Fragile democracy

In 1831-32 two
young Frenchmen, Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont, traveled
through the United States, ostensibly to study the prison system on behalf of
the French government. But the prisons bored and often appalled them--Quaker-inspired
prisons in Philadelphia being the exception--so they spent very little time in
prisons.

Instead, like
amateur anthropologists, they traveled through this relatively new nation,
exploring its landscapes and mindset. Engaging in conversation with learned
lawyers and simple farmers, they took copious notes. What resulted was
Tocqueville's classic book Democracy in America, which is still worth reading today.

Randall Steven's
review in the spring books issue of the Century inspired me to read Tocqueville's Discovery of America by Leo Damrosch. Damrosch, a Harvard
literature professor, provides a riveting and provocative account of
Tocqueville and Beumont's travels and their encounters with people along the
way. What is so striking to me is how formed the "American character" was
already by the 1830s--and how the issues the fledgling country was dealing with
then are still with us today.