Democracy in America and Two Essays on America (Penguin Classics) (13th printing) Edition

Alexis De Tocqueville was a French statesman and political theorist who came to America to examine the American prison system in the year 1835. However, while here and touring the country he began something far more interesting, a work known as Democracy in America. In the book*, Tocqueville captures the American character of the Jacksonian Era. Even though it is about our past one can still see elements of our modern character in the work. Even 175 years after it was first published there is a great deal about it that still resonates to this day.

Here are some of my favorite Tocqueville quotes:

On America's youth as a nation, compared to Europe's,

"America is the only country in which we have been able to watch the natural and peaceful development of a society and define the influence exerted by the origins upon the future of states.
At the time when the European nations landed on the shores of the New World, the feature of their national characters were clearly set; each of them had a distinct appearance; and since they had already produced that level of civilization which leads men to a study of themselves, they have conveyed to us a faithful portrait of their opinions, customs, and laws. Fifteenth-century man is almost as well known to us as we are to ourselves. Thus American highlights what the ignorance or the barbarity of early times has concealed from our gaze." p.38

Comparing the change from established monarchies into democratic states, to established republics that fall under dictatorship.

"When a monarchy gradually develops into a republic, the executive power retains the titles, honors, respect, and even money long after the reality of power has disappeared. The English, having beheaded one of their kings and dismissed another, still dropped to their knees before the successors of those princes.
On the other hand, when republics fall beneath the yoke of one man, his power continues to appear simple, plain, and modest as if he had not become superior to everyone. When emperors exercised despotic control over the lives and fortunes of their fellow citizens, they were still addressed as Caesar and they were in the habit of dining without formality with their friends." p.143-4

On how things have changed with wealth and politics, nowadays we complain about the influence of money, but then it seems it appeared to be the opposite.

"Nowadays, one can say that the wealthy classes of United States society stand entirely outside politics and that wealth, far from being an advantage, has become a real source of unpopularity and the obstacle to the achievement of power.
The wealthy thus prefer to abandon the contest rather than tolerate the often unequal struggle against to poorest of their fellow citizens. Since they are unable to occupy a position in the public life similar to the one they enjoy in the private life, they renounce the former to concentrate upon the latter. They represent a private society at the heart of the state with its own tastes and pleasures." p.208

On the Europeans treatment of the Native Americans and the negative consequences for the latter,

"The European introduced firearms, iron, and whiskey to the indigenous tribes of North America; they taught them to substitute our cloth for the barbaric clothes with which the simple Indians had been previously satisfied. Although acquiring new tastes, the Indians did not learn the skills necessary to satisfy them and they had to have recourse to the industry of the whites. In return for these goods, which they could not make for themselves, these wild tribes had nothing to offer but the rich furs still found in their forests. From that moment hunting not only their own needs but also the frivolous enthusiasms of Europeans." p.377

On Jackson and the American Republic,

"Some Europeans have formed an opinion of General Jackson's possible influence over his country's affairs which appears most exaggerated to those who have seen events close hand.

I have heard that General Jackson has won battles, that he was a man of energy, prone to use of force by character and habit, covetous of power, and tyrannical by inclination. All that may be true but the inferences to be drawn from these truths are very wide of the mark.

General Jackson is supposed to working for the institution of a military regime and the extension of central power, which would be a treat to regional liberties. In America, the time for such undertakings and the age of such men have not yet come: if General Jackson had wished for such domination, he would undoubtedly have forfeited his political position and jeopardized his life. So, he has not been rash enough to attempt it.

Far from wishing to extend federal power, the present President belongs to the opposite party which aims to restrict this power to the clearest and most precise letter of the Constitution and which will never allow any interpretation to be favorable to the Union Government. Far from appearing as the champion of centralization, General Jackson the spokesman of regional jealousies; people's passion for decentralization (if I may put it so) carried to him the sovereign power. By constantly flattering these passions, he maintains his position and his popularity. General Jackson is the slave of the majority: he follows its every wish, desire, and half reveled instincts, or rather he guesses what it wants and takes the lead himself." p.461-2

On American behavior,

"In the United States, there is very little difference of rank in civil society and none at all in political life. Thus, an American does not believe that he is obliged to show any particular considerations, nor does he dream of demanding any of himself. Since he fails to see that it is to his advantage eagerly to seek out the company of some of his fellow citizens, he has difficulty in imaging that his own company is unwelcome. Since he despises no one for their social status, he cannot imagine that anyone will despise him for the same reason and until he becomes aware of an insult, he does not believe that an insult was intended." p.658

Continuing on that subject,

"I have noticed many times that it is not an easy matter in the United States to convey to someone that his presence is unwelcome. To make that point, roundabout methods are not always enough.

If I contradict an American at every turn, in order to show him that his conversation bores me, at every moment I see him making renewed efforts to convince me. If I remain obstinately silent, he imagines that I am reflecting deeply on the truths he is putting to me.

When, at last, I escape his onslaught, he supposes that urgent business calls me elsewhere. This man will never grasp that he exasperates me unless I tell him so and I shall be unable to get rid of him except by becoming his mortal enemy." p.658-9

On Americans in foreign places,

"Almost every American wishes to claim some connection by birth to the first founders of the colonies and America is awash, as far as I can see, with offshoots of great English families.

When a wealthy American lands in Europe, his first concern is to surround himself with the luxuries of wealth; he has such great fear of being taken for the unsophisticated citizen of a democracy that he seeks a hundred roundabout ways each day to advertise a fresh image of his opulence. He usually lodges in the most fashionable part of the town and has an endless stream of servants around him." p.660

On Americans with foreigners,

"In their relations with foreigners, Americans seem irritated by the slightest criticism and appear greedy for praise. The flimsiest compliment pleases them and the most fulsome rarely manages to satisfy them; they plague you constantly to make praise themselves. Doubting their own worth, they could be said to need a constant illustration of it before their eyes. Their vanity is not only greedy, it is also restless and jealous. I grants nothing while making endless demands. It begs on moment and quarrels the next.

If I say to an American that the country he lives in is beautiful, he answers: `True enough. There is not its like in the world!' I admire the freedom enjoyed by its citizens and he answers: `Freedom is indeed a priceless gift, but very few nations are worthy of enjoying it.' If I note the moral purity which prevails in the United States, he says: `I realize that a foreigner, struck by the corruption in all the other nations, will be surprised by the sight.' Finally, I leave him to his contemplation; but he comes back at me an d refuses to leave me until he has prevailed upon me to repeat what I just said. A more intrusive and garrulous patriotism would be hard to imagine. It wearies even those who respect it." p.710

Tocqueville opens up an interesting perception to our country's past though eyes of a foreigner who was there. It is interesting both where he is right and wrong. There are times where he is extremely insightful about America and her future, such as predicting that the United States will continue to grow and expand to the other side of the continent. Other times he is very wrong, such as saying that the American government will continue to decentralize. I highly recommend this work for the incredible insights it offers into the era.

*The work was actually published in two parts, one in 1835 and the other in 1840.

'Democracy in America' is usually cited as a work that, although written almost 170 years ago, gives a special insight into the differences between US and western European society and their expectations of liberty, democracy, and government. I would thoroughly agree - in addition, this is an eminently readable work by an intelligent and even-handed observer that in the latter part of the book also discusses in some depth potential risks to liberty in a democratic state that, in my view, hold up well today. Readers hoping for a travelogue that explores rustic colonial life may be disappointed, however - Tocqueville writes with a degree of detachment and personal anecdotes are few and far between. Tocqueville deserves to be read widely today, and he deserves to be remembered not only as a keen observer of US society and institutions, but as a liberal theorist and thinker in his own right with considerable prescience and relevance today.

Although more than a century long, Tocqueville's work keep echoing, inspiring our time. It is grateful to our founding father had invented a new form of government truely for people, by people and continue to pursuit a greater happiness in the future. A great work of the Tocqueville was also to write a detail manual of Democracy as reference regardless race, culture or geography as long as the government assures an absolute freedom to the people. America does not own Democracy. America proves there is a Democracy. Ironicly, there are plenty of nations in the world today still insist that Democracy is not for them. Freedom of speech, religion and election are fancy terms instead of persecution, prisoment is common solution to whom pursuit those freedom. Nonetheless, there are many nations in the world inherits Tocqueville's work to become a world power. It was a great work!

This is a thought-provoking book. It says many things, and so I can see why it is very quoteable. On the other hand, very insightful ideas are often followed by ideas that are so broad it is hard to determine if they have merit. Tocqueville (and translator Gerald Bevan) certainly do have a nice style of writing, that presents itself nicely in rather self-contained chapters analyzing the US in the first half of the 1800s. It certainly helped me come to a better understanding of what life and thought in the US was like back then. This, of course, also, lends itself to comparisons today. One wonders if Tocqueville would think that the political and economic equality he thought so stunning in the US still exists.

I can't give it a full 5 stars, simply because the writing is not always gripping, and some of his opinions are outlined in such a way that it is hard to evaluate whether they could ever be false. It certainly earns its 4 stars with many ideas and insights that are easy to understand and follow logical chains to conclusions that seem very applicable to US society back then.

If you have an interest in this book (you want to know about US society in the early 1800s), I would recommend it, but if you are just looking at it because it's a "famous" work, I don't know that you will find it very enlightening. It has a lot of analyzing of ideas, but if you don't have a prior interest in the US of the era, it is hard for me to believe this will inspire enough interest in you to continue reading.