Two causes led to this result.

It may safely be advanced, that on leaving the mother-country the emigrants had in general no notion of superiority over one another.

The happy and the powerful do not go into exile, and there are no surer guarantees of equality among men than poverty and misfortune.

It happened, however, on several occasions, that persons of rank were driven to America by political and religious quarrels.

Laws were made to establish a gradation of ranks; but it was soon found that the soil of America was opposed to a territorial aristocracy.