--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Visiting America in the early nineteenth…" description: "\"“Visiting America in the early nineteenth century, Alexis de Tocqueville observd that 'the sects that exist in the United States are innumerable,' and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa8/dinesh-d-souza-2242_moral-law_visiting-america-in-the-early-nineteenth_2721149.jpg" --- # Visiting America in the early nineteenth century, Alexis… ![“Visiting America in the early nineteenth century, Alexis de Tocqueville observd that 'the sects that exist in the United States are innumerable,' and yet 'all sects preach the same moral law in the name of God.' Tocqueville termed religion the first of America's political institutions, which means…” quote by Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa8/dinesh-d-souza-2242_moral-law_visiting-america-in-the-early-nineteenth_2721149.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa8/dinesh-d-souza-2242_moral-law_visiting-america-in-the-early-nineteenth_2721149.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa8/dinesh-d-souza-2242_moral-law_visiting-america-in-the-early-nineteenth_2721149.jpg) > ““Visiting America in the early nineteenth century, Alexis de Tocqueville observd that 'the sects that exist in the United States are innumerable,' and yet 'all sects preach the same moral law in the name of God.' Tocqueville termed religion the first of America's political institutions, which means that it had a profoundly public effect in regulating morality and mores throughout the society. And he saw Christianity as countering the powerful human instincts of selfishness and ambition by holding out an ideal of charity and devotion to the welfare of others.”” [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion unites diverse groups under shared moral standards, shaping public morality. **In simple terms:** Religion creates common moral ground. Key Takeaway Recognize religion’s role in social cohesion. Themes morality social cohesion religion Mood thoughtful analytical Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - community building - policy making - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts political sociology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How does religion balance public morality with individual freedom? - Can secular institutions fulfill similar roles? A Different Perspective Religious influence can also suppress dissenting views. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [De Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/de-tocqueville/) [Moral law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-law/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“Alexis de Tocqueville toured the United States in the early 1830s and famously proclaimed the emergence of Homo democraticus, a cheeky creature whose passion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/alexis-de-tocqueville-toured-the-united-states-in-the-early-1830s-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Trump did not spring out of nowhere, and I was struck by how prescient writers like Alexis de Tocqueville and George Orwell and Hannah…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michiko-kakutani/trump-did-not-spring-out-of-nowhere-and-i-was-struck-by-how-prescient/) [Michiko Kakutani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michiko-kakutani/) > [“French writer Alexis de Tocqueville captured this sentiment, from a foreigner’s perspective, writing in 1831 after a tour of the nascent country that “The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-h-bradley/french-writer-alexis-de-tocqueville-captured-this-sentiment-from-a/) [Elizabeth H. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-h-bradley/) > [“The interaction of disparate cultures, the vehemence of the ideals that led the immigrants here, the opportunity offered by a new life, all gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-interaction-of-disparate-cultures-the-vehemence-of-the-ideals/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“More than a century before Mills and Nisbet, Alexis de Tocqueville had remarked upon the uneasiness of the citizens of the young republic, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-j-sykes/more-than-a-century-before-mills-and-nisbet-alexis-de-tocqueville-had/) [Charles J. Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-j-sykes/) > [“The mindset of antiquity lacked economic science and sociological theory. The ancients did rather well with political narrative, although, except for Thucydides, no first-rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/the-mindset-of-antiquity-lacked-economic-science-and-sociological/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [“It is their mores, then, that make the Americans of the United States...capable of maintaining the rule of democracy… Too much importance is attached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/it-is-their-mores-then-that-make-the-americans-of-the-united-states/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.” — Alexis De Tocqueville”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-r-bell/the-american-republic-will-endure-until-the-day-congress-discovers/) D.R. Bell > [“I consider myself a “social ecologist,” concerned with man’s man-made environment the way the natural ecologist studies the biological environment…the discipline itself boasts an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-f-drucker/i-consider-myself-a-social-ecologist-concerned-with-man-s-man-made/) [Peter F. Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-f-drucker/) > [“As early as the 1840s, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that America was populated by “so many lucky men, restless in the midst of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/as-early-as-the-1840s-alexis-de-tocqueville-observed-that-america-was/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [“Alexis de Tocqueville, the French thinker who keenly chronicled early American society, described the consequences of ever-increasing choice more than 170 years ago: In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/alexis-de-tocqueville-the-french-thinker-who-keenly-chronicled-early/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [World War II proved a hypothesis that Alexis de Tocqueville advanced a century before: the war-fighting potential of a democracy is at its greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/world-war-ii-proved-a-hypothesis-that-alexis-de-tocqueville-advanced/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [“The French visitor to America Alexis de Tocqueville, writing in the 1830s, described the connection between American individualism and historical amnesia: Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fea/the-french-visitor-to-america-alexis-de-tocqueville-writing-in-the/) [John Fea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fea/) > [I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-cleon-skousen/i-sought-for-the-greatness-and-genius-of-america-in-her-commodious/) [W. Cleon Skousen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-cleon-skousen/) > [“Alexis de Tocqueville warned that as the economy and government of America got bigger, citizens could become smaller: less practiced in the forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the-economy-and-government-of/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) ## More by Dinesh D'Souza > [There's one America that Barack Obama wants, and there's a very different America that I want. I want an America that is entrepreneurial, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/there-s-one-america-that-barack-obama-wants-and-there-s-a-very/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [“This was a key condition the racists put before FDR. They said they would not support FDR’s New Deal programs unless FDR supported their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/this-was-a-key-condition-the-racists-put-before-fdr-they-said-they/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [“It is a fact that today steel can be made more cheaply outside America. This is also true of many other products: shoes, shirts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/it-is-a-fact-that-today-steel-can-be-made-more-cheaply-outside/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [Atheism, not religion, is the real force behind the mass murders of history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/atheism-not-religion-is-the-real-force-behind-the-mass-murders-of/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [This point seems counter-intuitive, given the amount of conspicuous vulgarity, vice, and immorality in America. Indeed some Islamic fundamentalists argue that their regimes are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/this-point-seems-counter-intuitive-given-the-amount-of-conspicuous/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [I am not a creationist as the term is usually understood. I believe that the earth is billions of years old and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/i-am-not-a-creationist-as-the-term-is-usually-understood-i-believe/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [“This is a book unlike any other on Barack Obama. It is not the typical effusive book of apostolic praise, but neither is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/this-is-a-book-unlike-any-other-on-barack-obama-it-is-not-the-typical/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [“Earlier generations of Americans had to strive to provide food, clothing, and shelter for themselves and their children. This task could prove laborious, unending,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/earlier-generations-of-americans-had-to-strive-to-provide-food/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [I don't want reporters to talk to me because I'm a revolutionary and if it got out that I'm basically friendly with Obama it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/i-don-t-want-reporters-to-talk-to-me-because-i-m-a-revolutionary-and/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [“So what if people disagree about values? People also disagree about facts. . . . In my view, the great intellectual challenge facing conservatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/so-what-if-people-disagree-about-values-people-also-disagree-about/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [In the Sixties, there was a big resistance to the Vietnam War. People began reinterpreting all American history as a series of misadventures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/in-the-sixties-there-was-a-big-resistance-to-the-vietnam-war-people/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [“John Locke says that whatever other tasks a government undertakes—whether humanitarian or otherwise—its primary duty is to protect its own citizens from foreign and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/john-locke-says-that-whatever-other-tasks-a-government-undertakes/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [Liberty is the essential precondition for achieving virtue... In order to exercise virtue, we need to have the ability to choose freely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/liberty-is-the-essential-precondition-for-achieving-virtue-in-order/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [Christianity teaches that this life is not the only life, and there is a final judgment in which all earthly accounts are settled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/christianity-teaches-that-this-life-is-not-the-only-life-and-there-is/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [What I've realized is that a film operates both on the intellectual and emotional levels, and if you can find a way to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/what-i-ve-realized-is-that-a-film-operates-both-on-the-intellectual/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) [Explore all 177 Dinesh D'Souza quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) ## More Moral law quotes > [“Against Hume, Kant has found a more proper ground for humility: “True humility follows unavoidably from our sincere and exact comparison of ourselves with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanine-grenberg/against-hume-kant-has-found-a-more-proper-ground-for-humility-true/) Jeanine Grenberg > [Music is moral law. It is the essence of order and leads to all that is good, true and beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/music-is-moral-law-it-is-the-essence-of-order-and-leads-to-all-that/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“In his own way each man must struggle, lest the moral law become a far-off abstraction utterly separated from his active life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/in-his-own-way-each-man-must-struggle-lest-the-moral-law-become-a-far/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [“There is a twofold liberty, natural (I mean as our nature is now corrupt) and civil or federal. The first is common to man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-is-a-twofold-liberty-natural-i-mean-as-our-nature-is-now/) [Alexis De Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“Moral law is an invention of mankind for the disenfranchisement of the powerful in favor of the weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/moral-law-is-an-invention-of-mankind-for-the-disenfranchisement-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“But each one of us is guilty insofar as he remained inactive. The guilt of passivity is different. Impotence excuses; no moral law demands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/but-each-one-of-us-is-guilty-insofar-as-he-remained-inactive-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [“not because the moral law enjoins unselfishness, but because, given the society in which they live, it is the way in which their impulses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/not-because-the-moral-law-enjoins-unselfishness-but-because-given-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The dogma of the mystic offices of Christ being dropped, and he standing on his genius as a moral teacher, 'tis impossible to maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-dogma-of-the-mystic-offices-of-christ-being-dropped-and-he/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more seriously reflection concentrates upon them:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/two-things-fill-the-mind-with-ever-new-and-increasing-wonder-and-awe/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [ The true fountains of evidence \[are\] the head and heart of every rational and honest man. It is there nature has written her moral… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-true-fountains-of-evidence-are-the-head-and-heart-of-every/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Parrhesia is a kind of verbal activity where the speaker has a specific relation to truth through frankness, a certain relationship to his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foucault-michel-2/parrhesia-is-a-kind-of-verbal-activity-where-the-speaker-has-a/) Foucault, Michel > [Evolution may explain some features of the moral law, but it can't explain why it should have any real significance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/evolution-may-explain-some-features-of-the-moral-law-but-it-can-t/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Kant, as we all know, compared moral law to the starry heavens, and found them both sublime. On the naturalistic hypothesis we should rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-balfour/kant-as-we-all-know-compared-moral-law-to-the-starry-heavens-and/) [Arthur Balfour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-balfour/) > [Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-grudem/sin-is-any-failure-to-conform-to-the-moral-law-of-god-in-act-attitude/) [Wayne Grudem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-grudem/) > [“5,6. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/5-6-the-moral-law-causes-the-people-to-be-in-complete-accord-with/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) [Browse all 186 Moral law quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-law/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Visiting America in the early nineteenth century, Alexis de Tocqueville observd that 'the sects that exist in the United States are innumerable,' and yet 'all sects preach the same moral law in the name of God.' Tocqueville termed religion the first of America's political institutions, which means that it had a profoundly public effect in regulating morality and mores throughout the society. 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