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Democracy in America (1836)

by Alexis de Tocqueville

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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5,594311,739 (4.22)92
History. Politics. Nonfiction. HTML:

Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (De la démocratie en Amérique) is a classic text detailing the United States of the 1830s, showing a primarily favorable view by Tocqueville as he compares it to his native France. Considered to be an important account of the U.S. democratic system, it has become a classic work in the fields of political science and history. It quickly became popular in both the United States and Europe. Democracy in America was first published as two volumes, one in 1835 and the other in 1840; both are included in this edition.<… (more)

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English (22)  Spanish (3)  Catalan (3)  Italian (1)  Dutch (1)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  All languages (31)
Showing 1-5 of 22 (next | show all)
Alexis de Tocqueville compares with disinterested honesty 19th century Democracy, especially American democracy, with the European aristocracies that preceded it. In this two-volume work, he outlines both the benefits and dangers of both social orders. With the certain knowledge that the age of the aristocracy is passed, de Tocqueville writes with the ultimate hope that his book will serve as a warning to citizens under democratic rule, that they will not succumb to the apathy that is their greatest enemy, which would allow the government to pursue its natural tendency to metastasize into the private realm of citizen, governing an ever greater number of minutiae in the personal lives of its subjects, and annulling the freedom that was originally sought in creating a democracy ( )
  Coffeehag | Oct 5, 2023 |
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville translated by Mansfield & Winthrop) I started this book sometime ago as part of my "US Famous Historical Documents/Books" read. This book seemed overwhelming; I'm not sure of de Tocqueville's thesis, so it was a bit difficult to figure out where he was going; and that is important to me when I read a non-fiction or historical document. My favorite parts were his observations on politicians, specifically Daniel Boone and Andrew Jackson, both of whom he found illiterate and unfit for office. de Tocqueville was also astounded at the "equality" he found in America. Everybody shaking hands, sitting in church together, and walking down the same street. Although in America in 1837 slaves, Native Americans, and women certainly were not equal, de Tocqueville certainly found it much different that the stratified classes of France. He also studied the US Constitution and warned against the tyranny of the majority. I think de Tocqueville got that wrong, in the US we have the tyranny of the minority. Although there was much repetition, I found this to be a thought provoking reading. 722 ( )
  Tess_W | Oct 17, 2021 |
There are so many ways to consider this book, I almost don't know where to start. First, one can think of it as a rich portrait of the United States in the 1830s, with a focus on political life but with social, cultural, and economic life examined as well. One can also appreciate this book as a view of the US from the perspective of a foreigner. Tocqueville flatters Americans quite often in this book, but he also makes numerous comparisons to European nations and points out what he sees as the fundamental differences in systems of government. One can also judge how well this work has stood the test of time and to what extent it still describes America today. I would argue that while many would like to say the country Tocqueville depicts is still in existence, he would also find the US much changed. The observances made about wealth, shared power with the people, and vast ambitions are starting to show their age - to the extent that Tocqueville might recognize different forces at work than those he focused on in this work. ( )
  wagner.sarah35 | Nov 25, 2017 |
In a course I took the professor took about this book and it sounded very interesting. But when I finally read the book, it was hard to follow and I realized I liked the professor's explanation of the book better. ( )
  KamGeb | Oct 7, 2017 |
This is not for the faint of heart. But it is amazing that something written so long ago (and by one so young!) could still have the ring of truth to it. I'll admit, our book club voted to read it then mostly complained about its length, so we divided it up and each person was responsible for about 100 pages. Several of us got so interested that we read more than our assignment, but none of us (myself included) actually read the entire book. I'm thinking, now (writing this on Nov 5, 2008) that I should persevere and read it all. ( )
  BookConcierge | Feb 12, 2016 |
Showing 1-5 of 22 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (49 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Tocqueville, Alexis deprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Adler, Mortimer J.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bender, ThomasEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bevan, GeraldTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Blanco Vila, Luissecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Boorstin, Daniel J.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bowen, FrancisEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bradley, PhillipsEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Commager, Henry SteeleEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Epstein, JosephIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Goldhammer, ArthurTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Grant, Stephen D.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Heffner, RichardEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Laski, Harold J.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lawrence, GeorgeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lawrence, GeorgeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lerner, MaxEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lustig, AlvinCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mansfield, HarveyEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mansfield, Harvey C.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mansfield, Harvey C.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mayer, J. P.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mayer, J. P.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mill, John StuartIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mill, John StuartIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Nolla, EduardoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Raico, RalphContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Reeve, HenryTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ryan, AlanIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Spencer, John C.Prefacesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Winthrop, DelbaEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Winthrop, DelbaEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Winthrop, DelbaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Among the new things that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, none struck me more forcefully than the equality of conditions.
Quotations
The human mind invents things more easily than words; that is why many improper terms and inadequate expressions gain currency.
The Constitution of the United States is like one of those beautiful creations of human diligence which give their inventors glory and riches but remains sterile in other hands.
How wonderful is the position of the New World, where man has as yet no enemies but himself.
[The oppression] would be akin to parental authority if only it had the same goal of preparing children for adulthood; but instead its sole objective is to consign them to everlasting kindergarten; it wants the populace to enjoy themselves, as long as they never have any dreams beyond their own entertainment.
Having seized each individual in turn in its firm grip and molded him into its pattern, the regime extends its embrace to encompass the entire society, blanketing its surface with an intricate web of trivial regulations, comprehensive and regimented, from which the most creative minds and resolute souls cannot manage to extricate themselves away from the collective; rather than breaking the willpower, it softens, bends, and channels it; instead of compelling action, it endlessly restricts it; instead of destroying, it impedes formation; instead of tyrannizing, it prods, manipulates, conditions, discourages, restrains, and brainwashes the whole nation into nothing more than a herd of tractable, hard-working livestock of which the regime is the herdsman.
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Disambiguation notice
The ISBN 0679728252 is used in LT's records both for the complete version of de Tocqueville's work and for the first volume of it.
Do not combine with any abridged edtion.
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Wikipedia in English (1)

History. Politics. Nonfiction. HTML:

Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (De la démocratie en Amérique) is a classic text detailing the United States of the 1830s, showing a primarily favorable view by Tocqueville as he compares it to his native France. Considered to be an important account of the U.S. democratic system, it has become a classic work in the fields of political science and history. It quickly became popular in both the United States and Europe. Democracy in America was first published as two volumes, one in 1835 and the other in 1840; both are included in this edition.

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It includes; Democracy in America.
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Library of America Paperback Classics

2 editions of this book were published by Library of America Paperback Classics.

Editions: 1598531514, 1598531522

Liberty Fund, Inc

An edition of this book was published by Liberty Fund, Inc.

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Solis Press

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Tantor Media

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