The Transformation of American Society: 1815-1840
Regarding the period 1810 to 1840, Alexis de Tocqueville in his Democracy in America was impressed by the "general equality of condition among the people." Writing about the same time period, New York merchant Philip Hone stated "the two extremes of costly luxury in living, expensive establishments, and improvident waste are presented in daily and hourly contrast with squalid misery and hopeless destitution." How do you account for these very different assessments? Which man came closer to the truth? Why?
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