Shante Johnson-Essay Quiz 3

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Saint Leo University *

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110

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Political Science

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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3

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Johnson 1 Shante Johnson Professor B. Diamond POL-110HA-OL01 02/04/2024 Much of Tocqueville’s writings on Democracy in America advocated for rights of equality and freedom that underhandedly only applied to a “free” population of white males, but in doing so he emphasized that there is “only God who can…be all powerful… there is no authority on earth so respectable in itself.” (Tocqueville 413) Retaining that religious fervor, Tocqueville goes on to suggest, is preventative maintenance against the habits and division that democracy can create between a majority and minorities. Since all men are created equal before God, it follows that a devout Christian population will render all men equal in politics and law. It is not outlandish to assert that a shared belief system will equalize the values the democracy will seek to establish and preserve. The consistent employment of religious dogma as a political guidepost reveals that parts of Tocqueville’s argument have held fast in America, especially in the journey towards equality for African Americans. The abolition of slavery and the later Civil Rights Movement relied on the basis that all of God’s human creations ought to be seen as equal, and that loving one’s neighbor is a fundamental principle of Christianity specifically. Unsurprisingly, the congregation of the African American population in reverence to God both bolstered mobilization efforts during these movements and provided resilience as the pursuit of equality dragged on. Christianity led the Civil Rights movement so prominently that it has been referred to as a religious movement in and of itself. (Houck & Dixon 428) The social progress that ultimately led African Americans to freedom and voting rights seems to be deeply democratic, but always with a moral underpinning that this was in alignment with God’s ideals. While Tocqueville’s writings made clear that slavery was not inherently Christian - and that it produced evils which Christians should rid themselves of – for the prejudice that abolition leaves behind he saw no true resolution.
Johnson 2 Though his fear of the potential dangers of freeing slaves to become educated black men aware of their inherent equality may have proved itself unfounded, this progress still in many ways aligns with Tocqueville’s original assessment of American democracy. The maintenance of the democracy without a major revolution arising to destroy it has ultimately been a result of the religious ideals it was founded on.
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