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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Lawyers are connected to the aristocracy by their personal interest and what?

2. Democratic regimes will value general well-being over what?

3. Democratic regimes value prosperity over what?

4. What feeds on ignorance, according to the Puritans' religious views?

5. De Tocqueville believes that democracy provides an authority of its own by replacing the certitudes of the intellectual with what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Before the American Revolution, what were the two great political parties in the United States and what were their aims?

2. Americans want to explain everything through human intelligence and leave the rest to be explained by what, according to de Tocqueville?

3. Why does de Tocqueville believe that freedom of opinion is practically non-existent in the United States?

4. What does de Tocqueville believe is the logic that is followed when people adopt the authority of the majority?

5. After the American Revolutionary war, the government defined, very precisely, the powers that belonged to whom?

6. De Tocqueville believes that, under a monarchic regime, patriotism is expressed by the pride of the people in what?

7. De Tocqueville believes that political parties are what to democratic societies?

8. What is the unusual political power, based on the Constitution, that the American judicial system holds?

9. What laws prevailed as the basis of the developing democratic society in the United States?

10. Why does the minority recognize the decision and rights of the majority in America, according to de Tocqueville's observations?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

De Tocqueville presents many ways in which a democracy can protect itself from abuse. Why does de Tocqueville believe that a democracy will be abused, and what does he suggest as protection from that abuse? Use examples from the book to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

Using examples from the book, what are the differences between an aristocratic regime and a democratic regime in terms of governance? Which one does de Tocqueville think is more effective at governing and why?

Essay Topic 3

What is the definition that de Tocqueville uses for freedom of the press? Using examples from the book, what role does freedom of the press have in a democracy? What role does it have in American democracy?

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