United States Founding Observers

Alexis de Tocqueville

Quotes

Enlightenment

  1. "The philosophers of the eighteenth century explained in a very simple manner the gradual decay of religious faith. Religious zeal, said they, must necessarily fail the more generally liberty is established and knowledge diffused. Unfortunately, the facts by no means accord with their theory. There are certain populations in Europe whose unbelief is only equaled by their ignorance and debasement; while in America, one of the freest and most enlightened nations in the world, the people fulfill with fervor all the outward duties of religion." - "The Republic of the United States of America and Its Political Institutions, Reviewed and Examined", Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835, (Democracy in America, Vintage Books Edition, July 1990, New York, Vol. 1, p. 308)

Government

  1. "Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more did I perceive the great political consequences resulting from this state of things, to which I was unaccustomed. In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom pursuing courses diametrically opposed to each other; but in America I found that they were intimately united, and that they reigned in common over the same country. My desire to discover the causes of this phenomenon increased from day to day." - "The Republic of the United States of America and Its Political Institutions, Reviewed and Examined", Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835, (Democracy in America, Vintage Books Edition, July 1990, New York, Vol. 1, p. 308)

Liberty

  1. "The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other" - "The Republic of the United States of America and Its Political Institutions, Reviewed and Examined", Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835, (Democracy in America, Vintage Books Edition, July 1990, New York, Vol. x, p. xxx)

Marriage

  1. "There is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is more respected that in America or where conjugal happiness is more highly or worthily appreciated." - "The Republic of the United States of America and Its Political Institutions, Reviewed and Examined", Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835, (Democracy in America, Vintage Books Edition, July 1990, New York, Vol. x, p. xxx)

Unbelievers

  1. "... 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 and prepare them gently for the hour of death. He regrets the faith that he has lost; and as he is deprived of a treasure of which he knows the value, he fears to take it away from those who still possess 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 love their contemporaries while they condemn their weaknesses and lament their errors. As those who do not believe conceal their incredulity, and as those who believe display their faith, public opinion pronounces itself in favor of religion; love, support, and honor are bestowed upon it, ..." - "The Republic of the United States of America and Its Political Institutions, Reviewed and Examined", Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835, (Democracy in America, Vintage Books Edition, July 1990, New York, Vol. 1, p. 313) Anchor

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