Democracy in America

De la démocratie en Amérique (published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840) is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville on the United States in the 1830s and its strengths and weaknesses. A literal translation of its title is On Democracy in America, but the common translation of the title is Democracy in America.

Summary

The primary focus of Democracy in America is an analysis of why republican representative democracy has succeeded in the United States when it failed in so many other places.

Related Topics:
Republic - Representative democracy - United States

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Tocqueville also speculates on the future of democracy in the United States, discussing both possible threats to democracy and possible dangers of democracy, including his belief that democracy has a tendency to degenerate into what he calls "mild despotism." He also observed that the strong role religion played in the United States was due to its separation from the government, a separation all parties found agreeable.

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