The book begins by reflecting on a “democratic revolution” spreading across the globe, not so much a political revolution - a change in the form of government - but something he regards as more fundamental: a change in social conditions. As a result of this careful study he published the first volume of Democracy in America in 1835, and the second five years later, in 1840. Tocqueville was sent by the French government to America in 1831 in order to inspect the prison systems, but he used his nine-month trip as an occasion to study all aspects of American life. The book’s principal focus is to identify the virtues and vices of democracy so that one might moderate its harmful tendencies. Democracy in America, Tocqueville’s most famous book, is a two-volume work spanning some 700 pages and covering nearly every aspect of American social and political life: the arrival of the Puritans American laws and political institutions the country’s habits, morals, and religious opinions even its arts and sciences. The best book on American democracy is written by a French nobleman, Alexis de Tocqueville. They are part of an ongoing series of talks about why the College includes certain texts in its curriculum. Goyette’s report to the Board of Governors at its February 20 2019, meeting. The following remarks are adapted from Dean John J.
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