Photo of the Day

It is May 1831.

A young French aristocrat has come to New York City, where he will begin a nine-month tour of the new United States.

Henry A. Papprill, after John William Hill. "New York from the Steeple of St. Paul’s Church, Looking East, South, and West." 1848. Color aquatint and etching.

The French Revolution has abolished the French monarchy and feudal system.

French society continues to evolve.

George Hayward. "View of St. Paul's Church and the Broadway Stages, N.Y.," 1831. Lithograph.

A new middle class is rising, bolstered by new ideas of freedom and equality.

Where will these ideas lead?

George Catlin. "Five Points. New York, New York." 1827.

To gain insight, Alexis de Tocqueville has come to the place where notions of liberty and equality are forging a new nation.

When he returns to France, he will write the definitive book on American democracy.

Map included in de Tocqueville's book.

Below, an excerpt contrasting a democratic society with one ruled by a small, privileged class.

Richard Newton print, William Holland publisher. England 1794.

“If there be less splendour than in the halls of an aristocracy,

the contrast of misery will be less frequent also;

Left: Woman at work in the kitchen, c. 1900. Right: Textile workers, c. 1900.

the pleasures of enjoyment may be less excessive,

but those of comfort will be more general;

Left: White House Easter Egg roll, c. 1900. Right: Little cowgirls, 1904.

the sciences may be less perfectly cultivated,

but ignorance will be less common;

Left: Prof. Wilder's natural history class, McGraw Hall, Cornell Univ., c. 1900. Right: High school chemistry class, Washington, D.C., c. 1900.

the impetuosity of the feelings will be repressed,

and the habits of the nation softened;

Left: Men eat watermelon in Custer County, Nebraska, c. 1900. Right: Harvard frat boys do stunts, c. 1900.

there will be more vices

and fewer crimes.

Left: prostitutes working on the American frontier, late 1800s. RIght: men play faro in Arizona, 1895.

Great sacrifices may be obtained from the members of a commonwealth

by an appeal to their understandings and their experience;

Left: Vermont barnraising, c. 1900. Right: Prairie quilting bee, c. 1900.

each individual will feel the same necessity

for uniting with his fellow-citizens to protect his own weakness;

General Rosalie Jones, commander of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, prepares to drop suffrage leaflets over a Staten Island carnival, 1913.

and, as he knows that if they are to assist he must cooperate,

he will readily perceive that his personal interest

is identified with the interest of the community.

Left: Pennsylvania families say goodbye to young soldiers heading off to war, 1917. Right: New soldiers at Fort Slocum, New York, 1917.

In other words,

we are all in the same boat.

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I’ll see you tomorrow.

— Brenda