Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville delves into how the American states and federal government would grow politically and socially under the umbrella of democracy. He sees the United States as a unique entity because of how and why it came into being, as well as because of its geographical location. De Tocqueville explains that the foundations of the democratic process in America are completely different from any other part of the globe the colonies enjoyed almost complete sovereignty over England from the beginning because they were separated by an ocean and financial problems. The people who came to America were the oppressed and unhappy of England and they were all looking for a place where they could start over. and create a political structure that facilitated individual freedom unlike anything they had previously experienced in Europe DeTocqueville believed that the nature of democracy in the New World lay in the fact that all emigrants came fundamentally from the same social strata, giving rise to the first new country. in where there was no preliminary basis for an aristocracy. “Land is the basis of an aristocracy… and… [in America] when the land was prepared, its products proved insufficient to enrich both a landowner and a farmer (41).” He saw that American soil was also contrary to the structure of an aristocracy. There were also external influences lending unspoken support to the creation of this new democracy. Being an ocean apart from the mother country, which at that time did not have the financial reserves to oversee its colonies, left the Americans to govern themselves. If they hadn't had this sovereignty to begin with, America might have become something completely different than it is today, but that wasn't the case, so these emigrants now had a fertile place to plant their ideas of a country founded on many ideas of the Enlightenment. Another major influence was the lack of neighbors. America didn't have... a paper man... in charge of itself. De Tocqueville left out no aspect of American society from his publications. Rip open the American body and examine everything inside down to the bare bones. It's a little scary to read about your own nation and its culture. Understanding that one's life is not how he created it, but how his ancestors created society. Whether it is how Americans view their politics or their social sufferings, de Tocqueville expresses his opinions on what is commendable and, conversely, what is wrong in every aspect of America. He sees America through the eyes of an intelligent outsider who has no reason to make America seem other than it is. He has done a very thorough job and his vision of nineteenth-century America will certainly help lead America into the twenty-first century with a better definition of itself..