Democracy in America and Two Essays on America (Penguin Classics)

In 1831 Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat and civil servant, made a nine-month journey through eastern America. The result was Democracy in America, a monumental study of the strengths and weaknesses of the nation's evolving politics. Tocqueville looked to the flourishing democratic system in America as a possible model for post-revolutionary France, believing its egalitarian ideals reflected the spirit of the age - even that they were the will of God. His insightful work has become one of the most influential political texts ever written on America and an indispensable authority for anyone interested in the future of democracy. This volume includes the rarely translated 'Two Weeks in the Wilderness', an evocative account of Tocqueville's travels among the Iroquois and Chippeway, and 'Excursion to Lake Oneida'. This is the only edition that contains all Tocqueville's writings on America, and includes a chronology, further reading and notes. Gerald Bevan's translation is accompanied by an introduction by Isaac Kramnick, which discusses Tocqueville's life and times, and the enduring significance of Democracy in America.