![]() ![]() In this excerpt from Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville warns of the dangers of democracy when the majority will can turn to tyranny: Indeed, Tocqueville described a new type of tyranny, the tyranny of the majority, which overpowers the will of minorities and individuals and was, in his view, unleashed by democracy in the United States. A great deal of the social revolution of democracy, however, carried negative consequences. In analyzing the democratic revolution in the United States, he wrote that the major benefit of democracy came in the form of equality before the law. He wrote and published his findings in 18 in a two-part work entitled Democracy in America. Tocqueville’s experience led him to believe that democracy was an unstoppable force that would one day overthrow monarchy around the world. Théodore Chassériau painted this portrait of Alexis de Tocqueville in 1850 (b). The first English translation, by Henry Reeve and titled Democracy in America (a), was published in New York in 1838. The first volume of Tocqueville’s two-volume work was immediately popular throughout Europe. Alexis de Tocqueville is best known for his insightful commentary on American democracy found in De la démocratie en Amérique. ![]()
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