Democracy in America. 2 Volume Set

Alexis de Tocqueville; Henry Reeve [Translator]

London : Saunders and Otley, 1835.

2 Volumes. First English edition. xliv, 333p., publisher's advert; map, viii, 462p. Bound in modern 3/4 blue leather. Gilt lettering and tooling to spine. 5 raised bands. Marbled boards. Marbled end pages. Fine binding and cover. Vol. I has a few pages with early 20th century pen underlining, otherwise the set has clean, unmarked pages with minimal tanning. Map is outlined with contemporary hand coloring, and is in very good condition with one small .5" tear at the top edge of border.

English Edition of the First Part of Tocqueville's extremely important and influential analysis of American democracy "one of the most important texts in political literature." (PMM).

Democracy in America is "the first systematic and empirical study of the effects of political power on modern society" (Nisbet). The work originated in a trip commissioned by the French government to study the American penal system in 1831-32. In 1835, the first edition of the first part of the work (Volumes I and II) was published in Paris,--and throughout the intellectual circles of Western Europe both democracy and America took on a new aspect and a new significance in political speculation (NYU, 955).

Overall, Tocqueville's conclusions were that the trend of history would irresistibly lean towards equality; and that the future of France, indeed of the Western world, was bound up with the acceptance of democratic principles, these being the one effective means of avoiding submission to tyranny (Harvey and Heseltine, 711).

The first part of the work was published in French in 1835, the present English edition was issued in the same year and precede the American edition. Tocqueville wrote to Reeve providing a critique of the translation: "Without wishing to do so and by following the instinct of your opinions, you have quite vividly colored what was contrary to Democracy and almost erased what could do harm to Aristocracy." (Letter from Tocqueville to Henry Reeve, October 15, 1839) Volume I with one rear page of ads. Howes T278, 279. Sabin 96062, 96063.