Studies About Tocqueville’s Idea Of American Exceptionalism

Democracy in America is an important work of the study of the American political culture, When it was published in the 19 th century, it has caused wide public concern, Which laid the Tocqueville position in academia. The idea of American exceptionalism in this book makes a profound impact on the American political system and the later research. This thesis describes the formation and the content of American exceptionalism in detail,and then evalute it.The article is divided into four parts:The first part is the introduction, the first to introduce the significance of Tocqueville’ American exceptionalism; then overview the research status of Tocqueville’ American exceptionalism from domestic and foreign aspects; finally is a brief overview of the method.The second part mainly discusses the era background and premise condition of the formation of the idea. The Tocqueville’ American exceptionalism formed in the American war of independence and the French revolution soon after, the two enormous influence on modern world history revolution become Tocqueville thrust of American democratic system research. Plus, Tocqueville was influenced by French enlightenment thinker, He made profound reflection on the meaning of revolution of French, and took use of the chance to inspect the prison system in the United States, Tocqueville carried on the thorough understanding of American democracy. Under the combination of these factors, Tocqueville’s idea of American exceptionalism began to form.The third part mainly elaborates the main content of American exceptionalism.In tocqueville’s view, there are three main factors helps to maintain the American democratic system, which is natural environment, the rule of law, the people. Natural environment is the objective condition which a country must be faced with, The United States stays away from the strong,so that they don’t have to waste money and armament expansion. The rich natural resources provide the industrial development with the support of raw materials.and the vast land is to let hardworking Americans exploit their talent. For the state of the us legal system, Tocqueville mentioned above all is federalism, the federal constitution of state power and responsibility division makes the United States keep the unity of the nation and fully retain the local democratic rights. The United States before independence in some villages and towns autonomy system laid the foundation of American democracy, And the independent and effective jurisdiction safeguard independence of law. Combined with the practice of inheritance law, which makes the United States a country more equal, Everyone has a chance to through their own efforts to achieve their dreams. Tocqueville think that comparing with the natural environment and the rule of law,the mood is the most important factor to maintain the democratic system. The separation of church and state, religion can no longer interfere in the affairs of the United States. The American education system also allows Americans can not only learn basic cultural knowledge, but also constantly improve their political quality in practice. And freedom of association is to separate the individual gradually strong, can participate in political affairs in the name of the group.The fourth part is evalution the idea of American exceptionalism.The correct methodology is needed, Therefore, we must adhere to the Marxist historical materialism, in order to fully and rationally analyze Tocqueville’s thought of American exceptionalism value. The first is to show that the thoughts ‘value in historical and realistic significance. Tocqueville as a great political scientist, the idea of progress is self-evident, but anyone can’t end the truth, Because the restriction of class position and conditions of the time, the thought will inevitably have some limitations, Anyway, we should uphold the academic research objective and rigorous attitude to conduct a comprehensive analysis to his thought..