Question

According to Alexis de Tocqueville, why was populism a key to the United States' success as a constitutional republic?

A. It demanded a moral obligation of the wealthy to support those less privileged.
B. It allowed individuals to choose their own financial path in life.
C. It encouraged people to share equally in the responsibilities of citizenship.
D. It respected the authority of all people, not just the elites.

Answer 1

D. It respected the authority of all people, not just the elites.

Answer 2

The correct answer is D. It respected the authority of all people, not just the elites.

Indeed, one of the five principles that Tocqueville was populism, which he described as sovereignty of the people, all the people. He also warned Americans about the dangers of aristocracy for the sovereign people and predicted that an industrial aristocracy would rise to threaten American democracy.