Democracy in America - Anderson Walsh

            Democracy in America was a book written by a French man named Alexis de Tocqueville. He wrote a book about the U.S after witnessing many failed attempts by the French to achieve a democracy. The goal of his studies was to gain information and insight on how democracies function and prosper. He wrote two volumes of the book, the first one was more hopeful and optimistic and it was released in 1835. It focused on the structures of the government and the different institutions that insure a true democracy and freedom. Volume two was released in 1840 and its main focus was the different effects that a democratic system has on individuals, societal norms and thoughts that are present in the country. His main goal in writing these books was to "analyze the functioning of political society and the various forms of political associations, although he also had some reflections on civil society as well as the relations between political and civil society. He ultimately seeks to understand the true nature of American political life and why it was so different from Europe." (Thoughtco.com) The books cover everything from The Constitution and the freedom of the press to the political associations and the consequences of a democratic system of government. They even talk about religion, racism, sexism, science, literature, art and education. In his books he also made predictions about what he thought was going to happen to the U.S in the future. He predicted that the date to abolish slavery would tear apart the United States (Civil War). He also predicted that the U.S and Russia would rise as the two world super powers as they did after WWII. His book was truly gives an interesting insight on what democracy really is in America and its amazing on how he could know so much about our country before it really became the U.S that we know today.