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Harriet Martineau on the Theory and Practice of Democracy in America

National Endowment for the Humanities

The early development of American democracy was fraught with tensions arising from the need to balance unity and plurality in an increasingly diverse society. Tocqueville's Democracy in America is widely praised for its insight into these tensions and the solutions it proposes to them. Yet Tocqueville's portrayal of American culture has come under critical scrutiny for, among other things, its inability to offer a path to genuine reform when it comes to slavery and the inequality of women. By expanding on Adam Smith's moral theory of sympathy, Harriet Martineau's account of nascent American democracy in Society in America offers a more constructive view of America's ability to reconcile the needs of unity and plurality and of its capacity for democratic reform, especially regarding slavery and the inequality of women. Martineau's analysis offers valuable lessons about the ability of democratic majorities to correct moral injustices.

Key Words: Harriet Martineau • Alexis de Tocqueville • democracy • slavery • women

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