Alexis De Tocqueville

- Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville

- Was born in 1805 into a family of the old Norman nobility.
- French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher, and historian.
- Best known for his works Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes, 1835 and
1840) and The Old Regime and the
- Revolution (1856).

DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA
- De la Démocratie en Amérique was published in two tomes; the first coming out in 1835
and the next in 1840.
- Over the two volumes of the work, Tocqueville discusses America through the prism of
democracy or the equality of conditions.
- Tocqueville characterizes the social, political, religious, and intellectual habits of the
Americans.
Combatting the effects of individualism
Democracy and the equality of conditions
Soft despotism
Conformity of opinions
Liberty and the tyranny of the majority

THREE ESTATES
THE CLERGY- most powerful among the three / has upper clergy and lower clergy
THE NOBILITY- the next highest level ofthe feudal class system / land owners, military, bankers
THE COMMON FOLKS- the lowest level of feudal class system / peasants and beggars, laborers,
city dwellers

1. Tocqueville argues that the Ancien Regime inadvertently set up the perfect conditions
for the French people to stage for a mass revolt
“The only people they trod underfoot were those they did not see.” - Alexis deTocqueville,
Part 2, Chapter 11

2. He states that a growing public sentiment against religious authority was the first
destabilizing force in France.
His sentiment emerged not because people disliked a government controlled by religion; but
because the church itself was one of the main symbols of the Ancient Regime political and
social system of France prior to the French Revolution.
“theory of continuity” - in which he states that even though the French tried to dissociateN
themselves from the past and from the autocratic old regime, they eventually reverted to a
powerful central government.

3. The French people never desired to throw France into chaos. The uprising swelled
because they desired to constructively reform French society and its political process.

4. Tocqueville settles on no singular reason for the uprising known as the French
Revolution that is so crucial to the beginning of the modern era.