Introduction

Since the Pilgrims emigrated from England in 1620, America has represented a place of freedom and financial gain. While the Separatists fled to the New World for religious acceptance, cultural identity, and civil autonomy, merchant investors in the Virginia Company of London looked to make a profit on exploration and newly found territory. Both groups saw the potential for expansion and wealth; the untouched land offered fulfillment financially and spiritually. As the pilgrims sought to spread their church doctrine and populate their faith, the merchants sought new ways to fill their monetary coffers. The New World symbolized a new life, nearly free from tyranny.

But the dream built on American democracy has inspired mixed emotions, from admiration to distrust. In 1833, Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville wrote Democracy in America, a study of why the republican representative democracy in America is successful. In the...