpose. As the king, peers, and deputies, all derive their authority from the constitution, these three powers united cannot alter a law by virtue of which alone they govern. Out of the pale of the constitution, they are nothing; where, then, could they take their stand to effect a change in its provisions .' The alternative is clear ; either their eflbrtf are powerless against the charter, wliich continues to exist in spite of them, in which case they only reign in the name of the charter ; or, they succeed in changing the charter, and then the law by which they existed being annulled, they themselves cease to exist. By destroying the charter, they destroy themselves. This is much more evident in the laws of 1830 tlian in those of 1814. In ISll, the royal prerogative took its stand above and beyond the constitution; but in 1830, it was avowedly created by, and depend- ant on, the constitution. A part therefore of the French constitution is immutable, because it is united to the destiny of a family ; and the body of the constitution is ecjually immutable, because there appear to be no legal means of changing it. These remarks are not applicable to England. That country hav- ing no written constitution, who can assert when its constitution is changed ? APPENDIX M.— Page 97. The most e.stepmed authors who have written upon the English con- stitution agree with each other in establishiug the omnipotence of tlie parliament. APPENDIX 457 Delolme says : " It is a fundamental principle with the English lawyers, that parliament can do everything except making a woman a man, or a man a woman." Blackstone expresses himself more in deiddl if not more energeti- cally than Delolme, in the following terms: — " The power and jurisdiction of parliament," says Sir Edward Coke (4 Inst 36), " is so transcendant and absolute, that it cannot be con- fined, either for causes or persons, within any bounds. And of this high court," he adds, " may be truly said, ' Si antiquitatem spectes, est vetustissima ; si dignitatem, est honoratissima ; si jurisdictionem, est capacissima.' It hath sovereign and uncontrollable authority in making, confirming, enlarging, restraining, abrogating, repealing, re- viving and expounding of laws, concerning matters of all possible de- nominations ; ecclesiastical or temporal ; civil, military, maritime, or criminal; this being the place where that absolute despotic power which must, in all governments, reside somewhere, is intrusted by the constitution of these kingdoms. All mischiefs and grievances, opera- tions and remedies, that transcend the ordinary course of the laws, are within the reach of this extraordinary tribunal. It can regulate or new-model the succession to the crown ; as was done in the reigns of Henry VIII. and William III. It can alter the established religion of the land ; as was done in a variety of instances in the reigns of King Henry VIII. and his three children. It can cliange and create afresh even the constitution of the kingdom, and of the parliaments them- selves ; as was done by the act of union and the several statutes for triennial and septennial elections. It can, in short, do everything that is not naturally impossible to be done ; and, therefore, some have not scrupled to call its power, by a figure rather too bold, the omnipo- tence of parliament." ; APPENDIX N.-Page 107. There is no question upon which the American constitutions agree more fully than upon that of political jurisdiction. All the constitu- tions which take cognizance of this matter, give to the house of dele- gates the exclusive right of impeachment ; excepting only the consti- tution of North Carolina which grants the same privilege to grand- juries. (Article 23.) Almost all the constitutions give the exclusive right of pronouncing sentence to the senate, or t" the assembly which occupies its place. The only punishments w ich the political tribunals can inflict are removal and interdiction of public functions for the future. There is no other constitution but that of Virginia (152), which enables them to inflict every kind of punishment. The crimes which are subject to political jurisdiction, are, in the federal constitution (section -1, art. 1) ; in that of Indiana (art. 3, para- graphs 23 and 21) ; of New York (art. 5) ; of Delaware (art. 5) ; high treason, bribery, and other high crimes or oflences. In the constitution of Massachusetts (chap. 1, section 2); that of North Carolina (art. 23) ; of Virginia (p. 252), misconduct and mal-ad- ministration. In the constitution of New Hampshire (p. 105) corruption, intrigue, \nd mal-administration. In Vermont (chap, ii., art. 24), mal-administration. 458 APPENDIX. In South Carolina (art 5) ; Kentucky (art. 5) ; Tennessee (art 4) ; Ohio (art. 1, § 23, 24); Louisiana (art. 5) ; Mississippi (art. 5); Ala- bama (art 6) ; Pennsylvania (art. 4) ; crimes committed in the non- performance of official duties. In the states of Illinois, Georgia, Maine, and Connecticut, no parti- cular offences are specified. M APPENDIX O.-Page 171. It is true that the powers of Europe may carry on maritime wars with the Union ; but there is always greater facility and less danger in sup- porting a maritime than a continental war. Maritime warfare only requires one species of effort. A commercial people which consents to furnish its government with the necessary funds, is sure to possess a fleet. And it is far easier to induce a nation to part with its money, almost unconsciously, than to reconcile it to sacrifices of men and personal efforts. Moreover, defeat by sea rarely compromises the existence or independence of the people which endures it. As for continental wars, it is evident that the nations of Europe cannot be formidable in this way to the American Union. It would be very difficult to transport and maintain in America more than 25,000 soldiers ; an army which maybe considered to represent a na- tion of 2,000,000 of men. The most populous nation of Europe con- tending in this way against the Union, is in the position of a nation of 2,000,000 of inhabitants at war with one of 12,000,000. Add to this, that America has all its resources within reach, while the European is at 4,000 miles distance from his ; and that the immensity of the Ame- rican continent would of itself present an insurmountable obstacle to its conquest APPENDIX P.— Page 186. The first American journal appeared in April, 1704, and was publish- ed at Boston. See collection of the Historical Society of Massachu- setts, vol. vi., p. 66. It would be a mistake to suppose that the periodical press has always been entirely free in the American colonies : an attempt was made to establish something analogous to a censorship and preliminary security. Consult the Legislative Documents of Massachusetts of the 14th of January, 1722. The committee appointed by the general assembly (the legislative body of the province), for the purpose of examining into circumstances connected with a paper entitled " The New England Courier," express- es its opinion that " the tendency of the said journal is to turn reli- gion into derision, and bring it into contempt ; that it mentions the sacred writings in a profane and irreligious manner ; that it puts mali- cious interpretations upon the conduct of the ministers of the gospel ; and that the government of his majesty is insulted, and the peace and tranquillity of the province disturbed by the said journal. The committee is consequently of opinion that the printer and publisher, James Franklin, should be forbidden to ])rint and publish the said journal or any other work in future, without having previous- APPENDIX. 450 ly submitted it to the secretary of the province ; and that the justices of the peace for the county of Suffolk should be commissioned to re- quire bail of the said James Franklin for his good conduct during the ensuing year." The suggestion of the committee was adopted and passed into a law, but the effect of it was null, for the journal eluded the prohibition by putting the name of Benjamin Franklin instead of James Franklin at the bottom of its columns, and this manoeuvre was supported by public opinion. bh- ^u- to |ty- ot IS- APPENDIX Q.— Page 287. The federal constitution has introduced the jury into the tribunals ot the Union in the same way as the states had introduced it into their own several courts : but as it has not established any fixed rules for the choice of jurors, the federal courts select them from the ordinary jury- list which each state makes for itself The laws of the states must therefore be examined for the theory of the formation of juries. See Story's Commentaries on the Constitution, B. iii., chap. 38, pp. 654- 659; Sergeant's Constitutional Law, p. 165. See also the federal laws, of the years 1789, 1800, and 1802, upon the subject For the purpose of thoroughly understanding the American princi- ples with respect to the formation of juries, I examined the laws of states at a distance from one another, and the following observations were the result of my inquiries. In America all the citizens who exercise the elective franchise have the right of serving upon a jury. The great state of New York, how- ever, has made a slight difference between the two privileges, but in a spirit contrary to that of the laws of France ; for in the state of New York there are fewer persons eligible as jurymen than there are elect- ors. It may be said in general that the right of forming part of a jury, like that of electing representatives, is open to all the citizens ; the exercise of this right, however, is not put indiscriminately into any hands. Every year a body of municipal or county magistrates — called select- men in New England, superviso/s in New York, trustees in Ohio, and sheriffs of the parish in Louisiana — choose for each county a certain number of citizens who have the right of serving as jurymen, and who are supposed to be capable of exercising their functions. These ma- gistrates, being themselves elective, excite no distrust : their powers, like those of most republican magistrates, are very extensive and very arbitrary, and they frecjuently make use of them to remove unworthy or incompetent jurymen. The names of the jurymen thus chosen are transmitted to the coun- ty court ; and tb*^ jury who have to decide any affair are drawn by lot from the whole list of names. The Americans have contrived in every way to make the common people eligible to the jury, and to render the service as little onerous as possible. The sessions are held in the chief town of every county ; and the jury are indemnified for their attendance either by the state or the parties concerned. They receive in general a dollar per day, be- side their travelling expenses. In America the being placed upon the jury is lookec' aipnn hs a b'irdnn. but it is o bnrd'^n which is very sup- portable. Se^ 'Jrsvn'ds Dij,est of the Public Stalun" Law of South \l < i I -f-«-*-f—- — t I **•■ 460 APPENDIX. Carolina, vol. i., pp. 446 and 454, vol. ii., pp. 218 and 33S ; The Gene- ral Laws of Massachusetts, revised and published by Authority of the Legislature, v. ii., pp. 187 and 331 ; The Revised Statutes of the State of New York, vol. ii., pp. 411, 643,717, 720; The Statute Law of the State of Tennessee, vol. i., p.^ 209; Acts of the State of Ohio, pp. 95 and 210; and Digeste G6neral des Actes de la Legislature de la Louisiane. „ APPENDIX R.— Page 290 Ir we attentively examine the constitution of the jury as introduced into civil proceedings in England, we shall readily perceive that the jurors are under the immediate control of the judge. It is true that the verdict of the jury, in civil as well as in criminal cases, comprises the question of fact and the question of right in the same reply ; thus, a house is claimed by Peter as having been purchased b^^ him : this is the fact to be decided. The defendant puts in a plea of incompetency on the part of the vendor : this is the legal question to be resolved. But tne jury do not enjoy the same character of infallibility in civil cases, according to the practice of the English courts, as they do in criminal cases. The judge may refuse to receive the verdict; and even after the first trial has taken place, a second or new trial may be •warded by the court. See Blackstone's Commentaries, book iii., ch. 34. r -t ^. •, , \ -TT" ne« the :ate the 05 la •». !ed he [lat les us, ia cy «1 in ad be 14. - k ^ .» t •*» »4 E^., ' k^- %(* »i ** ^-■ i--*- ^< .4 *. '• f.A "■' * * •■> ^ i ♦* .-J*'. •« 'M ■■> i* '■1 ■■* '.ftl^,' i^ :A .■• * »i^- ,^, • » ^ ♦' «, '*»j «, -, c "•» ■ V •k V' 4- ■' 2. # ,11 :* ; ■ *■ v;^^ ^^' .V? -* '• ■■*'■? > « ■;i 1 ♦ i i^ »« ■f •% -'. •«! \ ' BY WILLIAM PROFESSOR OK (llttMISTRV IN TUB I'MVKRSITY OF EDINBURGH. First Amprlcnn from llie Rucooil I.on'Ioii Ktlition. • ^mm-^'M-^^ ^MM:iliini'.'ii-\j>"> vi t M|)|pi'!ii('il. Tlic (liri'ilidiis liir jircpariir^ i^iibstiiiiocs arc iisuiilly rorifliicd to '^)l:0< il»' /•'■*' mh'IIiimN, so iliMl lircviiy anil siili'ctin'ss are co?>iliini'.L',IV;. ,:,.'..'/: '' ;-'^V'3' --S' ; 6'--'#; " Ti'w work", imrcly flfiiipnl;ii-y and Iccliiilcal In tlipir U^')L'!'- -.k'-Zii.^ pared v.jlli a u'realer dc'.'ret' i.t ;itienlloii to iierspicuily and Keiieral ultractivo- i^('i!Jj:^~'ki-'-'L''-'X ^^'0:.^f^:^.:m^ l.es,s of style and lani,'na„'c."-f^,:,'»r. ^#-^%-P\:;a .©; \ w ,,,,^v,. .v- ;. .^^\|,> " I lie worii oi i»r. <.reL;ory ^ .p)-;p'TQ)--'6St--^|; cxpiisllioii of llie doctrines o T:Wi'^^fi'^0i^''&' ''^i'^ "Itwonlil 1)P a trrent den ; Ni',^. ^,,-,,y/V,,, . .•: (inrvounn medical Irienda." — liiisiun Jli/I. .hurnal. "Tlie work of Dr. riresory is admitted by Ruropenn reviews to bo the al)Ie^^t ^\7>5s'j/ v- ' f Cttt'mislry which has ever appeared." — Ee, J\lcd. i^:i^f:^c.-^. : vjij- •#• 0)^ " It womM be a trieat dereliction of duty not to recommend tliis trealiao to ^Mv^C^?©), ■'0: •:©) i^^^'irt'i' W' * Mv"" " ^ '''^ '** '^ '"'"' iiiiinnal of tho fclence nf ( 'Uemi^trv. written bv an able and ^J^iikv in> - «v- ,»'- >i^z-m>^-vt:.-\3j-i^n ^.,.1, i)riit,.d chemist, oiMilliie: many iinimiiorlnnt di't:dl>'. Dr. (ii'v:;:^''-^->^'y "^Jy^^-^l y**^ a(' '(i* v.< cif most -4!j(--^i^'NW' x-n»' ■ It *??:: w. Or. m- w - siinveii m'icri aiirmion ii« me sim|)ie eirmi'tils wnicii lurm ine (/«>v.< m inosi "-^ir^jr^gft- % ^» , ehcniicd iinici'sse". and thus ),'roiinds the student npon Itu! original principles /^ ;; '• :?/T^. ', ^' oftlie science." — tin. Timrs. W--%'i -©. : '0.' i#- ,cs'— b^ W^ (oH " ^^''' '""'* "P"" f I'"*"' slanders' edition of Dr. Orccnry's work ns decidediy thfi ^Si^:.■@ffif'-^ :M_:-^r*f!^l copy. •/>. .l/n/. .ItHirnii!, ,}\\,: .,>>.-,i/> . ,,,,,, " I have llie honor to .ncknowledL'e yonr polite :;irt of a ropy of yonr editliin T' ^ w,i..>, . ^ !isi^'«S5^^- •&!'-''i^- orr>'s Chemistry. I am irlad tli:il (his exi-ellent bouli Is I'.laced will»in the -(g^^^fc.?fi^"(i&:~.*r| V: \ '\ 'pf, ;■ ,: ]^^ reacli of Amenciin students, tiiid I sliall, wIlU plcasiu'e, cniiuiiend it to my class, i ,' ;V^ '^i,,'! S"' v; I ; s '"*-;«'■'«' ..'«iPv i,orisvii.i,i£ I-Nivicrtsirv, Octahrr •;;n. 11. Sll.MMAN, .Ir. '.v';^ u, f^'^r ^'\; ,,v ,,,,,,, .,,;^ ...^ "Dr. fi'reiiory's well-known eminence ns n Irrtiirrr in n ec lebr.ilc il Scutch fM :".y ' jm/^ ,:, ■• ■; (D) , >'Cj!' I^V ■, will' render nil Amrriea.i (■dilniii of his Ircliin s. iIkhiu'Ii iindrr the 'Wi' iSJ^TfJ^^-i® ;'P ., ,,^ ^j .•,.v.i:.M.';. iiniM" nl iiiiillnes. ;i ver\ m |il ilile presrnt tci stiidmls in Ihi'^ cminliy. We s>J,' : ^ ' '>' 'T*^ ' ' : ^ I®)' (gi;' ■fiJT' iS;' W: CMii a-siire lliem im mir own n'S|Miii^iliilitv. that tliis i.i a very impiirt:ini wnrk. f?P)::^::A(8i. :'^0' ■'®''^ '.!.'i ',:'. M': "L ' l which it is im|Mi~sii>|,. Hn.y slimild rrad withcuit ImproviiiL; llirh' elii'niical i>i/;~W!^(!/'.:M '■ ;■ ''^^: ■O'l' I*^'.' •^' 'S))' kiiowledire. The new ihecry nf iiculs. ;is phiccd in ^ppusitidii (o lliiil wii'eh Ims ^iP'-'SS^crfjl''-^'-"'*' '^' ' ~'C iC Ui'. VO ' '^. 'omr bi'en received, is bi'aiilil'nl. Thc> iiii|iiiiider;dili'S the anllidr eonsi.lers a« ;-,;/", '■'''.i,''"'.'.\ ''. ",'■ : - jdR"; ■©" 'Sr '0i' '^: belnii.'im.' lo llie science nf pliy-ic-. im I has i.'iveii Iheni nnly s.i fur iw connected ;',p ;i®K:i^"'i'i? . 0'" • 'i\ :,■'_ ; ■/ -i '^■M'; With clieiniHlry, Itiil ditraiiK' chcMiil-lrv . llie ndvancis cii wliiclt are ihf uloiy of i_>i.'^ -L^'.-vl )/'■'■- 'i'- ■jSJ''®' fi)T' 0'^"i86; the a.re we live In, and wlvcli |in'iin«i's t,i |,.;ul lis iiii Id still mnre hnlliaiil re- -^l^.'f^il^' <3>):-#;; ,'•• M '; ',' • 'J,'; i; 'i'j >nU-. U uiven wllh ll liiinuieiifss ol iuter.'Sliii',' detail, suprriur In Unit nf miy Cuj; ,_,,,,,,- ,, , '/^■^^;^,^\^■;,- v 1^; *ic 'Sy 10)' IS': '#< other elenieiitary vol line. We ihinU this a llie- oiipurtunlly for stiulenls luiil :''-\|/; >i'' ■■ •- V , ■,.■,,.• ;l,, ■ 1, .'I, 'I.^O'.-''!' vM/. I. <(,.((_/ U, .,;(,, .(i, .<.'. ..•,/■(,',,■.;(. -;/• ' ■' ■ • 'xi/ -M '■ "'' \L' •' •" " 18 /i^- # ■:# ■ # ■"!«:i ■ {o '®^-'« < I ^ ■ / 1 \\ :-t I-: §#:^^^l3 '>!?-. ;H- 'i^5 A. S. HAIINES i COMTANy's I'UBLTCATIONS. ELOCUTIONARY WORKS. 'r * BY CHARLES XOaTIIEND AND J. 0. ZACIIOS. (^lV^•.;;>^■a.. ■:',.,. OX ill '.,,.•, (^,;,.T7'c>< Ito rf, 'm.''- \r-'' m) '■\' •' '''' „„ ^,,.-,,,^.,■,^v>[;vm^< ^=f ■i.-^-:. :i© 0;.- .;q: # ^■'"■!»i^"Ui- !i^' -ik'-^ Works of a sluvilur clmriirtir."'— CA';io Cmirr. i/ or :m:m'mm'-m ?# -iflSJ: J ■i!!?t.' 'O' m::^^'i$.:i$- .© : ■k^W'^'-'^i:: M: M-'U':<^'-''0! M P^'^^ ■^■'^ ■^ ■^<#,;^ «^' ^: .^«^}^;;ii^,;#^ « #';^:''®'t *) ••'4'- #'# < -M':(^M'((& o i,i:^m !Mi.^tK,^i^ 'fil,- S)!; "TIlis i"* n work wiik'li fnr i(» iiiiriicsc lii'H i;o siipiTior. Tin- icli .'lions np* ^'^^f• 0t.:0 ;fJfc iW i-Vi • • !^i '■'■^- '•''- '"''"' '■' "** '"'■''''"' '""' t'''"-.''"il. Till') lire ci'.-liiiiily iiiiiilc Irom aiillidrs /^'lll ' ' . : 1. 1 .'i,^y;.,v, 'TC'f''''^ '^■*"- '•'■'^ ('ill''-* mill I'xiiiijiiliin roiiiii, iirnl lu'C'ino ii Kfiitiiil luvrriti- wiili Imili l< .•irlu'i-; : ■•Qf L~l1^: -4 ■m m m:m:m