Imagine a man who is so smart that he clearly observes major enlightenments and downfalls of a new nation. Now, imagine a man who is so shy he rarely talks to women. These two men are one in the same, more commonly known as, Alexis De Tocqueville. Tocqueville was a great writer, philosopher and overall scholar of his time, but he never could quite figure out one very important piece of the democratic puzzle, women. He spoke highly of the American woman; however, he took diminutive time truly getting to know her or gather her insight. Therefore, he left America with observations on an entire gender that was far from accurate. Tocqueville was on the right track, but his observations were slightly off. Tocqueville noted that women tended to have
…show more content…
Women’s suffrage efforts started about a decade after Tocqueville visited America. However, women did not obtain the right to vote until 1920. That means, although women were deemed as equal, they could not fully participate in America’s democracy for roughly 145 years. Tocqueville noted that he understood men believed women to be of equal intelligence when he visited America. However, women were second to men in school during the time of Tocqueville. Many women could only get an education if the school had additional room after male enrollment was completed. Also, by the time of the Civil War, only five colleges accepted female applicants. Even in the early-to-mid 20th century years, men and women’s schooling was vastly different. Coeducation institutions were highly controversial and subject matters were limited for women, keeping familiar with the domestic, housewife standard. Due to these educational differences, women were set in their traditional roles and did not seek salary advancements as easily. In President Barack Obama’s 2014 State of the Union Address, Obama stated, “women make up about half our workforce, but they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns.” While this statistic varies depending on methodology, one thing remains constant, …show more content…
In addition, based on his writings, he clearly thinks highly of women. Which raises the question, why is Tocqueville so off on the subject of men and women being equal? Perhaps the issue is that Tocqueville mainly talked to white men while in America. While observing a gender and only getting insight from the opposite gender, it seems there would be a lack of important perspective. In addition to not talking to a variety of women, it seems that Tocqueville also forgot about his observation that Americans honor money. He believed that money would lower American’s vision and the focus would be on increasing yearly salary, instead of raising their sights for more lofty and lengthy goals. This could explain why the paces of men and women pathways were shifted. It seems men, as a whole, fell victim to these low vision views and did not think of the overall society. Because of money, men are able to advance in skills, positions and overall status. Women who are seen as “domesticated” are not able to rise without the help of the man. Therefore, making women and men
Women’s suffrage efforts started about a decade after Tocqueville visited America. However, women did not obtain the right to vote until 1920. That means, although women were deemed as equal, they could not fully participate in America’s democracy for roughly 145 years. Tocqueville noted that he understood men believed women to be of equal intelligence when he visited America. However, women were second to men in school during the time of Tocqueville. Many women could only get an education if the school had additional room after male enrollment was completed. Also, by the time of the Civil War, only five colleges accepted female applicants. Even in the early-to-mid 20th century years, men and women’s schooling was vastly different. Coeducation institutions were highly controversial and subject matters were limited for women, keeping familiar with the domestic, housewife standard. Due to these educational differences, women were set in their traditional roles and did not seek salary advancements as easily. In President Barack Obama’s 2014 State of the Union Address, Obama stated, “women make up about half our workforce, but they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns.” While this statistic varies depending on methodology, one thing remains constant, …show more content…
In addition, based on his writings, he clearly thinks highly of women. Which raises the question, why is Tocqueville so off on the subject of men and women being equal? Perhaps the issue is that Tocqueville mainly talked to white men while in America. While observing a gender and only getting insight from the opposite gender, it seems there would be a lack of important perspective. In addition to not talking to a variety of women, it seems that Tocqueville also forgot about his observation that Americans honor money. He believed that money would lower American’s vision and the focus would be on increasing yearly salary, instead of raising their sights for more lofty and lengthy goals. This could explain why the paces of men and women pathways were shifted. It seems men, as a whole, fell victim to these low vision views and did not think of the overall society. Because of money, men are able to advance in skills, positions and overall status. Women who are seen as “domesticated” are not able to rise without the help of the man. Therefore, making women and men