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Democracy in America Volume 2

(De la Démocratie en Amérique #2)

Alexis de Tocqueville,

Eduardo Brandão (Translator),

Phillips Bradley (Editor),

Luann Walther (Editor)

4.16 · Rating details · 801 ratings · 40 reviews

Volume 2 of the classic commentary on the influence of democracy on the intellect, feelings, and actions of Americans. With an introduction by Phillips Bradley.

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Paperback, 506 pages

Published August 11th 1990 by Vintage (first published 1840)

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Sep 09, 2020 P.E. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: chemins, ideology, mythology, mind-games, revolution, absurd, auteurs-normands, anticipation

“Our contemporaries are constantly excited by two conflicting passions; they want to be led, and they wish to remain free: as they cannot destroy either one or the other of these contrary propensities, they strive to satisfy them both at once. They devise a sole, tutelary, and all-powerful form of government, but elected by the people. They combine the principle of centralization and that of popular sovereignty; this gives them a respite: they console themselves for being in tutelage by the refl ...more

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Apr 11, 2008 Jenny rated it it was amazing

Written over 150 years ago, Democracy In America is even more important and compelling today than it was then. This past fall, I had the opportunity to teach a Government class for my college. My class studied the second volume of this invaluable classic. It was such a pleasure to study it through a mentor's eyes. It truly came alive for me in a way that it never had before as I prepared to teach it.

Despite his young age, Tocqueville was a master at understanding human nature. Volume II is fille ...more

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Jan 26, 2008 Jill rated it really liked it

Shelves: george-wythe-college

it's amazing to read a book from so long ago that is so exquisitely detailed about what's going to happen in the future. tocqueville follows democracy through to its most minute consequences and sets forth warnings. many sections of this book were very dense for me, but it was still enjoyable. mostly i appreciated the warning of the gentle power that will eventually permeate from the government throughout all society into the individuals until they become unmotivated to exercise their moral agen ...more

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Oct 05, 2016 Norman Cook rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: newsweek-top-100-books, e-book

This second volume is much more of a generic philosophical treatise than the first volume that dealt with the nuts and bolts of the structure of U.S. government. As such, it didn't have as much punch or relevance of the first volume. This volume is divided into two main sections: Section I: Influence of Democracy on the Action of Intellect in The United States. Section 2: Influence of Democracy on the Feelings of Americans.

Here are some quotes I thought were particularly interesting:

"It must nev ...more

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Apr 18, 2019 Ken Ryu rated it really liked it

In the first volume, Tocqueville frames the politics, geography and people of the United States. In the second volume, he pontificates on how the freedom and equality loving Americans differ from their European counterparts. He extends numerous theories, most of them sound, regarding the unique character of Americans and how the democracy has lead to some surprising and some anticipated outcomes.

He talks about religion, community, industry, society, military, materialism, and revolution. With a In the first volume, Tocqueville frames the politics, geography and people of the United States. In the second volume, he pontificates on how the freedom and equality loving Americans differ from their European counterparts. He extends numerous theories, most of them sound, regarding the unique character of Americans and how the democracy has lead to some surprising and some anticipated outcomes.

He talks about religion, community, industry, society, military, materialism, and revolution. With all the freedoms granted to Americans, American are very rule-abiding. In this Tocqueville attributes to the devoutly Christian attitude of most Americans. Rather than being limited by governmental regulations, Americans conform to Christian morality and therefore self-regulate their behavior against antisocial behavior. Tocqueville equivocates on this question. He ponders whether Americans inherently desire a social fabric where morality tempers bad behavior and therefore turn to Christianity, or whether Americans would be deeply religious regardless of the form of government of the country. In their less religious European counterparts, the more restrictive government rules serve to control the population from anarchy. Tocqueville leans towards the counter intuitive theory that because Americans have less civil rules, they gravitate towards a more religious nature.

He spends much time on American's love of equality. He argues that American love equality even more than freedom. Equality, unlike the class and caste system of European countries, creates a curious dynamic among fellow citizens. In England, where social classes are firmly established, the interactions among upper class and servant classes are well known and easy to adhere too. In the United States, the equality among citizens make social interaction unstructured and often uncomfortable. Whereas a servant is an appendage of his master's estate in England, none such relations exist among employers and employees in America. In England, a servant and master have a close patriarchal relationship, whereas American workers and bosses trade on monetary agreements and lack that bond.

In Europe, class and title are paramount. In the United States, as no class system is formalized, American instead seek monetary gains to establish their credentials. The quest for riches drives Americans to work hard and industriously. The distinction of bettering one self is financially based in America. Tocqueville observes the materialism and monetary drive that is uniquely American.

Tocqueville notes that a high percentage of Americans are land owners, and therefore desirous to hold onto their property. Revolution and wars are antithetical to the stability and status quo. Americans are want to seek peace and reject revolutionary appeals that may threaten their coveted property and materials.

This volume is not as interesting or informative as the first. On the plus side, it is more speculative and detailed. Tocqueville shows his intelligence, knowledge of political science, and well-considered deductions to show how democracy has shaped the actions, goals, interactions and value systems of Americans. With the unique opportunities, Christian heritage and land-rich aspects of the country, Tocqueville is careful not to assume that all democracies will function like that of the United States. He does his best to distinguish which aspects are likely uniquely American and which are likely universal outcomes of a democratic society. At times he admires, other times he disdains, and sometimes he marvels at America and Americans. Tocqueville offers a fair, thorough and well-written assessment of the American experiment. Certainly exhaustive, but a well-crafted work that will endure. ...more

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May 17, 2009 Christy Peterson rated it liked it

Shelves: freedom

I don’t know if I can be as forgiving as others have been in responding to Democracy in America. Tocqueville’s Volume 2 is filled with distracting, generalizing statements comparing an aristocracy to a democracy, amassing every American into unfavorable observations. I have read some book reviews that change how Tocqueville worded his comparisons into a less absolute manner, letting him get away with all of his inflexible, degrading statements. I found that I was so annoyed with his judgments th I don’t know if I can be as forgiving as others have been in responding to Democracy in America. Tocqueville’s Volume 2 is filled with distracting, generalizing statements comparing an aristocracy to a democracy, amassing every American into unfavorable observations. I have read some book reviews that change how Tocqueville worded his comparisons into a less absolute manner, letting him get away with all of his inflexible, degrading statements. I found that I was so annoyed with his judgments that I would almost miss his observations that have merit. I suppose that I need to change how I read his report, and then I can concede that valuable introspective questions can be gleaned and a great examination can take place. Is this why this book is so revered, people are already doing this without objection?

What kind of aristocratic world was Tocqueville living in? The only place I have heard of a devout aristocracy is in my core book. In those societies, everyone was raised up to an “aristocratic” level, all being equal and having abundance. Indeed, the kind of aristocracy Tocqueville describes sounds like the translated city of Enoch, and I am sure he didn’t have first hand experience there. Are there really any forms of government that stay free of corruption outside of religious texts? Like Madison observed in Federalist Paper 10, the same freedom that allows free men, allows men to form factions. This freedom allows for degeneration and conversely allows acceleration, inventions and improvement. Yes, there were (and still are) bad effects of democracy for Tocqueville to observe, because there is human nature and people are free to choose to do selfish and shortsighted things. Those effects and people aren’t universal in the United States, but sadly, the number it is becoming far more than is healthy.

Tocqueville couldn’t foresee the result of democracy and its related free market effects on science, inventions, and manufacturing so early, but they were starting to manifest. Many of his conclusions are thus outdated and even laughable as I type this on my computer. The 5000 Year Leap explains this principle beautifully; the proof that democracy and free markets work is the amount of progress we have made in the last 200 years compared to the last 5000.

A chapter without Tocqueville’s annoying comparisons was Chapter 14 in Book 2, How the Taste for Physical Gratification is United in America to Love of Freedom and Attention to Public Affairs. In this chapter he gives warnings about being so caught up in day to day living and enjoyments that education wanes, preoccupation with the fun things in life distracts attention from government and that lack of government involvement results in loss of freedom. We have seen some of these results already and are suffering its consequences. Still many of the American people aren’t alert to governmental proceedings and corruption.

I know I need to reread this classic in a different light, one that is not so provoked and to give more consideration to Tocqueville’s train of thought and conclusions. I think that half the reason I resented his judgments was because they neatly pigeonholed the American people into behaviors that we can’t escape from, taking away our freedom to act differently. However, I grudgingly admit that I am not free of generalizing judgments…yet.
...more

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Jan 23, 2017 Alex Zakharov rated it it was amazing

It is impossible to do this book enough justice and I posit that if you haven’t read it, then no matter how high your expectations are you will be blown away nonetheless, just as I was. The depth and breadth of the ideas, number of subjects, and the quality of writing makes you take a step back and realize how pedestrian in comparison most of political and sociological writing and thinking is, no matter how serious or well-reviewed.

The rest are really just notes to self, don’t bother reading th ...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Mara rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Now I need to read more about de Tocqueville and critiques of his theory. I have tentative criticisms of his main tenets - mostly questions that I hope someone else might have noticed and studied for me. Perhaps I missed this section, but did he address how the despot produced by equality and democracy interacts with the other branches of our government? I suppose he would say that even if we begin with those three branches checking power, eventually the executive branch will dominate.

And then, ...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Those Interested in American History and Political Science

Shelves: philosophy, political, classics, history, non-fiction

De Tocqueville said the first volume of Democracy in America was more about America, the second more about democracy. The introduction by Mansfield and Winthrop, the translators and editors of the edition I read, called it both the best book on America and the best on democracy. The first volume was a popular bestseller in its day, the second a more modest success, and I can understand that. I rated the first volume five stars, this volume is getting quite a bit lower. It's still well worth read ...more

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May 14, 2012 L.M. Smith rated it it was amazing

This book was required reading for my political science class in college but, to my surprise, I found it absolutely fascinating. Alexis de Tocqueville was a Frenchman who visited America shortly after the ratification of the United States Constitution and wrote Democracy In America vol. 1 praising our nation for it's determination, work ethic, and politics. He revisited the country some time later and wrote this book to express troublesome changes that he witnessed from one visit to the next and ...more

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Jan 17, 2014 Jeremy Egerer rated it it was amazing

Easily one of the six greatest secular books I've ever read. Somehow predicted the rise of socialism and the nanny state, the disappearance of truly great men from the political scene, the concentration of governmental power and its broadness of scope, the rise and dangers of the modern corporation and the mass-media, and the ever-shrinking individual amidst an increasingly dominant equality. Nobody has ever written such powerful and insightful social commentary with such force: Tocqueville is a ...more

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Oct 28, 2017 Dardan rated it really liked it

From chapter 9:

"Christianity tells us, it is true, that you must prefer others to self in order to gain heaven; but Christianity also tells us that you must do good to your fellows out of love of God. That is a magnificent thought; man, using his intellect, penetrates divine thought; he sees that the purpose of God is order; he associates with this great design out of volition, and even while sacrificing his particular interests to this admirable order of all things, he expects no other recompe ...more

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Jul 24, 2018 Frank rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: americana, favorites

One of the best books that I've ever read although it took me quite some time to read it. What started out was an examination of the prison system of the U.S. turned into an examination and observation about the political system of the United States and why it seems to work so well here and why it may not when attempted to other countries. He also warns the U.S. that we should be careful lest our democratic system become an oligarchy. It's pretty much about what makes the political system that w ...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Bob G rated it liked it

Shelves: top100

In the first volume, the author described what he saw in the American people and system of government.

In this volume he generalizes more about the future (from his point of view) and centers his thoughts about "democratic ages". He tries to relate the American experience to France. I can understand why he did that, and, if I were steeped in French history, I could probably relate much better to what he was saying. But I am not, and don't. ...more

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Aug 14, 2017 John Yelverton rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was an absolutely fantastic read in which de Tocqueville focus more on the social aspects of the great American experiment than the governmental ones. His observations are amazing and uncanny in their accuracy nearly two hundred years after this book was written. You will be amazed and glad you read this work.

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Sep 07, 2015 Alethea Hammer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I loved this book because it is a clear window back in time. His observations about human nature under different political systems is interesting, but sometimes debatable. His predictions for the future of the Union probably would have been correct except for the Civil War.

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Oct 03, 2015 Alexis rated it really liked it

7: Brilliant, incisive and still very relevant.

"if I am asked how we should account for the unusual prosperity and growing strength of this nation, I would reply that they must be attributed to the superiority of their women." ...more

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Jul 16, 2020 Natnael M rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 07, 2020 Greg rated it really liked it

Since June of this year I have been nightly nibbling away at Tocqueville's fascinating "take" on the United States of 1831-32, first finishing volume one a few months ago and, last night, volume two.

Although they are now often, as in the version published by the Library of America, as one book, they were written roughly four years apart: volume one appearing in 1835 and the second in 1840.

Although most of the data Tocqueville cites are long out-of-date, the observations about American life -- cu Since June of this year I have been nightly nibbling away at Tocqueville's fascinating "take" on the United States of 1831-32, first finishing volume one a few months ago and, last night, volume two.

Although they are now often, as in the version published by the Library of America, as one book, they were written roughly four years apart: volume one appearing in 1835 and the second in 1840.

Although most of the data Tocqueville cites are long out-of-date, the observations about American life -- culture, thought, inclinations, etc. -- and some of the predictions he makes for this country in the future are not.

In the last chapter of volume one, for example, he includes a long chapter discussing how Native Americans and Black people have been treated in America, and it is not a flattering read. He and his traveling companion hated the institution of slavery and found its glaring contradiction to the professed ideals of the American Republic astounding. He also predicted that while slavery would someday inevitably fade away, the tensions of the long injustices done to Blacks would long remain.

In volume two, while discussing the likelihood of future "revolutions" in America, he observes that revolutions do not result from societies that practice equality but, rather, those that practice some form of inequality. "If," he cautions, "American ever experiences great revolutions, they will be brought on by the presence of Blacks on the soil of the United States: in other words, they will result not from equality of conditions but, on the contrary, from inequality."

In volume two, he returns frequently to what he sees as one of the most distinctive qualities of Americans -- their individualism. In volume one he had warned that excessive individualism, if it was allowed to crowd out or smother an appropriate concern for the larger needs of the whole, would lead to a crumbling of democracy. In this volume he returns to that theme, and talks more extensively about the pursuit of self-interest -- PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD (his words) -- would balance the pursuit of individual goals with those of the commonwealth. One of the brakes on excessive individualism, he believed, was the influence of religion (meaning Christianity) since its moral precepts stressed the importance of caring for others. However, as he had warned in volume one, if religious bodies began to intrude on specific matters of the state -- by, for instance, instructing their congregations on whom to vote for -- they would lose their broader positive interest on the broader society even as they perhaps gained a tighter hold on their congregants. Should this latter occur, this all-important brake on excessive individualism would be severely weakened. It appears to me that this fear has been realized in our own time, and the ethical rot that is so widespread among office-holders today is but one consequence.

He also foresaw the danger of "great industry." Clearly, the vigor of American manufacturing and scientific inventions and rapid advances in technology were one of the reasons that so many Americans were able to live in relative equality (economic and social). However, he anticipated the marshaling of ever-greater combinations of industry that would not only acquire significant power but also weighs ever more heavily on workers. "Thus," he writes, "as industrial science steadily debases the class of workers, it raises the class of masters."

He also anticipated -- imperfectly, of course, for he is writing almost 200 years ago now -- the rise of omnipotent states and the consequent loss of true freedom by citizens. "I am trying to imagine what new features despotism might have in today's world," he writes. "I see an innumerable host of men, all alike and equal, endlessly hastening after petty and vulgar pleasure with which they fill their souls. Each of them, withdrawn into himself, is virtually a stranger to the fate of all the others. For him, his children and personal friends comprise the entire human race. As for the remainder of his fellow citizens, he lives alongside them but does not see them. He touches them but does not feel them. He exists only in himself and for himself, and if he still has a family, he no longer has a country.

"Over these men stands an immense tutelary power, which assumes sole responsibility for securing their pleasure and watching over their fate. It is absolute, meticulous, regular, provident, and mild. It would resemble paternal authority if only its purpose were the same, namely, to prepare men for manhood. But on the contrary, it seeks only to keep them in childhood irrevocably."

This strikes me as a remarkably prescient view of the reality of what happens to those citizens who give all agency to some "leader" or "movement" for, once having done that, all real thinking and assessing by those citizens is shunted aside, making room for the incorporation of what "their leader" says and believes and asserts. We saw this sad phenomenon many times in the 20th century and, as should be very clear by now and in the United States of America, too, it still lives in the 21st century.

Tocqueville's two volumes make for fascinating reading, much of it still of worth today. ...more

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Feb 07, 2008 Courtney rated it really liked it

A prophetic book about the mindset of Americans -- including their virtues and potential vices.

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May 06, 2009 Jacqueline rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a hard and wonderful book. I loved it. This Frenchman in 1840 could see the very soul of men 150 years ahead of his time.

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Nov 21, 2009 Jonathan added it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, politics

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Feb 17, 2010 Dan Markham added it · review of another edition

Knocked this one off over breakfast

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Sep 11, 2010 Mischke rated it really liked it

read at St. John's College ...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Leah added it · review of another edition

Shelves: masters-reading-list

An interesting look at 19th century American culture . . .

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Nov 03, 2015 Markus rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-fictions

Very interesting book

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Nov 21, 2015 Dmitry D Tankov rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great work

Great classic read! Highly recommend to anyone interested in history and politics. So many things described in this masterpiece are true today as well.

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Dec 22, 2016 Reenah rated it really liked it

Definitely worth reading.

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Jul 21, 2019 Amy rated it really liked it

This man was more accurate than he ever realized. I highly recommend this book. I found myself highlighting pages and writing in comments. I wonder how Tocqueville would view us today.

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Jan 29, 2020 Derek rated it it was amazing

This guy gets it.

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About Alexis de Tocqueville

Alexis de Tocqueville

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Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville (July 29, 1805 – April 16, 1859) was a French political thinker and historian best known for his Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes: 1835 and 1840) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both of these works, he explored the effects of the rising equality of social conditions on the individual and the state in western societies.

Democr Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville (July 29, 1805 – April 16, 1859) was a French political thinker and historian best known for his Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes: 1835 and 1840) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both of these works, he explored the effects of the rising equality of social conditions on the individual and the state in western societies.

Democracy in America (1835), his major work, published after his travels in the United States, is today considered an early work of sociology and political science. An eminent representative of the classical liberal political tradition, Tocqueville was an active participant in French politics, first under the July Monarchy (1830–1848) and then during the Second Republic (1849–1851) which succeeded to the February 1848 Revolution. He retired from political life after Louis Napoléon Bonaparte's December 2, 1851 coup, and thereafter began work on The Old Regime and the Revolution, Volume I. After obtaining a law degree, Alexis de Tocqueville was named auditor-magistrate at the court of Versailles. There, he met Gustave de Beaumont, a prosecutor substitute, who collaborated with him on various literary works. Both were sent to the United States to study the penitentiary system. During this trip, they wrote Du système pénitentiaire aux Etats-Unis et de son application (1832). Back in France, Tocqueville became a lawyer. He met the English economist Nassau William Senior in 1833, and they became good friends and corresponded for many years.[1] He published his master-work, De la démocratie en Amérique, in 1835. The success of this work, an early model for the science that would become known as sociology, led him to be named chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) in 1837, and to be elected the next year to the Académie des sciences morales et politiques. In 1841 he was elected to the Académie française.

Tocqueville, who despised the July Monarchy (1830–1848), began his political career in the same period. Thus, he became deputy of the Manche department (Valognes), a position which he maintained until 1851. In parliament, he defended abolitionist views and upheld free trade, while supporting the colonization of Algeria carried on by Louis-Philippe's regime. Tocqueville was also elected general counsellor of the Manche in 1842, and became the president of the department's conseil général between 1849 and 1851.

Apart from Canada, Tocqueville also made an observational tour of England, producing Memoir on Pauperism. In 1841 and 1846, he traveled to Algeria. His first travel inspired his Travail sur l'Algérie, in which he criticized the French model of colonization, based on an assimilationist view, preferring instead the British model of indirect rule, which did not mix different populations together. He went as far as openly advocating racial segregation between the European colonists and the "Arabs" through the implementation of two different legislative systems (a half century before its effective implementation with the 1881 Indigenous code).

After the fall of the July Monarchy during the February 1848 Revolution, Tocqueville was elected a member of the Constituent Assembly of 1848, where he became a member of the Commission charged with the drafting of the new Constitution of the Second Republic (1848–1851). He defended bicameralism (two parliamentary chambers) and the election of the President of the Republic by universal suffrage. As the countryside was thought to be more conservative than the laboring population of Paris, universal suffrage was conceived as a means to block the revolutionary spirit of Paris.

During the Second Republic, Tocqueville sided with the parti de l'Ordre against the "socialists" and workers. A few days after the February insurrection, he believed a violent clash between the workers' population agitating in favor of a "Democratic and Social Republic" and ...more

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“When the taste for physical gratifications among them has grown more rapidly than their education . . . the time will come when men are carried away and lose all self-restraint . . . . It is not necessary to do violence to such a people in order to strip them of the rights they enjoy; they themselves willingly loosen their hold. . . . they neglect their chief business which is to remain their own masters.” — 146 likes

“It would seem as if the rulers of our time sought only to use men in order to make things great; I wish that they would try a little more to make great men; that they would set less value on the work and more upon the workman; that they would never forget that a nation cannot long remain strong when every man belonging to it is individually weak; and that no form or combination of social polity has yet been devised to make an energetic people out of a community of pusillanimous and enfeebled citizens.” — 34 likes

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