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Volume 1, Chapter 1-5

• Alexis de Tocqueville wrote "Democracy in America" after a nine-month long exploratory voyage to the United States in 1830.

• The book looks at the political and sociological aspects of American democracy and compares it to the aristocratic regimes of Europe (France and England).

• De Tocqueville uses his writings to warn against the possible downsides of democracy, including extension of the principle of equality too far and the possibility for tyranny of the majority.

• De Tocqueville starts with a history of the establishment of the first colonies in Virginia (early 1600s) and how these settlers were mostly people seeking fortunes.

• This is contrasted to the Northern settlers who were Puritans, political refugees, seeking a base to develop a society according to their morals.

• Both the Northern and Southern settlers organized their communities independent of the English government.

• In the North, the legislators blended the Biblical code of...

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