De Tocqueville looked at American liberty, apathy The principal themes of Democracy in America are that the United States illustrated the possibility of a more-or-less orderly democracy, and that, consequently, conservative and the radical European views of democracy required revision.ĭe Tocqueville believed that the movement toward democracy was the great overriding theme of the historical evolution of the West and perhaps even of the entire world. Through his descriptions, analysis, critiques, and prophecy, de Tocqueville reveals almost every aspect of the uniqueness of being American. In it, he seeks to answer the political puzzles of the era: Why was it that democracy flourished in America? What was the secret of American success and could it be brought home to France? De Tocqueville sought to find the secret of American democracyĭe Tocqueville’s journal record, “Journey to America,” became the cornerstone for his enduring, two-volume masterpiece, Democracy in America. The two friends would eventually separate and publish individual accounts of their experience. democracy, they hoped to gain insight into the democratic direction that Europe was rapidly moving toward in replacing the still-prevalent but decaying aristocratic regimes on the continent.
The announced purpose of his trip was to collaborate with his colleague and friend Gustave de Beaumont on a study of penal reform in the United States.Īs is well documented in letters exchanged between the two men, their real purpose was a much larger project - a study of the new American republic. In May 1831, de Tocqueville arrived in the United States from France for a visit that would last until February 1832. Tocqueville visited America to study democracy
He was particularly impressed by the role of freedom of association in underpinning collective action, freedom of the press in serving as a watchdog for the people, and religious freedom in sustaining the beliefs that define the American character. (Image via Wikimedia Commons, 1850 by Theodore Chasseriau, public domain)Īlexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) authored one of the most profound discussions of American democracy in the 19th century. He was especially intrigued by the effect First Amendment freedoms had on American democracy. Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America analyzed the development of democracy in the New World.
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