IdonotmeanthatthereisanydeficiencyofwealthyindividualsintheUnitedStates;Iknowofnocountry，indeed，wheretheloveofmoneyhastakenstrongerholdontheaffectionsofmen，andwheretheprofoundercontemptisexpressedforthetheoryofthepermanentequalityofproperty。Butwealthcirculateswithinconceivablerapidity，andexperienceshowsthatitisraretofindtwosucceedinggenerationsinthefullenjoymentofit。
Thispicture，whichmayperhapsbethoughttobeovercharged，stillgivesaveryimperfectideaofwhatistakingplaceinthenewStatesoftheWestandSouth—west。AttheendofthelastcenturyafewboldadventurersbegantopenetrateintothevalleysoftheMississippi，andthemassofthepopulationverysoonbegantomoveinthatdirection:communitiesunheardoftillthenwereseentoemergefromthewilds:StateswhosenameswerenotinexistenceafewyearsbeforeclaimedtheirplaceintheAmericanUnion;andintheWesternsettlementswemaybeholddemocracyarrivedatitsutmostextreme。IntheseStates，foundedoff—hand，and，asitwere，bychance，theinhabitantsarebutofyesterday。Scarcelyknowntooneanother，thenearestneighborsareignorantofeachother’shistory。InthispartoftheAmericancontinent，therefore，thepopulationhasnotexperiencedtheinfluenceofgreatnamesandgreatwealth，noreventhatofthenaturalaristocracyofknowledgeandvirtue。Nonearetheretowieldthatrespectablepowerwhichmenwillinglygranttotheremembranceofalifespentindoinggoodbeforetheireyes。ThenewStatesoftheWestarealreadyinhabited，butsocietyhasnoexistenceamongthem。*e[Footnotee:Thismayhavebeentruein1832，butisnotsoin1874，whengreatcitieslikeChicagoandSanFranciscohavesprungupintheWesternStates。ButasyettheWesternStatesexertnopowerfulinfluenceonAmericansociety。—Translator’sNote。]
ItisnotonlythefortunesofmenwhichareequalinAmerica;eventheirrequirementspartakeinsomedegreeofthesameuniformity。Idonotbelievethatthereisacountryintheworldwhere，inproportiontothepopulation，therearesofewuninstructedandatthesametimesofewlearnedindividuals。
Primaryinstructioniswithinthereachofeverybody;superiorinstructionisscarcelytobeobtainedbyany。Thisisnotsurprising;itisinfactthenecessaryconsequenceofwhatwehaveadvancedabove。AlmostalltheAmericansareineasycircumstances，andcanthereforeobtainthefirstelementsofhumanknowledge。
InAmericatherearecomparativelyfewwhoarerichenoughtolivewithoutaprofession。Everyprofessionrequiresanapprenticeship，whichlimitsthetimeofinstructiontotheearlyyearsoflife。Atfifteentheyenterupontheircalling，andthustheireducationendsattheagewhenoursbegins。Whateverisdoneafterwardsiswithaviewtosomespecialandlucrativeobject;ascienceistakenupasamatterofbusiness，andtheonlybranchofitwhichisattendedtoissuchasadmitsofanimmediatepracticalapplication。InAmericamostoftherichmenwereformerlypoor;mostofthosewhonowenjoyleisurewereabsorbedinbusinessduringtheiryouth;theconsequenceofwhichis，thatwhentheymighthavehadatasteforstudytheyhadnotimeforit，andwhentimeisattheirdisposaltheyhavenolongertheinclination。