Module Two - Discussion post

Alexis de Tocqueville possessed a deep admiration for fact that the citizens of America held the power to change laws they disliked. His feelings regarding the early 19 th century political events occurring in France convinced Tocqueville that Europe had to start preparing for democracy’s accent and eventual overtake of traditional aristocratic governance models in place. He defined popular sovereignty as a principle in which a citizenry is at the center of political power in a society. Additionally, he deduced that political authority was derived from the consent of the governed and that the people both the right and the obligation to participate in their own governance. De Tocqueville further expressed his amazement when he wrote: "No sooner do you set foot on American soil than you find yourself in a sort of tumult," 1 and that "a confused clamor rises on every side, and a thousand voices are heard at once, each expressing some social requirements." 2 The author could not be prepared for the buzz of the political landscape shaping a new nation. He wrote that "all around you, everything is on the move". 3 Tocqueville went further, discussing the multi-faceted efforts of the people to correct the shortcomings of the political systems they abandoned. However, the most impactful display of public service came on his visits with the puritans of New England. He was so moved by the local social environment and the fact that everyone (circa 1831) had the right to vote that he emotionally expresses his astonishment with a rather serious phrase. Tocqueville wrote: "The people reign over the American political world as God rules over the universe. They are the cause and the end of all things; everything arises from them and everything is absorbed by them." 4 It was popular sovereignty coming to life. Tocqueville’s views on this version of popular sovereignty presented a fresh perspective for his reader’s consideration. The author represented the principle as a living practice for the citizens of the new world. For the first time in his studies, he observed sovereignty not as a theory, but as a socio-political norm, in practice at all levels of society. Americans did feel the helpless despair that Europeans of similar status were feeling, they could do something about it. The young republic was chock-full with examples of citizen engagement in local political institutions shaping the government. Alexis saw puritan town hall meetings, open legal courts, and various professional associations consisting of normal men in roles normally assigned by the monarchy in the lives of most Europeans 5 . Having defined the principle of popular sovereignty and discussing Tocqueville’s views on the same, one can see the importance of colonialists safeguarding their newly found rights for posterity’s sake. At that time, the options available to the framers were contracts, compacts and 1 Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America , Vol. II, Ch. 2, London: Saunders and Otley, 1838, p. 71-74 2 Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America , ed. J. P. Mayer, trans. George Lawrence, Vol I, Pt. 2, Ch. 6, p. 242 (1969). Originally published in 1835–1840. 3 Ibid. 4 Tocqueville, Democracy in America , Vol. II, Pt. 1, Ch. 2 5 Alexis De Tocqueville, C, H., & Delba Winthrop. (2000). Democracy in America . University Of Chicago Press. p. 489-492