Blog 5

Aristotle and Tocqueville

Aristotle's Response to Howard Chandler Christy

I believe that Aristotle would've had both positive and negative things to say about Christy's painting. For one, it abides by the sense of equality, in that a variety of men are planning on signing the Constitution and that it appears as if they have all, in a way, contributed to the creation of it, too. Aristotle would also feel good about seeing them all work towards liberty. Considering Liberty is all about freedom, and the Constitution is all about giving rights to the people, the idea behind the Constitution probably brought solidarity to Aristotle. However, in the front of the room of the painting, we see George Washington standing in the front. He does not signfy a sense of unity because he will be the one taking charge. Additionally, all of the men in the room appear to be the rich and wealthy men. So, the artist of this painting is going against Aristotle's belief of the poor having more power and say than the rich because there is a greater majority of them, than the wealthy. In this painting, all that is shown are very famous and wealthy individuals, such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Ben Franklin, along with the leader, George Washington. Also, Aristotle believed that no one should run for office twice. And although George Washington was not officially in office because there wasn't a building built, he was put in a presidential/leadership position for a long period of time. All in all, Aristotle would've had both positive and negative things to say about Howard Chandler Christy's painting, so my belief is that he would've had a neutral reaction and understanding for it.

This is the picture of Howard Chandler Christy's famous painting entitled,

"Scene at the Sigining of the Constitution of the United States", which he completed

in the year, 1940.

Societal Elements from Howard Chandler Christy's Painting

Some of the elements of the upcoming society of the United States include the American flag with the 13 stars to represent the 13 original colonies. This shows the future progression and unification that they are trying to achieve by creating the Constitution of the United States of America. Also, the artist puts the most important people in the molding of our society in clearly focused positions throughout the piece, and also in dramatic colors, so that their presence is known. For example, the man in the middle of the room is covered in red. After doing some research, I discovered that this man is supposed to be a vote counter. He is a physical representation of what everyone in the room is hoping for: a democratic form of government. This symbolizes the equality that all of the members in this room are trying to gain by making this Constitution a possibility. By displaying these people, the painter is symbolizing their importance in creating the society that is to come.

Democracy or Oligarchy?

Based on the reading written by Aristotle, one can infer that Aristotle would've seen the painting of this scene as an oligarchy. The majority of his belief would come from George Washington's stance in front of the crowd. Aristotle would believe that the leadership position being taken by George Washington would not represent any sort of unity, but would show separation of the state. Considering that George Washington is also covered in wealthy clothes, Aristotle would judge and assume that all of these people were wealthy (which they mainly were). He would then argue by saying that the poor should have more say than the rich because the majority of the population is made up of the poor. Or, he would mention that having one leader would show inequality among others and that everyone should have a say in who they vote for and what they vote for, not just a group of one or a few wealthy individuals. Also, since the majority of the room also is dressed in the same rich attire as George Washington, he would continue to confirm the inequality between the wealthy and poor class. Once again, he would state that the rich should not over power the poor. Overall, I don't think that Aristotle would be too happy with the artist of this painting. If he (the artist) thought that this truly was a valid representation of democracy in the United States, then Aristotle would argue that it should be represented in a much more clear and correct way than it is currently displayed.

Who Signed the Constitution and Why Were They Important?

Everyone who signed the Constitution to the United States of America was deemed to be very intellectual. According to online resources, almost all of them attended either Harvard, or Yale. Even though those were the main universities present during the time, those universities today are accredited for their intelligence from those who went before them. Comparing the signers to the painting by Howard Chandler Christy, they represent the freedom and liberty that they sought to obtain from signing and creating the Constitution. Each individual man had, in some way, been a major contributor to the new government. Whether they were governors, senators, presidents of certain states and colonies, or spent a lot of their time making their new lives on American soil, better than their lives before. They were the physical representations of the American Dream. Additionally, all of these individuals seceded from Great Britain and started their new lives here. They then contributed to the creation to the 13 Colonies, or were very involved in making things better than they were back home in England. So, whether or not they contributed to the development of the Constitution, or just showed up to sign, each person played a huge role in shaping the new America and displaying avid liberty and freedom across the nation.

Benjamin Franklin was one of the 39 delegates that signed

the Constitution of the United States of America.

Tocqueville and Aristotle

After reading Tocqueville's, "Government by Democracy in America," the reader can assume that although Tocqueville believed that there was a strong democracy forming, he still thought that there was more to be done, similarily to Aristotle. Tocqueville, unlike Aristotle, believed that aristocracy was close to nonexistent. He thought that the United States was moving towards a more unified nation. However, the reader must understand that while comparing these two individuals, they were not even around in the same time period. So, at the time of Aristotle, aristocracy could've been very prominent, but Tocqueville could've seen a disappearing factor towards this form of government. Both Aristotle and Tocqueville's main goal is to make life equal for each individual. They both want to get rid of the rich and their pretentious ways. Aristotle and Tocqueville saw the wealthy as over powering, and that they would treat the poor with such inequality and allow no involvement for them in the government. This angered both individuals, but although they both complained about this issue, it appears that Tocqueville is the only one that took action towards fixing this problem. He granted all men permission to enter the clergy, and brought forth many opportunities for a variety of different groups of people, thanks to the growth in trade and commerce. Although they lived in different time periods, both Aristotle and Tocqueville had much to say on the rising inequality issues during their lives.

Alexis de Tocqueville wrote this novel to get the word out about

inequality in the United States and how it could be resolved.