Alexis de Tocqueville on the American work ethic

In the United States, as soon as a man has acquired some education and pecuniary resources, he either endeavors to get rich by commerce or industry, or he buys land in the bush and turns pioneer. All that he asks of the state is, not to be disturbed in his toil, and to be secure of his earnings.

~ Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835)

Hardships of Emigration
1898