What Democracy Means To Us Today By Alexis De Tocqueville

Fourth, the definition of the word "democracy" has changed. The way Americans see the word doesn't refer to a static system as it once did, it is ever changing and improving.

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

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

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.

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.

Democracy, as a form of government, is the idea of spreading political power to the people, while still supporting the “common man” rule. The idea behind democracy is to unify the people, and allow common citizens to have a say in their government. This idea erupted after the Jeffersonian era came to a close in 1800, the Jeffersonian era changed how exclusive America should now be. Andrew Jackson specifically played a major role in shifting America from a two party government, known as the articles of confederation to a democracy. In 1824 the Democratic Party had split into Jacksonian Democrats and Nationalist-Republicans, the split of parties allowed Andrew Jackson to fully share ideas, through his own democratic party. When the newly elected

The phrase, “We the people”, holds a lot of meaning to American citizens. As the first three words of the United States Constitution, it signifies a core value intended to act as a unifying factor in America’s democratic society: popular sovereignty. This is the idea of a majority rules, or to put more simply, the one with the most votes wins. The U.S. system of government relies upon the fact that the American people are capable of coming together to make informed decisions about matters that will ultimately better the lives of everyone. Despite this, however, there are certain instances in which a minority group will impose on or have more influence than the majority group. This phenomenon occurs all the time in politics, as politicians tend to regard the predilections of small groups of citizens as opposed to the general populace.

From the early 1840s to the present day, a democracy can be described as a flawed establishment which has been shaped by the power of wealth and control, complex social relations, and most importantly the people’s desire to live a fulfilling life. Throughout this time period the principles of democracy, such as equality, protection of the people’s interest, and promotion of human rights were shifting in order to increase the democracy efficiency. Therefore the continued importance of the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and Constitution remain significant since, in American today, democracy is a system that is continuously being shaped by the people within it.

Democracy has become the most widespread political form of government during the past decade, after the fall of all its alternatives. During the second part of the 20th century, the 3 main enemies of democracy, namely communism, fascism and Nazism, lost most of their power and influence. However, democracy is still only to be found in less than half of this world's countries. China with a fifth of the total population "had never experienced a democratic government" and Russia still doesn't have a well established democracy. By adopting a democratic perspective, 3 types of governments emerge, non-democratic, new democracies, and old democracies, and all have a different challenge to overcome: either to become democratic, to "consolidate"

Despite the many crises that the United States has faced historically, democracy has persisted. However, this is not to say that the system is secure or deeply rooted. In fact, based on the events of recent decades, it has been weakening. In How Democracies Die, Levitsky and Ziblatt provide examples of how American democracy has exemplified the positive and negative aspects of other global democracies of the past and present. Although the US is exceptional in some ways, with its longstanding democratic institutions and diverse population, it is more similar to others than different. Thus, the idea that few parallels can be drawn to other nations is disproven. The process of comparing each state is analogous to that of differentiating between

In order to answer the question “Can we have too many rights?” There are many things that we must consider, first we must be able to define exactly what rights are, how they work and what they do for citizens and then further into Political and civil rights in the same way as both are essential to the structure of a democracy and play very important roles in enabling citizens to take part in politics and help structure their democracy into something that is for the better. We will also closely examine Robert Dahl, Democracy and its Critics, by first going into a brief description of his opinions in chapters 12 and 13 relating to democracy and how rights affect it. Finally we will deconstruct that argument and find the weaknesses and strengths of his said opinion and come to a conclusion to our original question “Can we have too many rights”

one essential conviction, expressed in the word democracy itself: that power should be in the hands of the people. Although democracy today has been slightly inefficient in this idea, with the wealthy, elite class challenging this right, “it nevertheless claims for itself a fundamental validity that no other kind of society shares….” To completely understand the structure of democracy, one must return to the roots of the practice itself, and examine the origins in ancient Greece, the expansion in the Roman Empire, and how these practices combined make what we recognize as today’s democratic government.

Throughout history different types of instrumental regimes have been in tact so civilizations remained structured and cohesive. As humanity advanced, governments obligingly followed. Although there have been hiccups from the ancient times to modern day, one type of government, democracy, has proven to be the most effective and adaptive. As quoted by Winston Churchill, democracy is the best form of government that has existed. This is true because the heart of democracy is reliant, dependent, and thrives on the populaces desires; which gives them the ability for maintaining the right to choose, over time it adjusts and fixes itself to engulf the prominent troubling issues, and people have the right of electing the person they

Democracy and its critics is a political science book written by Robert Dahl In 1989 and published by Yale University Press in America. The book looks at the assumptions of the democratic theory and is able to test them in relation to the questions raised by critics. Thereafter, Dahl suggests the ways in which the states must move towards improving their democracy.

In Democracy in America, written by Alexis De Tocqueville, numerous notions of threats claim to be dangerous to the relatively new democratic government of the United States. Yet, one threat endangers the democratic system of government the most, which is the tyranny of the majority. The American democracy is one that contains many great freedoms, including equality amongst all people. Citizens have the freedom to form their own opinions and say anything they want, regardless of what others think. Therefore, why does Tocqueville stress that the tyranny of the majority and how could this overthrow America’s democratic government? Tocqueville stresses the equality of every citizen’s opinion, which therefore asserts that nobody has a better opinion than someone else. The only opinion that seems to have any impact is that of the majority, because why would the opinion of the minority be better than the majority? Tocqueville claims that the people will always favor the majority, which in turn will lead to a tyranny of that majority. The tyranny of majority occurs through popular opinion, no true freedom of thought, and powerful legislative politicians who only create laws to please the majority. However, there are a few factors that mitigate this tyranny, including a decentralized administration of the majority, lawyers and their power within the judiciary branch, and how the power of a jury teaches citizens their freedoms.