Democracy in America

Majority rule is legally enshrined in the American system, as the legislative branches of government have a great deal of power and face frequent elections to be held accountable to the public. This is the result of the American belief that “there is more enlightenment and wisdom in many men united than in one alone, in the number of legislators than in their choice. It is the theory of equality applied to intellects” (236). This idea was deeply entrenched in America from the first days of European settlement. Americans closely identify themselves with majority rule out of a sense of common interest.

The results of majority rule are, for Tocqueville, full of drawbacks. He calls frequent changes in legislative composition “an evil inherent in democratic government” (238). Tocqueville notes that laws change frequently and constitutions are readily amended. Tocqueville argues that his opposition is not to democracy’s particular faults but to any system that grants too much power to one authority, whether popular or aristocratic. He argues, “There is therefore no authority on earth so respectable in itself or vested with a right so sacred that I should wish to allow to act without control and to dominate without obstacles” (241).