The Democratic Social State of Anglo-Americans and its Foundations

Key Insight

The social state of Anglo-Americans is profoundly democratic, a characteristic present since the colonies' inception and intensified over time. In New England, immigrants were inherently equal, establishing no aristocracy beyond intellectual influence. South of the Hudson, English landowners imported aristocratic principles but failed to establish a powerful aristocracy due to a lack of privileges, tenants, and the use of slaves. This southern 'sort of aristocracy' remained 'feeble', embracing popular interests and leading the American Revolution, which itself awakened democratic instincts and propelled customs and laws towards greater equality.

The law of inheritance, particularly equal partition of property among children, is the primary force driving equality. It acts as an 'almost divine power' by systematically dividing property, especially land, causing it to shrink permanently. This law also influences property owners' psychology, severing the 'intimate bond' between family spirit and land preservation. Without land representing the family's name or glory, owners lose the desire to retain it, opting to sell for more liquid capital. Once fragmented, large estates are seldom reconstituted, as small holders derive proportionally greater income and demand higher prices, leading to the rapid disappearance of great families and fortunes.

In the United States, the transformative impact of equal inheritance laws is 'almost complete'. Following the Revolution, English property transmission laws were abolished, and entails severely restricted. Within approximately 60 years, society's structure became unrecognizable; most great landowning families were absorbed into the common populace, with few exceptions. Wealth circulates with 'incredible rapidity', rarely favoring two successive generations. In the new Western states, democracy reached its 'ultimate limit'; societies were 'improvised by fortune', individuals lacked communal history, and influences of great names, wealth, or natural aristocracy were absent. Furthermore, equality extends to intelligence: primary education is universal, but higher education is largely inaccessible. Most Americans pursue professions early, ending general education around 15, leading to a 'middling level of human understanding' across various subjects. This effectively weakened any aristocratic element, leaving the democratic element 'unrivaled' and creating a society where men are more equally strong in fortune and intelligence than in any historical record.