What did Alexis de Tocqueville think Americans?

As “Democracy in America” revealed, Tocqueville believed that equality was the great political and social idea of his era, and he thought that the United States offered the most advanced example of equality in action.

What did de Tocqueville criticized the US for?

De Tocqueville leveled some of his sharpest criticism against American political leaders themselves. He became convinced that outstanding men avoided elected office in order to pursue their private ambitions and careers. Those who did seek public office, he believed, were often poorly educated and open to corruption.

What did Tocqueville say was the greatest danger to American democracy?

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville is universally regarded as one of the most influential books ever written about America. The greatest danger Tocqueville saw was that public opinion would become an all-powerful force, and that the majority could tyrannize unpopular minorities and marginal individuals.

Where is Tocqueville buried?

Tocqueville cemetery
Alexis de Tocqueville/Place of burial

What did Tocqueville mean by in America I saw more than America?

“I confess,” he wrote, “that in America I saw more than America; I sought the image of democracy itself, with its inclinations, its character, its prejudices, and its passions, in order to learn what we have to fear or hope from its progress.” This feature examines Tocqueville’s argument that the “great democratic …

What did James Madison mean by tyranny of the majority?

The tyranny of the majority (or tyranny of the masses) is an inherent weakness to majority rule in which the majority of an electorate pursues exclusively its own objectives at the expense of those of the minority factions.

What is Tocqueville known for?

Alexis de Tocqueville, (born July 29, 1805, Paris, France—died April 16, 1859, Cannes), political scientist, historian, and politician, best known for Democracy in America, 4 vol. (1835–40), a perceptive analysis of the political and social system of the United States in the early 19th century.

What did de Tocqueville warn?

Tocqueville warned that modern democracy may be adept at inventing new forms of tyranny because radical equality could lead to the materialism of an expanding bourgeoisie and to the selfishness of individualism.

What did Alexis de Tocqueville admire most about America when he visited here in 1831 what caused him worries?

Terms in this set (12) What did Alexis de Tocqueville admire most about America when he visited here in 1831? Alexis de Tocqueville most admired the democracy of America, and the ability for Americans to be free of designations of class, and the ease in which one could acquire a fortune.

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