Since Alexis de Tocqueville was born shortly after the conclusion of the French Revolution, he escaped its physical brutality but not the religious aftershocks that followed. Tocqueville witnessed extremists overturning Christianity in favor of the Goddess of Reason, and he witnessed as the lack of religion drove French citizens to intellectual servitude. When he was granted permission to study the United States’ penal system, he took it as an opportunity to analyze the results of the democratic experiment. He ascertained that the point of departure, which formed the undertones of the Constitution, was determined with the arrival of the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims a high value placed on freedom and religion which meant that “from the beginning politics and religion were in accord” (Tocqueville 275).…
In the aftermath of the American Revolution the idea of sexual spheres became known and widely accepted and valued. For with it came the idea of “republican motherhood”, which in essence was the idea that all males should be raised by their mother’s to be virtuous and heavily nationalistic and politically informed. While the daughters were raised to follow in their mother’s footsteps when they were eventually married away. (Doc. A) Republican motherhood also brought about the innovation of limited female education versus their previous status of no education. The general consensus was to give the females limited knowledge of how the male sphere worked so that they may better teach their son’s how to be politically correct on the subjects of their time. (Doc. B) Although the idea of republican motherhood may have opened many doors for women to make their move into society, it also helped to strengthen the idea that women are eternally inferior to men in every way shape and form. (Doc. G)…
There are a number of things that can be seen as distinctly American. However, perhaps none of these things is more stereotypically American than the concept of the “American Dream.” However, does the American Dream still persist in modern society? Is the United States still the place that people around the world aspire to live due to its focus on life, liberty, and equality? This paper will investigate the phenomenon of the American Dream by reflecting upon Tocqueville’s evaluation of early America and examining tenets that support the persistence of the American Dream.…
As a result of the Revolution, changes occurred. “While all those who debated the woman question agreed on the intellectual and moral equality of the sexes, few believed that the two sexed should employ their abilities in the same arenas.” (Berkin 2005) If this is true of 1781, it is true of 2014 as well. Gender roles still ensure women are not equal social, economic, and political…
Work 4: “Why the Americans show themselves so restive in the midst of their well-being” By: Alexis de Tocqueville…
Without philosophers and brilliant minds, countries wouldn't be as productive or successful as they are today. It's people like Alexis de Tocqueville who were men of many special talents who have shaped countries to where they are today. His research and dedication alone are the foundations that we still use today. Tocqueville’s numerous works on religion, politics, crime and punishment, democracy and parties, and tyranny have helped cultivate the United States and are considered to be master pieces to the human race. This great philosopher dedicated his life and work to educate others and spread his knowledge and wisdom. Tocqueville has become one of the greatest minds who has ever lived based on his understanding on democracy and his philosophies. His…
Alexis de Tocqueville, compares the social condition of American women to that of their European counterparts. In Europe people mix up the characteristics od the sexes, and make mean and woman into beings not only equal, but alike. Both genders impose on the same duties, have the same rights granted, same occupations, pleasures and business. In America there is a wide difference between the physical and moral constitution of man and woman, and divide the duties between them. I favor the way Europe runs their country, I believe everyone was born equal and any gender should therefore have the same opportunity as the opposite sex. I think America should not have such a constant care to trace two clearly distinct lines of action for the two sexes,…
When I was reading On the Equality of the sexes by Judith Srgt. Murray, I was full of thoughts and amazed by her meaningful message. In "On the Equality of the sexes" Murray argue all men should be treated equally during the Revolution time. She never stops asking back the equality and opportunities for women's rights to discuss in politic, to read, and hear orations. Murray was one of those suffered women.…
With the rise of role confusion in society, the debates of gender inequality have become more frequent. As a result, people are becoming increasingly more concerned with how to repair the gap that an uncertain amount of time has created between men and women. The complication of finding ways to bridge the gap resides in the inability for majorities of each sex to see passed their biases. In the essay titled “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” former director of policy planning for the U.S. State Department Anne-Marie Slaughter speaks about the difficulty of balancing home and work life from a female’s perspective. In rebuttal of a portion of the claims Slaughter makes, Esquire magazine editor Richard Dorment states a male’s view on the…
Men and women are considered discrete and are expected to follow specific gender roles, otherwise they are viewed differently. These gender roles are “derived from classical thought, Christian ideology, and contemporary science and medicine.” Since women were paid less than men and had certain jobs, the expectations for them were “derived from these virtues and weaknesses.” men and women, who were poor, sometimes had to do both types of jobs “in order to survive.” There were few cases when stepping out of the gender roles were accepted. Sometimes, men would crossdress and woman would dress as men “in order to gain access to opportunities.” In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries” the “separate spheres” began to emerge and many women who didn’t live up to the “mother's” expectation “were censured as prostitutes with uncontrollable sexual desires.” Citizens finally realized “women were excluded from some occupations and activities” so “towards the end of the century new jobs outside the home became available.” Many men were treated harshly if they weren’t masculine, so the expectation for them increased drastically. Though the majority of both genders (male and female) act differently, their “separate spheres” became less and less “separate” at the end of the nineteenth…
Male and female roles have changed dramatically since the beginning of the 21st century. Men were known as the bread-winners. Their responsibility was to go to work and bring home money to take care of their family. While women stayed at home and took care of all the cooking and cleaning. The female role also consisted of bearing and taking care of all the children. Things have changed women can also get good jobs and bring home as much money as men and sometimes even more money than men. In a major step forward, women demanded and were granted the right to vote in the United States in 1920s.Women should not have to stay at home and take…
Throughout time, women have always been seen as the weaker sex of the human race. Not only have they been considered weaker, but also intellectually inferior to men. Women were considered to be better suited for roles inside the home as a wife and a mother. They have had fewer legal rights and career opportunities. In the 20th century, women won the right to vote and also increased their educational and job opportunities. With these opportunities, women have merged onto the workforce and political stages.…
As constantly seen throughout history, women have been battling and questioning society’s standard so they can be seen as individuals rather than a lesser being in comparison to men. These civil liberties of owning property and having the right to vote prolongs further than that. Women want to be seen in the same degree as men when it comes down having an education, a place in office, being in a predominantly male workforce, and the right to manage their reproductive lives. The fight for women's rights even extends to modern day with the rise of feminism and the demand that men and women should be considered equal in any social, political, and economic entities.…
French sociologist and political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to the United States in year significantly codified in America’s observations on equality and individualism Tocqueville’s work remains a valuable explanation of America to Europeans and of Americans to themselves. As Democracy in America revealed, Tocqueville believed that equality was the great political and social idea of his era, and he thought that the United States offered the most advanced example of equality in action. Tocqueville feeling concerned that society of individuals lacked the intermediate social structures such as those provided by traditional hierarchies to mediate relations with the state. The result could be a democratic tyranny of the majority in which individual rights were compromised Tocqueville supported his theme.…
In Western Europe, women worked hard to make changes to their subservient roles. They had very few rights. They were able to participate in political discussions and could work in small business if alongside her husband and only if she was of lower class. They could not vote, divorce or work in political office. When the “Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen” was written, the women fired back with…