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Democracy in America — Volume 1 by Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859
Democracy in America — Volume 1 by Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859
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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. A "literal" translation of its title is Of Democracy in America, but the usual translation of the title is simply Democracy in America. In the book, Tocqueville examines the democratic revolution that he believed had been occurring over the past seven-hundred years.
In 1831, twenty-five-year-old Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont were sent by the French government to study the American prison system. Later letters by Tocqueville indicate, however, that Tocqueville and Beaumont used this as a pretext to study American society instead.[1] 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).
After they returned to France in February 1832, Tocqueville and Beaumont submitted their report, entitled Du système pénitentiaire aux États-Unis et de son application en France, in 1833. When the first edition was published, Beaumont, sympathetic to social injustice, was working on another book, Marie, ou, L'esclavage aux Etats-Unis (two volumes, 1835), a social critique and novel describing the separation of races in a moral society and the conditions of slaves in America. Before finishing Democracy in America, Tocqueville believed that Beaumont's study of America would prove more comprehensive and penetrating. In a footnote included in the Mansfield translation, Tocqueville writes:
I do not know if I am mistaken, but it seems to me that Beaumont's book, after having keenly interested those who want to draw on its emotion and to find portraits there, will attain a still more solid and lasting success among readers who first of all desire real insights and profound truths.[2]
Summary by wikipedia.org
In 1831, twenty-five-year-old Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont were sent by the French government to study the American prison system. Later letters by Tocqueville indicate, however, that Tocqueville and Beaumont used this as a pretext to study American society instead.[1] 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).
After they returned to France in February 1832, Tocqueville and Beaumont submitted their report, entitled Du système pénitentiaire aux États-Unis et de son application en France, in 1833. When the first edition was published, Beaumont, sympathetic to social injustice, was working on another book, Marie, ou, L'esclavage aux Etats-Unis (two volumes, 1835), a social critique and novel describing the separation of races in a moral society and the conditions of slaves in America. Before finishing Democracy in America, Tocqueville believed that Beaumont's study of America would prove more comprehensive and penetrating. In a footnote included in the Mansfield translation, Tocqueville writes:
I do not know if I am mistaken, but it seems to me that Beaumont's book, after having keenly interested those who want to draw on its emotion and to find portraits there, will attain a still more solid and lasting success among readers who first of all desire real insights and profound truths.[2]
Summary by wikipedia.org
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