Download Tocqueville`s Biography

Tocqueville’s Biography
(adapted from the Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Alexis de Tocqueville (France, 1805 – 1859) was a political scientist, historian, and politician,
best known for ‘Democracy in America’, 4 vol. (1835–40), a perceptive analysis of the political
and social system of the United States in the early 19th century.
Tocqueville belonged to an aristocratic family. As a magistrate he was soon involved into
government affairs, showing his sympathy for the Liberals. The July Revolution of 1830 that
put the “citizen king” Louis-Philippe of Orléans on the throne was a turning point for
Tocqueville. It deepened his conviction that France was moving rapidly toward complete
social equality. Breaking with the older liberal generation, he no longer compared France with
the English constitutional monarchy but compared it with democratic America. Despite his
oath of loyalty to the new monarch, his position had become precarious because of his family
ties with the ousted Bourbon king. He and his friend Beaumont, seeking to escape from their
uncomfortable political situation, asked for and received official permission to study the
controversial problem of prison reforms in America. They also hoped to return with
knowledge of a society that would mark them as especially fit to help mold France’s political
future.
 Prepare an oral summary of the text, using ONLY your own words. You can write some
notes below.
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The Visit to the United States and Tocqueville’s book
Tocqueville and Beaumont spent nine months in the United States during 1831 and 1832, out
of which came Tocqueville’s book Democracy in America (1835–40). On the basis of
observations, readings, and discussions with a host of eminent Americans, Tocqueville
attempted to penetrate directly to the essentials of American society and to highlight that
aspect—equality of conditions—that was most relevant to his own philosophy. Tocqueville’s
study analyzed the vitality, the excesses, and the potential future of American democracy. The
first part of the book, published in 1835, was infused with his message that a society, properly
organized, could hope to retain liberty in a democratic social order. In the second part of the
book, which appeared in 1840, Tocqueville attempted to complete a picture of the influence of
equality itself on all aspects of modern society. France increasingly became his principal
example. He observed the curtailment of liberties by the Liberals, who had come to power in
1830, as well as the growth of state intervention in economic development. Most depressing
to him was the increased political apathy and acquiescence of his fellow citizens. His chapters
on democratic individualism and centralization in Democracy in America contained a new
warning based on these observations. He argued that a mild, stagnant despotism was the
greatest threat to democracy.
 Put the aspects concerning America and France in the corresponding columns.
AMERICA
FRANCE
 What can you understand about Tocqueville’s worries regarding democracy?