Democracy in America written by Alexis de Tocqueville gives insight into the strengths and weakness of American democracy. Given a grant by the French government, de Tocqueville traveled to the United States with his friend Gustave de Beaumont to observe the effects American democracy had on its people, and to point out the strengths and weakness of the system that governed them. In his home country France, democracy seemed to be exotic and new. But, he believed that democracy would be the future…
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Alexis de Tocqueville, the French political scientist, historian, philosopher and politician, is most famous for a four-volume book he wrote called “Democracy in America”. He came to America in 1831 to study the American form of democracy and what it might mean to the rest of the world. After a visit of only nine months, he wrote a remarkable book which is regarded as a classic. De Tocqueville had unusual powers of observation. He described not only the democratic system of government and how it…
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that in America I saw more than America; I sought the image of democracy itself, with its inclinations, its character, its prejudices, and its passions, in order to learn what we have to fear or hope from its progress”. Alexis De Tocqueville along with the help of Gustave De Beaumont sent out to study America and the essence of America. For nine months these two young Frenchmen traveled the New World, speaking to Presidents, bankers lawyers and newly settled communities. Alexis De Tocqueville was born…
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When you hear the name Alexis Charles Henri Clérel Viscount de Tocqueville you may not recognize it. However, this name is more important than you think. Alexis was born July 29th, 1805 in Paris, France and died April 16th, 1859 at the age of fifty three in Cannes, France. Alexis believed America brought the most advanced idea and example of equality in action. Alexis was worried that as the idea of individuality was becoming more popular the American citizens would assimilate and will become lost…
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comparison and contrast between Charles Dickens, Alexis De Tocqueville, and Fanny Trollope is how they viewed and managed the gender issues, rationality, along with slavery. During the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, as more white males won the right to vote, political parties became more organized and slavery and enslavement laws were being passed, the character of American Democracy changed. As democracy in America revealed, Alexis De Tocqueville believed that equality was the great political…
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Alexis de Tocqueville, a French aristocrat wrote a book, Democracy in America, after visiting in 1831 and later codified his observations and findings publishing into two volumes, 5 years apart. This book is said to be one of the most defining and significant books documenting American political life. Tocqueville began to gravitate towards studying America and her stable democratic policies and liberties. In France, his homeland was having troubles with democracy and he theorized that democracy will…
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Tony Rodriguez September 7, 2014 Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy in America This document was written by Alexis de Tocqueville, who was a French aristocrat who wanted to study the American democracy. He was fascinated by how all Americans had an equal opportunity, which at that time (1830s) was not seen. He wanted to see the how democracy differed in Europe compared to what was being done in America. He felt that by studying it, he could figure out its strengths and weaknesses and use…
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Alexis de Tocqueville was a French politician, landowner, farmer, and political writer. He was sent to America to analyze the America’s prison system, but Tocqueville was far more interested in its American Democracy that he analyzed that in far more detail. He composed a book containing his thoughts and opinions, but remained un-sided as he explained that he was simply an observer. In chapter one of Alexia de Tocqueville’s book Democracy in America, the title is named “Exterior Configuration of…
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Short Answer: 1. In Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, “mores” are understood as customary rules of behavior or social norms. These “mores” are the foundation of the social contract that allows mankind to create a civil society and eventually form government. 2. Tocqueville argued that Puritanism was closely related to political theory because of the way churches were formed. Puritans would simply vote on the idea of adopting another church. This method was very democratic compared to the…
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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…
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