Alexis de Tocqueville - Democracy in America

Democracy in America (1835) was one of the most influential books of the 19th century.Tocqueville believed that equality was the great political and social idea of his era, and he thought that the United States offered the most advanced example of equality in action.In the book, Tocqueville examines the democratic revolution that he believed had been occurring over the previous several hundred years.Tocqueville speculates on the future of democracy in the United States, discussing possible threats to democracy and possible dangers of democracy. These include his belief that democracy has a tendency to degenerate into "soft despotism" as well as the risk of developing a tyranny of the majority.Tocqueville was impressed by much of what he saw in American life, admiring the stability of its economy and wondering at the popularity of its churches. He also noted the irony of the freedom-loving nations mistreatment of Native Americans and its embrace of slavery.