I didn't do a very good job in class setting the scene for deTocqueville's tour of the U.S. that resulted in his book "Democracy in America."
In short, Charles X had been the King with the support of the Catholic church but overstepped, drawing the ire of public opinion when he tried to curtail rights too strictly. He fled to England as a result of the "July Revolution" of 1830, which led to revolutions elsewhere in Europe . Activism in France led to a constitutional monarchy: not exactly a democracy, but certainly a government with more rights protections than that of Charles and Louis 18. Here is an encyclopedia entry with more detail.
These were the home eyes through which deToqueville saw America when he began his trip in 1831.
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1st POST!!!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the granting of more constitutional rights in his native land gave him the oppurtunity to write a comparitive analysis without fear of his life back home...
Well I'm sure that even an Iranian in 2009 couldn't write the Democratic analysis that he did in the 1830's...but then again I guess Iran wouldn't send a journalist to report on it.
ReplyDeleteIran would think itself immune to self-analysis. France was probably pissed that Dem in A. was so pro-American and not pro-french.
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