Democracy In America

Tocqueville's visit to the Americas

In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont, both French, were sent by the French government to study the American prison system. They arrived in New York City in May of that year and spent nine months traveling around the United States, taking notes not only on prisons, but on all aspects of American society, including the nation's economy and its political system. The pair of men also briefly visited Canada, spending a few days in the summer of 1831 in what was then Lower Canada (modern-day Quebec) and Upper Canada (modern-day Ontario).

After they returned to France in February 1832, the two men submitted their penal report, entitled Du système pénitentaire aux États-Unis et de son application en France, in 1833. Beaumont would soon write a novel about race relations in the United States. Tocqueville, on the other hand, who was fascinated by American politics, wrote an analytical political and social tract, Democracy in America, which would become the far more influential work.

Summary The primary focus of Democracy in America is an analysis of why republican representative democracy has succeeded in the United States when it failed in so many other places. He seeks to apply the functional aspects of democracy in America to what he sees as the failings of democracy in his native France. Tocqueville also speculates on the future of democracy in the United States, discussing both possible threats to democracy and possible dangers of democracy, including his belief that democracy has a tendency to degenerate into what he calls "soft despotism" as well as describing the tyranny of the majority, a problem in all democracies. He also observed that the strong role religion played in the United States was due to its separation from the government, a separation all parties found agreeable. He contrasts this to France where there was what he perceived to be an unhealthy antagonism between democrats and religious people, which he relates to the connection between church and state.

Importance

'Democracy in America' was published in numerous editions in the 19th century. It was immediately popular in both Europe and the United States. By the twentieth century, it had become a classic work of political science, social science, and history. It is commonly assigned reading for undergraduates majoring in the political or social sciences. Tocqueville's work is often acclaimed for making a number of predictions which were eventually borne out. Tocqueville correctly anticipates the potential of the debate over the abolition of slavery to tear apart the United States (as it indeed did in the American Civil War). He also predicts the rise of the United States and Russia as superpowers.

This CD contains both full volumes. Volume 1 was printed in 1899 and Volume 2 was printed in 1840.

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