Individualism has long been a part of our American culture.
Alexis de Tocqueville in his nineteenth century classic study, Democracy in America, explained how it manifests itself. He writes: “Individualism is a calm and considered feeling which disposes each citizen to isolate himself from the mass of his fellows and withdraw into the circle of family and friends; with this little society formed to his taste, he gladly leaves the greater society to look after itself.”
