Alexis de Tocqueville
French diplomat and thinker who analyzed democracy and revolution.
Alexis de Tocqueville, a French diplomat, political thinker, and historian, lived from 1805 to 1859. He is most famous for writing *Democracy in America*, published in two parts in 1835 and 1840, and *The Old Regime and the Revolution*, released in 1856. In these books, he examined how people lived, their social conditions, and their connections to markets and governments in Western societies. *Democracy in America* came out of his time traveling in the United States and is now seen as an early example of sociology and political science.
Tocqueville was involved in French politics during the July Monarchy (1830–1848) and later the Second Republic (1849–1851), which began after the February 1848 Revolution. He left political life following Louis Napoléon Bonaparte’s coup on December 2, 1851, and then started work on *The Old Regime and the Revolution*. In that book, he argued that the French Revolution’s main role was to push forward the modernization and centralization of the French state that had started under King Louis XIV. He thought the Revolution failed because its deputies lacked experience and were too attached to abstract Enlightenment ideas.
A classical liberal, Tocqueville supported parliamentary government and was wary of the dangers of majority rule. In parliament, he started on the centre-left and later moved to the centre-right. The restless and complex nature of his liberalism has led people across the political spectrum to interpret him in different ways. For instance, *Democracy in America* was read as a liberal work in France and the United States, while in the British Isles both progressives and conservatives claimed it supported their own views.
Tocqueville came from an old aristocratic Norman family. He was the great-grandson of Malesherbes, a statesman executed in 1793. His father, Hervé Louis François Jean Bonaventure Clérel, Count of Tocqueville, had been an officer in King Louis XVI’s Constitutional Guard, and his mother was Louise Madeleine Le Peletier de Rosanbo. Both parents narrowly avoided the guillotine themselves when Robespierre fell in 1794. During the Bourbon Restoration, Tocqueville’s father became a noble peer and a prefect. Tocqueville attended the Lycée Fabert in Metz.
He began his political career in 1839, despite despising the July Monarchy. From 1839 to 1851, he represented the Manche department in the lower hou
- born
- 29 July 1805
- died
- 16 April 1859
- field
- Political philosophy, history, sociology
- nationality
- French
- known_for
- Democracy in America, The Old Regime and the Revolution
Lore & Background
Tocqueville came from an old aristocratic Norman family and was the great-grandson of Malesherbes, who was guillotined in 1793. He was the third son of Hervé Louis François Jean Bonaventure Clérel, Count of Tocqueville, an officer of the Constitutional Guard of King Louis XVI, and Louise Madeleine Le Peletier de Rosanbo. Under the Bourbon Restoration, his father became a noble peer and prefect. Tocqueville attended the Lycée Fabert in Metz.
Tocqueville despised the July Monarchy and began his political career in 1839, serving as a member of the lower house for the Manche department until 1851. He sat on the centre-left, defended abolitionist views, upheld free trade, and supported the colonisation of Algeria. In 1847 he sought to found a Young Left party to advocate wage increases and progressive taxes. After the 1848 Revolution, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly, defended bicameralism and universal suffrage, and sided with the Party of Order against socialists. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from June to October 1849 and supported laws restricting political freedoms to maintain order.
Opposed to Louis Napoléon Bonaparte's 1851 coup, Tocqueville was among deputies who attempted to resist and have Napoleon III judged for high treason. Detained and released, he quit political life and retreated to his castle, where he began work on The Old Regime and the Revolution, publishing the first tome in 1856.
Reader's Guide
Tocqueville's significance lies in his analysis of democracy and revolution, which shaped political thought in France, the United States, and Britain. Democracy in America was interpreted differently across national contexts: as liberal in France and the United States, while both progressives and conservatives in the British Isles saw it as supporting their own positions. His work The Old Regime and the Revolution argued that the French Revolution continued the modernizing and centralizing process begun under Louis XIV, and that its failure stemmed from deputies' inexperience and attachment to abstract Enlightenment ideals.
Tocqueville was a classical liberal who advocated parliamentary government and was sceptical of majoritarianism. His complex liberalism led to contrasting interpretations across the political spectrum. During his political career, he supported order as necessary for stable liberty, even backing restrictions on freedoms during crises. His active support for laws limiting political freedoms in 1849 contrasts with his defense of freedoms in Democracy in America. Biographer Joseph Epstein noted that Tocqueville could not serve a man he considered a usurper and despot, and fought for political liberty through his writings after retiring from politics.
Did You Know?
- Tocqueville was the great-grandson of Malesherbes, who was guillotined in 1793.
- He traveled to the United States in 1831 to examine prisons, which led to Democracy in America.
- He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from June to October 1849.
- He was among deputies who attempted to resist Louis Napoléon Bonaparte's 1851 coup.
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