Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America Essay example

Alexis de Tocqueville and James Madison had two distinctly different philosophical views when it came to the problem of “majority tyranny.” In Tocqueville and the Tyranny of the Majority, Morton J. Horwitz discusses in length the writings of the Frenchman when he came to and became fascinated by America. Horowitz argues each man believes the public’s best interests and freedoms were being terrorized. The former (de Tocqueville) believed that society itself is a monster, but the latter (Madison) believed danger came from a temporarily impassioned majority making lasting decisions in government.

States as a unique entity because of how and why it started as well as its

American Exceptionalism Alexis De Tocqueville traveled to the United States and spent nine months there with Gustave de Beaumont, a good friend of his. A couple years after his visit, Tocqueville wrote Democracy in America. In Tocqueville’s book, he emphasizes many aspects of America that he believes are exceptional. America’s geography, federalist system, patriotism, and equality of conditions are a few of the many aspects that Tocqueville finds exceptional. Many of the characteristics of America that Tocqueville once believed were exceptional, such as strong patriotism and equality of conditions, are no longer characteristics that describe America.

These types of discoveries have made Tocqueville impressed on how the country is displayed. James Madison on the other hand goes more into depth into “factions” or singular groups. These are the type of groups trying to control the political process. In the reading “Federalist No. 10” Madison, discusses about warning the power of factions and competing interests of the United States Government. Seeing that everyone has their own self-interests, and people's self-interests clash with others', the government has to be able to lay a common ground on all groups.

Democracy in America has been a guiding principle since the foundation of the country. Many over the years have commented on the structure and formation of democracy but more importantly the implementation and daily function within the democratic parameters that have been set. Alexis de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian born July 29, 1805. He is most famously known for his work Democracy in America. Democracy in America has been an evolving social and economic reform, and has continually changed since it’s founding.

De Tocqueville’s Democracy and Aristocracy Argument on Argument states the differences between an Aristocratic and Democratic way of living. The essay begins with the statement, “Among aristocratic nations, as families remain for centuries in the same condition, often on the same spot, all generations become, as it were, contemporaneous.” Giving the illusion that everyone lives in perfect harmony and is satisfied with their current social status. Everyone is content to work, not to improve his own well being, but to improve the wellbeing of his fellow man. By having the support of others, everyone meets their needs. Tocqueville writes “he will frequently sacrifice his personal gratifications to those who went before and to those who will come after him.” This quote gives the impression that people living in an aristocratic nation are unselfish and always willing to help. By always doing the same thing and always remaining at the same social status, people would always know what is depended on them. According to Tocqueville each social status the depends on the other and that is why Aristocracy remains strong like a chain.

The United States prides itself on being a land of freedom and opportunity. Individuals travel to the United States in hopes to utilize every advantage that life in America will bring. In Democracy in America, Alexis De Tocqueville divulges into his interpretations of the inner workings of the United States and what truly makes it so unique from its European counterparts.

In the 1830s the United States was the only country that ran on a well-run democracy, with this kind of uniqueness Tocqueville was on the right path to writing an interesting and valuable piece of work. Having seen his native country of France failed attempts at achieving democracy, Tocqueville wanted to study a more stable and organized way of democracy and gain a better insight as to how it works.

The ideal of a democracy, like the one developed by the Americans since 1776, lies in the fact that Men were born equals. This principle of equality has been the foundation of Tocqueville’s thought. All along this book, we can notice that the causes that enable the democratic state of America to be, lies on the particular situation of this country. Indeed, America lives under a pure democracy, without any aristocratic inheritance or revolutionary passions. This country has laws, recognized and applied by “almost” everybody. However, the country also has habits and morals deeply integrated (brought about by the diverse immigration) and particularly powerful.

In the 13th Chapter of his book, Alexis de Tocqueville adresses the causes of the restless search for prosperity in the democratic countries. He mentions a « strange melancholy, which often haunts the inhabitants of democratic countries in the midst of their abundance » and associates it with the infinite pursuit of happiness and eternal insatisfaction with everything they get. He talks about how in the United States, life’s easiness, equality and the great amount of opportunities make its population jaded, never able to realize the worth and value of what it has and always craving for more. While on the other hand, inhabitants of poor countries feel content with whatever they get and are less likely to complain. I do not completely agree

Count Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) was a part of the French government and held many positions as a magistrate and political observer. Most of his observations were done on political observations and writings workings of the United States. After some time, he became a reliable source for historical and contemporary aspects of American culture. In Origin of Anglo-Americans Tocqueville makes an excellent point,

Tocqueville’s Democracy in America arose out of the desire to understand the underlying reasons behind the difference between French and American democracies. While both societies have had moved towards democracy, New England, which Tocqueville defines as America, seems to be much more successful in organising a stable democratic society. As such, Democracy in America was written with the motive of mapping out how American society was

The French Revolution evokes many different emotions and controversial issues in that some believe it was worth the cost and some don't. There is no doubt that the French Revolution did have major significance in history. Not only did the French gain their independence, but an industrial revolution also took place. One of the main issues of the Revolution was it's human costs. Two writers, the first, Peter Kropotkin who was a Russian prince, and the other Simon Schama, a history professor, both had very opposing views on whether the wars fought by France during the Revolution were worth it's human costs. Krapotkin believed that the French Revolution was the main turning point for not only France but for most

A major problem that both James Madison, in Federalist papers 10 and 51, and Alexis de Tocqueville, in Democracy in America, discuss is that the majority would gain too much power within the democratic self-government, and as a result the United States would be overrun with tyranny. James Madison addresses his solutions for making sure that the government will be able to control the power of the majority, posed by factions. He believes that the United States needs to a strong central government in a large republic in order to control the power of the factions. Chapters of Alexis de Tocqueville support Madison’s thinking by discussing certain ideals that Madison touched on, and elaborating on them more to provide more evidence for Madison’s

Tocqueville’s argument that there is an unreconciled tension between liberty and equality is relatively simple to grasp—the exercise of freedom can ultimately distribute wealth, opportunities, and goods in unequal ways; and vice versa, maintaining equality over time among people can ultimately come to having to limit the freedom of others by redistributing the same wealth, opportunities, and goods. One critical manifestation of this tension between liberty and equality is what Tocqueville calls the “tyranny” or “despotism of the majority.” If all men are equal, then no one person or group of people can rule over any other person or people, meaning that the only choice Americans have is to live according to the will of the largest number of people—tyranny of the majority becomes a harsh reality when that power goes unchecked. While it seems that if “equality” in its most perfect sense were what was being used as a measure, minority opinion could certainly be taken into account to the same degree as the opinion of any other group of people; however, this