Democracy in America

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville (1835/1840)

A young French aristocrat visits the United States in 1831 and writes the most penetrating analysis of American democracy ever produced — identifying both its strengths and its dangers with prophetic accuracy.

Historical Significance:
Alexis de Tocqueville, just 25 years old, traveled through America for nine months in 1831-32, ostensibly to study the prison system. Instead, he produced a two-volume masterwork (1835 and 1840) that remains the most quoted analysis of American society. Tocqueville predicted the tyranny of the majority, the isolating effects of individualism, the tension between liberty and equality, and the dangers of materialism — diagnoses that are more relevant today than when he made them. He also predicted that America and Russia would one day divide the world between them — 110 years before the Cold War. Presidents, Supreme Court justices, and political theorists of every persuasion cite Tocqueville as essential reading.

This public domain classic was originally published in 1835. Free to read and share.