Democracy in America

Tocqueville maintains his interest in legal frameworks as key structures to understanding politics. He sees primogeniture, the tradition of passing an estate to the oldest son, as key to the maintenance of aristocracies, since it preserves wealth and gives land a “family spirit” (48). When land is divided among descendants, it is sold more rapidly. In the case of the United States, the lack of primogeniture meant that descendants of landowners joined the professional classes and became “men of commerce, attorneys, doctors. Most have fallen into the most profound obscurity. The least trace of ranks and hereditary distinctions is destroyed; estate law has done its leveling everywhere” (50). For Tocqueville, class structures and aristocratic culture are shaped by law: they cannot endure without a legal system to support them. Tocqueville posits that the United States has still more social mobility as its inhabitants constantly expand westward, so that family histories and legacies do not matter, as the communities there are made up of virtual strangers. Americans all have access to the same basic education, which furthers social leveling, as very few have the means or inclination to pursue intellectual labor and instead seek work from a young age.