331

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859)

Democracy in America. First Edition, in Boards.

London: Saunders and Otley, 1835.
First English edition, 2 octavo volumes, translated by Henry Reeve; with the hand-colored folding statistical map of North America at the beginning the second volume (old folds, closed tear); half-titles present; each volume with a single leaf of publisher's ads at the end; this set bound in publisher's gray boards with blue cloth spines with original labels (boards becoming detached, sewing starting to give); edges untrimmed; 9 x 5 3/4 in. (2)

PMM 358.

"In Democracy in America, Tocqueville vividly describes the unprecedented social equality he found in America and explores its implications for European society in the emerging modern era. His book provides enduring insight into the political consequences of widespread property ownership, the potential dangers to liberty inherent in majority rule, the vital role of religion in American life, and the importance of civil institutions in an individualistic culture dominated by the pursuit of material self-interest. He also probes the deep differences between the free and slave states, writing prophetically of racism, bigotry, and prejudice in the United States." (Quoted from the publisher's blurb for Arthur Goldhammer's 2004 translation of the present work.)

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