Democracy in America summary

One of Tocqueville’s biggest surprises when visiting America was how relatively equal society was – slavery, of course, being a brutal exception. Nonetheless, the level of equality between American citizens was much higher than Tocqueville was used to in aristocratic Europe.

Tocqueville concluded that equality and freedom are aligned and not opposed, as some European scholars thought. By equality, he meant equal social and political conditions. But freedom is actually a type of equality, too. After all, freedom means self-governance, and therefore equality in wielding political power. American democracy allows people to wield equal political power by electing free institutions that represent their will. 

America’s decentralized model of government is a key feature of its democracy. Tocqueville recognized that dividing power among federal, state, and local levels is one of the most important safeguards for democracy. 

This division of authority provides checks against concentrated power, weakening tyranny and despotism. The more these big bodies constrain each other’s realm, the more rights citizens retain.

Coming from Europe, Tocqueville had plenty of experience with overpowered, despotic and tyrannical leaders – whether monarchs or military governments.

The promise of American democracy was that it wouldn’t allow one individual or body to hold that much power. Instead, leaders would be elected to represent the will of the people. But such a system can breed problems of its own. When leaders are elected by majority rule, the majority can become a sort of tyrant too. It can start to restrict the rights of minorities and stamp out independent thought. 

During his tour of America, Tocqueville became a big fan of civic clubs, local organizations and public associations. He thought that these spaces were essential schools for democracy, teaching citizens habits of participation and responsibility. 

In America, citizens form groups for countless purposes – to build churches, hospitals, schools, even prisons. These groups foster a spirit of mutual effort and communal benefit. They demonstrate what people can achieve when they work together.

Tocqueville identified another big threat to American democracy that few were yet willing to address. He recognized that slavery posed an existential threat to America’s democratic experiment. Its injustice directly contradicted founding its ideals of liberty and equality. 

Slavery meant that Black Americans suffered permanent degradation without hopes of integrating. Tocqueville thought that this obvious racial injustice bred dangerous resentment within society.

As a practicing Catholic, Tocqueville was interested in the role of religion in America. He believed that it played a vital part in protecting democracy.

With a focus on eternity, responsibility, and self-sacrifice, religious beliefs can moderate democracy’s materialism and individualism. They also command moral duties that transcend politics, such as respecting minorities. And when citizens are accountable foremost to God, they’re less ready to surrender all power to the government, limiting the state’s domain. 

During his long journey through America, Tocqueville didn’t just think about democracy in the abstract. He met Americans from all kinds of backgrounds, talking to them about their experience, and observing their unique personalities.

A few things struck him about the character of American people. Lacking the aristocracy's fixed classes, he found that American citizens are oriented towards action. The possibility of upward social mobility spurs endless striving. And the belief in equal potential instills faith in indefinite self-improvement. So, Americans are constantly trying to improve their lot.