--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If ever America undergoes great…" description: "\"If ever America undergoes great revolutions, they will be brought about by the presence of the black race on the soil of the United States - that is to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_america_if-ever-america-undergoes-great-revoluti_636963.png" --- # If ever America undergoes great revolutions, they will be… ![“If ever America undergoes great revolutions, they will be brought about by the presence of the black race on the soil of the United States - that is to say, they will owe their origin not to the equality but to the inequality of conditions.” quote by Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_america_if-ever-america-undergoes-great-revoluti_636963.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_america_if-ever-america-undergoes-great-revoluti_636963.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_america_if-ever-america-undergoes-great-revoluti_636963.png) > “If ever America undergoes great revolutions, they will be brought about by the presence of the black race on the soil of the United States - that is to say, they will owe their origin not to the equality but to the inequality of conditions.” [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Social upheaval arises from systemic inequality rather than formal equality, prompting marginalized groups to drive transformative change. **In simple terms:** Inequality fuels revolutions. Key Takeaway Address structural disparities. Themes social justice revolution inequality race politics Mood reflective urgent critical Type political historical analysis When to use this quote - civil rights movements - policy reform - community organizing - education equity Key Concepts critical theory social dynamics power structures Questions to Reflect On - How can societies preemptively reduce inequality? - What role does collective identity play? A Different Perspective Revolutions also need leadership and organization, not just grievances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Undergoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-undergoes-5121737/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-race/) [Conditions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditions/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Great Revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-revolutions-1277874/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions/) [Revolutions Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutions-brought-5121736/) [Soil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soil/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [United](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [The world is not as it was when it came from its Maker's hands. It has been modified by many great revolutions, brought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sedgwick/the-world-is-not-as-it-was-when-it-came-from-its-maker-s-hands-it-has/) [Adam Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sedgwick/) > [“Revolutions are not always brought about by a gradual decline from bad to worse. Nations that have endured patiently and almost unconsciously the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/revolutions-are-not-always-brought-about-by-a-gradual-decline-from/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [If there ever are great revolutions there, they will be caused by the presence of the blacks upon American soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/if-there-ever-are-great-revolutions-there-they-will-be-caused-by-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [There is no field of activity for great men without the coming of great wars, great struggles and great revolutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-desmond/there-is-no-field-of-activity-for-great-men-without-the-coming-of/) [Arthur Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-desmond/) > [There are only two forces that unite men - fear and interest. 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It, too, will change the face of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donella-meadows/like-the-other-great-revolutions-an-environmental-revolution-will/) [Donella Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donella-meadows/) > [There are moments in history when a door for massive change opens, and great revolutions for good or evil spring up in the vacuum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-engle/there-are-moments-in-history-when-a-door-for-massive-change-opens-and/) [Lou Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-engle/) > [Great revolutions, whatever may be their causes, are not lightly commenced, and are not concluded with precipitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/great-revolutions-whatever-may-be-their-causes-are-not-lightly/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Great revolutions are the work rather of principles than of bayonets, and are achieved first in the moral, and afterwards in the material sphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-mazzini/great-revolutions-are-the-work-rather-of-principles-than-of-bayonets/) [Giuseppe Mazzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-mazzini/) > [We must not forget that all great revolutions and reformations would look mean and meagre if examined in detail as they occurred at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/we-must-not-forget-that-all-great-revolutions-and-reformations-would/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [We have been living amidst one of the great revolutions of human history, and we hardly know it: the penetration of the State into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/we-have-been-living-amidst-one-of-the-great-revolutions-of-human/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [History teaches us that the great revolutions aren't started by people who are utterly down and out, without hope and vision. They take place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/history-teaches-us-that-the-great-revolutions-aren-t-started-by/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [The link between literacy and revolutions is a well-known historical phenomenon. The three great revolutions of modern European history -- the English, the French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/the-link-between-literacy-and-revolutions-is-a-well-known-historical/) [Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/) > [Revolutions are brought about by men, by men who think as men of action and act as men of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/revolutions-are-brought-about-by-men-by-men-who-think-as-men-of/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [Nations are less disposed to make revolutions in proportion as personal property is augmented and distributed among them, and as the number of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/nations-are-less-disposed-to-make-revolutions-in-proportion-as/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## More by Alexis de Tocqueville > [All around you everything is on the move,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/all-around-you-everything-is-on-the-move/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [No state of society or laws can render men so much alike but that education, fortune, and tastes will interpose some differences between them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/no-state-of-society-or-laws-can-render-men-so-much-alike-but-that/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-do-not-know-if-the-people-of-the-united-states-would-vote-for/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [What good does it do me, after all, if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-good-does-it-do-me-after-all-if-an-ever-watchful-authority-keeps/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-greatness-of-america-lies-not-in-being-more-enlightened-than-any/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“I am unacquainted with His designs, but I shall not cease to believe in them because I cannot fathom them, and I had rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-am-unacquainted-with-his-designs-but-i-shall-not-cease-to-believe/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I questioned the faithful of all communions; I particularly sought the society of clergymen, who are the depositories of the various creeds and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-questioned-the-faithful-of-all-communions-i-particularly-sought-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/christianity-is-the-companion-of-liberty-in-all-its-conflicts-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The more alike men are, the weaker each feels in the face of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-more-alike-men-are-the-weaker-each-feels-in-the-face-of-all/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“There is a twofold liberty, natural (I mean as our nature is now corrupt) and civil or federal. 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People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? 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