Ben Franklin and Alexis de Toqueville
Tanner Clarke
Mr. Poitinger
AP US History- DYAD
3 August 2012
Two Outlooks of the American Culture Though their descriptions are fifty years separated in time; Alexis de Tocqueville and Benjamin Franklin have very similar, but different perspectives of the American culture in the early 1700’s through the mid 1800’s. Franklin explains his life story through his book, the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, and describes many things he encounters and learns along the way. De Tocqueville summarizes his observations of the American culture and government in his piece of literature, Democracy in America. In both accounts, each of the two historical men have many ideas that they could agree on, but also some they may debate about because of their two different perspectives. But in the end, each of the two give a vivid description of the American culture back in the colonial era. One viewpoint that Franklin and de Tocqueville seemed to agree on in the American culture is the equality of men and women. Both Franklin and Tocqueville stated that they believe in somewhat equal rights for women, but their different eras did not share the same agreement. In The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Franklin is telling the reader about how he would have heated debates with a man named John Collins. During one particular debate, Franklin and Collins were arguing over if women should be given the same amount of schooling and learning as everybody else. Franklin said that John Collins, “…was of opinion that it was improper, and that they were naturally unequal to it” (Franklin 11). This opinion by Collins illustrates and shows how women were treated as lower class citizens and that they were not as important to society as men were. On the other hand, de Tocqueville observed women’s equality in the United States differently. He knew that women may not hold the same offices as men and may not have all the same rights, but he also noticed that women were very important to the
Mr. Poitinger
AP US History- DYAD
3 August 2012
Two Outlooks of the American Culture Though their descriptions are fifty years separated in time; Alexis de Tocqueville and Benjamin Franklin have very similar, but different perspectives of the American culture in the early 1700’s through the mid 1800’s. Franklin explains his life story through his book, the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, and describes many things he encounters and learns along the way. De Tocqueville summarizes his observations of the American culture and government in his piece of literature, Democracy in America. In both accounts, each of the two historical men have many ideas that they could agree on, but also some they may debate about because of their two different perspectives. But in the end, each of the two give a vivid description of the American culture back in the colonial era. One viewpoint that Franklin and de Tocqueville seemed to agree on in the American culture is the equality of men and women. Both Franklin and Tocqueville stated that they believe in somewhat equal rights for women, but their different eras did not share the same agreement. In The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Franklin is telling the reader about how he would have heated debates with a man named John Collins. During one particular debate, Franklin and Collins were arguing over if women should be given the same amount of schooling and learning as everybody else. Franklin said that John Collins, “…was of opinion that it was improper, and that they were naturally unequal to it” (Franklin 11). This opinion by Collins illustrates and shows how women were treated as lower class citizens and that they were not as important to society as men were. On the other hand, de Tocqueville observed women’s equality in the United States differently. He knew that women may not hold the same offices as men and may not have all the same rights, but he also noticed that women were very important to the
Cited: Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996. Print. Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America. American Studies at the University of Virginia, 2009. Web. 31 July 2012.