Democracy in America Volume I - Part 1 of 2 - FULL Audio Book - by Alexis de Tocqueville

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Democracy in America Volume I - Part 2 of 2 - FULL Audio Book - by Alexis de Tocqueville SUBSCRIBE to https://www.youtube.com/user/GreenAudioBooks De la démocratie en Amérique (French pronunciation: ​[də.la.de.mɔ.kʁa'si.ɑ̃.na.me'ʁik] ; published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840) is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville. Its title translates as On Democracy in America, but English translations are usually entitled simply Democracy in America. In the book, Tocqueville examines the democratic revolution that he believed had been occurring over the past seven hundred years. In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont were sent by the French government to study the American prison system. In his later letters, Tocqueville indicates, however, that he and Beaumont used their official business as a pretext to study American society instead.[1] They arrived in New York City in May of that year and spent nine months traveling the United States, studying the prisons, and collecting information on American society, including its religious, political, and economic character. The two also briefly visited Canada, spending a few days in the summer of 1831 in what was then Lower Canada (modern-day Quebec) and Upper Canada (modern-day Ontario). After they returned to France in February 1832, Tocqueville and Beaumont submitted their report, Du système pénitentiaire aux États-Unis et de son application en France, in 1833. When the first edition was published, Beaumont, sympathetic to social justice, was working on another book, Marie, ou, L'esclavage aux Etats-Unis (two volumes, 1835), a social critique and novel describing the separation of races in a moral society and the conditions of slaves in the United States. Before finishing Democracy in America, Tocqueville believed that Beaumont's study of the United States would prove more comprehensive and penetrating. - MAIN THEMES Tocqueville begins his study of America by explaining the contribution of the Puritans. According to him, the Puritans established America's democratic social state of equality. They arrived equals in education and were all middle class. In addition, Tocqueville observes that they contributed a synthesis of religion and political liberty in America that was uncommon in Europe, particularly in France. He calls the Puritan Founding the "seed" of his entire work. - SUMMARY The primary focus of Democracy in America is an analysis of why republican representative democracy has succeeded in the United States while failing in so many other places. Tocqueville seeks to apply the functional aspects of democracy in the United States to what he sees as the failings of democracy in his native France.[10] 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. He observes that the strong role religion played in the United States was due to its separation from the government, a separation all parties found agreeable. He contrasts this to France where there was what he perceived to be an unhealthy antagonism between democrats and the religious, which he relates to the connection between church and state. Insightful analysis of political society was supplemented in the second volume by description of civil society as a sphere of private and civilian affairs.[11] Tocqueville's views on the United States took a darker turn after 1840, however, as made evident in Aurelian Craiutu's Tocqueville on America after 1840: Letters and Other Writings. - Democracy in America was published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the other in 1840. It was immediately popular in both Europe and the United States, while also having a profound impact on the French population. By the twentieth century, it had become a classic work of political science, social science, and history. It is a commonly assigned reading for undergraduates of American universities majoring in the political or social sciences, and part of the introductory political theory syllabus at Cambridge, Oxford and other institutions. In the introduction to his translation of the book, Harvey C. Mansfield calls it "at once the best book ever written on democracy and the best book ever written on America - If you enjoyed listening to "Democracy in America Volume I - Part 1 of 2 - FULL Audio Book - by Alexis de Tocqueville" please rate, comment and subscribe to GreenAudioBooks, We really appreciate it :) Thanks for viewing Democracy in America Volume I - Part 1 of 2 - FULL Audio Book - by Alexis de Tocqueville