Volume 2, Part 1: Chapter 1-12 Summary and Analysis

The population of America is typically oblivious to the developments of philosophy. Politically, the New World has never experienced the complete anarchy or even great social disorders that most of the populations of Europe had to endure during their longer history. Due to the conditions inherent to their isolated situation, combined with the generally accepted principle of equality of the people, Americans are not inclined to accept traditional ideas and principles based on the authority of the intellectual elite; they would rather explain everything through human intelligence and leave out the rest to the realm of religion or unexplainable.

Religion provides the people of America with a set of beliefs that goes without justification or explanation. Religion and politics both occupy their own space in the life of Americans, and neither would dare to cross...