“The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.” – Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835).
Today we celebrate the works of Alexis de Tocqueville. He was born in France on July 29, 1805 and died on April 16, 1859.
In 1831 he and his lifelong friend, Gustave de Beaumont, visited America. Tocqueville was fascinated with American social and political life because of the difficulties France had developing institutions that favored liberty. When Tocqueville returned to France, he began writing Democracy in America, published in 1835. It is considered to be one of the best accounts of American systems and culture even today.
