Description
DISCUSSION BOARD FORUM 2
HIUS 316 - Jacksonian America
Topic: Reflections on Democratization
Module/Week 8 -- Tragic Prelude
Novelist L.P. Hartley wrote, “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” With that interpretive theme to guide you, read ONE of the three short excerpts found in the "Readings and Study" folder from three actual foreign visitors to Jacksonian America: Alexander De Tocqueville, Charles Dickens, and Fanny Trollope.
Writing in the 1830s and 40s these foreign visitors had conflicted reactions to the culture and politics of Jacksonian Democracy. They were fascinated, curious, critical, laudatory, and at times repelled by what they observed.
21st-century students and historians often have a similar range of emotions when studying the antebellum years. But unlike most modern Americans, Tocqueville, Dickens, and Trollope were more willing to point to Democracy itself as being potentially dangerous to public morals and political liberties.
Create a thread (250-300 words) then read the posts by your classmates and reply to 2 of your classmate’s posts (150-200 words each).
Answer these prompts for your initial post:
1) Summarize what your chosen foreign traveler observes about Jacksonian America. Do they comment mainly on culture, politics, religion, etc.? What is their overall assessment of Democracy as expressed in the American context?
2) Use our course materials to evaluate the travel writer’s observations. Do their reflections have merit? Are they grounded in historic realities?
3) As a 21st century “foreign traveler” to Jacksonian America over the last eight weeks—what would be one observation you would choose to highlight?
Explanation & Answer
View attached explanation and answer. Let me know if you have any questions.
Foreign Visitors to Jacksonian America:
Alexander De Tocqueville
Student name
Course
Date
2
The traveler chosen for this discussion post is Alexander De Tocqueville. He was
generally a French sociologist as well as a political theorist and travelled to the United States in
1831 in his quest to study the correctional facilities.1 Tocqueville's exploration enabled him to
make broad observations in which he codified in "Democracy in America" (1835), one of the
then prominent yet influential books.2 Therefore, the greatest focus for Alexander De
Tocqueville's travel to the United S...
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