What Makes America Great?

Tom Barnard

S ometimes quotes are powerful because of the excellence of the person being quoted. Other times,
quotes are so great on their own merit that it doesn’t matter who said them. I remember hearing the
name Alexis de Tocqueville for the first time in a sermon preached by a distinguished Presbyterian
minister in California. He preached on an Independence Day theme and used this quote to illustrate the
things that make America great. He attributed the quote to the French political philosopher and historian de
Tocqueville:
I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample
rivers, and it was not there…in her fertile fields and boundless forests, and it was not there…
in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there…in her democratic Congress
and her matchless Constitution, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America
and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.
America is great because America is good; and if America ever ceases to be good, America will
cease to be great.
The quote dates back to the time frame in which de Tocqueville wrote Democracy in America (1835), his
major work—published following his travels in the United States. If de Tocqueville wrote it, it was not in
Democracy in America. Authentic or fraudulent, the quote found its way into presidential speeches from
Eisenhower to Clinton. Bush speechwriters found it in a speech given by Reagan, but since they could not
verify its authenticity, they attributed it to “an old adage.” Too bad; it’s still a powerful statement, whoever
first penned it.
Tocqueville did, however, express strong opinions about slavery in America. Here his views are clear:
An old and sincere friend of America, I am uneasy at seeing Slavery retard her progress, tarnish
her glory, furnish arms to her detractors, compromise the future career of the Union which is
the guaranty of her safety and greatness, and point out beforehand to her, to all her enemies,
the spot where they are to strike. As a man, too, I am moved at the spectacle of man’s degradation
by man, and I hope to see the day when the law will grant equal civil liberty to all the inhabitants
of the same empire, as God accords the freedom of the will, without distinction, to the dwellers of
earth.
Had he been alive a century later, he probably would have joined in the civil rights March on Washington in
1963! He certainly would have been present for King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered on the steps of
the Lincoln Memorial.
What makes America great? Our flag? Our Constitution? Our laws? Our economy? Our capital markets
system? Our innovation and ingenuity? Our support of free trade? Our schools and colleges? Our people?
Our diversity? Our wealth? Our highway system? Our state parks? Our sports teams? Our churches? Our
ecumenism? Our military superiority? Our unlimited opportunities? Our freedoms? Our government? Our
hospitals and doctors? Our mountains and streams?
Marilyn vos Savant, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records for possessing the highest I.Q. score on
record at 228, observed, “What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate
balance between freedom ‘to’ and freedom ‘from.’” Is that what makes a nation great—striking a balance
between expressions of freedom? Not exactly. I prefer the quote attributed to de Tocqueville, or to this one
by Adlai Stevenson: “America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact—the
first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and
human equality.” America will continue to be great as long as America strives to be good. Let freedom ring!
You are reading Tuesday Mornings for July 3, 2007. To subscribe to this free publication, send your name and email address to Dr.
Tom Barnard, Editor, at barnard22@cox.net. Back copies are archived at the following website: www.snu.edu.