democracy in america-1- 第76部分

The　chief　circumstance　which　has　favored　the　establishment　and　the　maintenance　of　a　democratic　republic　in　the　United　States　is　the　nature　of　the　territory　which　the　American　inhabit。　　Their　ancestors　gave　them　the　love　of　equality　and　of　freedom；　but　God　himself　gave　them　the　means　of　remaining　equal　and　free；　by　placing　them　upon　a　boundless　continent；　which　is　open　to　their　exertions。　　General　prosperity　is　favorable　to　the　stability　of　all　governments；　but　more　particularly　of　a　democratic　constitution；　which　depends　upon　the　dispositions　of　the　majority；　and　more　particularly　of　that　portion　of　the　community　which　is　most　exposed　to　feel　the　pressure　of　want。　When　the　people　rules；　it　must　be　rendered　happy；　or　it　will　overturn　the　State；　and　misery　is　apt　to　stimulate　it　to　those　excesses　to　which　ambition　rouses　kings。　　The　physical　causes；　independent　of　the　laws；　which　contribute　to　promote　general　prosperity；　are　more　numerous　in　America　than　they　have　ever　been　in　any　other　country　in　the　world；　at　any　other　period　of　history。　In　the　United　States　not　only　is　legislation　democratic；　but　nature　herself　favors　the　cause　of　the　people。　

In　what　part　of　human　tradition　can　be　found　anything　at　all　similar　to　that　which　is　occurring　under　our　eyes　in　North　America？　　The　celebrated　communities　of　antiquity　were　all　founded　in　the　midst　of　hostile　nations；　which　they　were　obliged　to　subjugate　before　they　could　flourish　in　their　place。　　Even　the　moderns　have　found；　in　some　parts　of　South　America；　vast　regions　inhabited　by　a　people　of　inferior　civilization；　but　which　occupied　and　cultivated　the　soil。　　To　found　their　new　states　it　was　necessary　to　extirpate　or　to　subdue　a　numerous　population；　until　civilization　has　been　made　to　blush　for　their　success。　　But　North　America　was　only　inhabited　by　wandering　tribes；　who　took　no　thought　of　the　natural　riches　of　the　soil；　and　that　vast　country　was　still；　properly　speaking；　an　empty　continent；　a　desert　land　awaiting　its　inhabitants。

Everything　is　extraordinary　in　America；　the　social　condition　of　the　inhabitants；　as　well　as　the　laws；　but　the　soil　upon　which　these　institutions　are　founded　is　more　extraordinary　than　all　the　rest。　　When　man　was　first　placed　upon　the　earth　by　the　Creator；　the　earth　was　inexhaustible　in　its　youth；　but　man　was　weak　and　ignorant；　and　when　he　had　learned　to　explore　the　treasures　which　it　contained；　hosts　of　his　fellow　creatures　covered　its　surface；　and　he　was　obliged　to　earn　an　asylum　for　repose　and　for　freedom　by　the　sword。　　At　that　same　period　North　America　was　discovered；　as　if　it　had　been　kept　in　reserve　by　the　Deity；　and　had　just　risen　from　beneath　the　waters　of　the　deluge。

That　continent　still　presents；　as　it　did　in　the　primeval　time；　rivers　which　rise　from　never…failing　sources；　green　and　moist　solitudes；　and　fields　which　the　ploughshare　of　the　husbandman　has　never　turned。　　In　this　state　it　is　offered　to　man；　not　in　the　barbarous　and　isolated　condition　of　the　early　ages；　but　to　a　being　who　is　already　in　possession　of　the　most　potent　secrets　of　the　natural　world；　who　is　united　to　his　fellow…men；　and　instructed　by　the　experience　of　fifty　centuries。　　At　this　very　time　thirteen　millions　of　civilized　Europeans　are　peaceably　spreading　over　those　fertile　plains；　with　whose　resources　and　whose　extent　they　are　not　yet　themselves　accurately　acquainted。　　Three　or　four　thousand　soldiers　drive　the　wandering　races　of　the　aborigines　before　them；　these　are　followed　by　the　pioneers；　who　pierce　the　woods；　scare　off　the　beasts　of　prey；　explore　the　courses　of　the　inland　streams；　and　make　ready　the　triumphal　procession　of　civilization　across　the　waste。

The　favorable　influence　of　the　temporal　prosperity　of　America　upon　the　institutions　of　that　country　has　been　so　often　described　by　others；　and　adverted　to　by　myself；　that　I　shall　not　enlarge　upon　it　beyond　the　addition　of　a　few　facts。　　An　erroneous　notion　is　generally　entertained　that　the　deserts　of　America　are　peopled　by　European　emigrants；　who　annually　disembark　upon　the　coasts　of　the　New　World；　whilst　the　American　population　increases　and　multiplies　upon　the　soil　which　its　forefathers　tilled。　　The　European　settler；　however；　usually　arrives　in　the　United　States　without　friends；　and　sometimes　without　resources；　in　order　to　subsist　he　is　obliged　to　work　for　hire；　and　he　rarely　proceeds　beyond　that　belt　of　industrious　population　which　adjoins　the　ocean。　　The　desert　cannot　be　explored　without　capital　or　credit；　and　the　body　must　be　accustomed　to　the　rigors　of　a　new　climate　before　it　can　be　exposed　to　the　chances　of　forest　life。　　It　is　the　Americans　themselves　who　daily　quit　the　spots　which　gave　them　birth　to　acquire　extensive　domains　in　a　remote　country。　Thus　the　European　leaves　his　cottage　for　the　trans…Atlantic　shores；　and　the　American；　who　is　born　on　that　very　coast；　plunges　in　his　turn　into　the　wilds　of　Central　America。　　This　double　emigration　is　incessant；　it　begins　in　the　remotest　parts　of　Europe；　it　crosses　the　Atlantic　Ocean；　and　it　advances　over　the　solitudes　of　the　New　World。　　Millions　of　men　are　marching　at　once　towards　the　same　horizon；　their　language；　their　religion；　their　manners　differ；　their　object　is　the　same。　The　gifts　of　fortune　are　promised　in　the　West；　and　to　the　West　they　bend　their　course。　*b

＇Footnote　b：　＇The　number　of　foreign　immigrants　into　the　United　States　in　the　last　fifty　years　（from　1820　to　1871）　is　stated　to　be　7；556；007。　　Of　these；　4；104；553　spoke　English　…　that　is；　they　came　from　Great　Britain；　Ireland；　or　the　British　colonies；　2；643；069　came　from　Germany　or　northern　Europe；　and　about　half　a　million　from　the　south　of　Europe。＇＇

No　event　can　be　compared　with　this　continuous　removal　of　the　human　race；　except　perhaps　those　irruptions　which　preceded　the　fall　of　the　Roman　Empire。　Then；　as　well　as　now；　generations　of　men　were　impelled　forwards　in　the　same　direction　to　meet　and　struggle　on　the　same　spot；　but　the　designs　of　Providence　were　not　the　same；　then；　every　newcomer　was　the　harbinger　of　destruction　and　of　death；　now；　every　adventurer　brings　with　him　the　elements　of　prosperity　and　of　life。　　The　future　still　conceals　from　us　the　ulterior　consequences　of　this　emigration　of　the　Americans　towards　the　West；　but　we　can　readily　apprehend　its　more　immediate　results。　　As　a　portion　of　the　inhabitants　annually　leave　the　States　in　which　they　were　born；　the　population　of　these　States　increases　very　slowly；　although　they　have　long　been　established：　thus　in　Connecticut；　which　only　contains　fifty…nine　inhabitants　to　the　square　mile；　the　population　has　not　increased　by　more　than　one…quarter　in　forty　years；　whilst　that　of　England　has　been　augmented　by　one…third　in　the　lapse　of　the　same　period。　　The　European　emigrant　always　lands；　therefore；　in　a　country　which　is　but　half　full；　and　where　hands　are　in　request：　he　becomes　a　workman　in　easy　circumstances；　his　son　goes　to　seek　his　fortune　in　unpeopled　regions；　and　he　becomes　a　rich　landowner。　　The　former　amasses　the　capital　which　the　latter　invests；　and　the　stranger　as　well　as　the　native　is　unacquainted　with　want。

The　laws　of　the　United　States　are　extremely　favorable　to　the　division　of　property；　but　a　cause　which　is　more　powerful　than　the　laws　prevents　property　from　being　divided　to　excess。　*c　This　is　very　perceptible　in　the　States　which　are　beginning　to　be　thickly　peopled；　Massachusetts　is　the　most　populous　part　of　the　Union；　but　it　contains　only　eighty　inhabitants　to　the　square　mile；　which　is　must　less　than　in　France；　where　162　are　reckoned　to　the　same　extent　of　country。　　But　in　Massachusetts　estates　are　very　rarely　divided；　the　eldest　son　takes　the　land；　and　the　others　go　to　seek　their　fortune　in　the　desert。　The　law　has　abolished　the　rights　of　primogeniture；　but　circumstances　have　concurred　to　re…establish　it　under　a　form　of　which　none　can　complain；　and　by　which　no　just　rights　are　impaired。

＇Footnote　c：　In　New　England　the　estates　are　exceedingly　small；　but　they　are　rarely　subjected　to　further　division。＇

A　single　fact　will　suffice　to　show　the　prodigious　number　of　individuals　who　leave　New　England；　in　this　manner；　to　settle　themselves　in　the　wilds。　We　were　assured　in　1830　that　thirty…six　of　the　members　of　Congress　were　born　in　the　little　State　of　Connecticut。　　The　population　of　Connecticut；　which　constitutes　only　one　forty…third　part　of　that　of　the　United　States；　thus　furnished　one…eighth　of　the　whole　body　of　representatives。　　The　States　of　Connecticut；　however；　only　sends　five　delegates　to　Congress；　and　the　thirty…one　others　sit　for　the　new　Western　States。　　If　these　thirty…one　individuals　had　remained　in　Connecticut；　it　is　probable　that　instead　of　becoming　rich　landowners　they　would　have　remained　humble　laborers；　that　they　would　have　lived　in　obscurity　without　being　able　to　rise　into　public　life；　and　that；　far　from　becoming　useful　members　of　the　legislature；　they　might　have　been　unruly　citizens。

These　reflections　do　not　escape　the　observation　of　the　Americans　any　more　than　of　ourselves。　　〃It　cannot　be　doubted；〃　says　Chancellor　Kent　in　his　〃Treatise　on　American　Law；〃　〃that　the　division　of　landed　estates　must　produce　great　evils　when　it　is　carried　to　such　excess　as　that　each　parcel　of　land　is　insufficient　to　support　a　family；　but　these　disadvantages　have　never　been　felt　in　the　United　States；　and　many　generations　must　elapse　before　they　can　be　felt。　　The　extent　of　our　inhabited　territory；　the　abundance　of　adjacent　land；　and　the　continual　stream　of　emigration　flowing　from　the　shores　of　the　Atlantic　towards　the　interior　of　the　country；　suffice　as　yet；　and　will　long　suffice；　to　prevent　the　parcelling　out　of　estates。〃

It　is　difficult　to　describe　the　rapacity　with　which　the　American　rushes　forward　to　secure　the　immense　booty　which　fortune　proffers　to　him。　　In　the　pursuit　he　fearlessly　braves　the　arrow　of　the　Indian　and　the　distempers　of　the　forest；　he　is　unimpressed　by　the　silence　of　the　woods；　the　approach　of　beasts　of　prey　does　not　disturb　him；　for　he　is　goaded　onwards　by　a　passion　more　intense　than　the　love　of　life。　　Before　him　lies　a　boundless　continent；　and　he　urges　onwards　as　if　time　pressed；　and　he　was　afraid　of　finding　no　room　for　his　exertions。　　I　have　spoken　of　the　emigration　from　the　older　States；　but　how　shall　I　describe　that　which　takes　place