Democracy in AmericaIn 1831, Tocqueville set out from post revolutionary France on a journey across America that would take him nine months and cover 7,000 miles. The result was Democracy in America, a subtle and prescient analysis of the life and institutions of 19th century America. Tocqueville's study of the strengths and weaknesses of an evolving democratic society remains a key point of reference for any discussion of the American nation or the democratic system.