Démocratie en Amérique, De la. Study by Tocqueville, published in two vols. (1835, 1840) after a year's visit to America. Tocqueville describes the constitutional form of the state, the major political institutions (parties, press, etc.), the legal system, and the way that democratic rule operates. He emphasizes the customs and culture which in his view underpin American political and economic success, and in particular the combination of robust individualism with a tradition of cohesive and effective organization. He points out the defects of American society, especially its corruption, conformism, and racism, but argues that its liberal virtues of freedom, equality, and democracy hold lessons for France. The work was enormously successful both in France and in the United States.
— Michael Kelly
