Democracy In America By Alexis De Tocqueville

A major problem that both James Madison, in Federalist papers 10 and 51, and Alexis de Tocqueville, in Democracy in America, discuss is that the majority would gain too much power within the democratic self-government, and as a result the United States would be overrun with tyranny. James Madison addresses his solutions for making sure that the government will be able to control the power of the majority, posed by factions. He believes that the United States needs to a strong central government in a large republic in order to control the power of the factions. Chapters of Alexis de Tocqueville support Madison’s thinking by discussing certain ideals that Madison touched on, and elaborating on them more to provide more evidence for Madison’s

The United States prides itself on being a land of freedom and opportunity. Individuals travel to the United States in hopes to utilize every advantage that life in America will bring. In Democracy in America, Alexis De Tocqueville divulges into his interpretations of the inner workings of the United States and what truly makes it so unique from its European counterparts.

Alexis de Tocqueville's visit to the United States in the early part of the nineteenth century prompted his work Democracy in America, in which he expressed the ability to make democracy work. Throughout his travels Tocqueville noted that private interest and personal gain motivated the actions of most Americans, which in turn cultivated a strong sense of individualism. Tocqueville believed that this individualism would soon "sap the virtue of public life" (395) and create a despotism of selfishness. This growth of despotism would be created by citizens becoming too individualistic, and therefore not bothering to fulfill their civic duties or exercise their freedom. Tocqueville feared that the political order of America would soon become

Alexis de Tocqueville, in Democracy in America, initiated a trend in American studies by examining the shift from aristocracy to democracy. This new world run by the people and not by kings was fascinating at the time and very different, thus making America unique. Democracy was especially a source of pride in America because it actually worked unlike in other places, like France. Tocqueville states, “The government democracy brings the notion of political rights to the level of the humblest citizens, just as the dissemination of wealth brings the notion of property within the reach of all the members of the community; and I confess that, to my mind, this is one of its greatest advantages.” This became a catalyst for a shift in American studies because essentially

Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville includes Tocqueville’s observations on what American society and culture was like during the 1830’s. Throughout his analysis of America, he draws many outlandish and interesting conclusions regarding what life was like during this time period. For example, in Chapter 18, Tocqueville remarks that citizens in democratic societies are independent, which makes them weak and subsequently uninfluential in society. He goes on to say that in order to combat this, associations must be established to combat individualism and to circulate new thoughts and ideas. All in all, Tocqueville’s claim is certainly valid, but only up to a certain point because there were a select few of individuals that were able to make an influence on society without the help from any associations.

The first article “We’re a Republic”, states that we the United States of America do indeed have a republic government. People tend to walk around believing that we are a democracy, but that’s only because they think of democracy in a different way. We see democracy as in we the people get the say in what the government does, when in fact true democracy is making decisions through voting or meetings. The Framers never intended for the United States be a democracy. They believed being a democracy was dangerous and not a good idea. The constitution clearly states that we are meant to be a republic, where representatives make the decisions for us. I agree, not only do we pledge to the republic but we also elect officials to speak and make decisions for us, which is basically what a republic consists of.

Alexis de Tocqueville was a French aristocrat and adventurer who spent nine months traveling America during 1831. He wrote a book “Democracy in America” about his adventure and experiences in America. He was a well educated European who spoke to many important figures of the time and this helped to develop very good insight about current American culture. Some of his adventures include steamboat, visited the Eastern cities, stayed in a log cabin, and even explored the northwestern frontier. He wrote this book for the French audience, and was hoping to better explain what democracy was so it could help France transition into a democracy. He believed that Democracy was the way of the future, and he was a strong supporter of Democracy. His book

The American government in the 19th century was perfectly summed up, ironically, by a Frenchman, Alexis de Toqueville. Toqueville was a French historian who documented and studied American democracy extensively and was an avid supporter of American democracy. He wanted France to mimic American governmental institutions. In his book, Democracy in America, Toqueville says, “Long before the appointed day arrives, the election becomes the greatest, and one might say the only, affair occupying men 's minds....the whole nation gets into a feverish state” (Document 7). Toqueville is referring to the voting fervor that took hold of America during elections. With the advent of universal male suffrage, more and more people were able to vote and they fully exercised this right as evident by voter participation statistics from 1824 to 1848. Voter participation increased from 23 percent to 73 percent in the span of 24 years (Document 6). Voter participation increased over the years due

Alexis de Tocqueville and James Madison had two distinctly different philosophical views when it came to the problem of “majority tyranny.” In Tocqueville and the Tyranny of the Majority, Morton J. Horwitz discusses in length the writings of the Frenchman when he came to and became fascinated by America. Horowitz argues each man believes the public’s best interests and freedoms were being terrorized. The former (de Tocqueville) believed that society itself is a monster, but the latter (Madison) believed danger came from a temporarily impassioned majority making lasting decisions in government.

Democracy in America has been a guiding principle since the foundation of the country. Many over the years have commented on the structure and formation of democracy but more importantly the implementation and daily function within the democratic parameters that have been set. Alexis de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian born July 29, 1805. He is most famously known for his work Democracy in America. Democracy in America has been an evolving social and economic reform, and has continually changed since it’s founding.

Alexis de Tocqueville was born on July 29, 1805, in Paris, France. He was a historian, political scientist, and a politician, but he is best known as the author of Democracy in America. He began his political career as an apprentice magistrate, a role he was easily able to enter into due to his father’s role in French government. In the role of apprentice magistrate, Tocqueville witnessed the constitutional upheaval between the conservatives and liberals in France. With the inevitable decline of the aristocratic privilege on the horizon, he began to study the English political development. For Tocqueville, the July Revolution of 1830 and the resulting kingship of Louis Philippe of Orleans helped

Although liberty was explored in the Declaration of Independence and later in the Constitution, French politician and philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville best put into words why liberty is so important to the American people. He explained in his book, Democracy in America, that, “…defending [citizens'] rights against the encroachments of the government saves the common liberties of the country” (Galles). Tocqueville visited America in 1831 simply to study the nation’s prisons and consequently wrote Democracy in America after returning to France, in awe of the success of America’s democratic movement (“Alexis de Tocqueville”). He was

Tocqueville’s Democracy in America arose out of the desire to understand the underlying reasons behind the difference between French and American democracies. While both societies have had moved towards democracy, New England, which Tocqueville defines as America, seems to be much more successful in organising a stable democratic society. As such, Democracy in America was written with the motive of mapping out how American society was

Tocqueville’s argument that there is an unreconciled tension between liberty and equality is relatively simple to grasp—the exercise of freedom can ultimately distribute wealth, opportunities, and goods in unequal ways; and vice versa, maintaining equality over time among people can ultimately come to having to limit the freedom of others by redistributing the same wealth, opportunities, and goods. One critical manifestation of this tension between liberty and equality is what Tocqueville calls the “tyranny” or “despotism of the majority.” If all men are equal, then no one person or group of people can rule over any other person or people, meaning that the only choice Americans have is to live according to the will of the largest number of people—tyranny of the majority becomes a harsh reality when that power goes unchecked. While it seems that if “equality” in its most perfect sense were what was being used as a measure, minority opinion could certainly be taken into account to the same degree as the opinion of any other group of people; however, this

This would change with the election of General Andrew Jackson, and thus commencing the Era of the Common Man in which the commoners in the United States gained extensive political power through enfranchisement. Andrew Jackson's humble beginnings and policies to expand the franchise to include all men regardless of property requisites epitomized the common man’s victory over the privileged aristocrats who prevailed in politics during the nation's beginning era. During Andrew Jackson's presidency, a Frenchman named Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to the developing country to “gain knowledge of the American political development...which he had hoped to use in order to influence France's [own] political development” following their own revolution (“Biography”). Recalling his observations and studies of the political system and society in the United States, Alexis published Democracy in America, an extremely optimistic account of the democracy branded by the American constituency. In Democracy in America, Alexis described and coined concepts that would become inherent to the American creed as well as the ideals of Occupy Wall Street today, such as the concept of American Exceptionalism and the American Dream. During his