Alexis de Tocqueville

Birth: 29 July 1805 Death: 16 April 1859 Major Accomplishments: -Wrote The U.S. Penitentiary System and its Application in France with Gustave de Beaumont (1833) -Wrote Democracy in America (Volume I, 1835 and Volume II, 1840) -wrote The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856) -wrote Recollections (1893, published posthumously) - he was appointed the juge auditeur or in other words mediator at the court of law in Versailles (he was not paid for this). -he was elected as a deputy from Valognes, and was considered an expert on prisons and slavery. -published a pamphlet for the Abolition of Slavery -he takes part in debates in the Chamber of Deputies on issues like slave trade, Algerian colonization/reforms and the succession taking place after Louis-Phillipe's death. -Tocqueville was elected to the Constituent Assembly -became Napoleons minister of foreign affairs Area of Reform: He was a political philosopher who dealt with ideas on society, union, culture, religion, and industry. He was a strong proponent for a democratic society which ultimately exists today. Impact At The Time: He expressed his democratic ideas through many texts such as Democracy in America (Volume I, 1835 and Volume II, 1840) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). He conveyed his idea to the public and showed a path to the institution of democracy and a new face in relation to Marxist communism.

Long Term Impacts: Even today, it shapes our society in many democratic principles and virtues. Society debaters and historians today often reference Toquevilles texts in order to show relation and development of our modern day democracy and principles.