- 01Equality of conditions as the central fact
- 02Democracy as a providential historical movement
- 03Democracy’s haphazard rise in France
- 04Aristocratic society’s former balance
- 05Democratic society’s promised advantages
- 06Losses and contradictions of the transition
- 07Religion, liberty, and the confusion of parties
- 08America as the model of democratic development
- 09Purpose, method, and evidence in the study of America
- 10Limits of the work and its impartial aim
- 01Two great regions of North America
- 02Mississippi Valley and its tributaries
- 03Atlantic coast, English colonies, and contrast with South America
- 04Forests, prairies, and Native tribes
- 05Indigenous character and social equality
- 06Traces of a vanished earlier people
- 07North America as a future nation
- 01Utility of studying national origins
- 02America as a visible starting-point of society
- 03Colonization of Virginia and New England
- 01Common origins of the American colonies
- 02Virginia and the Southern colonies
- 03New England and the Puritan settlement
- 04Departure from Leyden and landing at Plymouth
- 05The Mayflower compact and New England settlement
- 01Colonial charters and self-government in New England
- 02The Connecticut Code of 1650 and Puritan moral regulation
- 01New England’s political institutions and township independence
- 02Social welfare, roads, records, and public education
- 03Europe contrasted with New England liberty
- 04Religion and liberty in Anglo-American civilization
- 05Puritanical and English origins in Anglo-American anomalies
- 01Democratic social condition of the Anglo-Americans
- 02Effects of equal inheritance on property and families
- 03Western settlements and the absence of society
- 04Uniformity of education and intellectual life
- 01Social equality and the decline of aristocratic influence
- 02Political consequences of democratic equality
- 03Sovereignty of the people in America
- 01Sovereignty of the people in America
- 02Expansion of the elective qualification
- 01Necessity of examining the States before the Union
- 02The township as the first political association
- 01Municipal freedom and local assemblies
- 02New England township as a political division
- 01Township power and the Selectmen
- 02Town-meeting and municipal officers
- 01Municipal independence and the sovereignty of the people
- 02New England townships and their relation to the State
- 01Public spirit and township independence
- 02Local participation and civic habits
- 01County government and judicial administration
- 02Administration in New England
- 01Absence of a centralized administration
- 02Township and municipal administration in New England
- 03County authority and limited central oversight
- 01Judicial penalties and elected magistrates
- 01Justices of the Peace and the Court of Sessions
- 02Enforcing township obedience and officer duties
- 03Inspection, prosecution, and private informers
- 01Differences in state administration
- 02Election of officers and judicial control
- 03Centralizing tendencies in New York
- 01The State and the Government
- 01Division of the legislature into Senate and House of Representatives
- 01Governor's executive role and powers
- 02Central government versus local administration
- 03Effects of local administration in America
- 04Limits of centralization and the Chinese example
- 05Political effects of local institutions in America
- 06Provincial institutions in a democracy
- 07Provincial liberties as a safeguard against tyranny
- 08Central administration and the French Revolution
- 09America and England as examples of local independence
- 01Judicial power as a political organ
- 02Constitutional review and the American constitution
- 01Judicial censorship of legislation
- 02Right to indict public functionaries
- 03Article 75 of the French Constitution
- 01Definition and European models of political jurisdiction
- 02American impeachment as administrative removal
- 01Weakness of the first union
- 02Drafting and adoption of the federal Constitution
- 01Division of authority between Federal Government and States
- 01Prerogatives of the Federal Government
- 01Federal government and central authority
- 02Legislative powers
- 01Senate and House as a compromise between States and nation
- 01Differences in election, term, and functions of the Senate and House
- 02The executive power and the President's dependence
- 01Legislative encroachment and the presidential veto
- 02Executive power in the United States and France
- 01Executive inferiority to the French king
- 02Accidental causes increasing executive influence
- 01Circumstances that strengthen executive power
- 02Presidential weakness without legislative majority
- 01Dangers of electing a chief magistrate
- 02Limited executive power in the United States
- 03Effects of presidential elections on administration and foreign policy
- 01American safeguards in presidential election
- 02Electoral college and contingent House election
- 01Election as a national crisis
- 02Passions, intrigue, and post-election calm
- 01Arguments for presidential re-election
- 02Re-election as a source of corruption
- 03American legislators and executive independence
- 01Need for a federal judiciary
- 02Why state courts could not serve the Union
- 03Supreme Court and inferior federal courts
- 01Federal court structure and jury system
- 02Determining the jurisdiction of federal courts
- 01Federal jurisdiction and appeals from state courts
- 02Parties that determine federal jurisdiction
- 03Cases arising under federal law and state constitutional limits
- 01Direct prosecution of private individuals
- 02Indirect prosecution of states violating Union laws
- 03Supreme Court decrees and provincial laws
- 01Indirect judicial remedies against state laws
- 02Supreme Court's political authority and national role
- 01Superiority of the Federal Constitution over the State Constitutions
- 01Patriot legislators and the need for restraint
- 02Longer terms and a stronger federal legislature
- 03Bicameral design and executive independence
- 01Federal authority in the United States versus older confederations
- 02An incomplete national government
- 01Small nations and great empires
- 02Federal system in the United States
- 01Complexity and inherent defects of federal government
- 02Weakness of the Union and conflicts between sovereignties
- 03Conditions that made federalism workable in America
- 04Federal weakness in war
- 05Geographical insulation of the United States
- 06Limits and advantages of the federal system
- 01The people as the sovereign power
- 02Majority rule and party influence
- 01Parties in the United States
- 01Great parties and minor parties
- 02Federalists and Republicans
- 03Local controversies and party-making
- 01Secret aristocratic opposition within democracy
- 02Wealthy citizens' private luxury and public condescension
- 01Limits of restraining the press
- 02Press freedom and popular sovereignty
- 03Why American journals are less powerful
- 04American journalists and public order
- 05The press as a force in political life
- 06Liberty of the press and durable opinions
- 07Scepticism, conviction, and political attachment
- 01Political associations and representative bodies
- 02The tariff convention of 1831
- 03Political association as a safeguard against majority tyranny
- 01Political associations as checks on tyranny
- 02American minority associations and universal suffrage
- 03European military-style associations versus American civil forms
- 01Universal suffrage in America
- 02Choice of the people and instinctive preferences of the American democracy
- 01Great dangers and the rise of distinguished leaders
- 02Intelligence, manners, and regional differences in democratic choice
- 03Laws that improve democratic selections
- 01Indirect election through elected bodies
- 02Frequent elections and political instability
- 01Instability of laws in democracy
- 02Simple exterior of American public officers
- 03Paid offices and the absence of a political career
- 01Arbitrary power of magistrates in democracies and despotisms
- 02Limited monarchies and legal restraints on public officers
- 01Instability of the Administration in the United States
- 01Three social classes and taxation
- 02Democratic rule and rising public expenditure
- 03Why democracy becomes expensive
- 01Democratic parsimony in public salaries
- 02Comparison of American and French salary scales
- 01Parsimonious conduct of democracy
- 02Difficulty of distinguishing the causes of American economy
- 01Limits of comparing public expenditure
- 02Practical obstacles to measuring taxation
- 03Why American burdens are lighter than French burdens
- 04American government is useful but expensive
- 01Corruption and vices of democratic rulers
- 01Democratic morality and the rise of power
- 02Sustained effort in democratic republics
- 01Democratic governments and short-term impulses
- 02American democracy's resistance to beneficial laws
- 03Experience, reform, and the limits of self-correction
- 01Washington and Jefferson's foreign policy maxims
- 02Democratic weakness in foreign relations
- 03French Revolution and Washington's neutrality
- 04Aristocratic steadiness in world affairs
- 01Democracy as a form of government
- 02General tendency of democratic laws
- 03Democratic magistrates and the majority's interests
- 04Aristocratic government and class interests
- 01Instinctive patriotism and reflective patriotism
- 02American civic zeal and private interest
- 01How rights are taught through property and participation
- 02The notion of rights as the basis of virtue and society
- 03Democracy, political rights, and the apprenticeship of liberty
- 01Respect of the Americans for the law
- 01Law-obedience in democracy
- 02Political activity and social intercourse in the United States
- 03Democracy’s indirect benefits and limits
- 01Natural and artificial strength of the majority
- 02Moral authority and respect for majority rule
- 01Mutability of laws under majority rule
- 02Effects on administration and public projects
- 03Prison reform and neglected old jails
- 01Sovereignty of the majority and the law of justice
- 02The impossibility of mixed government
- 03The danger of unlimited democratic power in the United States
- 01Majority prejudice against free blacks
- 02Limits of democratic government and public officers' arbitrary power
- 01Majority control over magistrates and public officers
- 02Majority power over opinion and discussion
- 03Social penalties for dissent in America
- 01Literary genius and public opinion
- 02Majority tyranny and the national character
- 03Courting favor in democratic republics
- 01Unlimited Power of the Majority
- 01Centralized government versus centralized administration
- 02Townships and counties as checks on majority power
- 03Danger of democratic despotism with centralized habits
- 01Lawyers as a counterpoise to democracy
- 02English and American legal precedent
- 03English and American legal habits
- 01Trial by jury as a political institution
- 02Civil jury and national character
- 03Civil jury as civic education
- 04Judicial authority and the jury's political effect
- 01Absence of neighbors and military glory
- 02Accidental and providential causes
- 03No metropolis and city dangers
- 04Empty continent and settlement of the West
- 05Temporal prosperity and westward migration
- 01Division of property and westward emigration
- 02American restlessness and the frontier
- 03Passions that sustain the republics
- 01Prosperity, order, and political habits
- 01Federal constitutions, municipal institutions, and judicial power
- 02Manners as a cause of republican stability
- 03Religion as a political institution in America
- 01Religion and political opinion in America
- 02Catholicism, equality, and democracy
- 03Clergy and republican institutions
- 01Christian morality and the influence of religion on manners
- 02Religion as a restraint on innovation and political imagination
- 03Religion as a political institution in republican America
- 01Separation of Church and State in America
- 02Religion as a natural human hope
- 03Why political alliances weaken religion
- 04Religion’s durability in democratic republics
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Democracy in America
by Alexis de Tocqueville · 1835 · 15 chapters · 24/7 tutor
Democracy, equality, civil society, and institutions.
15Chapters
230Lessons
644Topics
Certificate of completion included
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
Skills this course leaves you with.
- Explain Tocqueville’s core ideas about democracy and equality in America
- Analyze how civil society, associations, and the press shape democratic life
- Describe the structure and powers of local, state, and federal institutions
- Compare the roles of the executive, legislature, judiciary, and federal courts in the United States
- Assess how sovereignty, parties, and elections influence democratic governance
- Interpret the advantages and limits of the federal system in America
Curriculum
The full table of contents.
Every chapter, every lesson, every topic — laid out before you enroll. Click any chapter to expand it.
- Chapters
- 15
- Lessons
- 230
- Topics
- 644
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01How many chapters are in the Democracy in America course?
The Democracy in America course has 15 chapters, each with its own lessons and topics.
02How many lessons are in the Democracy in America course?
There are 230 lessons across the course, and you can ask your 24/7 tutor about any of them.
03Can I see what the Democracy in America course covers before I start?
Yes. The full curriculum is listed on this page, beginning with "IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. · LONDON: SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, CONDUIT STREET".
04Do I get a certificate for the Democracy in America course?
Yes. Finishing the course earns a personal Cavua certificate of completion.
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