MASSACHUSETTS

Yesterday, even though it was very late, I had them give me my letters at the post. On opening the bundle and not seeing his writing, I knew the cruel truth. In that moment I experienced, my dear Edouard, the keenest and most poignant grief that I have ever felt in my life. It was a regret that words cannot render. I loved our good, old friend as if he were our father; he had always partaken of the cares, the worries, the tenderness of one; and yet he only clung to us by his will alone. And he has left us for always, and I wasn't able to receive his last benediction.

It's useless to say, my friend, that one should accustom oneself in advance to the idea of separation from an old man of 80 years. No, one doesn't get used to the idea of seeing disappear, on a sudden, the support of one's childhood, the friend, and what a friend, of one's whole life. I hope at length to be able to stiffen myself against this frightful unhappiness, but there will remain at the bottom of my soul, none the less, an idea poignant because it is true, that we have lost what neither time nor friendship, nor the future whatever it may be, can restore to us, something which it is given to but few people to find in this world, a being whose every thought, whose every affection concerned us alone. I have never seen nor heard speak of a like devotion. ... Yesterday evening I prayed to him as a saint. ...

[written] Sept. 10, 1831

(Pierson, p. 352)

Excerpt from Tocqueville's letter to his cousin, Mme de Grancey

[Bebe] had watched since we were in the world over our first childhood with that daily vigilance of all the moments and that tender solicitude rarely found in others than a mother. It was on his knees that we acquired our first notions of good. It was he who began for us that first education whose effects one feels the rest of one's life, and which has made us, if not distinguished, at least honorable men.

I confess to you that this sorrow has singularly diminished for me the interest of the voyage that I have undertaken. The objects which claim me are still the same, but it seems as if I saw them in a different light. There are moments when I desire to be back in Europe, and yet, I will allow, the idea of returning is not without bitterness. ...

[written] Oct. 10, 1831

(Pierson, p. 352)

I have not yet said a word to Beaumont of the thing that preoccupies me unceasingly; and I should consider myself happy to be alone. ...

(Pierson, p. 353)

A great number of the participants found this patriotic folderol ridiculous. What use will these Boston flags be to the Poles? This manifestation of enthusiasm for the cause of the brave Poles would mean something if, with their phrases, some money were sent at the same time. Now, they scarcely had enough to cover the expense of the ceremony. I have seen a crowd of sensible people who regretted this foolishness; but it was organized by some young men, who got everything started without there being any way to stop them. Happily for the United States, such things take place with impunity; but I think that in France we act chez nous exactly as if we were in the United States. [Note: Pierson writes that the meeting cost $800, with $650 covered.]

[written] Sept. 16, 1831
(Pierson, p. 360)

Read an account of the celebration published in three area newspapers

Newspaper stories about the celebration:

- Essex Register, Sept. 15, 1831

The ceremony of the consecration of the standards about to be forwarded to the Poles by the Young Men of Boston was a brilliant and opposing affair. The military escort was composed of the most beautiful body of troops we have seen for many years. It consisted of six companies of light infantry, all in splendid uniforms, and a battalion of the United States Infantry, under Capt. Frazier, fine looking troops, in a state of the most perfect discipline, and admirably equipped. A corps of Cavalry covered the flanks of the procession. The two superb Bands of Boston were employed on the occasion. In the procession were noticed, Maj. Gen. Macomb, of the U.S. Army, President Quincy of Harvard University, two distinguished French gentlemen who are on a tour through the United States to inspect our prisons, by order of the French government, and other eminent individuals. ...

The Rev. Dr. Beecher then fervently and eloquently invoked the Divine Blessing on the cause of the Poles, and of civil and religious freedom generally -- praying that the rod of the oppressor might be broken, and the oppressed of all nations be emancipated, etc. The auditory were with difficulty repressed from a hearty and noisy expression of their approbation after the Rev. Doctor's patriotic and truly Republican sentiments. ...

- Boston Evening Transcript, Sept. 13, 1831

The address to the audience, by Josiah Quincy, Jr., was peculiarly felicitous, and called forth tumultuous plaudits. It was succeeded by the Address to the Polish Nation, (composed and read by David Lee Child), breathing an ardent and devoted attachment to the cause of Liberty. The letter to general
LaFayette, committing the standards to his charge and custody after their arrival in France, was neat and pertinent ... and the appointed exercises were conducted with perfect decorum and propriety.


- Columbian Centinel, Sept. 13, 1831

One of the most affecting objects visible in the hall, was the name of the gallant SKRZYNECKI just over the bust of John Adams and the portrait of John Hancock. It would cheer his noble spirit in the midst of his perils and privations to know how he is appreciated in a remote land of strangers. On the opposite side of the hall, between the names of WASHINGTON and LAFAYETTE appeared the name of the immortal KOSCIUSCO. The whole ceremonies were performed in the most effective manner. May the standards reach their destination, and find the gallant Poles in a situation to rally about them. ...

On no former occasion, excepting perhaps when Mr. Webster pronounced his memorable Eulogy on the two Presidents, have we seen old Faneuil so much thronged.

[written] Oct. 10, 1831

Anyhow, we shall return rich in documents and observations, we shall be incontestably les premiers penitenciers of the universe: may we only on our return find some sort of a government to which to render an account of our mission. ...

[written] Sept. 16, 1831

Read the Charleston Prison record that mentions Tocqueville and Beaumont's visit

Deputy Warden Charles Lincoln Jr. wrote the following entry into the record [spelling incorrections intact]:

Wednesday 14 Mesrs Beaumont & Topville ["cque" written above the name in pencil] - commissioners from the Govt of France, for the purpose of Inspecting the Prisons, Discipline etc etc in this Country - called at this Institution, this day.

They were rec'd and conducted through the different Departments of the Prison by the Warden and such information and Advice as was calculated to faciliate and aid them in the great object of their mission was communicated to them.

A Freight of Anthracite Cole from Philadelphia and two Freights of Stone from the Railway quarry - came up to discharge this day.

Arms and Equipments Inspected and found in good order.

Revd L. Dwight officiated in the evening services. ...

(Pierson, p. 428)

He answered: "No, certainly not. No one here could be found to support the thesis, so often maintained in Europe, that education can have troublesome results; but everyone tacitly assumes that education will be moral and religious. There would be a general outcry, something like a popular rising, against anyone who wanted to introduce a contrary system, and everyone would agree that it were better not to have education than to have it given in that way. It is from the Bible that all our children learn to read. But I have before now heard a cultured man maintain that, albeit religious instruction was preferable to all other types, in his view education in general, on matter how it be given, was more useful for people than ignorance."

Mr. Dwight added that he thought the cause of religion was making advanced in the United States. He told me that published reports established that the number of those who made their communion
(Protestant) had increased greatly every year. But he admitted that the Unitarians had 13 churches (I think) in Boston. There are sixty churches in all of Boston for 60,000 people.

(Tocqueville, p.33)

Boston is a city of sixty thousand souls. Its harbor is magnificent; it is situated on the middle of an island, and you reach it from every side by mens of causeways which have been constructed across the water. Much less commercial bustle is to be seen there than in New York, but the general aspect of the town is much more agreeable. The latter lies on a flat terrain and offers to the eye, no matter from which side it is observed, but a single row of houses. Boston, on the contrary, is built on uneven and mountainous ground, in such a way that to the observer at a certain distance, it presents some charming views. It contains many private houses constructed with taste and elegance; [yet] in the matter of public edifices, I see but the government house [State House] in the least remarkable. ...

We are lodged here in the best inn in the city (Tremont Hotel). Everything in it is on a grand scale; about 150 strangers are to be found there at the moment, you are magnificently served, and it is scarcely more dear than elsewhere. ....

It has seemed to us that here people throw themselves less at the head of strangers than in New York; but there is more true courtesy. There are in society others besides business men. They are interested here in the fine arts and in literature; there is a class of persons engaged in neither trade nor industry and who pastime is to live with all the agreements provided by an advanced civilization. This class, composed of those who have received from their parents a large fortune to live without engaging in business, is not very numerous; but it is agreeable.

We dined the other day at Mr. Sear's. He has a fortune of five or six millions, his house is a kind of palace, he reigns there in great luxury, he treated us with splendor, I have never anywhere seen dinners more sumptuous. Among the ornaments of the table was a very pretty lady who is, I believe, his niece. I chatted at length with her, but I don't even know if I shall see her again, so the attention is a pure loss. It's absolutely the same with all the beauties I meet. We see a good number of them in society. We take fire 3 or 4 times a week, one driving out the other. But the faces are always new and I think, God pardon me, that we always tell them the same things, at the risk of complimenting a brunette on the whiteness of her skin, and a blond on the ebony of her hair. But all that is bagatelle and occupies but a very small place in the lives of two men of politics, utterly devoted to speculations of the most elevated order.

We have already been present at two Balls, as we shall see a third this evening. The toilette of the women is exactly the same as in France; the French mode dominates in the United States, and people are perfectly in touch with the least revolutions that it undergoes. Many ladies have questioned me on this subject, and I replied to them (with the same assurance as if they had consulted me on the penitentiary system) of coques [bows?] as learnedly as Michalon or Alcibiade could have done.

Music is cultivated here with a little more success than in New York; but the mass haven't the inner feeling for music. There is a museum where paintings are shown, but as I have not yet seen them, I will ask your permission to speak no further of it. ...

By nature, it [the Boston aristocracy] is somewhat changeable, because the equal partition of the inheritance does not allow a fortune to remain long in the same family. On the other hand, the inheritance laws are far from being as democratique (equalitarian) as they are with us. In France the equal division between all is compulsory; here, when the father of a family dies, the law divides the patrimony equally; but he had the right to give all his property, personal and real, to a single one of his children, and when he does so his wish is carried out. This right, which renders paternal authority with more efficacious than it is with us, has a very great moral influence on all society, outside of the advantage that it has in preventing the extreme division of properties.

Father, who has just written me and whose letter I received at the same time as yours, says some very just things on the exceptional position of the United States. It seems as if he had seen with his own eyes what goes on here; and I am entirely of his opinion, that American society, its progress and its
prosperity, prove nothing at all, and offer nothing for the imitation of the old nations of Europe.

But I am none the less satisfied thoroughly to understand this republic, of which they speak so much and from which they claim to draw so many arguments in favor of "democratic" innovations. There are many people, who, in good faith, consider the United States a powerful argument in favor of republics; I am very glad to be in a position to reply to them. The study of contemporary peoples is like that of history; you must study them less to see examples to follow, than to learn to beware of the imitations people desire to make.

[written] Sept. 16, 1831

(Pierson, p. 351)

The whole is executed with a care, neatness, accuracy and detail which would do credit to a clerk. The handwriting is beautiful, tranquil and perfectly uniform throughout all the pages. He signs everything, even copies of his own letters, and each signature looks just like a facsimile. It is difficult to conceive how a man whose ideas were so wide-ranging could condescend to such details.

(Tocqueville, p. 236)

***
Equality

An incredible external equality prevails in America. All classes endlessly meet, and there does not seem the slightest indication of different social positions. Everyone shakes hands. At Canandaigua I saw a district attorney shake hands with a prisoner. Inequality born of wealth and education is certainly found in private life. Generally speaking the wealthiest and most well educated people live in a closed circle. But for an outsider these inequalities are not noticeable, and they are in fact, I think, less felt than anywhere else. I do not think that there is any calling which of itself lowers the standing of the man who exercises it. One keeps seeing in the papers this phrase of a man, "he keeps a respectable tavern in such (a) place."

It is quite clear that white servants regard themselves as their masters' equals. They gossip on
familiar terms. On the steamboats at first we wanted to give a tip to the steward. We were stopped from doing so by being told that that would humiliate him. In the inns I have seen him sit down at table by our side when everyone had been placed and served. Besides it is almost impossible to find servants in America. They say that they are giving "the help" (the word is characteristic) and want to be treated as neighbors who come temporarily to give their neighbors a hand. They must eat with their masters.

Anecdote to support what is said above about there being no way of earning money, within the law, which public opinion regards as degrading.

I found myself in a drawing-room in Boston behind two respectable gentlemen who seemed to be discussing an important subject with interest:

"How much will that bring you in?" said the one.

"It is quite a good business," replied the other, "one gets about a hundred dollars for each."

"Indeed," the other answered, "that is, as you say, good business."

Now they were talking of nothing less than two pirates who were going to be hanged the next day. One of the speakers, who was the City-Marshal, was obliged by his office to be present at the execution and to see that everything was properly carried out. The law allowed him for performing this duty a hundred dollars for each man hanged, and he spoke of these two victims as if they were a pair of oxen that he wanted to sell the next day at the market.

- told by the Consul

(Tocqueville, p. 225)

In this state of mind, I confess that I have not been so sensitive as you think to the brutal measure (your adjective is just) which takes always six months of our leave. This shortening of time will make us miss an essential part of our travels, the visit to Louisiana; but, at least, I will find myself among my family and friends to struggle with them, if it is necessary, against civil war, the Cossacks, and the cholera morbus.

I still regard it as possible, however that the measure depriving us of our leave will be revoked. It is all the more unjust in that it forces us to return in the mont of January, a time of year in which one drowns right handsomely on the ocean, instead of the month of April. What renders the position of those who will act for us more difficult is that, at bottom, one year is sufficient to visit the penitentiaries. But what is to be done is already done at the present hour, the extension is granted or refused; so it is useless to discuss it further, and I await, with what patience I can muster, the result.

[written] Sept. 17, 1831

(Pierson, p. 354)

"The reason for the difference," Mr. Clay answered, "is that great fortunes in France are landed, and in New England they are all trading fortunes. You know that in general in America one cannot find tenants: the opposite is an exception; land costs too little and its products are too cheap for anyone to want to cultivate it unless he is the owner. Without tenants, no great territorial fortunes. Now great commercial fortunes are won and preserved by industry and things which cannot be bequeathed like dollars and seldom pass from father to son. In the South, on the other hand, where our slaves take the place of your tenants, fortunes do not disappear faster than with you.

That led us to talk about slaves. Mr. Clay said to me; "In our Southern states there are a great many districts where white people cannot be acclimatized and where the blacks live and prosper. I imagine that in time the black population of the South, as it becomes free, will concentrate in that portion of the American territory, and the white population on the other hand will gradually move out. In that way a population will be formed entirely descended from the Africans, which will be able to have its own nationality and to enjoy its own laws.

I can see no other solution to the great question of slavery. I do not think that the blacks will ever mingle sufficiently completely with the white to form a single people with them. The introduction of this foreign race is anyhow the one great plague of America."

Note: Must not this impossibility of which Mr. Clay speaks, of forming great territorial fortunes in the North of the United States (one cannot doubt that it is an impossibility) be an important contributory factor in shaping the commercial, manufacturing, restless state of mind which is so extraordinarily prominent among the men of this part of the States? In New England the urge to grow rich can only find satisfaction through trade and industry.

(Tocqueville, p. 36)

They all think that, to be republican, a people must be balanced, religious and very enlightened. Many add that, in addition to these conditions, it is also necessary to have such a state of material well-being that there would hardly ever be internal troubles, resulting from unsatisfied needs. Such men let it be understood, or boldly affirm, that America must come round to Monarchy within a certain time. But that time is surely very far off.

Enlightened people judge M. de Lafayette without any sort of infatuation. Almost all think that the Restoration regime was the happiest combination for France, and the present Revolution is a dangerous crisis which could be fatal for European liberty. But the middle class, the people and the newspapers, expressing popular passions, have, on the contrary, a blind instinct which leads them to adopt all the ideas of freedom professed in Europe and the men who profess them.

So it comes about that the most religious nation in the world puts all its hopes on the success of that political party among us which professes the least concealed hatred against all religions.

(Tocqueville, p. 34)