Democracy in america alexis de tocqueville barnes and noble

Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read democracy in america. Democracy in america is a classic of political philosophy. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading democracy in america, volume i and ii optimized for kindle. Born a french aristocrat, he lost nearly his entire family in the reign of terror, and he spent most of his adult life struggling for liberty under the unsuccessful regimes of nineteenthcentury france. What struck him most was the countrys equality of conditions, its democracy. Over the ocean, he went on a trip, in which he was to study the prison system of the united states. Doubting whether the american experiment in equality could work, tocqueville conjectured that democracy would erect a society that would succumb to a different type of tyranny than that of a monarchy or aristocracy that of the majority. Democracy in america has had the singular honor of being even to this day the work that political commentators of every stripe refer to when they seek to draw large conclusions about the society of the united states.

This edition was translated by henry reeve in 18351840. Democracy in america harper perennial modern classics. Leo damrosch talked about his book tocquevilles discovery of america farrar, straus and giroux, 2010. Natural strength of the majority in democracies most of the american constitutions have increased this strength by artificial means how this has been done pledged delegates moral power of the majority opinion as to its. Written nearly 170 years ago, democracy in america is a masterful display of insight and foresight into all things american. It remains the most often quoted book about the united states, not only because. Democracy in america chapter summaries course hero. This edition, based on the revised and corrected text of the 1961 french edition and meticulously edited by. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. This edition, based on the revised and corrected text of the 1961 french.

Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. The book he wrote on his return to france, democracy in america, is both the best ever written on democracy and the best ever written on america. He wrote democracy in america after visiting the united states during which he observed various elements of the prison system. A thoughtful young man in a stillyoung country, he succeeded in penning this penetrating study of americas people, culture, history, geography, politics, legal system, and economy. The abridged edition of the enduring masterworka classic portrait of americas culture and people. A treatise on government by the people in america in the 1830s.

Jaume, who probably knows tocquevilles intellectual world better than anyone else alive, has reconstructed his reading in intricate detail, and brilliantly demonstrates the way particular themes and passages in democracy in america relate to it. His ninemonth visit and subsequent reading and reflection resulted in this landmark masterpiece of. As is often found in democracy in america, the framework of this chapter features a contrast between aristocracy and d. This did not mean, as so many have believed after the fall of the berlin wall in 1989, that the political apparatus of democracy would sweep the world. Hailed by john stuart mill and horace greely as the finest book ever written on the nature of democracy, it continues to be an influential text on both sides of the atlantic, above all in the emerging democracies of eastern europe. Unlimited power of majority, and its consequences part i chapter summary. Introduced by historian olivier zunz and presented with a fidelity. Rather, tocqueville meant that as each nation left behind the vestiges of its aristocracy, life for its. The american republic will endure until the day congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the publics money. The democratic concept of equality was emerging as a political reality in america, and it threatened the aristocracy of europe. He was best known for his works democracy in america and the old regime and the revolution. In both he analyzed the improved living standards and social conditions. This edition, based on the revised and corrected text of the 1961 french edition and. In the eleven years that separated the declaration of the independence of the united states from the completion of that act in the ordination of our written constitution, the great minds of america were bent upon the study of the principles of government that were essential to the preservation of the liberties which had been won at great cost and.

That the equality of conditions contributes to the maintenance of good morals in america. They investigated not just the prison system but indeed every aspect of american public and private lifethe political, economic, religious, cultural, and above all the social life of the young nation. Introduced by historian olivier zunz, here is tocquevilles brilliant. Henry reeve, the pennsylvania state university, electronic classics series, jim manis, faculty editor, hazleton, pa 182011291 is a portable document file produced as part of an ongoing student publication. He was best known for his works democracy in america appearing in two volumes, 1835 and 1840 and the old regime and the revolution 1856. It remains the most often quoted book about the united states. Tocquevilles main point in this section is that political freedom requires sacrifices, whereas the pleasures of equal. After barely escaping the guillotine, his parents escaped to england.