American Institutions And Their Influence

A >> Alexis de Tocqueville >> American Institutions And Their Influence

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49

"Whereas, irreligious or light-minded persons, forgetting the
duties which the sabbath imposes, and the benefits which these
duties confer on society, are known to profane its sanctity, by
following their pleasures or their affairs; this way of acting
being contrary to their own interest as Christians, and
calculated to annoy those who do not follow their example; being
also of great injury to society at large, by spreading a taste
for dissipation and dissolute manners;--

"Be it enacted and ordained by the governor, council, and
representatives convened in general court of assembly, that all
and every person and persons shall, on that day, carefully apply
themselves to the duties of religion and piety; that no tradesman
or laborer shall exercise his ordinary calling, and that no game
or recreation shall be used on the Lord's day, upon pain of
forfeiting ten shillings;--

"That no one shall travel on that day, or any part thereof, under
pain of forfeiting twenty shillings; that no vessel shall leave a
harbor of the colony; that no person shall keep outside the
meetinghouse during the time of public worship, or profane the
time by playing or talking, on penalty of five shillings.

"Public-houses shall not entertain any other than strangers or
lodgers, under a penalty of five shillings for every person found
drinking or abiding therein.

"Any person in health who, without sufficient reason, shall omit
to worship God in public during three months, shall be condemned
to a fine of ten shillings.

"Any person guilty of misbehavior in a place of public worship
shall be fined from five to forty shillings.

"These laws are to be enforced by the tithing-men of each
township, who have authority to visit public-houses on the
Sunday. The innkeeper who shall refuse them admittance shall be
fined forty shillings for such offence.

"The tithing-men are to stop travellers, and to require of them
their reason for being on the road on Sunday: any one refusing to
answer shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding five pounds
sterling. If the reason given by the traveller be not deemed by
the tithing-men sufficient, he may bring the traveller before the
justice of the peace of the district." (_Law of the 8th March,
1792: General Laws of Massachusetts_, vol. i., p. 410.)

On the 11th March, 1797, a new law increased the amount of fines.
half of which was to be given to the informer. (_Same
collection_, vol. ii., p. 525.)

On the 16th February, 1816, a new law confirmed these measures.
(_Same collection_, vol. ii., p. 405.)

Similar enactments exist in the laws of the state of New York,
revised in 1827 and 1828. (See _Revised Statutes_, part i.,
chapter 20, p. 675.) In these it is declared that no one is
allowed on the sabbath to sport, to fish, play at games, or to
frequent houses where liquor is sold. _No one_ can travel
except in case of necessity.

And this is not the only trace which the religious strictness and
austere manners of the first emigrants have left behind them in
the American laws.

In the revised statutes of the state of New York, vol. i.,
p. 662, is the following clause:--

"Whoever shall win or lose in the space of twenty-four hours, by
gaming or betting, the sum of twenty-five dollars, shall be found
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be condemned
to pay a fine equal to at least five times the value of the sum
lost or won; which will be paid to the inspector of the poor of
the township. He that loses twenty-five dollars or more, may
bring an action to recover them; and if he neglects to do so, the
inspector of the poor may prosecute the winner, and oblige him to
pay into the poor box both the sum he has gained and three times
as much beside."

The laws we quote from are of recent date; but they are
unintelligible without going back to the very origin of the
colonies. I have no doubt that in our days the penal part of
these laws is very rarely applied. Laws preserve their
inflexibility long after the manners of a nation have yielded to
the influence of time. It is still true, however, that nothing
strikes a foreigner on his arrival in America more forcibly than
the regard to the sabbath.

There is one, in particular, of the large American cities, in
which all social movements begin to be suspended even on Saturday
evening. You traverse its streets at the hour at which you
expect men in the middle of life to be engaged in business, and
young people in pleasure; and you meet with solitude and silence.
Not only have all ceased to work, but they appear to have ceased
to exist. Neither the movements of industry are heard, nor the
accents of joy, nor even the confused murmur which arises from
the midst of a great city. Chains are hung across the streets in
the neighborhood of the churches; the half closed shutters of the
houses scarcely admit a ray of sun into the dwellings of the
citizens. Now and then you perceive a solitary individual, who
glides silently along the deserted streets and lanes.

Next day, at early dawn, the rolling of carriages, the noise of
hammers, the cries of the population, begin to make themselves
heard again. The city is awake. An eager crowd hastens toward
the resort of commerce and industry; everything around you
bespeaks motion, bustle, hurry. A feverish activity succeeds to
the lethargic stupor of yesterday: you might almost suppose that
they had but one day to acquire wealth and to enjoy it.

* * * * *

APPENDIX F.

It is unnecessary for me to say, that in the chapter which has
just been read, I have not had the intention of giving a history
of America. My only object was to enable the reader to
appreciate the influence which the opinions and manners of the
first emigrants had exercised upon the fate of the different
colonies and of the Union in general. I have therefore confined
myself to the quotation of a few detached fragments.

I do not know whether I am deceived, but it appears to me that by
pursuing the path which I have merely pointed out, it would be
easy to present such pictures of the American republics as would
not be unworthy the attention of the public, and could not fail
to suggest to the statesman matter for reflection.

Not being able to devote myself to this labor, I am anxious to
render it easy to others; and for this purpose, I subjoin a short
catalogue and analysis of the works which seem to me the most
important to consult.

At the head of the general documents, which it would be
advantageous to examine, I place the work entitled An Historical
Collection of State Papers, and other authentic Documents,
intended as Materials for a History of the United States of
America, by Ebenezer Hasard. The first volume of this
compilation, which was printed at Philadelphia in 1792, contains
a literal copy of all the charters granted by the crown of
England to the emigrants, as well as the principal acts of the
colonial governments, during the commencement of their existence.
Among other authentic documents, we here find a great many
relating to the affairs of New England and Virginia during this
period. The second volume is almost entirely devoted to the acts
of the confederation of 1643. This federal compact, which was
entered into by the colonies of New England with the view of
resisting the Indians, was the first instance of union afforded
by the Anglo-Americans. There were besides many other
confederations of the same nature, before the famous one of 1776,
which brought about the independence of the colonies.

Each colony has, besides, its own historic monuments, some of
which are extremely curious; beginning with Virginia, the state
which was first peopled. The earliest historian of Virginia was
its founder, Capt. John Smith. Capt. Smith has left us an octavo
volume, entitled, The generall Historic of Virginia and New
England, by Captain John Smith, sometymes Governour in those
Countryes, and Admirall of New England; printed at London in
1627. The work is adorned with curious maps and engravings of
the time when it appeared; the narrative extends from the year
1584 to 1626. Smith's work is highly and deservedly esteemed.
The author was one of the most celebrated adventurers of a period
of remarkable adventure; his book breathes that ardor for
discovery, that spirit of enterprise which characterized the men
of his time, when the manners of chivalry were united to zeal for
commerce, and made subservient to the acquisition of wealth.

But Capt. Smith is remarkable for uniting, to the virtues which
characterized his contemporaries, several qualities to which they
were generally strangers: his style is simple and concise, his
narratives bear the stamp of truth, and his descriptions are free
from false ornament.

This author throws most valuable light upon the state and
condition of the Indians at the time when North America was first
discovered.

The second historian to consult is Beverley, who commences his
narrative with the year 1595, and ends it with 1700. The first
part of his book contains historical documents, properly so
called, relative to the infancy of the colony. The second
affords a most curious picture of the Indians at this remote
period. The third conveys very clear ideas concerning the
manners, social condition, laws, and political customs of the
Virginians in the author's lifetime.

Beverley was a native of Virginia, which occasions him to say at
the beginning of his book that he entreats his readers not to
exercise their critical severity upon it, since, having been born
in the Indies, he does not aspire to purity of language.
Notwithstanding this colonial modesty, the author shows
throughout his book the impatience with which he endures the
supremacy of the mother-country. In this work of Beverley are
also found numerous traces of that spirit of civil liberty which
animated the English colonies of America at the time when he
wrote. He also shows the dissensions which existed among them
and retarded their independence. Beverley detests his catholic
neighbors of Maryland, even more than he hates the English
government: his style is simple, his narrative interesting and
apparently trustworthy.

I saw in America another work which ought to be consulted,
entitled, The History of Virginia, by William Stith. This book
affords some curious details, but I thought it long and diffuse.

The most ancient as well as the best document to be consulted on
the history of Carolina is a work in a small quarto, entitled,
The History of Carolina, by John Lawson, printed at London in
1718. This work contains, in the first part, a journey of
discovery in the west of Carolina; the account of which, given in
the form of a journal, is in general confused and superficial;
but it contains a very striking description of the mortality
caused among the savages of that time, both by the small-pox and
the immoderate use of brandy; and with a curious picture of the
corruption of manners prevalent among them, which was increased
by the presence of Europeans. The second part of Lawson's book
is taken up with a description of the physical condition of
Carolina, and its productions. In the third part, the author
gives an interesting account of the manners, customs, and
government of the Indians at that period. There is a good deal
of talent and originality in this part of the work.

Lawson concludes his history with a copy of the charter granted
to the Carolinas in the reign of Charles II. The general tone of
this work is light, and often licentious, forming a perfect
contrast to the solemn style of the works published at the same
period in New England. Lawson's history is extremely scarce in
America, and cannot be procured in Europe. There is, however, a
copy of it in the royal library at Paris.

From the southern extremity of the United States I pass at once
to the northern limit; as the intermediate space was not peopled
till a later period.

I must first point out a very curious compilation, entitled,
Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society, printed for
the first time at Boston in 1792, and reprinted in 1806. The
collection of which I speak, and which is continued to the
present day, contains a great number of very valuable documents
relating to the history of the different states of New England.
Among them are letters which have never been published, and
authentic pieces which have been buried in provincial archives.
The whole work of Gookin concerning the Indians is inserted
there.

I have mentioned several times, in the chapter to which this note
relates, the work of Nathaniel Norton, entitled New England's
Memorial; sufficiently perhaps to prove that it deserves the
attention of those who would be conversant with the history of
New England. This book is in 8vo. and was reprinted at Boston in
1826.

The most valuable and important authority which exists upon the
history of New England is the work of the Rev. Cotton Mather,
entitled Magnalia Christi Americana, or the Ecclesiastical
History of New England, 1620-1698, 2 vols. 8vo., reprinted at
Hartford, United States, in 1820.[Footnote:

A folio edition of this work was published in London in 1702.

] The author divided his work into seven books. The first
presents the history of the events which prepared and brought
about the establishment of New England. The second contains the
lives of the first governors and chief magistrates who presided
over the country. The third is devoted to the lives and labors
of the evangelical ministers who during the same period had the
care of souls. In the fourth the author relates the institution
and progress of the University of Cambridge (Massachusetts). In
the fifth he describes the principles and the discipline of the
Church of New England. The sixth is taken up in retracing
certain facts, which, in the opinion of Mather, prove the
merciful interposition of Providence in behalf of the inhabitants
of New England. Lastly, in the seventh, the author gives an
account of the heresies and the troubles to which the Church of
New England was exposed. Cotton Mather was an evangelical
minister who was born at Boston, and passed his life there. His
narratives are distinguished by the same ardor and religious zeal
which led to the foundation of the colonies of New England.
Traces of bad taste sometimes occur in his manner of writing; but
he interests, because he is full of enthusiasm. He is often
intolerant, still oftener credulous, but he never betrays an
intention to deceive. Sometimes his book contains fine passages,
and true and profound reflections, such as the following:--

"Before the arrival of the Puritans," says he (vol. i.,
chap. iv.), "there were more than a few attempts of the English
to people and improve the parts of New England which were to the
northward of New Plymouth; but the design of those attempts being
aimed no higher than the advancement of some worldly interests, a
constant series of disasters has confounded them, until there was
a plantation erected upon the nobler designs of Christianity: and
that plantation, though it has had more adversaries than perhaps
any one upon earth, yet, having obtained help from God, it
continues to this day."

Mather occasionally relieves the austerity of his descriptions
with images full of tender feeling: after having spoken of an
English lady whose religious ardor had brought her to America
with her husband, and who soon after sank under the fatigues and
privations of exile, he adds, "As for her virtuous husband, Isaac
Johnson,

He tried
To live without her, liked it not, and died."--(Vol. i.)

Mather's work gives an admirable picture of the time and country
which he describes. In his account of the motives which led the
puritans to seek an asylum beyond seas, he says:--

"The God of heaven served, as it were, a summons upon the spirits
of his people in the English nation, stirring up the spirits of
thousands which never saw the faces of each other, with a most
unanimous inclination to leave the pleasant accommodations of
their native country, and go over a terrible ocean, into a more
terrible desert, for the pure enjoyment of all his ordinances.
It is now reasonable that, before we pass any farther, the
reasons of this undertaking should be more exactly made known
unto posterity, especially unto the posterity of those that were
the undertakers, lest they come at length to forget and neglect
the true interest of New England. Wherefore I shall now
transcribe some of them from a manuscript wherein they were then
tendered unto consideration.

"_General Considerations for the Plantation of New England_

"First, it will be a service unto the church of great
consequence, to tarry the gospel unto those parts of the world,
and raise a bulwark against the kingdom of antichrist, which the
Jesuits labor to rear up in all parts of the world.

"Secondly, all other churches of Europe have been brought under
desolations; and it may be feared that the like judgments are
coming upon us; and who knows but God hath provided this place to
be a refuge for many whom he means to save out of the general
destruction!

"Thirdly, the land grows weary of her inhabitants, inasmuch that
man, which is the most precious of all creatures, is here more
vile and base than the earth he treads upon; children, neighbors,
and friends, especially the poor, are counted the greatest
burdens, which, if things were right, would be the chiefest of
earthly blessings.

"Fourthly, we are grown to that intemperance in all excess of
riot, as no mean estate almost will suffice a man to keep sail
with his equals, and he that fails in it must live in scorn and
contempt; hence it comes to pass, that all arts and trades are
carried in that deceitful manner and unrighteous course, as it is
almost impossible for a good upright man to maintain his constant
charge and live comfortably in them.

"Fifthly, the schools of learning and religion are so corrupted,
as (beside the unsupportable charge of education) most children,
even the best, wittiest, and of the fairest hopes, are prevented,
corrupted, and utterly overthrown by the multitude of evil
examples and licentious behaviors in these seminaries.

"Sixthly, the whole earth is the Lord's garden, and he hath given
it to the sons of Adam, to be tilled and improved by them: why
then should we stand starving here for places of habitation, and
in the mean time suffer whole countries, as profitable for the
use of man, to lie waste without any improvement?

"Seventhly, what can be a better or a nobler work, and more
worthy of a Christian, than to erect and support a reformed
particular church in its infancy, and unite our forces with such
a company of faithful people, as by timely assistance may grow
stronger and prosper; but for want of it, may be put to great
hazards, if not be wholly ruined.

"Eighthly, if any such as are known to be godly, and live in
wealth and prosperity here, shall forsake all this to join with
this reformed church, and with it run the hazard of a hard and
mean condition, it will be an example of great use, both for the
removing of scandal, and to give more life unto the faith of
God's people in their prayers for the plantation, and also to
encourage others to join the more willingly in it."

Farther on, when he declares the principles of the church of New
England with respect to morals, Mather inveighs with violence
against the custom of drinking healths at table, which he
denounces as a pagan and abominable practice. He proscribes with
the same rigor all ornaments for the hair used by the female sex,
as well as their custom of having the arms and neck uncovered.

In another part of his work he relates several instances of
witchcraft which had alarmed New England. It is plain that the
visible action of the devil in the affairs of this world appeared
to him an incontestible and evident fact.

This work of Cotton Mather displays in many places, the spirit of
civil liberty and political independence which characterized the
times in which he lived. Their principles respecting government
are discoverable at every page. Thus, for instance, the
inhabitants of Massachusetts, in the year 1630, ten years after
the foundation of Plymouth, are found to have devoted
400_l_. sterling to the establishment of the University of
Cambridge. In passing from the general documents relative to the
history of New England, to those which describe the several
states comprised within its limits, I ought first to notice The
History of the Colony of Massachusetts, by Hutchinson,
Lieutenant-Governor of the Massachusetts Province, 2 vols., 8vo.

The history of Hutchinson, which I have several times quoted in
the chapter to which this note relates, commences in the year
1628 and ends in 1750. Throughout the work there is a striking
air of truth and the greatest simplicity of style; it is full of
minute details.

The best history to consult concerning Connecticut is that of
Benjamin Trumbull, entitled, A Complete History of Connecticut,
Civil and Ecclesiastical, 1630-1764; 2 vols., 8vo., printed in
1818, at New Haven. This history contains a clear and calm
account of all the events which happened in Connecticut during
the period given in the title. The author drew from the best
sources; and his narrative bears the stamp of truth. All that he
says of the early days of Connecticut is extremely curious. See
especially the constitution of 1639, vol. i., ch. vi., p. 100;
and also the penal laws of Connecticut, vol. i., ch. vii.,
p. 123.

The History of New Hampshire, by Jeremy Belknap, is a work held
in merited estimation. It was printed at Boston in 1792, in 2
vols., 8vo. The third chapter of the first volume is
particularly worthy of attention for the valuable details it
affords on the political and religious principles of the
puritans, on the causes of their emigration, and on their laws.
The following curious quotation is given from a sermon delivered
in 1663: "It concerneth New England always to remember that they
are a plantation religious, not a plantation of trade. The
profession of the purity of doctrine, worship, and discipline, is
written on her forehead. Let merchants, and such as are
increasing cent per cent, remember this, that worldly gain was
not the end and design of the people of New England, but
religion. And if any man among us make religion as twelve, and
the world as thirteen, such an one hath not the true spirit of a
true New Englishman." The reader of Belknap will find in his
work more general ideas, and more strength of thought, than are
to be met with in the American historians even to the present
day.

Among the central states which deserve our attention for their
remote origin, New York and Pennsylvania are the foremost. The
best history we have of the former is entitled A History of New
York, by William Smith, printed in London in 1757. Smith gives
us important details of the wars between the French and English
in America. His is the best account of the famous confederation
of the Iroquois.

With respect to Pennsylvania, I cannot do better than point out
the work of Proud, entitled the History of Pennsylvania, from the
original Institution and Settlement of that Province, under the
first Proprietor and Governor, William Penn, in 1681, till after
the year 1742; by Robert Proud; 2 vols., 8vo., printed at
Philadelphia in 1797. This work is deserving of the especial
attention of the reader; it contains a mass of curious documents
concerning Penn, the doctrine of the Quakers, and the character,
manners, and customs of the first inhabitants of Pennsylvania.

* * * * *

APPENDIX G.

We read in Jefferson's Memoirs as follows:--

"At the time of the first settlement of the English in Virginia,
when land was had for little or nothing, some provident persons
having obtained large grants of it, and being desirous of
maintaining the splendor of their families, entailed their
property upon their descendants. The transmission of these
estates from generation to generation, to men who bore the same
name, had the effect of raising up a distinct class of families,
who, possessing by law the privilege of perpetuating their
wealth, formed by these means a sort of patrician order,
distinguished by the grandeur and luxury of their establishments.
From this order it was that the king usually chose his counsellor
of state."[Footnote:

This passage is extracted and translated from M. Conseil's work
upon the Life of Jefferson, entitled, "_Melanges Politiques
et Philosophiques de Jefferson._"

]

In the United States, the principal clauses of the English law
respecting descent have been universally rejected. The first
rule that we follow, says Mr. Kent, touching inheritance, is the
following: If a man dies intestate, his property goes to his
heirs in a direct line. If he has but one heir or heiress, he or
she succeeds to the whole. If there are several heirs of the
same degree, they divide the inheritance equally among them,
without distinction of sex.