ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE ON THE ADOLESCENT AMERICAN GIRL

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 822-822
Author(s):  
T. E. C.
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Old French ◽  
The United States ◽  
Alexis De Tocqueville ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Maternal Control ◽  
American Girl ◽  
Political Literature ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
European Woman

In May 1831, the 26-year-old French nobleman, Alexis de Tocqueville (1803-1859), arrived in the United States, and departed its shores in February 1832, only nine months late. His analysis of the American way of life which he wrote in 1835 as a result of his visit, remains, even today, one of the great classics in political literature. Tocqueville had this to say about the freedom of the adolescent American girl: In the United States, the doctrines of Protestantism are combined with great political liberty and a most democratic state of society; and nowhere are young women surrendered so early so completely to their own guidance. Long before an American girl arrives at the marriageable age, her emancipation from maternal control begins: she has scarcely ceased to be a child, when she already thinks for herself, speaks with freedom, and acts on her own impulse. The great scene of the world is constantly open to her view: far from seeking to conceal it from her, it is every day disclosed more completely, and she is taught to survey it with a firm and calm gaze. Thus the vices and dangers of society are early revealed to her; as she sees them clearly, she views them without illusion, and braves them without fear; for she is full of reliance on her own strength, and her confidence seems to be shared by all around her. An American girl scarcely ever displays that virginal softness in the midst of young desires, or that innocent and ingenuous grace, which usually attend the European woman in the transistion from girlhood to youth.

Liberating Afghan Women

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Afghan Women ◽  
The Media ◽  
Policy Priority

Public opinion in the United States and elsewhere celebrated the liberation of Afghan women following the defeat of the Taliban government. The United States promised to stay in Afghanistan and foster security, economic development, and human rights for all, especially women. After years of funding various anti- Soviet Mujahidin warlords, the United States had agreed to help reconstruct the country once before in 1992, when the Soviet-backed government fell, but had lost interest when the warlords began to fight among themselves. This time, however, it was going to be different. To date, however, conditions have not improved for most Afghan women and reconstruction has barely begun. How did this happen? This article explores media presentations of Afghan women and then compares them with recent reports from human rights organizations and other eyewitness accounts. It argues that the media depictions were built on earlier conceptions of Muslim societies and allowed us to adopt a romantic view that disguised or covered up the more complex historical context of Afghan history and American involvement in it. We allowed ourselves to believe that Afghans were exotic characters who were modernizing or progressing toward a western way of life, despite the temporary setback imposed by the Taliban government. In Afghanistan, however, there was a new trope: the feminist Afghan woman activist. Images of prominent Afghan women sans burqa were much favored by the mass media and American policymakers. The result, however, was not a new focus on funding feminist political organizations or making women’s rights a foreign policy priority; rather, it was an unwillingness to fulfill obligations incurred during decades of American-funded mujahidin warfare, to face the existence of deteriorating conditions for women, resumed opium cultivation, and a resurgent Taliban, or to commit to a multilateral approach that would bring in the funds and expertise needed to sustain a long-term process of reconstruction.

Tocqueville on Equality and Democracy: Reflections on Latin America

2004 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-171
Author(s):  
José Antonio ◽  
Aguilar Rivera
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Latin America ◽  
New World ◽  
The United States ◽  
Alexis De Tocqueville ◽  
Social State ◽  
Xixth Century ◽  
Democracy In America

In his essay on Tocqueville and Latin America Claudio López-Guerra asserts that, according to Alexis de Tocqueville, in the XIXth century Mexico and the United States had the same social state but not the same mores. The contention that follows is that religion (Catholicism v. Protestantism) is more important than equality in shaping the mores of a democratic people. In Democracy in America Tocqueville asserted: “It is true that the Anglo-Americans brought equality of conditions with them to the New World. There were neither commoners nor nobles there, and professional prejudices were always as unknown as prejudices of birth.

scholarly journals Lithuanian and Lithuanistic Publications Released in Europe that Appear in the Press of USA Lithuanians (until 1904)

Knygotyra ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 206-232
Author(s):  
Remigijus Misiūnas
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Literature ◽  
Editorial Boards ◽  
National Movement ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
The Press ◽  
East Prussia

The Lithuanian national movement of the 19th c. had mostly manifested itself in the literature, which, under the Lithuanian press ban, was being published both in East Prussia and in Lithuanian communities in the United States, and which was being distributed likewise in Lithuania, East Prussia, and the United States. That same time period saw the forming of a new system designed to inform readers of new releases, which was utilized to help any members of the Lithuanian diaspora to keep updated on the newest literature affairs. This system had encompassed the press of both East Prussia and the United States, and it would inform the readers of the newest publications both from the location of where the newspaper was being released and about the new books and periodicals that were being published in foreign countries; thus, it had created a reflection of Lithuanian literature as a whole. The aim of this article is to analyze the circumstances surrounding the informing of readers about the newest publications as it had occurred in the American Lithuanian press up to 1904; main focus is paid here to the information regarding Lithuanian and Lithuanistic publications released in East Prussia and elsewhere in Europe. The basis of this study is a list of 322 Lithuanian and Lithuanistic publications released in Europe; the list itself took shape after overviewing 11 Lithuanian newspapers published in the United States. The 322 publications had been distributed in Lithuanian communities in the United States and were announced by the local Lithuanian press.This study has showed that the first announcements about the new books appeared in the US Lithuanian press in the late 1890s, and in the early 20th c., designated columns for publishing news became an ordinary practice. Unfortunately, a lack of authors capable of writing critical reviews of the new publications forced the émigré press to be content with mostly annotations and very laconic commentaries about the pros and cons of new publications. The fact that announcements were made about books (mostly publications released in Europe) that were not part of the American salespeople’s repertoire allows us to believe that the editorial boards of the newspapers behaved thus acting upon the informational mission of their newspapers, their societal role, and in seeking to support the national movement and the dissemination of its ideas as well as the mission of its consolidation. In evaluating the repertoire of the introduced publications, we may speak not only of the dissemination of information on these works but also of a particular perspective that the editorial boards of these periodicals had and which was based on a particular set of values. Attention is paid to Lithuanian literature, its growth and place in the society of that time, and how it matches the needs of the readers. The introduced literature repertoire was dominated by secular works that had reflected the growth of Lithuanian literature and answered the demands of education. The books were oftentimes evaluated first and foremost based on the aspect of how much practical information could they provide – this had to do with the restricted possibilities of Lithuanian education; for example, the amount of information these works could give on the topics of farming, medicine, craftsmanship, and the natural sciences was an important aspect. With time, more attention began to be paid to societal-political literature, which was associated to the dissemination of the ideologies of those times, and Lithuanistic works written by foreign (not Lithuanian) authors. The works were also increasingly evaluated based on the political views of the editorial boards, which had also determined the fact that the readers were urged to buy some books while others were introduced as no good. Yet at the same time it may be observed that attention was being paid to publishing culture, the linguistic aspects especially, prompted by the changes that were happening in written Lithuanian. Attempts were made to limit the distribution of books that had not met the standards of the written languages; however, owing to the poorness of literature, the practical value of the book was of the most importance. The perspective regarding the importance of some books can also be seen based on how many newspapers had referenced those books in their news and how well were these works met. In understanding that the system designed to inform the readership of the books did not meet the standards of even its contemporaries, it must still be said that during those times, a tradition had taken shape to introduce publishing news in the periodicals. This tradition was developed and perfected during later times, but its proper evaluation would require the continuation of its study.

1. Defining the Constitution?

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-18
Author(s):  
Ian Loveland
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Evaluative Criteria ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
Contemporary Perspective ◽  
Independent Country

This chapter identifies evaluative criteria that readers may wish to keep in mind when considering the description and analysis of the United Kingdom’s current constitutional arrangements presented in the rest of the book. The chapter begins by exploring what we might regard from a contemporary perspective as the essential features of the governmental systems adopted in a ‘democratic’ state. In order to illustrate the very contested nature of this concept of ‘democracy’, the chapter presents and analyses several hypothetical examples of what we might (or might not) regard as acceptable forms of governance, and explores the the notion of a country’s constitution being properly described as as a social and political contract formulated by its citizens. The chapter concludes by examining briefly the solutions adopted by the American revolutionaries to resolve the constitutional difficulties they faced when the United States became an independent country.

Five

2020 ◽  
pp. 103-128
Author(s):  
Bruno Maçães
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Mass Medium ◽  
The United States ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Basic Fact ◽  
Physical Restraints ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
In The Beginning

This chapter details how television became the first modern technology to be entirely shaped by American culture and American ambition, and to take the American way of life to its fullest development. In the beginning, the new medium was literally the product of American power, a peacetime application of wartime technology used against German submarines and the Japanese navy. Later, the connection would seem less obvious, but only at first. As the mass medium of choice during the decades when the United States conquered the planet, television quickly became synonymous with an American future of material and spiritual progress. They were a window into America, but a window displaying the American dream in all its glory, a transplant of the American life energy. Arguably, the internet, mobile technology, Netflix, and binge-watching did not change this basic fact. By liberating content from the physical restraints of the old wartime vacuum tubes, they can only increase its powers and render it, as it were, more spiritual. Ultimately, the internet can be seen as an expansion of television culture.

Epilogue

2021 ◽  
pp. 150-168
Author(s):  
Uta A. Balbier
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
The United States ◽  
Business Culture ◽  
American Business ◽  
Political Protest ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The Vietnam War ◽  
Political Landscapes ◽  
The 1960S

This chapter explores the transformed religious, economic, and political landscapes in Europe and the United States at the time of Graham’s return to Berlin and London in 1966. It explains why Graham was now facing sharper criticism: the theological climate had shifted even further away from Graham’s rather fundamentalist theology, which now appeared outdated. The 1960s counterculture articulated an increasing consumer critique that zoomed in on Graham’s unconditional support for American business culture and the American way of life. And the Vietnam War, from which Graham never really distanced himself, loomed large over his revival meetings, where he now faced open political protest. But even more so, the increasing secularization of crusade cities such as London and Berlin made it significantly harder to rally support for Graham’s revival work at the same time when Graham’s highly professionalized revivalism was increasingly perceived as secular and formulaic.

“I Believe in America”

2019 ◽  
pp. 48-87
Author(s):  
Paul A. Cantor ◽  
Paul A. Cantor
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
American Dream ◽  
The United States ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Old World ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Francis Ford Coppola ◽  
American Experience ◽  
Corporate Organization ◽  
Difficult Transition

In his Godfather films, Francis Ford Coppola created American classics by dwelling on a classic American experience—immigration. In the story of the Corleone family, Coppola portrays Sicilian immigrants struggling to create a new and better life in the United States. They must navigate the difficult transition from the Old World to the New, and also from the past to the present, from a quasi-feudal way of life in Sicily to a modern America characterized by impersonal economic relations and corporate organization. Vito Corleone achieves the American dream by succeeding in business and providing for his family, but his hopes for his sons are dashed. Carrying on Vito’s struggle, Michael Corleone defeats all his enemies, and yet in the process he destroys his family. Coppola sees the American dream as a source of tragedy, and this chapter analyzes both Vito and Michael as tragic heroes.

Discussants' Reactions

1962 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-129
Author(s):  
James Bowen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Atomic Bomb ◽  
The United States ◽  
American People ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
American Way

The past few years have been particularly troublesome for the American people, not the least of the worries being a concern with the Russian challenge to the American way of life. The incredible successes of the Russians in orbiting satellites and exploding nuclear weapons has been both a disturbing and a sobering thought to the United States, long secure in its isolation and power, and in the belief that it was the best society on earth. More than a decade ago an enduring Pax Americana based upon the unilateral possession of the atomic bomb disappeared; with the launching of various Sputniki since 1958 morale has dropped even lower.

Return to Empire: The New U.S. Imperialism in Comparative Historical Perspective

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Steinmetz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Regulation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
British Imperialism ◽  
The Past ◽  
Imperial Power ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Political Spectrum

The widespread embrace of imperial terminology across the political spectrum during the past three years has not led to an increased level of conceptual or theoretical clarity around the word “empire.” There is also disagreement about whether the United States is itself an empire, and if so, what sort of empire it is; the determinants of its geopolitical stance; and the effects of “empire as a way of life” on the “metropole.” Using the United States and Germany in the past 200 years as empirical cases, this article proposes a set of historically embedded categories for distinguishing among different types of imperial practice. The central distinction contrasts territorial and nonterritorial types of modern empire, that is, colonialism versus imperialism. Against world-system theory, territorial and nonterritorial approaches have not typi-cally appeared in pure form but have been mixed together both in time and in the repertoire of individual metropolitan states. After developing these categories the second part of the article explores empire's determinants and its effects, again focusing on the German and U.S. cases but with forays into Portuguese and British imperialism. Supporters of overseas empire often couch their arguments in economic or strategic terms, and social theorists have followed suit in accepting these expressed motives as the “taproot of imperialism” (J. A. Hobson). But other factors have played an equally important role in shaping imperial practices, even pushing in directions that are economically and geopolitically counterproductive for the imperial power. Postcolonial theorists have rightly empha-sized the cultural and psychic processes at work in empire but have tended to ignore empire's effects on practices of economy and its regulation. Current U.S. imperialism abroad may not be a danger to capitalism per se or to America's overall political power, but it is threatening and remaking the domestic post-Fordist mode of social regulation.

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