Alexis de Tocqueville

Alexis de Tocqueville on America Alexis de Tocqueville wrote on the young America in his two volume novel , Democracy in America , and critically assessed the lifestyle of the American people . He was a French historian and political activist who observed the American political system and detailed its strengths and weaknesses . He seemed to believe that Americans were a socialist people , who would prefer equality above all else . One prediction that he made was that , in viewing equality as the ultimate imperative , Americans would forego their freedom , and to some extent , that has

been true throughout history . However , Tocqueville did not realize the strength that America would eventually exhibit . The United States became the most powerful empire in the world and has maintained that status for over one hundred years

Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom ' Tocqueville wrote in Democracy in America , after visiting the country in 1831 to document the prison and political systems . Though at the time Americans were not communists or true socialists , it turns out that , particularly in the modern United States , he was on the right track . His best prediction was the one that allowed that Americans will give their liberty away for anything . But to credit him in his prediction , it is necessary not to include the nineteenth and twentieth centuries , as much of what was going on was racially charged , and the actions of many did not have equality as a main...