de Todqueville on "Democracy in America"

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." 

 --  Alexis de Tocqueville

 
 
I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers - and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerc - and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution - and it vas not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.

 --  Alexis de Tocqueville