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Democracy in America Study Guide

by Alexis de Tocqueville

Democracy in America study guide contains a biography of Alexis de Tocqueville, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

The project Tocqueville undertook in writing Democracy in America was a highly ambitious one. Having seen the failed attempts at democratic government in his native France, he wanted to study a stable and prosperous democracy to gain insights into how it worked. His studies had led him to conclude that the movement toward democracy and equality of conditions‹while it had progressed the farthest in America‹was a universal phenomenon and a permanent historical tendency that could not be stopped. Since this democratic trend was inevitable, Tocqueville wanted to analyze it in order to determine its strengths and dangers so that governments could be formed to reinforce democracy's strengths while counteracting its weaknesses. Therefore, while…

Read the full Democracy in America Summary

• Democracy in America Summary
• Summary and Analysis of Vol. I, Part 1, Chapters 1-5
• Summary and Analysis of Vol. I, Part 1, Chapters 6-8
• Summary and Analysis of Vol. I, Part 2, Chapters 1-5
• Summary and Analysis of Vol. I, Part 2, Chapters 6-10
• Summary and Analysis of Vol. II, Part 1, Chapters 1-21
• Summary and Analysis of Vol. II, Part 2, Chapters 1-20
• Summary and Analysis of Vol. II, Part 3, Chapters 1-26
• Summary and Analysis of Vol. II, Part 4, Chapters 1-8
• Related Links on Democracy in America
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• Democracy in America: Essays
• Democracy in America: E-Text
• Democracy in America: Questions
• Democracy in America: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• Alexis de Tocqueville: Biography