Tocqueville, Alexis De (1805–1859)

Democracy in America

In the meantime, Tocqueville had been working on his masterpiece, and it was the first volume of De la democratie en Amerique (democracy in America) that made him instantly famous. The book was a description of the customs and institutions of the United States, interspersed with philosophical comments. The second volume, published in 1840, was equally successful. While the first volume dealt with the causes and effects of the democratic social order, the second dealt mainly with its effects. Taken as a whole, Democracy in America gave readers unprecedented insight into the characteristics that defined U.S. society. Tocqueville helped create and reinforce stereotypes of the American community.

Tocqueville drew his conclusions about the United States from minute details as well as from the overall impressions he had received while traveling. He was most impressed by the “equality of conditions” (Tocqueville 1966, p. 3) in the United States. This sense of equality, he wrote, governed the laws, mores, opinions, feelings, and customs of Americans. He argued that democracy was the defining characteristic of the United States'social order. He analyzed the influence of equality and democracy upon civil society. General and particular patterns of behavior were both considered important. [Page 1380]He reflected on language, personality traits, intellect, newspapers, crime, and national monuments.

Alexis de Tocqueville was a pioneer sociologist in the methods he used to assess the United States. He attempted to be objective in his analysis of the country and its people. He consulted with experts and researched documents, presenting the information in a balanced, detached manner. He began Democracy in America with a physical description of the region, then moved on to discuss its unifying features in political and social life. In doing so, he listed the factors on which U.S. society depended in order to be united as a community. He wrote about the different races and religions of the country, and although he praised the nation's social integration, he did not overlook that African Americans and American Indians were excluded from this equality. In a progressive step, he included notes on the social position of women. Tocqueville's ideal society, embodied in the United States, was a harmonious one, but he did not ignore dissonant social realities.

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