Democracy in America was published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840. It is a classic work on the United States in the 1830s and its strengths and weaknesses as seen from a European point of view. It is also regarded as a pioneering work of sociology. (Summary based on Wikipedia)
Chapters
1
De Tocqueville's Preface To Vol II Read by Sibella Denton 5:15
2
p1c03: Why The Americans Display More Readiness And More Taste For General Ideas Than Their Forefathers, The English; 1.04: Why The Americans Have Never Been So Eager As The French ForGeneral Ideas In Political Matters Read by Leon Mire 15:55
3
1.05: Of The Manner In Which Religion In The United States Avails Itself Of Democratic Tendencies; 1.06: Of The Progress Of Roman Catholicism In The United States Read by Anna Simon 24:22
4
1.07: Of The Cause Of A Leaning To Pantheism Amongst Democratic Nations; 1.08: The Principle of Equality Suggests to the Americans the Idea of the Indefinite Perfectibility of Man Read by Anna Simon 8:23
5
1.09: The Example of the Americans Does Not Prove That a Democratic People Can Have No Aptitude and No Taste for Science, Literature, or Art; 1.10: Why the Americans Are More Addicted to Practical Than to Theoretical Science Read by Anna Simon 31:22
6
1.11: The Spirit in Which the Americans Cultivate the Arts; 1.12: Why the Americans Raise Some Monuments So Insignificant, and Others So Important Read by Sibella Denton 15:33
7
1.13: Literary Characteristics of Democratic Ages; 1.14: The Trade of Literature Read by Sibella Denton 14:47
8
1.15: The Study of Greek and Latin Literature Peculiarly Useful in Democratic Communities; 1.16: The Effect of Democracy on Language Read by Leon Mire 22:12
9
1.17: Some of the Sources of Poetry among Democratic Nations; 1.18: Of the Inflated Style of American Writers and Orators Read by Ralph Volpi 27:03
10
1.19: Some Observations on the Drama amongst Democratic Nations; 1.20: Characteristics of Historians in Democratic Ages Read by Ralph Volpi 29:40
11
1.21: Of Parliamentary Eloquence in the United States Read by Sibella Denton 11:06
12
Part 2: Influence of Democracy on the Feelings of Americans 2.01: Why Democratic Nations Show a More Ardent and Enduring Love of Equality than of Liberty; 2.02: Of Individualism in Democratic Countries Read by Ralph Volpi 20:54
13
2.03: Individualism Stronger at the Close of a Democratic Revolution than at Other Periods; 2.04: That the Americans Combat the Effects of Individualism by Free Institutions Read by Ralph Volpi 17:26
14
2.05: Of the Use which the Americans Make of Public Associations in Civil Life; 2.06: Of the Relation between Public Associations and the Newspapers Read by Ralph Volpi 25:22
15
2.07: Connection of Civil and Political Associations; 2.08: The Americans Combat Individualism by the Principle of Interest Rightly Understood Read by Ralph Volpi 28:50
16
2.09: That the Americans Apply the Principle of Interest Rightly Understood to Religious Matters; 2.10: Of the Taste for Physical Well-Being in America Read by hearhis 14:19
17
2.11: Peculiar Effects of the Love of Physical Gratifications in Democratic Ages; 2.12: Causes of Fanatical Enthusiasm in Some Americans Read by hearhis 11:10
18
2.13: Causes of the Restless Spirit of Americans in the Midst of Their Prosperity; 2.14: Taste for Physical Gratifications United in America to Love of Freedom and Attention to Public Affairs Read by hearhis 21:59
19
2.15 That Religious Belief Sometimes Turns the Thoughts of the Americans to Immaterial Pleasures; 2.16: That Excessive Care of Worldly Welfare May Impair That Welfare Read by hearhis 17:54
20
2.17: That in Times Marked by Equality of Conditions and Sceptical Opinions, It Is Important to Remove to a Distance the Objects of Human Actions; 2.18: That Amongst the Americans All Honest Callings Are Honorable Read by Ralph Volpi 15:19
21
2.19: That Almost All the Americans Follow Industrial Callings; 2.20: That Aristocracy May Be Engendered by Manufactures Read by Anna Simon 18:31
22
3:21 Why Great Revolutions Will Become More Rare , 3:22 Why Democratic Nations Are Naturally Desirous Of Peace, And Democratic Armies Of War Read by Anna Simon 16:39
23
3:23 Which Is The Most Warlike And Most Revolutionary Class In Democratic Armies?. 3:24 Chapter XXIV: Causes Which Render Democratic Armies Weaker Than Other Armies At The Outset Of A Campaign, And More Formidable In Protracted Warfare Read by Anna Simon 11:37
24
3:25 Of Discipline In Democratic Armies . 3.26 Some Considerations On War In Democratic Communities Read by Anna Simon 25:30
25
Book 3 : Influence of Democracy on Manners, Properly So Called 3.01: That Manners Are Softened as Social Conditions Become More Equal; 3.02: That Democracy Renders the Habitual Intercourse of the Americans Simple and Easy Read by Anna Simon 18:23
26
3.03: Why the Americans Show So Little Sensitiveness in Their Own Country, and Are So Sensitive in Europe; 3.04: Consequences of the Three Preceding Chapters Read by Anna Simon 13:26
27
3.05: How Democracy Affects the Relation of Masters and Servents; 3.06: That Democratic Institutions and Manners Tend to Raise Rents and Shorten the Terms of Leases Read by Sibella Denton 24:04
28
3.07: Influence of Democracy on Wager; 3.08: Influence of Democracy on Kindred Read by Sibella Denton 13:03
29
3.09: Education of Young Women in the United States; 3.10: The Young Woman in the Character of a Wife Read by Ransom 12:31
30
3.11: That the Equality of Conditions Contributes to the Maintenance of Good Morals in America; 3.12: How the Americans Understand the Equality of the Sexes Read by Anna Simon 40:32
31
3.13: That the Principle of Equality Naturally Divides the Americans into a Small Number of Private Circles; 3.14: Some Reflections on American Manners Read by Anna Simon 25:28
32
3.15: Of the Gravity of the Americans, and Why It Does Not Prevent Them from Often Committing Inconsiderate Actions; 3.16: Why the National Vanity of the Americans Is More Restless and Captious than That of the English Read by Anna Simon 50:03
33
3.17: That the Aspect of Society in the United States Is at Once Excited and Monotonous; 3.18: Of Honor in the United States and in Democratic Communities Read by John Lieder 19:23
34
3.19: Why So Many Ambitious Men and So Little Lofty Ambition Are to Be Found in the United States; 3.20: The Trade of Place-Hunting in Certain Democratic Countries Read by Anna Simon 19:01
35
Book 4: Influence of Democratic Opinions on Political Society 4.01: That Equality Naturally Gives Men a Taste for Free Institutions; 4.02: That the Notions of Democratic Nations on Government Are Naturally Favorable to the Concentration of Power Read by Sibella Denton 10:58
36
4.03: That the Sentiments of Democratic Nations Accord with Their Opinions in Leading Them to Concentrate on Political Power; 4.04: Of Certain Peculiar and Accidental Causes which Either Lead a People to Complete Centralization of Government, or Which Divert Them from It Read by Sibella Denton 21:09
37
4.05: That Amongst the European Nations of Our Time the Power of Governments Is Increasing, although the Persons Who Govern Are Less Stable; 4.06: What Sort of Despotism Democratic Nations Have to Fear Read by Sibella Denton 40:18
38
4.07: Continuation of the Preceding Chapters; 4.08: General Survey of the Subject Read by Sibella Denton 28:48
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens gutenberg.org) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
