Volume 1, Chapter 1-5 Summary and Analysis

"Democracy in America," by Alexis de Tocqueville, was written following a 9-month long exploratory voyage to the United States back in 1830. In the book, the French author analyzes the political and sociological aspects of the American democratic regime and contrasts his findings with the situation of the people living under the aristocratic regimes of France and England. Tocqueville spends a great deal of time praising the political and legal system of the United States as he tries to sell democracy to his contemporaries in Europe. He also uses his writing to warn of the possible downsides of democracy, such as the potential for extending the principle of equality and turn the democratic regime into a tyranny of the majority. "Democracy in America" remains to this day one of the most important books ever written about the democratic...