Alexis DeTocqueville argued that Americans in the 1830s believed that “there is more intelligence and wisdom in a number of men united than in a single individual.” Why did Americans believe this?
1 Answer
The philosophy of Thomas Jefferson that the common people not the elites had the greater wisdom about government.
Explanation:
The Declaration of Independence stated that people's basic human rights came from God not the government. This belief in the wisdom of the common people to make their own decisions was echoed in the Bill of Rights the first ten amendments to the constitution.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had an undoing feud about the nature of government. Adams believing in he wisdom and right of the elite to run the government in opposition Jefferson.
By 1830 the American public had decided the issue in favor of Jefferson's vision of a government run by the people, for the people deriving their power from natural laws given by God. These thoughts were part of the Great Awakenings, and the writings of John Wycliff. Abraham Lincoln would use these ideas in his Gettyesburg address.
Detocqueville believed that the strength of America came from the belief that men (women) were created equal. This was the prevailing belief in 1830 America.
