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Faculty of Arts

Masaryk University

BRNO

Course :
HIA109c History of Culture and Civilization (1789-1918). General History of
the Nineteenth Century West

Alexis de Tocqueville,
De la Démocratie en Amérique

Damien PERRY
Erasmus Student
Democracy in America

1 ) Author :

Alexis Tocqueville was born on July 29, 1805, at 987 rue de la Ville-l'Évêque in
Paris. He was the third son of Hervé Louis François Bonaventure Clérel de
Tocqueville and Louise-Madeleine Le Peletier Rosanbo. His family had its origins in
the nobility from Normandy. Chateaubriand and Alsherbes were of his family. His
educational experience included studying law and working as a judges listener at the
court of Versailles where he met Gustave de Beaumont. The two men would
collaborate on several of Tocqueville’s works.

De Tocqueville started hits political career by becoming a deputy of the Manche


in 1839. He would hold this position until 1851. He went on to defend his political
positions at Parliament concerning his abolitionist tendencies and free-trade
perspective. He also commented on colonization, particularly in Algeria, where he
criticized French politics (cf. . He was also elected to the position of advisor general of
the Manche in 1842 and became the president of the Council General from 1849 to
1851.) After the putsch against Louis Napoléon Bonaparte on December 2, 1851,
Tocqueville ceased his politician career.

He was a monumental French political theorist and historian. His most famous
works include Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes: 1835 and 1840) and
The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both of these works, he explored the
effects of the rising equality of social conditions on both the individual and the state
organisation.

De Tocqueville is regarded as one of the historical defenders of freedom and


democracy. His stance of anti-collectivist has instilled his writings as a reference point
for modern liberals. His ability to balance legitimating the French colonial expansion
in North Africa (1841-1846) while opposing the barbarity of the French armies in
Africa was one example of his complex nature. He further opposed the application of
the military mode in Algeria (1848), and defended the first abolition of slavery in the
colonies amongst his contemporaries.

In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont went to the USA to


investigate American prisons. During nine months, they visited the wide areas of the
country and discovered different aspects about American economic and political
society. They also made a trip to Québec and Ontario, Canada. They return to France
in 1832 and wrote one essay about their voyage in 1833. But De Tocqueville,
impassioned by American politics wrote one analysis about the U.S.A. Democracy in
America was published as a result of his analysis.

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2 ) Democracy in America

This book is composed in 2 volumes. The first was published in 1835 while the
second followed in 1840. It spoke about advantages and problems of the American
system. At first, Democracy in America is one analysis of the republican representative
democracy. He attempts to explain why democracy succeeded in America and not
necessarily in other countries.
As stated previously, the work is composed in two volumes. The first tome main
subject concerned the democratic movement during the centuries, who was responsible
for the transformation of society and what the political transformation impacted the
political system. For De Tocqueville, all of these elements lead to democracy in
America. His analyses of democracy in America were concerned with its operation,
political and juridical oraganization. Alexis de Tocqueville defines democracy as one
political structure with which all can share.
His writing was very descriptive, expounding on several points for many pages.
This first volume contains the most precise political analysis. It is divided into twenty
eight chapters. The subjects are manifold including political life in towns, judicial
institutions and power, the U.S. Constitution, the creation of federal states, political
parties and American government. This tome also addresses topics such as the power
of the majority verses the right of the minority, political parties, general freedoms, and
possible future problems for the young democracy.
The second volume has only nine chapters but some are display the incredible
development of those found in volume one. De Tocqueville introduction to the second
volume attempts to explain how important the rule of law in American society is for
keeping ultimate power in the hands of the people. The people have the ability to
create or destroy the political system in which the Constitution has created. Other
subjects addressed concerned the influence of the democracy on the civil society.
Topics covered include the political regime and social transformation as a result of the
political system. The discussion on ideas, morals, role of intellectuals and how each of
these elements listed contributed to the socialization were perhaps the most
philosophical portion of this work.

3) Importance of the theory :

This work quickly became a “best-seller” of the 19th century with different
editions, in Europe and in USA having been printed. After the turn of the century, it
had become a classic work for the political, sociological and history cannons
concerned with American politics. Alexis de Tocqueville forecast the abolition of
slavery and the strong economic development of the USA. But the French author also
spoke of violence between different political parties due to the inherent nature of the
political system. Unfortunately, he did not consider poverty in big cities could be
generated by the economic system. Nor did he perceive as accutely as he should have
the impact the “tyranny of the majority” could have on society. However, one could

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argue that poverty was as large a problem when he composed his work as compared to
later in the century.
Finally, Alexis de Tocqueville offers one work about democracy in America
which presented this political phenomenon as immutable when he wrote his piece. He
viewed the young democracy as a political system that needed time to grow up, so to
speak. He held the belief that democracy (in America, from America) should extend
across the American continent in time. He did concretely limit the expansion of
American democracy only to the continent. He left the debate open as to whether
American’s form of democracy should spread across the planet.

Democracy in America is also one major book of political sociology. It is the first
work to be interested in the social currents of equalization of the condtions in our
societies. For de Tocqueville, Europe had an old aristocratic society and the prospect
of a democratic society of tomorrow. The U.S.A. was the best example of this possible
democracy being born.

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