Democracy in America

This article is about the book written by Alexis de Tocqueville. For democracy of the United States, see Elections in the United States.
Democracy in America
Title page of Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville, printed at New York City, 1838
AuthorAlexis de Tocqueville
Original titleDe la démocratie en Amérique
LanguageFrench
PublisherSaunders and Otley (London)
Publication date
1835–1840
Publication placeAmerica
Original text
De la démocratie en Amérique at French Wikisource
TranslationDemocracy in America at Wikisource
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De la démocratie en Amérique (French pronunciation: [dəla demɔkʁasi ɑ̃n‿ameˈʁik]; published in two volumes, the first in 1835[1] and the second in 1840)[2] is a classic French work by Alexis de Tocqueville. In the book, Tocqueville examines the democratic revolution that he believed had been occurring over the previous several hundred years.

In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont were sent by the French government to study the American prison system. In his later letters, Tocqueville indicates that he and Beaumont used their official business as a pretext to study American society instead.[3] They arrived in New York City in May of that year and spent nine months traveling the United States, studying the prisons and collecting information on American society, including its religious, political, and economic character. The two also briefly visited Canada, spending a few days in the summer of 1831 in what was then Lower Canada (modern-day Quebec) and Upper Canada (modern-day Ontario).

Tocqueville and Beaumont returned to France in February 1832 and submitted their report, Du système pénitentiaire aux États-Unis et de son application en France (On the Penitentiary System in the United States and its Application in France), the next year. When the first edition was published, Beaumont was working on another book, Marie, ou, L'esclavage aux États-Unis (Marie, or, Slavery in the United States, published as two volumes in 1835), a social critique and novel describing the separation of races in a moral society and the conditions of slaves in the United States. Before finishing Democracy in America, Tocqueville believed that Beaumont's study would prove more comprehensive and penetrating.[4]

  1. ^ de Tocqueville, Alexis (1835). De la démocratie en Amérique. Vol. I (1st ed.). Paris: Librairie de Charles Gosselin. Retrieved 24 June 2015. via Gallica; de Tocqueville, Alexis (1835). De la démocratie en Amérique. Vol. II (1st ed.). Paris: Librairie de Charles Gosselin. Retrieved 24 June 2015. via Gallica
  2. ^ de Tocqueville, Alexis (1840). De la démocratie en Amérique. Vol. III (1st ed.). Paris: Librairie de Charles Gosselin. Retrieved 24 June 2015. via Gallica; de Tocqueville, Alexis (1840). De la démocratie en Amérique. Vol. IV (1st ed.). Paris: Librairie de Charles Gosselin. Retrieved 24 June 2015. via Gallica
  3. ^ Johri, Vikram. "'Alexis de Tocqueville': the first French critic of the US". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  4. ^ Tocqueville, Alexis de (2000). Democracy in America. Chicago. p. 13. ISBN 0-226-80532-8. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)